The carriage halted to a stop.

"We have arrived to the castle"

The coachmen said from the outside and immediately got off and opened the door. Chaddick got off and extended a hand.

"Appreciate the gesture, but I think I can get down myself"

Agatha said with a smile and leaped off the carriage steps and felt her feet hit the hard stone. Chaddick raised a eyebrow and signaled the coachmen to get the students's belongings. The coven followed suit and they gathered in front of the beautifully polished iron gates.

They all let out a breathe of awe.

In front of them stood one of the most majestic building Agatha ever seen.

The walls of the fortresses were made out of pure polished white marble, gleaming in the sunlight with a blinding glare. The turrets were deep navy blue, and glided with gold on the edges. Onto top of the biggest turret was a red flag, fluttering in the wind. And in the scarlet fabric, the lion that stood on it's hind legs never looked more magnificent. All around the castle, it was surrounded by lush green plains and small dots of the villages. She squinted her eyes and could see the vast expanse of the blue sea from beyond, where they had just been.

"No way."

Hester said, jaw slack. Dot was nearly sick with excitement, wearing a goofy smile on her face. Anadil had raised both her eyebrows, her red eyes wide. Even the rats perched at her shoulders were stoned with awe.

"Well, after you ladies"

Chaddick gave them a excited smile and swept his arm in a dramatic motion as the gates slowly drew open.

They stepped in.


If the outside was the most magnificent part of the Camelot castle Agatha had ever witnessed, then the interior was beyond that. The first thing Agatha had noticed was how huge the entrance hall was. It was far bigger then the one at the Academy. The entrance hall was a huge wide room with a huge domed ceiling above their heads, patterned with blue glass. There were fine marble pillars that held up the roof on both sides, lined up perfectly. The walls were painted white with golden patterns on it. There were servants flanked on both sides of the room, dressed in the perfect black and white attire. The floor was lined with carpet, brilliant red and embodied with the Camelot insignia on it.

Finally, at the very end, two beautifully carved white staircases ran up to another level. On that level was two ornately carved thrones, in lush red velvet and gold. No one was sitting on them.

Agatha couldn't believe what she was seeing, the expanse of the room, the luxuriousness of the furniture, somehow she was still waiting to get woken up.

Even Hester had no words to say, stunned by the grandness of the entrance hall.

Chaddick interrupted the silence by giving a slight cough.

"What did I say? Camelot never stops to take your breath away"

"I never could have imagined this to be real"

Agatha whispered softly, glancing at the huge portrait next to the thrones. On the portrait, she could make out two figures. Although it was blurry, Agatha could still see a man and a women painted on it. The man had features of golden hair and fair skin, with blue eyes. The women paled in comparison, with dull, tangled brown hair and simple brown eyes.

"Who is that?"

Hester asked, taking a look at the portrait at the end of the hall.

"That is King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, the late rulers of Camelot"

Chaddick replied, his voice unusually soft and less joyful. Agatha glanced over at him, raising a eyebrow.

"Why are you acting sad all of a sudden?"

She asked, watching Chaddick carefully. He turned around to look at her, as if suddenly snapping out of a trance.

"Just a bit tired from the ordeal, can we get someone to retrieve the students's belongings?"

Chaddick said, turning his attention away from Agatha. Agatha frowned and turned back to the coven.

"Looks like we should get some rest too, where may our quarters be?"

Chaddick whistled to a maid standing near by. The maid, a women wearing a simple fitted white dress and a grey apron, walked towards them. She had a mask of complete stillness and eerily reminded Agatha of a doll.

"By the way, Princess Sophie had requested to meet you four tonight at dinner in the dining hall. It starts by six o' clock, so I suggest you guys get ready later on"

The coven and Agatha turned towards Chaddick with raised eyebrows and shocked faces.

"Today?"

Agatha said in shock.

"Dinner?"

Dot whispered, raising her eyebrows.

"Dammit.."

Hester muttered underneath her breath.

The Captain gave them a cocksure smile, his teeth white.

"Don't worry, Princess Sophie is a extremely pleasant person. She is quite nice"

The maid next to them nodded too.

"Follow me, ladies!"

She said in a high voice.

With a sigh, the four all started to walk.


"Your rooms are in the left wing of the castle, on the seventh floor"

The maid said in the front of the group. They continued to walk down the hallway, with navy blue carpet at their feet, and golden doors flanking the sides. Occasionally, a portrait would be hung up on the wall, depicting the royalty of the castle. The interior of the castle was humongous, with many rooms and other hallways. The kitchen and servant quarters were on the the east side of the castle, second floor. The library, study and other rooms were stationed on the top floor, overlooking the grand expanse of the land around them. Royalty quarters were on the middle floor, the most secure and the most guarded, decorated lavishly. Agatha could only catch a small glimpse of the hallway before the maid scurried up the stairs.

Finally, on the seventh floor of the left wing of the castle, the maid walked to the end of the hall and placed a hand on the doorknob of a door. Breathless with anticipation, Agatha and the coven almost ran over, and watched the maid turn the doorknob.

"Bloody hell..."

Hester whispered as they burst into the room. The maid raised a eyebrow at Hester's choice of words and walked in the center of the room. The room was simple yet tastefully decorated, with four beds in the middle and glass paneled windows on all sides of room. The walls were light beige, and at each end of the bed was a small desk and a closet, with another room for the wash room. Soft light from the afternoon sun had washed the room in a golden tone, and Agatha couldn't help but feel a sharp pang of excitement. It was all happening.

"Now, ladies, I hope you get yourselves ready for your dinner with Prince Tedros and Princess Sophie at six o clock sharp, at the fourth floor!"

The four all gulped at the strict tone of the maid, who looked at them with hard look. The maid was probably older then them by a few years, for her green eyes held the glimmer of youth. Although, with her sharply tied up hair and slight frown, it aged her greatly.

"Your luggages will arrive shortly and there are appropriate dresses in the closet if you lack the attire for a formal dinner, I expect all of you four to clean up and look your best for the prince and princess. That will be all"

The maid spoke in a clipped and sharp tone, flaying the four with yet another emotionless stare, reminding Agatha of a strict mother.

She walked over and opened the door, before going out of the room, the maid glanced at the four.

"My name is Rose, and ask if you do have any questions"

They jumped at the door slam.

"She's a ray of sunshine"

Hester muttered, flipping her mop of hair over her shoulder before going over to the last bed, the furthest from all of them, before flopping onto the bed with a sigh of relief.

"Wow, this is soft"

Dot patted the mattress with her hand. She shrugged off her cape and walked over to the windows, watching the landscape.

"Why do we get this kind of treatment?"

Anadil sat on the bed and her three rats scurried over to the freshly poofed pillow, before sinking into it and huddled next to each other. Agatha walked over to her own and ran a hand on the cotton mattress.

"It's unbelievable, that they would provide something like this for us..."

"EYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

Agatha whipped her head towards Dot, who giggled excitedly, one hand on her mouth as she shifted through her closet that was stationed at the end of her bed. Hester groaned and propped herself up, glaring at Dot.

"What in the world has gotten into you?"

Hester snapped, rubbing her tired eyes. In a dramatic motion, Dot swept her arm towards her closet. Agatha let out a small gasp.

Dresses.

So much dresses, in every color possible, each one grander and more beautiful then the last, cleanly hung next to each other. Many of them were in different styles, with short sleeves that ended at the elbows or ones that were long and ballooned out at the end of the sleeve. The fabrics was different, with some that looked like water glinting with shards of sunlight while others looked more heavier, knitted tighter. Not only that, but shawls and headwear were also stuck on the higher shelves, with white elbow length gloves and others. At the bottom of the closet, there was a colorful array of shoes, from heels to winter boots, all clean and pristine.

"Bloody hell!"

They turned their attention to Hester, who opened up her closet and found something similar to Dots.

"The King is really really generous..."

Anadil said while inspecting her own closet, and raising a eyebrow as she pulled out a red dress, with silver at the sleeves and on the bottom of the dress. The fabric was almost sheer, but the color was still very bright.

"This is hideous.."

Anadil sighed, looking at the sheer fabric and made a disgusted face.

"You think? Look at this!"

Hester cracked, showing her friend a baby pink dress that had ruffled lace sleeves and a voluminous skirt, with layers and layers of the odious pink. They both burst out laughing.

"I'll wear this pink monstrosity if you'll wear that!"

Hester wheezed, doubling over in laughter.

"When hell freezes over!"

Anadil replied back, still chuckling.

"I think you two are just being spiteful!"

Dot smiled as she swayed along with a sky blue dress that had white lace on it and silver jewels. Although, Agatha considered whether she should tell Dot that it might not fit, she took one look at Dot's face, glowing with happiness, like a child unwrapping a present on Christmas Eve and thought it was best probably not too. She sighed and peeked at her own closet and saw the beautiful dresses that greeted her, the colors of each shining together like some other wordly jewel, before feeling a pang of anxiety and closing the door.

Back at school, they wore uniforms, of the same white buttoned shirt and grey skirt or slacks. And Agatha had felt comfortable with that, not wearing anything that would draw attention to herself. It wasn't like she wanted attention from anyone, she had never loved the way she looked. All the other girls of the Academy somehow had been gifted with extraordinary features, and all of them look the same with slim legs and amazing curves. And there she was, a twig compared to all of them with pale limbs and a flat body. She liked how the shirt covered her shoulders and arms and often pulled the skirt down to cover her knees while other girls discreetly tried to pull their skirt up more. But here she was, in less then a hour or so, about to dine with the finest royalty of Camelot.

How could she face them?

How could she wear a dress and look into their eyes, only to see mirrors that she would often avoid?

Agatha gritted her teeth and snapped out of her thoughts, feeling pathetic about worrying how she looked when the very other day, she had taken down a blood thirsty pack of Winters.

She released a held in breathe and looked over at the coven, with Hester and Anadil in fits of laughter as they continued to pull out flashy and garish dresses while Dot swooned over the shoes and was pulling at the gloves she had tried on.

Agatha rolled her eyes and smiled to herself before opening the closet doors and quickly scanning the dresses, feeling discouraged at all of them. None of them seemed like her taste and all were very bright colors.

"We better get ready soon or else Rose will have our heads"

Agatha said, before Hester finally stopped laughing and rolled her eyes.

"I already hate her and it's only the first day!"

"She reminds me of Beatrix"

Anadil replied and looked over at the dresses, sighing at each one. One of her rats had scurried over and sniffed at the closet, and Anadil reached over to pull out a navy blue one with a scoop neck line with small amounts of lace and ruffles. Anadil grinned at her rat and stroked it's small head, mouthing a thank you before closing the door.

"In what way?"

Hester asked before deciding on the plainest and darkest dress she could find, a dark blood red with minimal decorations with long sleeves and a high neckline that went just below her chin.

"In the way that both of them are seriously annoying and that they have that kind of a face I would like to punch"

Hester gave a laugh and tugged off her cape, before starting to unlace her shoes. Agatha smirked and tried to find a plain dress she could wear. She finally decided on a silver dress with elbow length sleeves and silk fabric. It had no such fancy decorations expect for the small silver buttons at the sleeves and a small ruffle at the neckline. It was better then nothing.

Unlike the three of them, Dot had never been so exhilarated in her life, to wear such rich and expensive dresses only fit for royalty. While the three opted for simple dresses, she had dug through her entire closet with barely contained glee before deciding on a beautiful lavender dress, with three ruffles for each sleeve, lace for the neckline and gold ribbons that lined each ruffle of the dress. She then paired it with white gloves and a small fan she found while scrounging the closet.

They spent the rest of the time trying to look as put together as possible, combing back their hair and washing their faces. Some of the maids has offered to make them up, but Hester declined their offers much to the objections of Dot.

There was a small mirror in their room and the four crowded around there, grimacing and pulling at the tight fit of the corsets inside the dresses. Well, all expect Dot who kept smiling at the mirror and pinching her lips and cheeks.

Hester turned around and looked at Agatha carefully.

"Not bad, teacher's pet. You clean up nicely"

Agatha rolled her eyes, but gave a quick glance at herself in the mirror and immediately turned away, shame coloring her pale cheeks.

"Thats only because for the last few weeks I hadn't washed my face and my hair was a mess"

Agatha mumbled, already hating the constrictions of the dress. It was tight and unbearable, and she felt like someone was squeezing her waist.

"Hester looks like someone's grandmother"

Anadil said slyly to Agatha. Hester turned around and huffed with annoyance.

"Shut up! This is the only thing I can wear without gagging!"

Anadil continued to cackle and Hester rolled her eyes. Agatha shook her head at them before glancing at the clock, to see the big hand already past the six and the small hand on the five.

"Crap, we're already five minutes late! We have to go now!"

Unsure in their new shoes and attire, the three girls teetered around, the heels of the shoes causing them to stumble around like baby deer learning how to walk. Reaching the door, they turned around to see Dot still glancing at the mirror, fluffing at her hair and batting her eyelashes.

"DOT!"

They yelled and Dot jumped before giving them a sheepish grin.

"I'm coming!"

She replied and hurriedly ran over, in her heels as fast as she could. Finally reaching the door, the four girls burst out of the room before heading over to the dining hall.

It must have looked very peculiar, with four new girls running down the stairs, their dresses flying as they madly stumbled down each step, yelling out loud and waving their arms around like lunatics and Hester cursing even louder every time she stumbled, which by chance was a maids on the floors stopped to watch the sight as they passed, hiding smiles before continuing to work.

Arriving at the fourth floor, the four girls kept running towards the entrance of the dining hall, with was lit by glass cased lanterns. The double doors were ornately carved and the walls were a lush aquamarine, and they slowed down before starting to walk towards the doors. Running a hand through her hair, Agatha could hear murmured voices coming from within the room.

"It's already been five minutes and they haven't showed up yet!"

"Calm down Teddy, its not that big of a deal..."

"Of course it is! I asked for Sader's best students to come over here and I doubt that the best students would show up five minutes late for a very important dinner!"

"Cut them some slack, they traveled over here and must be very tired and exhausted. Not only that, but Chaddick told us that something happened during the way here..."

Agatha could make out two voices, one male and one female talking in the room. Hester must have heard it too, for she gave Agatha a wide eyed look as her hand gripped the doorknob. Agatha's heart thudded dangerously in her chest as Hester slowly turned the doorknob. Anadil and Dot held their breath as Hester started to open the door, and Agatha closed her eyes for a brief moment.

Hester opened the door in a wide arc and a warm gust of air greeted them. They all stood frozen in the doorway, gaping with mouths open. The two people Agatha had heard before stopped talking and seemed to freeze and stare at them too. There was one girl, whom Agatha assumed was Princess Sophie. The boy sitting next to her with the miffed expression on his face was probably Prince Tedros.

No one said anything for a long time and the only sound they heard was the fire crackling at the back of the room. The two groups stared at each other with mixed expressions ranging from absurdity to fear or even just plain shock.

Finally, Prince Tedros stood up and cleared his throat. He crossed his arms together and surveyed each and everyone of their faces, expression growing more annoyed.

"You four are all very late."

We will continue the awkward conversation in the next chapter (which will be pretty exciting)!

Again, TAGATHA WILL HAPPEN (please be patient guys, these two weirdos need time to fall in love with each other)

This chapter was so long and I'm trying to write 1,000~2,000 words long and this exceeded it (3,400!?). So I'm sorry but I hope this has been enough. Also, I hope you enjoyed Hesterdil in this chapter since..um...love is love? And I always adored Hester and Anadil, I thought they were the badasses I could never be.

PLEASE STAY UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER (and like and review and follow)

toodles

-princessthornofcassia