For a moment, no one was sure where the knock came from.
But then came another. This one louder. Someone was at the Never doors.
"The Circus is closed!" the wolf roared.
Two more knocks.
"I thought teachers were locked in their rooms," Agatha whispered.
"So it's not a teacher," I answered anxiously.
Agatha and I met Hester's look across the aisle. Spooked, we girls turned back to the doors, shuddering from another loud knock.
"You will not be let in!" the wolf thundered.
The knocking stopped.
Then slowly, magically, the doors creaked open all on their own.
Into the Theater of Tales slunk a figure shrouded in a black hood. Hundreds of eyes watched the stranger glide down the aisle, footsteps quiet, snakeskin cape trailing behind like a wedding train. Smoothly, silently the black shadow ascended to the stage and stood still beneath the Circus Crown, cape scales glimmering in flame light, head bowed like a bat's.
The doors slammed shut.
Pale fingers slithered from under the cape and pulled the hood back.
Sophie glared down at her audience, nose and chin marred by warts. Patches of white speckled her dyed black hair. Her emerald eyes were now murky gray, her skin thin enough to see veins.
Slowly she scanned the crowd, taking in scared faces with a widening sneer. Then she saw Agatha, regal in blue, and lost her smile. Sophie stared at her, gray pupils clouding with horror.
"I see we have a new princess, or two new princesses," she said quietly. "Beautiful, aren't they?"
Sophie suddenly swivelled to Tedros and smiled.
"My dear Teddy! Fancy seeing you here. I believe I still have my talent to show."
"You're a little late," Tedros spat.
"Athena's my opponent, isn't she?" Sophie said. "She hasn't gone yet, so I believe I'm perfectly on time. But of course, it's your turn, Teddy. Why don't you show us your talent."
Tedros clenched his teeth, fighting his pride.
"Show us, Teddy," Sophie said sweetly.
Tedros crossed onto the stage. He dropped to his knees.
Nevers exploded in victory.
With a pitying sigh, Sophie swept towards the kneeling prince. She gently took his head by its flaxen hair and peered into his scared blue eyes.
"Forfeiting? So quickly? I expected better from you."
Tedros hardened. "Still my turn."
He ripped out his training sword and Sophie drew back. Tedros stayed on one knee, pivoted to the aisle, thrust the blade towards the crowd.
"Athena."
He laid down the sword.
"Will you be my princess for the Ball?"
Sophie froze. Nevers stopped cheering.
In the dead silence, I tried to find my breath. Then I saw Sophie's face, shock melting to pain. Looking into her sunken, scared eyes, I couldn't help but feel some sense of pity. But that feeling quickly washed away
"Yes."
Chaddick dropped to his knees before her.
"Beatrix, will you be my princess for the Ball?"
One by one, Everboys cascaded to knees.
"Reena, will you be my princess for the Ball?" said Nicholas.
"Giselle, will you be my princess for the Ball?" said Tarquin.
"Ava, will you be my princess for the Ball?"
Boys fell in glorious rhythm, hands held out in proposal. Each girl heard her name, each girl had her gasp, until there was only one left with no one to love. Tears blinded Kiko and she wiped them away, knowing she'd be failed—only to find Tristan before her on one knee.
"Will you be my princess for the Ball?"
"Yes!" Kiko screamed.
"Yes!" said Reena.
"Yes!" said Giselle.
Through the Theater flooded waves of breathless ecstasy—"Yes!" "Yes!" "Yes!"—until the sea of love drowned even Beatrix, who mustered her best smile and took Chaddick's hand. "Yes!"
Watching across the aisles, the Nevers' faces began to change. One by one, their scowls turned sorrowful, their eyes melted to hurt. Hort, Ravan, Anadil, even Hester . . . As if they too wished they could have such joy. As if they too wished they could feel as wanted. Gone was their will to fight, lost to broken hearts, and the villains shrank into silence, snakes drained of venom.
And just like that, a 9th candle extinguished on Evil's side.
But one snake was still rearing.
From the stage, Sophie's eyes never left mine as Tedros took me into his arms. A scene reminding Sophie of one of her favourite fairytales, a scene she would never live. Sophie's pupils darkened to hot coals. Her body shivered with sweat. Black nails drew blood from her fists. From the depths of her soul, hate spewed like lava, reviving the song of her heart.
"SILENCE!" She screamed, "It's not over yet."
She thrust out her pink glowing finger and everyone stopped moving. As if they were frozen.
"Look at you. All beautiful in mommy's dress. Everything always ends so perfectly for you!" She starts.
"You got your prince, you got your family," Sophie sneered, her voice trembling with a mix of envy and fury. "And what did I get? NOTHING! No prince, no family—my mom, the only person who ever loved me, is DEAD."
Her voice cracked, and for a brief moment, pain flashed in her eyes. But it was quickly swallowed by the growing darkness within her. Sophie raised her hand, and with a wave of her glowing pink finger, I felt an invisible force yank me forward. My feet left the ground, and before I could even scream, I was on the stage beside her.
"Let's see how perfect your ending is now, Athena." Sophie's voice dripped with venom as she glanced back at the crowd, still frozen in their seats, eyes wide with fear and shock.
Sophie leaned in close, her breath hot on my face. "For my talent, I'll give you a choice. Them or yourself. Your precious prince, and everyone else deemed as 'good', or you."
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words caught in my throat. My heart pounded. "Sophie," I began, my voice shaking, "it's not too late. You can stop this. You don't have to do this."
Her eyes narrowed, and with a flick of her wrist, and the stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the theater began to twist and morph, their sharp, jagged tips pointing downward like deadly spears, aimed directly at the Evers.
"Choose," she hissed, her voice cold and final. "Them or yourself."
As the Evers unfroze, Tedros leapt forward sword in hand.
Sophie quickly tipped one of the spikes towards me. "You move one more step, and your princess dies."
"Sophie, please." Tedros pleaded.
"You don't get it do you?! Athena's my nemesis, this will only stop once one of us is dead, Teddy. Now choose."
"No." I spat.
"No? Alright then." Sophie smiled as she released the stalactites. All at once, they smashed down from ceiling and attacked everything in sight.
Evers dove for cover. Fairies flew for Sophie but the spikes hit every but one, who barely escaped through a crack in the walls. The wolves were just as exposed and the ice slit their throats with ruthless speed. The white wolf grabbed a young brown wolf into his arms, crushing spikes as they came down, but there were too many. Just as the more fell to do the same to the students-
Tears welled up in my eyes. "STOP!" My voice broke as I looked back at Sophie, who was watching me with a twisted sense of satisfaction.
"It's me you want, not them." I finally whispered, the words tasting like ash in my mouth.
Tedros's face fell "Athena, no!" he cried out, trying to climb on stage. But it was too late.
Evers and Nevers followed Sophie's eyes to the Circus Crown, swaying in midair, at last awakened to judgment. It fluttered down from above, drifting between Good and Evil, back and forth, back and forth until light as a feather, the sharp crown twirled with decision . . . and landed softly on Sophie's head.
Her lips curled into a grin. "Don't forget the prize."
Streaks of white started to magically erase the stage behind us.
"This is how your fairytale ends." Sophie smirked, her glowing finger crackling with energy as we appeared inside the grand halls of the Good castle. I landed, head hitting the ground. The towering walls and intricate stained glass windows surrounded us, but everything was now blurred. I could feel blood rush down my nose as I turned to face Sophie.
I barely had time to react before she thrust her finger towards me. My heart raced, and in that split second of terror, the trident materialized in my hands just like it had during the Trial by Tale. With a desperate cry, I raised the trident and deflected her shot, the force of it sending sparks flying across the hall.
Sophie's smirk faltered for a moment, her eyes narrowing in frustration. She lunged at me, her hand wrapped around my neck and she squeezed tighter and tighter until i couldn't breathe. With the last of my senses, I thrust the trident in her abdomen breaking her hold of me. I wrenched myself free from her landing a kick in her chest sending her back. But I didn't wait for her to strike again. Throwing off my heels, I turned and sprinted down the nearest corridor, the cold floors stinging my bare feet, head pounding.
"Running won't save you, Athena!" Sophie's voice echoed behind me, growing closer with each passing second. The halls of the castle twisted and turned in a blur as I fled, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I had no plan, no clear direction—just a desperate need to get away.
As I rounded a corner, the familiar steps to the Valour tower were there. I sprinted up to Merlin's Menagerie and raced to the last sculpture of young Arthur, nestled in a pond, arms pulling sword from stone. Without a second thought, I dove toward it, the world around me spinning.
It finally stopped and I found myself on the halfway bridge, the dark waters of the moat churning far below. Sophie materialized at the other end of the bridge, her eyes blazing with fury. There was nowhere left to run.
With the trident still in hand, I turned to face her, my heart pounding in my chest. Sophie raised her hand, firing blast after blast at me. I deflected them as best I could, but the force of each hit pushed me closer to the edge, as the bridge beneath me began to crumble, chunks of stone falling into the abyss below.
The trident slowly started vanishing in my hands, no please no, not again, not now, until it was gone. Then one final blast hit me in the chest. I was defenceless, backing away as Sophie advanced, her face twisted with rage.
"You never deserved any of this," Sophie spat, her voice cold as ice. "You took everything from me. It's time you learned what it feels like to lose."
"I didn't ask for any of this!" I cried.
"But you still got it! I worked hard all those years doing good deed after good deed just for you to get my happy ending!"
As the wind blew stronger, and Sophie crept closer, I heard familiar voices.
Tedros, Agatha, and a few others had found their way to the halfway bridge. Tedros's eyes locked onto mine, filled with fear. "Athena!" he shouted, rushing toward me.
But Sophie was faster. With a wicked grin, she unleashed a blast of magic that hit me with such force, sending me over the edge of the bridge. The world tilted, and for a terrifying moment, I was weightless, plummeting toward the dark, swirling waters of the moat below.
"Tedros, no!" Agatha screamed as he tried to dive after me, but Chaddick and the other princes held him back. "It's a suicide mission, there's nothing you can do!" Chaddick yelled, his voice strained as he struggled to hold Tedros back.
Tears streamed down Tedros's face as he fought against them, his heart shattering with every second. "I already lost her once—I can't lose her again!" he cried out, his voice breaking as he reached out for me, but it was too late.
The last thing I saw before I hit the water was Tedros's anguished face, his desperate cries echoing in my ears as I was swallowed by the darkness below.