As fairies chimed the start of the next class, Agatha and I walked into the Theater of Tales and squeezed beside Kiko, while Tedros and his boys played handball against the phoenix carved into the front of the stone stage.
"Where's Sader?" Agatha said.
"Professor Sader," said a voice.
I looked up and saw a handsome silver-haired teacher give her a cryptic smile as he ascended the stage in his shamrock-green suit.
"As you know, I teach fourth session both here and in Evil and unfortunately cannot be in two places at once. Thus I'll be alternating weeks between schools," he said, clasping the lectern. "On weeks where I'm not here, you'll have former students come to recount their adventures in the Endless Woods. They'll be responsible for your weekly challenges, so please afford them the same respect you'd give me. Finally, given I am responsible for a vast amount of students and a vast amount of history, I do not hold office hours nor will I answer your questions inside or outside of class."
How could we get answers if he didn't allow questions?
"If you do have questions," said Sader, hazel eyes unblinking, "you'll surely find the answers in your text, A Student's History of the Woods, or in my other authored books, available in the Library of Virtue. Now to roll call. Beatrix?"
"Yes."
"One more time, Beatrix."
"Right here," Beatrix snapped.
"Thank you, Beatrix. Kiko!"
"Present!"
"Again, Kiko."
"I'm here, Professor Sader!"
"Excellent. Reena!"
"Yes."
"Again?"
At this rate, they'd be here until new moon.
"Tedros!"
"Here."
"Louder, Tedros."
"Good grief, is he deaf?" Agatha grouched.
"No, silly," said Kiko. "He's blind."
Agatha snorted. "Don't be ridi—"
The glassy eyes. The matching names to voices. The way he gripped the lectern.
"But his paintings!" I cried. "He's seen Gavaldon! He's seen us!"
That's when Professor Sader met my eyes and smiled, as if to remind me he'd never seen anything at all.
After class ended, it was lunch.
Lunch took place in the Clearing, an intimate picnic field outside the Blue Forest gates. To get to the Clearing, students had to journey through twisty tunnels of trees that grew narrower and narrower, until one by one the children spat through a hollowed trunk onto emerald grass. As soon as Agatha and I came through the Good tunnel, we followed the line of Evers receiving picnic baskets from nymphs in red hoods, while Nevers from the Evil tunnel took rusty pails from red-suited wolves.
Tedros walked up behind us and grabbed my arm. "You're not going to eat lunch with Sophie are you?"
"And who is she supposed to eat with. You?" Agatha snapped.
"Actually yeah! At least I won't almost choke her to death! She almost died, at the hands of your 'friend' and you were more worried about Sophie's feelings than Athena!"
"You don't seriously think Athena would go with you." Agatha was waiting for me to answer. Her voice trembled slightly.
"I think it'll be best if I go with Tedros. I'm sorry Aggie but I don't exactly want to see Sophie right now anyways."
YOU ARE READING
Siren Song || Tedros x Reader
Fanfiction''Of all the tales in all the kingdoms in all the Woods, you had to walk into mine.'' -Tedros Every four years, two are taken. No one knows where they go, but some think it's to a magical school beyond the woods, where fairytale princes and princess...
