As Astrid opened the doors to the cafe, she thought wryly of how many doughnuts would sell if she was a princess.

Many more, probably.

But unfortunately, Astrid was not a princess, she was a waitress, and a good one at that. So right after the doors to the cafe were open, she got to work. Chairs were put down, love seats were reclined, cushions were fluffed, and coffee was made.

People started coming in an hour after that. Her boss told her they'd need more than the regular today, but for the life of her she could not remember what was so important today, and since her boss already seemed so stressed out, she didn't bother asking him.

With a jolt, the girl realized she'd forgotten the magazines, so four or five were placed onto a table, each one a picture of Dame Gothel smiling into the camera with perfectly white teeth.

And that was how the day went. At one point, there were so many people ordering that she accidentally squirt ketchup on herself. Scowling, she wiped it off while a few people laughed. One old woman smiled kindly and advised her to use a certain brand when she got home. And she really would have taken the advice, had it not been for the fact that she could not afford such a high quality brand. She wasn't the richest girl on the block.

Astrid still thanked the woman and gave her a discount, because she had only been trying to help. Yes, the blonde was tough, in her neighborhood, you sort of had to be, but her mother had raised her well. She was a polite and well-mannered young lady, who just happened to have ketchup all over her shirt.

When the sun was down, Astrid with a yawn, thought happily that at least tomorrow was Saturday and there was no work to do. Well, no work work. There was still laundry, and sweeping, and polishing...why was she looking forward to the weekend again?

She said goodnight to her boss, and walked to the store to pick up a few things before heading back home tiredly. All of the lights in the small apartment were out, except for one in the living room. She trudged upstairs and opened the door quietly, only to see her little brother watching television. She set the bags she was carrying down on the counter, before walking up to him and, with a smirk, mercilessly tickling him.

"Ast - Astrid!" shouted Gustav estatically, "St-stop it - ha - stop!" There were tears rolling down his cheeks very soon, and she stopped, still grinning.

"What are you watching?" she asked, opening the bags and taking out groceries.

"The Princess Charm School show," her brother responded, "they're all gathering for the lottery tomorrow."

"Why are you watching Princess Charm School?" she asked amusedly. She didn't really have anything against the channel, but Gustav wasn't that interested in these things.

"No reason," her brother replied cryptically, and with a jolt Astrid realized that the lottery was the reason the cafe was so busy. Everyone was excited about that lottery, a chance to become a lady royal (the second-command to a princess) was very tempting.

An old woman walked through the door and sleepily asked, "Astrid?"

"Hey, Mom." She gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I brought you a strawberry creme brule!"

Phlegma smiled. "Thank you. Gustav, please turn the TV off, it's late now."

"Aw, but Mom, there's no school tomorrow. Well, except for Princess Charm School. And I'm certainly not going there." He laughed nervously.

"Five more minutes. That's it."

Gustav nodded, and resumed his watching. His sister noted with interest that he didn't seem to be very relaxed; his shoulders tensed every time the word "lottery" was said on screen.

After she led her mother back to her room and finished unpacking the groceries, Astrid took a seat next to her brother. "The doctors say anything?"

Gustav exchanged a worried look with her. "They said she should be comfortable. For now, at least."

"Comfortable?" Astrid asked incredulously, "Comfortable? She should be all better!" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Never mind, I just have to keep working until we can afford a better place."

"With better doctors for Mom?" Gustav asked hopefully.

Astrid nodded, and felt herself lolling her head on her shoulders. She murmured sleepily, "And a better place for you to grow up."

While Astrid's family wasn't exactly the richest, they never let it get them down. Breakfast was cheerful, and Gustav had turned the TV on again. Interested, Phlegma sat down on the couch to watch.

On screen, Dame Gothel and Headmistress Toothiana stood on the stage, along with Princess Rapunzel, Dame Gothel's daughter. Thousands of girls were there, all holding your breath.

Headmistress Toothiana spoke. "I'm sure all of you are very excited, but only one will be picked to be a lady royal and change her life...forever."

"I hope," muttered Gustav quietly, "I hope, I hope, I hope."

Astrid glanced at him weirdly. "You want to go to Princess Charm School?"

The boy's face turned a little pink, for the thought of him wearing a dress and a crown was slightly embarrassing. "Not exactly."

Astrid grinned at his flustered behavior, although she was curious as to why he was so tense. She turned around to the counter, and began to make toast. She heard Toothiana continue. "And, to present this marvelous award, Miss Rapunzel Gothel!"

The audience clapped, but the princess herself scowled. She whispered something to her mother, who in turn took the mic from Toothiana and countered, "You of course mean Princess Rapunzel Gothel. My daughter will soon be the ruler of Berk."

Astrid turned around to watch, amused. Rapunzel actually did look like a ruler, if not a little haughty. Her mother, on the other hand, was dressed in jewels and the best fabric, and looked more like a spoiled little rich girl than a queen. She shook her head. The government really was corrupt.

Toothiana spoke in a hushed voice to Gothel about something; Astrid guessed she was contradicting her. "Miss Rapunzel?"

Gothel, ruffled, nodded to her daughter, who nodded back, and stepped up to the basket. She spun it two times before reaching in and taking out two names. Dropping one, she prepared to read the other. Still listening, the girl watching the screen turned back around to continue breakfast.

The crowd held their breath.

Rapunzel spoke regally. "Astrid Hofferson."

Astrid whipped around.

"What?"

See how unoriginal I can be? :)
Yes, this is based off of Barbie: Princess Charm School. I've been in the Barbie mood lately. But I'm not going to watch the movie until this is done.
Now, I wanna clear things up.
Please, PLEASE, don't tell me, "Actually, she said..." or "That's not exactly what happened." I have seen this movie a LOT of times, if I change something, it is fully intentional.
I. Do. Not. Hate. Rapunzel. In fact, she is my favorite Disney princess, but Gothel is in this, and, well...you'll see how it works out.
You don't have to watch the movie to read this story.
Toothiana is from ROTG.
This has Hiccstrid, but it is not a Hiccstrid story. Hiccup will not be present for very long. It's Princess Charm School.