After Stellaris had finished checking on her, followed by May returning to the ward, Mena finally asked her friends the question that stood at the tip of her tongue. “Ashlan, was there with me?”

Janus remained silent, but a wink let Mena know that the ‘phantom’ was a secret between them. May was equally surprised and nearly dropped her corn beef all over Mena’s bed. “I knew Ashlan was a bully, but I had no idea she was an attempted murderer…”—May puffed out her cheeks—“I guess mummy was right. One thing leads to another.”

“We don’t actually know it was her,” Mena said, surprisingly defensive of her rival. “Perhaps she was simply adjusting the lighting up there.”

“But,” May said, leaning against Mena’s bed. “You told me he was so mad she didn’t get the role of Romulus…”

Mena nodded in agreement as her portly friend continued—“And not only that, Prince Tal was gloating and being mean to her before you went on stage…Perhaps she went on a beast rampage and shoved you off the set…”

Mena nodded again. That did seem a possibility. Now the two theories were butting heads in Mena’s head. Both seemed to be carrying equal weight.

“Anyway,” May said. “You heard Stellaris. Once you eat, you’re discharged, and we can relax for the rest of the evening.

But Mena couldn’t relax. Something was attempting to kill her; whether it be frienemy or foe, she did not know the answer on who was behind this murder plot.

Mena hoped she would finally get some rest when she dreamed, but when she awoke, she found herself standing in her mother’s palace of shadow again.

“Tell me,” Anguish said, reaching out her hand to stroke the cheek of her dark daughter. “What have you learned from your light sister?”

Dark Mena sung in a voice that was sickly sweet. “Their play is in disarray, and they don’t have a single clue who is behind it.”

Anguish lifted her forehead where her eyebrows should have been. “We have them right where we want them, my dear”—Anguish turned away and gazed into the dark purple horizon—"All the while, the fabric of the Bourgebests society is being torn apart at the seams. Soon another part of Dula will be in our control.”

Anguish placed both her frosted hands on her daughter’s shoulders. “Laugh with me, daughter,” she said with a tremendously twisted smile.

The two pink skinned witches gave their most terrible shrieking laughs that echoed throughout the Nightmare Void and Mena’s own subconscious.

When the young witch sprung up out of bed, panting and sweating, she had deeply wished she had a regular nightmare instead. Giving a presentation in her undergarments had nothing on knowing her wicked mother was advancing in universe domination.

In the Cloud Hall that following morning, Mena’s head kept threatening to drop forward into her bowl of Hex Mix. “Rough night?” Janus asked her kindly.

“Another vision of my dark self,” Mena answered. “They’re celebrating how far they’re getting, while we aren’t even on square one. More like square negative one.”

May spoke up, “Well I think you should talk to Ashlan, and ask her what she was doing last play practice.”

“Yeah,” Mena nodded. “I should. Perhaps she’s got an alibi. I don’t have any classes with her so I’ll ask her after dinner.”

Janus gave a wry smirk. “But…don’t ask her by any railings.”

Before Mena could tell Janus ‘too soon,’ the morning bell chimed. She sighed. She had barely eaten her Hex Mix. She already knew it was going to be another one of those bewitched days where nothing was right.

Caligari’s class testified immediately to that theory. She had brough in Nebula Andromeda, their overzealous gym teacher and began having drills to prepare for the upcoming war. This mainly involved the girls running around her dungeon and doing pushups once they ran out of breath. Caligari’s theory was the girls were too ill equipped to duel with magic and had to physically prepare themselves if they couldn’t cast proper spells.

As May and Mena jogged around the freezing dungeon all while sporting black army helmets. Mena grumbled and looked at Caligari and Nebula who were both smirking and congratulating themselves. “That is truly a match made in the Nightmare Void,” she said out loud. Caligari’s firefly green eyes turned to her; they seared with righteous indignation. Mena gulped and sped up instead, hoping she wasn’t the reason shy Caligari was tormenting the girls so much.

By the time that class ended, Mena was drenched to the bone in sweat. But she had no time to change because Professor Apo Carrie’s class was right afterwards.

Mena sat next to Janus listening to the squat professor drone on about the medicinal properties of magic toe fungus, when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

Apo Carrie ceased speaking to mutter, ‘come in,’ and Scalia entered, looking more certain than she ever was before.

“Howdy doody” Carrie said before cringing at his own stupid phrase.

“Professor Carrie,” Scalia said. “I hope this isn’t the wrong time to ask. But could you do me a favor?”

Professor Apo Carrie nodded so hard Mena was afraid his head would could off its hinges. “Can you make me some more of that Memory Recall elixir?”

Professor Carrie bit his lip with his buck teeth. “Allow me to pose that question with another one?” he said, causing Scalia to lift her rubbery forehead. “Would you allow me to go on a date with you?”

Scalia took a long time to answer, but all the while Mena crossed her fingers and muttered, “Please say yes.”

“Uh sure…” Scalia said, looking slightly confused. “Then will you make me more memory potion?”

Both Mena and Professor Apo Carrie screamed “YES!” at the top of their lungs.

Everyone immediately turned to Mena who turned redder than a fire salamander.

“Thank you,” Scalia nodded politely and closed the door.

As the class resumed, Mena didn’t care that she embarrassed herself. She had successfully match made with another pair of teachers. She truly was the love-masta.

As Mena and Janus headed down to dinner, Janus placed a bony hand on her shoulder. “Mena…before I meet you and May for dinner, I gotta get ready for a surprise.”

“Mmmm?” Mena asked. “Sure.”

As they parted ways, Mena desperately hoped Janus wasn’t going to show off an old, dead rat she had successful reaped in the middle of class.”

As Mena reached the dining hall, she noticed someone standing at the silver cloud machine—it was Ashlan.

This was her chance to ask the lioness about the incident. Mena admitted to herself that it would be a bit of awkward confronting a suspect of attempted homicide but at least Mena and Ashlan were on better terms than they were the last few semesters.

“Hey uh, Ashlan” Mena asked, causing the lioness to jump.

“Mena…” Ashlan said, her eyes darting around nervously. “Why do you smell like a pair of sweat gym socks?”

“Never mind that!” Mena exclaimed but she started feeling less confidence when she looked into Ashlan’s emerald eyes. “Ashlan, uh…what were you doing at the uh…play…yesterday?”

Ashlan looked like she wanted to evaporate on the spot, and she was only saved by a loud “Oi”.

“Ashlan,” Laetitia snapped from the cloud above with her sister, Marie. “Stop talking to that lout and get up ‘ere.”

“See you around, Mena,” Ashlan said with sorrow in her eyes. She pumped herself a cloud and flew away.

Mena was so mad; she stomped her foot on the ground. “Drat rats!” she growled but when a cold hand touched her shoulder, she nearly leaped as high as Ashlan. Turning around, it was Janus in a strange get-up. The pixie reaper wore a headdress of leaves, a necklace of skulls and a grass skirt. She looked like a regular bokur.

“Get ready” Janus exclaimed with exuberance. “After midnight, we’re going to sneak into the auditorium and channel an unruly spirit!”