The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Chainani, Soman. The School for Good and Evil: The Last Ever After. Harper, 2015. Paperback

The novel begins with Sophie and the School Master, who now goes by the name Rafal, in the School Master’s tower. Sophie has refused his ring for three weeks after choosing him as her happy ending, and the Storian has yet to write another story because of her doubt. Therefore, the sun is dying. Rafal convinces her that he is her true love, and she finally accepts the ring. However, the Storian does not end her fairy tale, and Rafal says that there is another happy ending that it doubts.

Meanwhile, Agatha and Tedros are miserably locked up inside Agatha’s old home, with Agatha wondering if the ending with him is truly her happy ending. The two bicker constantly as Callis, Agatha’s mother, sneaks out daily to provide for them. Tedros is adamant that they return to Camelot, while Agatha wants to remain in Galvadon. However, the decision is made for them when Sophie’s father Stefan finds them in the house and turns them over to the Elders to burn them at the stake as witches, even though Tedros reveals he is the future king of Camelot. However, Callis uses magic to save them and allows the guards to kill her so they can escape. They reach the grave of Sophie’s mother and are dragged into it by a hand from underground.

Inside the grave, they realize they have been rescued by a ninja. However, outside they hear voices they do not recognize. The voices say they are searching for them for the School Master. Tedros and Agatha are pulled out by the Giant from Jack and the Beanstalk and the Wolf from Red Riding Hood. They are saved by the ninja, who is revealed to be Princess Uma who had been supposedly killed in the last book. The two realize that they are in the Woods, the fairy tale world outside of Galvadon, and Sophie’s mother Vanessa has a grave there despite never going to one of the schools. Uma tells them they are going on a trip to meet the Thirteen, a group of old heroes that can help them take down the School Master and save Good.

Meanwhile, Sophie sees the Storian begin to write again and realizes that Tedros and Agatha are back in the Woods. Rafal arrives and tells her that she must kill Tedros and Agatha to have their own happy ending, before confirming that her health has gotten better and he can now take her to the school. On the way there, she realizes that the Blue Forest is dying because both she and Rafal - the two School Masters - are evil. She then sees a sign welcoming them to the School for New and Old Evil. Inside, she learns that all the Evers and Nevers, Boys and Girls, have been moved into the School for New Evil. Many of them, including Hort, resent her, but Sophie believes they will come around once they realize she is their new Queen. Rafal then reveals she is now a teacher, much to her surprise.

Agatha, Uma, and Tedros come across Snow White’s cottage which has been turned into a museum, one hour away from headquarters. Tedros and Agatha fight over who should save Sophie. Agatha then talks quietly to Uma, revealing that she does not know if she belongs with Tedros. Uma tells Agatha of her story, when she rescued herself from a monster, only for her prince to be scorned and for them to be separated over the fighting. She tells Agatha she hopes her a Tedros’ story ends up differently. Suddenly, they hear a scream from Snow White’s cottage. They arrive to find all seven dwarfs dead. However, Agatha knows the scream came from a woman, so she runs inside.

Upstairs, she finds Snow White’s witch, undead, over the body of Snow White. The witch attacks her but disappears as Tedros arrives. Back outside, they find that Uma has been petrified by the witch. They are led to the Thirteen’s headquarters by a white rabbit, where Yuba berates them for nearly dying in the woods before introducing them to a group of very old, former heroes. Tedros and Agatha are stunned, believing that the heroes cannot help them in their age. The heroes, including people such as Cinderella, Peter Pan, and Red Riding Hood vote to kick Agatha and Tedros out. However, Yuba reminds them that they need the students to get into the School. The last member, Merlin, arrives, causing Tedros to pass out.

The School Master leaves Sophie alone with Lady Lesso, who questions if Sophie is capable of either killing Tedros and Agatha, or sacrificing Rafal for them. Lady Lesso also reveals there is a traitor in the school and shows Sophie a drawing that depicts Sophie’s movements, as well as the movement of the fog. She tells Sophie she must find the traitor. Then, the second Dean Aric arrives and mocks Sophie before attempting to kill Lady Lesso with a poisoned drink. Sophie goes to her class where the students are angry at her for causing the Good and Evil schools to combine.. They cheer for the return of Good just as her former friends Hester, Dot and Anadil arrive late and cheer for Evil. Pollux arrives and begins a challenge for the students. She transforms them all into copies of Tedros and asks Sophie to find the one who looks most like him. Sophie unknowingly picks Hort, who tells her to go away before the class leaves. Without Sophie’s knowledge, it is revealed that Hester, Dot, and Anadil are working for Good.

After a quick conversation with Rafal, Sophie heads to the roof where she sees that the menagerie has changed to depict the story of Agatha and Tedros. She touches the sculpture and ends up with pox spreading all over her body. She runs to the Groom Room and hides in one of the baths. However, Hort arrives and confesses that he used to love Sophie and hates Tedros for taking her attention. He then leaves, but not before telling her he does not love her anymore. That night, Sophie wonders who her true love is. As if responding to a wish, Rafal’s ring writes a name on her finger. She is horrified to discover the name is Tedros.

Tedros wakes up and accuses Merlin of leaving him as a child. Merlin admits that he had to leave because King Arthur no longer trusted them. He then takes Tedros and Agatha to the Celestium, a magical realm within his coat that looks like they are sitting in space. He reminds them of the Great War, where the School Master killed his brother and the Storian wrote Good as the hero in every single story to make up for his Evil. He then tells Agatha that her mother was a former professor at the school, an Evil witch who dreamed of true love. The School Master took a liking to her, but she fled when she realized he was not Good. She arrived in Galvadon where her fairy tale became the Tale of Callis and Vanessa - Sophie’s mother. Merlin then wonders why it is Sophie’s mother, and not Callis, who has a tombstone on Necro Ridge when Callis was the supposed Evil in their story.

The next day, Agatha wakes up, and Pinnochio causes a fight between her and Tedros when Pinocchio reveals that Agatha believes Tedros wants a prettier princess who will bend to his every whim. Merlin then tells them they are headed to the school where Tedros is determined to rescue Sophie himself. On the path, they find that the goats from the Three Billy Goats Gruff have been killed, and more stories are changing with Evil winning. On the outskirts of the school, Merlin reveals that they are going to use his gender transformation potion to sneak into the school without the Storian realizing, once again causing Tedros to faint.

In the School Master’s tower, Sophie is awakened during her dream of Tedros. He reveals that the Storian has stopped writing, as if it cannot find Tedros or Agatha. He then demands to see her hand that she has been hiding, and she cuts herself to obscure Tedros’ name from him. He then flies her to the school, where she feels scared of him as she knows he will kill her if he finds out she loves someone else. She thinks about Agatha, and briefly misses her. However, Rafal tells her she must kill Agatha and Tedros or he will know she is not on his side. After he leaves, she sees a white rat with a stick in its’ mouth. Convinced it is connected to the spy, she chases after it. She follows it to the gate of the school, where she finds Hester and two new students who introduce themselves as Edgar and Essa, cousins in the family tree of captain Hook. Hester convinces Sophie not to go to the School Master since he brought in the new students due to his doubt that Sophie can kill Tedros and Agatha on her own. The five leave Sophie alone, the later not realizing that she just let her friends inside.

In their room, the witches berate Tedros for almost giving away him and Agatha. He threatens to change back to a boy, but Agatha convinces him to wait. The story rewinds and hour and shows Hester, Anadil and Dot arriving with School Uniforms as Merlin transforms the two heroes and dyes Tedros’ hair. The two fight because of Tedros’ remarks over being a girl before Merlin berates them. He gives them a small quiz about Sophie and Tedros wins the right to save her after he reveals he knew the name of Sophie's mother before Agatha. Agatha is tasked with retrieving with Excalibur. The witches arrive just before Anadil’s rat carrying Professor Dovey’s wand. Merlin opens the gates and the five hurry inside. Back in the present, the two argue again before Agatha admits she is scared to be queen and Tedros tells her he loves her because she is not a typical princess. They make up as the three witches return.

The group splits; Hester with Agatha, and Tedros with Dot and Anadil. Hester takes Agatha toward the School for Old Evil where they are intercepted by Aric who commands Hester to leave and plans to torture Agatha. However, Agatha attacks him and Hester returns to hold him back with her demon as Agatha runs for the Halfway Bridge. Meanwhile, Sophie accidently slips about the new students, Edgar and Essa, to which Rafal tells her to stay in the tower and kill anyone who tries to get in as he never invited any students. Back with Tedros, Dot uses her magic to turn the fog into a chocolate roller coaster and Anadil uses a rat holding onto a chocolate icicle to push Tedros along the path and into the School Master’s tower. Once inside, he is knocked out by Sophie. Agatha gets through the barrier on the bridge by convincing her reflection that she must be old because the barrier- and thus, her reflection- is old, and the two are the same.

Inside the School for Old, Agatha discovers that the old villains are planning ways to change their stories to bring down the shield around Galvadon. The School Master arrives and tells them to look for an intruder and bring Agatha to him alive. He specifies securing the Exhibition of Evil and Agatha realizes that’s where Excalibur must be. She goes there and finds an enchanted painting of Galvadon where she is able to pull Excalibur out of. However, the School Master confronts her. Meanwhile, Tedros returns to his normal Sophie and he and Sophie talk. Sophie blames him for forcing Agatha to choose him instead of her and he tells Sophie that Agatha was confused. Sophie believes if she goes with them she will not find love again. She then reveals his name on her hand and tells him she will go if she gets him back. However, the School Master arrives with Agatha just in time to hear this proclamation. Agatha is upset at both Sophie and Tedros, before she realizes that he is lying to Sophie to get her to come with him and destroy the ring. Rafal swears Sophie will return to him. Merlin then arrives on a cloud of fairy dust, but he accidentally loses them after they jump on. The three run away from undead villains as Agatha gets Merlin to toss her his cape. They jump inside the Celestium, with a Hort pushing Sophie inside as they all escape.

Sophie has a dream of a strange man killing her over the ring. Agatha then wakes up realizing she is back in the league headquarters. Merlin reveals that they are going to split the league up, and he will take Sophie, Agatha, Tedros and Hort to a safe house. Agatha is stunned to learn that Sophie has not destroyed the ring. She confronts Sophie who says she will only destroy the ring when she knows her future with Tedros is secure. Thought angry that Sophie is only considering her own feelings, Agatha gives in and decides to let Sophie try and have her happy ending. They begin their journey and Agatha gets Tedros to walk beside Sophie while she walks with Merlin. Merlin tells her to stop looking back at them before confirming they only have three weeks until the sun dies out. He recants the story of King Arthur and reveals that Tedros is reliving that same story, stuck between Sophie and Agatha. Tedros and Sophie catch up and Merlin says the readers are beginning to believe the new stories and lose faith in Good. As they prepare lunch, Agatha quietly convinces Merlin to leave Sophie and Tedros alone.

Tedros and Sophie walk together behind Merlin and Agatha with Hort far behind. The two talk about Tedros’ future as King and how he believes his mother is a cold deserter. Sophie jokes about his mother leaving someone incredible (King Arthur) for someone average (Lancelot) before realizing that Tedros did the same thing when he left her for Agatha. She gets angry at him until he reveals that she has brought up Agatha more than he has. Sophie tells him she wants to be queen, and that Agatha doubts her own crown so much that they will fight forever if he chooses her over Sophie. Their conversation is cut short when Captain Hook and Smee attack them. Hort saves Sophie by burning Smee and Tedros impales Captain Hook. However, Hook gets away as the only way to kill an undead is by burning them. Hours later, they arrive in Avalon, where Merlin requests that the Lady of the Lake let them inside the safe house. Once inside, they see Guinevere and Lancelot, the second of which Sophie recognizes from her nightmare.

Distraught at seeing his mother again, Tedros leaves the house and Sophie follows him. However, Tedros asks to be alone and Sophie returns to the house. Lancelot recognizes the ring on her finger and warns Sophie that it will convince her that it knows her ending, but will always end up drawing her back to Evil. Meanwhile, Agatha too leaves the house and finds Hort who leads her to a Wish Fish. He reveals his wish is that he and Sophie will be together. In the background, however, is Tedros and Agatha as King and Queen of Camelot. Agatha says it is only a wish as Tedros and Sophie are meant to be together. Hort gets angry at Agatha for not fighting for her prince. When he leaves, Agatha tries to use the wish fish, but she sees nothing. She leaves, not realizing that Tedros saw the whole thing.

A week passes, and Tedros remains away from the house. Sophie and Agatha begin to reconnect and Sophie talks about her mother and how she does not want to end up like her mother did. Sophie wishes they could return to a time when it was just her and Agatha, but Agatha says that is impossible. Sophie demands that Agatha say that Agatha herself is meant to be the Queen of Camelot, but Agatha cannot do it. Tedros arrives and leads Sophie away from the house. He takes Sophie to a cave and asks her why she wants to be Queen. She tells him that she has always dreamed of living a fantasy life and that she was meant for a Queen. He finally kisses her, but she realizes that there is no spark between them. Tedros tells her that she wants the power, but does not love him. He leaves her with Excalibur to destroy the ring. However, Sophie, angry at Tedros for his deception, wishes for Rafal, who retrieves her, leaving Excalibur behind. Tedros returns to Agatha and confesses her love to her while Hort discovers Sophie has vanished.

Back at the School, Rafal leads Sophie to her own coronation where he announces her as his queen. He brings in Hester, Anadil and Dot as he reveals all of those who went against Evil are trapped in ice in a dungeon beneath the stage. He asks Sophie if she will condemn the traitors or spare them. She condemns them, but Merlin arrives and saves them. Meanwhile, Guinevere gives Agatha her own crown, and Agatha finally accepts her role as Good’s Queen when Guinievere reveals that Sophie returned to Rafal. Merlin returns with all of the old heroes and the three witches, and everyone bows to Agatha.

The Evil teachers debate how to best combat Good. They are concerned that the students- and the future of Evil- will die if they are sent into battle. Rafal agrees to leave them behind, but only if they prepare for the war in case they are attacked. Sophie proclaims herself Queen and demands that she teach the students how to fight. Back with Good, Tedros then arrives and Agatha asks him to go speak with his mother, to which he hesitates. Merlin pairs off the young and the old before telling them to leave the army to him. Both sides protest, but Agatha gives a speech that brings them back together. Afterwards, she is happy to see that Tedros and Guinevere are talking. He asks his mother why she left him, and she said it was so that he did not have to live with the burden of her unhappiness. Tedros says he loves her for the first time.

Meanwhile in the School, Sophie’s training has gotten so fierce that students are ending up with critical injuries. Many teachers are beginning to doubt her. However, the students begin to use black magic to defeat the old villains, much to Sophie’s surprise. She confronts Lady Lesso, who tells Sophie that she has been putting the old villains to sleep to teach the students how to fight. She did not tell Sophie so that Sophie would take all the credit. Sophie tells Lady Lesso she will allow the old villains to use weapons to further train the students before telling Lady Lesso she will kill Agatha because Sophie has finally embraced her Evil side.

After a week of training, Agatha, Tedros and the others prepare to go to battle. Cinderella tells Agatha her story- how she never wanted to be Queen and instead wanted her step-sisters to find true love. However, after her prince saved her from being killed by her step-mother, her step-sisters declared vengeance and he eventually had them killed as well. Agatha realizes that she must reconcile with Sophie in a way that Cinderella never could with her step sisters. Merlin leads them to the Stymph forest where Rafal, Sophie and their undead army confront them. Lancelot charges Rafal, but is pinned to a tree by Sophie’s magic and his own sword. Rafal commands the stymphs to attack the heroes, but Merlin reveals the entire school is now on Good’s side, and the stymphs assist them in taking down the undead heroes. Agatha chases Sophie back to the school where Sophie uses a stun spell before running into the School for Old. Agatha manages to break free and follow her. Inside, she sees Lady Lesso freeing as many as she can from the dungeon and preparing to lock Aric inside. Sophie arrives and Lady Lesso tells Sophie that she is alone and will never find happiness without Agatha. She lets Sophie fall into the dungeon before leaving. Sophie helps Aric out, expecting him to help her, but he closes the gate. Agatha jumps inside just before it closes.

The two wander the dungeon until they find the coffin of Sophie’s mother. There, a projection of August Sader- a seer who gave up his life for Sophie and Agatha in the first book, tells them the story of Vaness and Callis. Callis had indeed ran to Galvadon where she felt obligated to help Vanessa fulfill her own wish. She created a love potion for Vanessa, but warned her it would only last a day. It was long enough for Vanessa to become pregnant with Stefan’s child, even though Stefan loved Honora and not her. At first, he condemns Callis, but then saves her life by promising to marry Vanessa. However, their relationship is loveless, even after Vanessa blackmails Callis into helping her have children. Vanessa had two daughters- Sophie and Agatha- the former she kept and the later she cast away. Callis kept Agatha, while Vanessa struggled to make Stefan love a daughter he knew deep down was not his (as magic had split their souls into the two girls). Therefore, Sophie and Agatha are exact mirrors of each other. Agatha sees this as an opportunity for the girls to reunite, but Sophie claims she is destined to end up like her mother and runs back to the battle.

Agatha sneaks through a painting to arrive in Galvadon first. She is able to get through the shield to save Hort and Peter Pan before leaving to find Sophie. However, when Cinderella dies to her stepmother, the shield around Galvadon falls and the heroes are captured. Rafal reveals that Sophie must kill her father to prove that she loves him and erase the murder of his brother. Agatha pleads with Sophie, telling the later that Agatha still sees Good within her. As Rafal prepares to execute Tedros and Agatha, Sophie suddenly tears the ring off with Excalibur and destroys it. Rafal and his army turn to dust as the shield around Galvadon returns, leaving Sophie and Agatha on one side, and Stefan and his family on the other. However, they see that Lady Lesso has been mortally wounded by Aric, who Professor Dovey also killed in the struggle. Lady Lesso reveals her real name- Leonora- and praises Sophie for standing up for her friend before dying.

Back at the school, Agatha, Tedros and Sophie prepare to leave for Camelot. Merlin sends Sophie to grab his coat from Lady Lesso’s office. Once there, she finds a box with her name on it. Professor Dovey says it is the only thing Lady Lesso left upon her death. Sophie opens it and finds Lady Lesso’s Dean dress, revealing that Lady Lesso wanted Sophie to take over as the new dean. Sophie accepts andt ells Tedros and Agatha that she will visit again. As they leave, she thinks on ways to change the School for Evil and finally admits that she is happy with herself.