Hello, hello! Chapter three is here! I hope you enjoy, thank you for reading!

- Y.T.F.

When I came home late that night, exhausted and emotional, sleep came with ease. There was no need to lie awake, plotting. My epiphany had arrived in a neat little box tied with a bow, complete with everything I needed to do. I had spent the remainder of the meeting trying to blend into the background, listening to the royals and forming my own scheme around theirs. My last thoughts before I drifted off to sleep were of the first time my parents ever took me to Disneyland, and that wonderful feeling of finally arriving home after being away for a long time. I thought of the first boy I ever kissed back when I was ten, and how he had teased me when he found out I liked Disney documentaries. I thought how happy I had been when I graduated from High School and got the job as a custodian. I would have swept 'til the end of my days and been perfectly happy.

But now Disneyland, my home, was closing. Unless…

I swept with a vengeance the next day, going so far as to climb up to the very top of a ladder to knock down a cobweb on a shop window in Fantasyland. Peter Pan tried to knock me off, but I was feeling so sentimental about everything that all I did was smile at him, gaining a jealous glare from Tinker Bell. Around one 'o clock, my work day was over and the afternoon crew was rolling in. Abbie invited me to go shopping with her in celebration for not getting fired, but I turned her down. "I need to talk with Alex about something and it may take a while. Sorry, Abbie."

"It's alright. Maybe tomorrow, then. See you!" She twiddled her fingers at me while she headed for the train, oblivious to the dire situation we were all in. I had considered telling her all that I knew, but decided against it, at least for now. Alex had to be the first to know.

Before I went to the Magic Shop, though, I stepped into the Penny Arcade. The building didn't have any doors, just a wide, open front that beckoned people to come in, drop their coins in the machines, and play. Front and center of the arcade was a small table where the infamous fortune teller, Esmeralda, sat shuffling her tarot cards. I liked Esme a lot, because she was one of the most consistent things about Disneyland. There must have been some good magic in her, because she has lived in the same place on Main Street since the Kingdom opened. It was the only house on the entire street, wedged between the Silhouette Studio and China Closet shops. She even had a front porch, complete with chairs. On the second story was where her old practice used to be, and your could still see the sign advertising Esmeralda Fargo's Palm Parlor. Today in her old age, she spends most of her time giving out fortunes for mere change in the arcade.

"Good afternoon, Esmeralda." I smiled, walking towards her table.

"Why hello there, child. I knew you would be visiting today. You would like a reading." She gave me a toothy grin right back. A few of her remaining teeth were capped with silver and gold.

"Of course you did, Esme. You know everything. How much are your charging for fortunes?"

"Twenty-five cents." I dropped two coins into the jar on her table, making sure to tip the old woman. She pulled out a deck of blank, white cards. Spreading them with her wrinkled fingers, she ordered me to pick one. Feeling bold, I chose the one farthest to the right. She set down the rest of the deck and covered my card with her hand. I kept my fingers crossed, hoping it would bring me the good luck I needed. Then, Esmeralda began to speak.

"While you are not satisfied with your present condition, you must put up with it for a time. A change will surely come, but not in the manner you expect. You will join a club or society and will meet a member who will change your entire life, for by the influences of this friend you will meet others who will aid you to wealth and happiness. Your disposition is too romantic, but it will change and you will be able to retain and enjoy a high position in society. Your love of dress will make you some enemies, but they will not be able to harm you. Avoid riding on boats. You are fond of flowers and music and will find your life partner in one who is fond of them also. A garnet is your lucky stone and blue your lucky color. One of your lucky numbers is two."

And with that, she lifted her hand, the prophesy printed there in blue ink.

"I will never understand how you do that." I lifted the card and examined it, reading it over once more. "This was just the reassurance I needed. Thanks a lot, Esme. You take care!"

"Good luck!" she called after me, and I couldn't help but think of funny it was that she knew luck was what I was after. With one last look at my card, I stepped out out onto the empty street.

Now, Alex doesn't like to talk about himself much, but I knew better. Lawrence, the shop owner and most talented magician I'd met, told me everything. When Alex was just a baby, he arrived on the tiny gold dot under the castle that, according to legend, marks the center of Disneyland. Amaya found him there and gave him to Lawrence. Amaya never did tell Lawrence anything about Alex, except his name and that he was an orphan. It eats away at him sometimes, not knowing about his past. I can see it in his eyes. One thing is certain, though - the Kingdom is his home. Like Mickey and the rest of the toons, he doesn't fit anywhere else.

When I entered the shop, Alex was trying to light a candle with his wand. "Hey, Lil," he said. "Look, Lawrence taught me go to make a flame." He scrunched his eyebrows together, glared at the candle, and made a small, quick motion with his wand. It fizzled, smoked, and sparked, but no inferno.

I coughed and shuffled my feet. This was going to be a difficult conversation. "Hey, uh, Alex? Can I talk to you?"

He put his wand down and looked at me with concern. "Sure. What is it?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Actually, I was thinking that maybe we could talk upstairs? I mean, if you don't mind closing up shop for a bit."

"No, I guess that's fine. There hasn't been any business today, anyways." He moved from his place behind the register and jumped to reach a small pull-string that dangled from the ceiling in the back corner. One strong tug, and a ladder came sliding down with ease. "After you, m'lady."

Feigning a smile, I crawled up the ladder and into the tiny studio Alex and Lawrence shared. I strode across the floor and sat down on the single bed that was pushed up against the one window in the apartment. It moaned when I sat, springs sensitive to even the slightest movement.

"So, what is the big secret you have to tell me?" said Alex, doing his best to hide his nervousness. He pulled up a chair and sat across from me, but I didn't make eye contact. Instead, I fiddled with a loose string on the faded patchwork quilt.

"It's about the meeting last night. I overheard something. Something you're not going to be happy about." I turned my head even more, wishing I could be like an owl and turn it all the way around. "It's about the Kingdoms. Nobody's visiting anymore. I only passed one person on my way over here."

"Well, yeah. Things have been that way for years, Lil. It's just a dry spell is all."

"No, but the thing is, it's not. We keep saying it is, that all of a sudden people are gonna start coming like they did in the old days, but they won't." I took a deep breath, like I was preparing to dive into a deep, cold pool. I hate water, I really do. "Princess Lavinia said that unless people start seeing the documentaries and visiting the parks, the company is going under. By Summer, the Kingdoms will be closed."

I was tempted to cover my head, in fear of the rage that would follow. Alex Isn't one to blow up or even get angry, but oh, when he does, it is terrible. However, he didn't go into a fit the way had I expected. He buried his face in his hands, falling silent. I thought maybe he'd never move again.

"I think I have a plan, though, Alex. Something I can do. Something we can do."

"What?" There it was, that anger. Bubbling, brewing, about to boil over.

"Well, the royals are planning to throw a ball in the spring. They said they're going to invite a bachelor prince, because maybe someone would fall in love with him and become a Princess. But then I was thinking about how nobody ever goes to Disney balls anymore, let alone any suitable maidens." I swallowed. This was the part I was nervous about. "I was thinking that if the prince fell in love with me, then it would make a good story, like back in the old days. You know, common custodian wins the heart of a Prince. Then people would want to watch the documentary and Disney would be saved and… yeah."

I realized about halfway through when Alex began shaking his head at me that everything I said sounded ridiculous.

"And what am I supposed to do, huh? Can't you just whirl off to the ball and seduce the stupid prince on your own?"

"Look at me, Alex," I retorted, mattress clanking as I stood up. I gestured to my own, very un-Princess-like form. "I'm a fangirl sweeper from Realm Twenty. I don't know how to whirl off to a ball or win over a prince, and you're the one person I knew who cares enough to help me."

I stared at him in earnest, watching his brown eyes shift from angry, to sad, to surrender.

"Alright. I'll help."

My arms went limp at my sides. "You will?"

"Yes, I will," he said, sighing and rubbing his temples. A striped suspender that clashed with his over-sized shirt slipped off his shoulder, and he didn't even bother to adjust it. As I reached over and fixed it for him, he gave a small smile and added, "Looks like you've already got cleanliness down."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Now I just need the beautiful voice and a face to match it."

With a groan, he stood for the rickety wooden chair, stretched, and shuffled towards the ladder. I followed close behind, smiling at the tiny room my friend called home. I knew he was embarrassed by it, but I couldn't think of any place more perfect.

The first step we took was drawing up a list. I sat criss-cross on top of the counter, scribbling the various traits that came to mind when we thought of Disney Princesses onto a piece of paper.

"Manners, knowing which side of the plate your fork goes on, dancing…" Alex mused.

"M-hmm."

"They all stand like they're wearing back braces."

"Alright," I said, jotting down sit up straight.

"They're kind. Kind, patient, and humble."

"Uh-huh."

"They're all good at something, like singing."

"Slow down a second, what was that last one? Kind, patient, and helpful?"

"Humble." He peeked over at my paper. "Add good penmanship to the list. Jiminy Cricket, Lil, how do you even read that?"

"Well you write if it's so bad!" I said, chucking the pencil at him.

"Ow! Princesses do not throw things!" He flipped the page over to the clean side and restarted our agenda, writing in tall, neat cursive. I stuck my tongue out and crossed my eyes, but that was just to cover the fact that on the inside I was gawking at his annoying amount of talent for everything from handwriting to chess. Except magic. I'm telling you, that boy is terrible at magic.

After about an hour of mulling over all the general traits that make up a Princess, Alex set down his pencil and lifted the page to his eyes. "It looks like we have six main points with lots of little things under them," he said. "There's poise, manners, intelligence, talent, personality, -"

"And appearance."

Alex adjusted the paper and crossed something out. "I think you need to work on your confidence before you worry about how to style your hair, Princess."

I gaped at him, then snapped, "I have plenty of confidence!"

Alex didn't seem to hear, though. He just nodded and kept on scrutinizing the list, jotting down a few more things when they came to mind. When he looked up at me, he said, "You know, I think we should change your name."

"What? Why? What's the matter with Princess Lil?"

"Well, it's short for something, isn't it? Think of all the original Princesses, they never went by nick-names. I mean, I can't even spell Pocahauntus, but did she go by Poco just to make it easier on poor saps like me? No!"

"I guess that makes sense. But I don't really like my full name," I said, wrinkling my nose.

"What is it? 'Lily'?"

"No, you're close, though. It's Lilium." I stuck my tongue out, not liking the way the name flowed off my tongue. Nobody ever called me Lilium, not even my parents.

"Lilium, Lilium… Lilium Quinton. Princess Lilium. You know, it kind of works. Liliums are flowers, aren't they?"

"Uh, I'm not sure. What in the world are you doing?" He have dove underneath the counter, bobbing to the surface a second later with a dust-covered tome entitled "Flowers of the World". Releasing it with a thud, he began flipping through the fragile papers, muttering "liliums, liliums…"

"Aha!" he said, pointing at an illustration. He lifted his chin and smiled, rather proud of his discovery. "There you are! That's what you're named after."

I glanced at the image on the page, and then looked up at Alex with suspicion. "Alex, why do you have a huge book on flowers? Should you be the one we turn into a Princess?"

He snapped the book shut. "Any aspiring magician has one of these! You gotta know your flowers if you want to be any good."

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Princess Alexander." He shoved me off the counter and I laughed, letting myself forget for a moment all that awaited us.