Author Note: So this here is Prospitian Times part 2, and it can be read without reading part one, but it will make more sense if you do. It can be found in the Prospitian Times community, which can be found with all the other Homestuck communities.
My family had always served the kingdom of Prospit. We served as knights, advisors, guards, and many other roles. If there was a position in the castle, it could be certain that a Serket had filled in the past. When I was born, a role was assigned to me. I would be an advisor.
The job suited me; I couldn't heft a sword to save my life and I had an uncommonly good memory.
So at seven years old, my parents dropped me off at the castle, and I didn't see them again until my late teens. Even when I did see them, I remained distant.
I attended class with about 100 other kids, and they started teaching us everything we would need to know to survive at court. As we learned etiquette, I got to know my classmates.
Most of them despised me, I wasn't really sure why, but there were a few I got along with. My roommate was Latula Pyrope, rad girl extraordinaire. She was determined to be a knight, even though female knights were few and far between. She always talked about how some day, she would go out exploring and win glory. She was one of the few willing to listen to me talk, and I talked all the time. One of my favorite things to do was tell stories.
My only other friend was Meenah Peixes, heir to the throne. It's kind of a long tale.
One day in the first year, after lecture got out, I was packing up my bags when a few intimidating shadows surrounded my desk. Occasionally the other girls liked to tease me, especially when Latula was in another class. I scooped up my bag, standing to face the others.
Three of them stood together by my desk, their arms crossed aggressively with vivid smirks decorating their visages. They were all at least six centimeters taller than me.
"You should drop out while you still have the chance." Their leader spat at me. I didn't even know her name; it was a different girl every week. "If you wait too long you won't be able to find a husband." She giggled, "Oh wait, it doesn't matter. Even if you quit now it's too late." The other two burst out laughing. I glared up at the leader, both fists clenched at my sides. If I thought I could beat her in a fight, I would've thrown a punch.
"Well that's rude!" someone shouted from across the classroom. It was practically empty by then; I thought we were the last ones left. A small figure leapt over a few desks to plant herself between the others and me, her hands firmly on her hips. Their eyes widened as they backed up a few steps. I couldn't tell who it was from behind, but I was extremely grateful for their help.
"P-princess Peixes" The leader stuttered. "W-we are sorry if we offended you." They scurried towards the door, exiting with haste. Watching them go was almost surreal; they never backed off that easily.
"Cowards." The girl in front of me scoffed, spitting on the ground where they once stood. Then she turned to face me, and I almost forgot to breath. Maybe I just didn't pay enough attention, but I didn't realize the princess was in my class.
She was only a couple centimeters taller than me, but the way she held herself made it feel like more than a meter. She smiled at me, putting one hand out to shake. "The names Meenah. Nice to meet you."
It took me a moment to find my voice. "I-I'm Aranea." I grasped her hand and kissed it gingerly; the way we were taught to when greeting royalty. Apparently, this was the wrong thing to do.
She yanked it out of my grasp, grimacing. "Don't do that." She shook her head, her short pigtail braids swaying back and forth. "You shake." She put her hand out again, and I shook it once, barely touching it at all. "Close enough."
"Thank you for your assistance." I bowed forward slightly after releasing her hand.
"Don't do that either!" Meenah exclaimed, crossing her arms. I blinked a few times in astonishment. "Damn it, and 'ere I thought you'd be different." I didn't mean to upset her so much.
"I'm sorry." I apologized, unsure of what else to do.
"You don't 'ave to be so formal." Meenah clapped one hand onto my back, guiding me out of the classroom. "We're friends now, after all." I didn't protest; having two friends was like hitting the jackpot.
And from that point on, we were friends. I even met her younger sister a few times, the second princess Feferi. Between Latula and Meenah I had all the friends a girl could want, at least for a few years anyway.
When we hit ten years old, we split into specialties. Latula joined the young boys in knight training while I started taking lessons on everything from court manners to the history of every town in Prospit. Meenah was in a few of these classes, but not many. We still spent some time together, but it was few and far between. In the last few years, I didn't see her at all. Latula and I still saw each other occasionally, but it wasn't the same as living together.
I did make one new friend in the advisor program, but she was many years younger than me. Little Terezi Pyrope thirsted for knowledge. But she was completely blind, and her smile was just a little bit too wide, so many of the others avoided her. I started helping her get around the castle, and would tell her stories in my free time. She learned faster than I did, and would make a fantastic advisor someday. The kid was endearing in a kind of pointy way, and she helped make the last couple years of my education tolerable.
At 16 years old, I graduated from the program. The girls who tormented me long ago had since fled from court after failing their courses. My younger cousin Vriska had since joined up, but she wanted to be a knight so I almost never saw her. She was the only member of my family who I spoke to at all.
I was two years younger than the average graduate, having skipped two years of lessons, so I became the youngest advisor in court. There were twenty of us in all, with the eldest being well into his seventies. 18 of them were male. I tried to befriend the only other female in the group, but she often feigned deafness when I spoke. I made a habit of talking to her every time I saw her.
Latula became a knight around the same time, starting to go on missions and find that glory she always wanted. When she was in town, we would catch up and chat about the old days. Latula also spent some time with Vriska, and the pair of them got along well.
Since I was the same age as the princess, I was assigned to be her personal advisor. That also might have been the other advisor's way of shoving me to the side, but I didn't have any proof. I didn't mind the assignment; it was the perfect opportunity to spend time with Meenah again.
But I worried that things had changed. Now that we were no longer children, would it still be acceptable for her to be my friend? Even if it wasn't, she didn't seem to care.
When I entered her quarters for the first time in what felt like forever, she engulfed me in a heartwarming hug. Not much had changed; she now carried a full size trident, and we had specific roles to play in public, but at the core we were the same people as we were before.
I spent my days advising her on how to behave in public, how to deal with foreign ministers, and which boys were the cutest. Two years passed that way in quick fashion.
As the time passed, I made sure to keep an eye on my fellow advisors. They all advised the king, so I didn't see much of them, but one of them caught my eye.
Sir Scratch was a knight before he became an advisor, and he was the strongest fighter among the advisors. He also was the king's right hand man, trusted to run the country from behind the scenes. He never caused me any trouble, but I always felt uneasy around him since sometimes he seemed to be watching me.
Old Dualscar also seemed suspicious, but he was so far past his prime I never worried about him. He was the Queen's primary advisor; they had been working together for decades.
Meenah wasn't worried about the other advisors, so I tried not to worry about them as well. But one night, my fears were realized.
It was a week after the king passed away; he died in his sleep of an unknown illness. The Queen took control of the kingdom, picking up Sir Scratch as her secondary advisor.
I was in my quarters, reading court precedence's by candle light, when someone knocked loudly on my door. The noise startled me, nearly making me lose my place in the document. I wasn't expecting any visitors since the sun set a few hours ago.
But I couldn't just ignore it; it could be someone important. I bookmarked my text and put it on the desk. I picked up my candle and took it with me to open the door.
The door didn't squeak as I pulled it open, since I oiled the hinges often. The light from my candle barely illuminated the face of Latula as she stood bleeding in the doorway. She clutched her right arm with her left hand, desperately trying to keep the blood in. She had a horizontal scratch on the side of her pale face, and she leaned against the doorframe as if staying on her feet was a chore.
"Oh my," I clasped both hands over my mouth. "Come in." I moved to let her pass, and she staggered over to sit on my bed as I closed the door. I had some spare bandages in my desk, and I quickly retrieved them in order to wrap her wounded arm. "What happened?" I asked as I rolled up her sleeve. I tried to wipe the blood away, but the wound refused to stop bleeding. The bigger question that I hadn't asked yet was why she was here and not at the infirmary? I wasn't a medic, so my medical experience was extremely limited. The only thing I could do was try to stop the bleeding.
Latula didn't respond immediately. I could feel her gaze on the top of my head as I bandaged the wound, perhaps trying to decide if the story was worth telling. Or maybe she was wondering if she could still trust me.
"There was," she said slowly, "an incident." Before she had a chance to continue, somebody knocked on the door again. This person knocked with considerably more force, and I hoped they weren't about to knock my door of its hinges. I handed Latula the roll of bandages so I could let whoever it was into the room.
Dirk Strider was not even on the list of people I thought would appear, and it was a pretty short list, but there he was. He strode right past me, grabbing Latula firmly by the shoulders. She flinched away from his grasp, but there was nowhere for her to go. After shutting the door, I inched towards the pair slowly, wary of the older knight. I had only met him a couple of times, and our only full conversation had been about the weather.
"What have you done?" He practically hissed, his knuckles tinted white.
Latula grinned weakly at him, "It was pretty rad, wasn't it?"
End Note: There's going to be one more chapter on this one, so stay tuned. Thanks for reading, and if you have anything to say, feel free to drop a review.
