Short chapter, but with how I've been lately, any kind of update is a sign of a miracle. Definitely more to come!

Chapter Two

On the outside, Diana Cavendish had the perfect life. Born into one of the city's wealthiest families, she had never wanted a day in her life. Her father had been an esteemed judge, and her mother a beloved doctor. They had brought honor to the family—and herself by extension. Her perfect grades and extracurricular activities at school made others idolize her, people clamoring to be her friend, or just to associate with her on the most basic of levels. She was beautiful and refined, not a day going by with a single hair out of place.

Yes, Diana Cavendish had the perfect life, indeed. She had no room or right to complain.

But that was only a mere outsider's opinion. There was much more going on behind the scenes; things that made this 'perfect life' lackluster, fake.

Instead, for the longest time now, Diana felt her life was anything but perfect.

The respect she garnered was all because of her name, nothing more. Her grades were perfect because it was expected of her, not because of her love of school. Being the teacher's favorite was an empty feeling when it was only done based upon insistence. Image was everything. Cavendishes were elite.

And Diana played the role superiorly. To strangers, she was the immaculate heiress. She was proud without being arrogant, demure without being rude.

Yet that's all this was: a role to be played. An act. One Diana was the ideal fit for.

And it was one she had never wanted anything to do with.

Things hadn't always been like this, however. There was a time where Diana remembered being carefree, happy, and hopeful; surrounded by the love and warmth of her parents, knowing that she would continue to be loved no matter what because her parents cherished her. Not because of her name or status, but simply because she was their daughter.

She hadn't always been a puppet on a string. She hadn't always had to work to jump expertly through every flaming hoop held out to her. She hadn't always dreaded waking up each day, knowing the life she was living wasn't truly hers.

Everything changed once her father passed away when she was seven, and her mother three years later only days after her tenth birthday.

With the matriarch and patriarch out of the picture, and Diana still only being a child at the time, her aunt took up the role as head of the family. Only they weren't really a 'family' anymore. The disdain her aunt had felt towards her mother all their lives continued even after her death, so her aunt only pretended to mourn the passing of her sister. Inside she was celebrating. At last she was the one with power; no longer overshadowed by her 'perfect sister' or the 'hotshot husband.'

The Cavendishes were about to enter a new era, and even at the tender age of ten, Diana knew that the future was foreboding. Done out of a prideful ego, not continuing love of a family name.

Diana had been kept around simply because her parents' will left her in custody of her aunt, though even before her parents' passing, her aunt had never worked hard to hide her ire for the youngest Cavendish. She was housed and given the basic necessities, but the love that had once surrounded her had been snuffed out. She became cold and bitter as she grew into her teenaged years, and the closed-off personality she adopted made it easier for her aunt to mold her into the perfect doll for society to gawk at.

While her aunt was vile behind closed doors, she too could play a role perfectly. And she pulled off the leading role flawlessly; being charismatic and humble and everything else expected of an established family head when in the public's eye. At the end of each day though, she had no qualms berating Diana for every little thing she could pin on her. The higher her aunt climbed in high society, so too was Diana expected to replicate that success in school and day-to-day life. By the time she was a freshman in high school, she was already being pressured to apply to colleges, coerced into declaring majors she had no interest in at all. Now a senior, she was only so far from the most pivotal change in her life.

And it had all been meticulously, maliciously, planned out for her, leaving no room for her own input or desires anymore.

Diana had tried rebelling against her aunt on occasion, but a sharp tongue and a quick hand were enough to eventually have her submit. Even though she continued to stew in her own silent hatred and anger for what her aunt had done to her family name, Diana matured and realized that the best way to defeat her aunt would be to simply bide her time and follow her orders.

Still, all this did little to fill the void in her heart left by her parents.

The jarring ring of the school bell was able to reach Diana in the depths of her cryptic thoughts and memories, and she stopped her practiced note taking with a heavy sigh. She had zoned out for most of the lecture, yet somehow had been able to write clear and concise notes regardless.

A practiced skill, obviously, she thought dryly with a roll of her eyes as she collected her things.

"Diana!"

The shrill cry from right next to her would have caused her jump had she not grown so accustomed to it as well. Plastering on a smile, she turned to face the redhead.

"Barbara and I were going to go off campus for lunch since Professor Babcock's class is cancelled. You wanna join?"

"No, thank you, girls," she declined politely. "I think I'll just head to the library to get an early start on tonight's assignments."

Barbara Parker and Hannah England were probably the closest things to friends Diana had. They had started out as fan girls, following Diana everywhere she went and taking every opportunity to prove to her that they were worth her time. In one of her weaker moments, though, Diana had given them the time of day, and now the three were near inseparable. Diana was certain the two only continued to be her friend because of the popularity it brought them; surely it wasn't her riveting company that kept them here.

She could see the two of them wanting to complain and try and drag her off campus anyway, but after nearly four years of friendship, knew their attempts would be for naught.

"Okay," Barbara was the one to reply. "We'll see you in Lukić's then?"

Closing her eyes to make her smile seem even more sincere, Diana nodded. "Of course."

That had the two of them beaming and they retreated from the now-empty classroom in a fit of giggles. Diana just shook her head at their leave, a long-suppressed memory of a similar joy of her own surfacing and leaving a bitter taste in her mouth.

She really had been fully intent on going to the library, at the very least for the peace and quiet it brought if nothing else, yet she found herself coming to a stop in her trek across the courtyard as she saw the most peculiar sight.

A girl—who clearly didn't attend the school if her appearance was anything to go by—was coming down from one of the thickest trees on campus, the ease at which she did so impressing Diana for only a second before she tossed the thought aside in favor of snidely thinking the girl must be part monkey.

Her aunt's snark permeated her mind then as it always did, demanding she go find out what the girl was doing. After all, a Cavendish didn't attend a school overrun by hooligans.

Squaring her shoulders and brushing off any lingering traitorous thoughts—when was the last time Diana had climbed a tree?—she strode over to the ruffian.

Clearing her throat, she spoke clearly, "Don't you know it is rude to spy on others?"

Her pride flared as she saw the girl jump, and she allowed a small smirk to grace her face at the reaction. By the time the girl had actually turned to face her, however, her features were back to their stoic preset.

Although this stranger's piercing, beautiful red eyes had Diana nearly forgetting her role momentarily.

Who even had red eyes?

"Well?" Diana pressed then, hoping to get back on top of the situation.

"I- uh…" the girl mumbled, looking anywhere but Diana. "D-Don't you know it's rude to sneak up on others?"

Diana's façade gradually faltered with the return quip, her shoulders relaxing and body overall becoming less tense.

That had definitely not been the answer she had been expecting. Still, she couldn't afford to act like it had caught her off guard.

"If those others are somewhere they clearly don't belong, then I don't find it rude at all; I think it is a necessity," she replied confidently. "Now please state your business here. You obviously aren't a student."

At Diana's final words, the girl's eyes flickered with indignation—and was that a glimmer of hurt?

"Well, I'm terribly sorry my appearance offends you, Princess," the girl bit back. "Surely at a ritzy-ditzy school such as this, you've been taught to never judge a book by its cover; maybe you need to learn to apply that to real life situations."

The malice with which the girl spoke was enough for Diana to let her guard down once more, and she let her features soften just a bit.

"I apologize," she said shamefully, looking away from the girl briefly. Focusing her attention back on those peculiar rubies before her, she added, "That was a very rude thing for me to have assumed."

The brunette seemed a bit surprised at how easily Diana had handed over the reigns, as her own gaze softened before she seemed to be overcome with nerves—if the subtle pink of her cheeks was anything to go by—toeing the ground beneath them with her scuffed up sneakers.

"I mean… Y-You're right that I don't go here, but just because I'm not dressed like you shouldn't be the only reason for you to assume that."

Diana had to admit the girl was right yet again. Scowling, she berated herself for letting her aunt influence her behavior from so far away yet again.

"May I make it up to you somehow?" she asked, realizing she was having better luck in the conversation when she wasn't acting in others' best interests.

The girl seemed to ponder over something for a second before she grinned.

"Is the library here any bigger than the one in the city?"

Diana was caught off guard yet again, and for a second, she just stood there blinking at the girl before her.

"Um…" And was she really stuttering now? "Do you mean bigger in size, or bigger in its expanse of books?"

The melodic giggle that flowed from the girl before her and to Diana's ears had her shivering, and she didn't even pay any heed to her aunt's voice screeching at her for the moment of weakness.

"Wouldn't a bigger building mean more books?"

The coy, playful look in those shimmering red eyes was enough to let the rest of Diana's walls come crumbling down, successfully burying her aunt's influence in the rubble. Another smirk was plastered on her face before she was even aware.

"Not necessarily," she responded with an equally joking tone. "Maybe the extra fifty square feet is just for show?"

Diana didn't even care when the girl's next bought of laughter caused her heart to flutter and her smirk to morph into an easy smile. She hadn't enjoyed talking to someone this much in forever; there was no way she was about to let this opportunity pass her by.

Her aunt be damned. It felt good to rebel again.

"At a school such as this? I wouldn't even be surprised," the girl replied.

Diana allowed herself to chuckle a bit as well, since it was true Luna Nova did like to flaunt its wealth—the large archway at the school's entrance doing just that. Still, she wasn't entirely satisfied with the girl's reason for being on a campus where she didn't belong.

"So, if you came onto campus for the library, why were you up in a tree?"

The brunette went ramrod straight at the jab, the rate at which her face became just as red as her eyes amusing to Diana.

"Um… I-I- uh…"

Seeing the girl closing in on herself, even going as far as to take a step back from Diana as if she would need to bolt any second, Diana found herself immediately wanting to put the girl back at ease.

"I didn't mean for that question to sound so accusatory, I apologize again," she explained. "While I am quite curious why you were up there—or how you even got up there—I realize it's not necessarily my place to demand an answer from you."

"I just like to watch the students…" the girl mumbled so quietly Diana had to strain to understand.

"Why are the students here so much more fascinating than at your own school?"

The girl froze again, stammering out some unintelligible answer before she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry!" she exclaimed almost frantically.

And then she took off. Diana had only taken one mere step forward in an attempt to stop her before the girl was gone from the vicinity.

For the second time in not even a half hour, Diana found herself blinking absently, at a complete loss for words.

She hadn't even gotten the girl's name…