There really is no excuse for me to be posting this so late, and I apologize. This was long overdue unfortunately. I hope you all had great holidays & were happy, and I'm sorry if you aren't right now, but I do hope you will find your geatest happiness.

Thank you for reading my rushed intro, here my chapter!

Until She's Crowned

Chapter 10- Lesson Number One

Dear Diary,

Last time you've heard from me, I had decided to agree upon an arrangement my fairy godmother, had made.

So while today is going to be my first princess lesson, I'm a wreck.

Never before in my life has the thought of me possibly being royalty crossed my mind. And now, it's thrown in my face!

Though I'm still very upset with my godmother, but she's the sister of my mother, so this could be the closest thing to actually physically having my mother by my side.

Ugh, right now I'm a mess. To be more organized, here's a list of things I have to do:

·Attend Princess lessons

·Audition for Juliet (WHICH ARE TODAY!)

·Study for finals

·Finish newspaper article on Romeo & Juliet

Aurora quickly snapped a few pictures on her Polaroid.

Both Alice and her officially agreed to cover a full report on the theatre production, Alice was writing, Aurora was photographing. This task was taken on by them as soon as Aurora returned home yesterday, and invited her friend to partner up; mostly meant as an apology for ditching her the other day, but also as another distraction from her problems.

While Alice was already drafting her first paragraph, Aurora was prepping for her performance. Having a drama teacher like Ms. Carroll of course meant in character auditions.

All girls wore flowing dresses or modest costumes set for the time era, while the guys were their own Prince Charming or the story character Robin Hood.

Aurora herself was wearing a flowing blue dress, a renaissance type, and small silver and gold flowers charms were braided into her hair. Despite it being a frosty winter and any breeze that entered the backstage area would cause her to shiver, she felt perfectly fine.

She's lying.

She was a nervous wreck all day, picking at her fingernails or biting her lip.

The backstage helpers the drama teacher had recruited from an intern's agency were ushering all the students, making sure they were in proper order from first to last name.

Since her birth certificate had "Rose" as her legal last name here in the states, that meant her audition would not only serve till near the end, but extend throughout a little over school hours.

The stage manager led the students out into the auditorium, giving them chance to settle into seats, Alice with arms full of paper and bags, Aurora reread the script under the dim lights as the auditionees took their turns to recite each scene precisely.

Currently, Gaston was having it, being rather impressive, having everyone swooning.

Only if he was modest as he was cocky.

Vanessa seemed to enjoy it. Smiling and all, too proud of the outcomes of her audition.

Several students went up until the stage manager called for the next student; Aurora trudged up the stage, nervous but still excited. She looked to the audience only to face a bright light.

She exhaled.

"I'll be performing Juliet's monologue , act four, scene three." She heard a few pages flip to follow along with her.

Confidently, she held up two of the various props that were available to everyone throughout the try outs-a simple plastic dagger and an empty flask. Putting both aside for now, she started.

"Farewell!—Heaven knows when we shall meet again.— I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life; I 'll call them back again to comfort me." Aurora called waving to an imaginary person as if they just left for the curtains. She used the first lines to set the mood for the angst to come.

She continued through the next. "Nurse!—What should she do here? My dismal scene I needs must act alone." She sank her knees to the stage floor and picked up the flask she had sat down earlier. "Come phial,- what if this mixture do not work at all?" She eyed at the empty glass, almost in doubt like she imagined Juliet would have done.

"Shall I of force be married to the count?" She gave herself a pause of reluctance, again imagining herself in Juliet's place.

"No, no-" she eyed the other prop with thoughtfulness in her quick glance. "...this shall forbid it." She gently sat down the flask, and with her other hand drew the fake dagger by its handle.

"lie thou there." Aurora recited, having missed the last bell of the day, and played it off as charming music that she allowed to fit into the scene. She lay down the dagger.

As Juliet, she put suicide into consideration, if it would all be worth it in the end. Nothing can be worth more than true love, right? Giving up your happiness to please and honor your duty would basically be the right to your execution since your heart isn't speaking a voice into this. But fearing the unknown so that you may be able to love again or continue loving can also drive you away from your goal if you continue.

She carried on the scene, and the light's flash dimmed the more she got used to it. That's when she noticed that Belle and Mulan were supporting her in the crowds of dozens as they eagerly leaned in, Belle appearing happy with her acting.

Aurora tried hard not to break out of character for smiling. 'I'm actually decent!' She thought happily.

Almost reaching the end, she spoke each line as clearly as she understood old English (which was actually pretty well), and reached her conclusion.

"Or, if I wake, shall I not be distraught, environed with all these hideous fears, and madly play with my forefathers' joints?" Aurora nearly cried of fear. Acting of course. But she figured out the character's thoughts quickly. A usually optimistic person seeing everything from a pessimist's point of view is something she definitely relate to at the moment.

She held up the flask once more, and wandered off to another imaginary person. "Oh, look! Methinks I see my cousin's ghost seeking out Romeo:- Stay Tybalt, stay!" Aurora warned.

And that was when Aurora heard the doors swing open, letting in a golden light shine from the school hallways instead of the blank pale one that's been shining in the blonde's face for the past few minutes.

Aurora passed it off, and gently spoke, "Romeo, I come; this do I drink to thee.—" She raised the vial to her lips and pretended to drink its invisible contents.

She kept her gaze steadied on the bright light, almost as if allowing Juliet's known fate to take her in.

Following the golden light, came a pale man in black clothes, with snow sprinkled in his dark hair.

He turned and looked at Aurora and that was when she broke character.

Her reaction faltered, suddenly remembering Aunt Mallory. The Queen of Moreise. And her princess lessons. Is there some sort of penalty for ditching the queen for your own needs?

Paying attention to Ms. Carroll and her acquaintances for the first time, they seemed concerned about her well being, some even turning back to see what got her so tangled up, and a few students even caught up to it.

Determined to finish through, she averted her direction from Diaval's, who seemed just as confused as everyone else was. Most likely seeing his charge on stage in a dress.

Aurora felt a blush creeping up on her already rosy cheeks. "O, potent ...potent draught, thou h-hast chilled me to the... heart !—" She stuttered. "My head turns round ;—my senses fail me." She said almost breathlessly. Already she has suffered embarrassment. Now quoting her reaction? And oh lord was she wheezing?

Already having heard a few snickers from the crowd, her determination regained inside, and she cried out "— O, Romeo! Romeo !—" And allowed her upper body to drop.

Applause was let out just like the few others, but a bit more enthusiasm was heard through each clap, and she knew only a few select people received this much.

Aurora politely gave a small courtesy, and trampled down the stage stairs. She pulled back her belongings from Alice, and she knew all three had questions that they couldn't properly voice rushing through their heads.

Her sudden rush out of the place seemed to have raised many eyebrows, but soon their attention returned once the stage manager called out "Next!"

"She's late!" Mallory declared. Her pacing stopped.

Rosetta stopped as well. "Well, your highness. She is a teenager."

"But she knew that she was supposed to come today!" The queen's shoulders hitched forward. What if the girl decided that she didn't even want to give her true given life a chance? That girl was the only heir alive! And she didn't have any other appealing choices. Birthing her own was out of the question, and giving the crown to Ganancia wasn't something she was keen on doing.

But what could be so important? When she was Aurora's age, she was being charmed by a young man who was to lead her downfall. "Besides," The queen turned to look to her sister's portrait. "what could be more important?"

Rosetta decided to give up, knowing how sometimes the queen could be, single minded. Stubborn at best.

"Rosetta," The queen asked her assistant. "Has Finch tried to contact us yet?" Jeffrey Finch was the head of the royal press secretary and has acted as Mallory's personal publicist on more than one occasion.

The redhead shook her head. "No madame. Though Ms. Pea did leave a message this morning." Bonnie Pea was the co-head director in the program.

"And what did she say?"

"She wondered if any of the media agencies have found out of you being here."

"Well as far as I'm concerned, no camera flash has graced my presence." The queen responded sarcastically.

"And that's how I responded."

Mallory gave a smile of approval. "Very well, now where is that girl?"

"Oh, your majesty." Rosetta cooed in a teasing tone. "Aurora might just be hanging back in the library. Why, when I was in high school, my friends, Tink and Silver...or was it Mist? Well. Whatever we called her, used to make me study extra hours after school hours to make sure I don't fall behind." She then continued to proceed about her experiences.

It was actually refreshing. Having grown up with tutors, and absolutely no friends, well besides the palace staff. And Leila. And another has been. Speaking of which, where is their daughter?

But Mallory was only half listening though.

She heard a small commotion coming from the parlor of the building, soon the quick steps trailing behind it.

And who was the cause of this? Just her fifteen year old goddaughter who was dressed in a pale Grecian style dress, and flowers that were braided into her hair.

"Sorry I'm late!" Aurora gasped her apologies.

Mallory now, couldn't be furious towards the girl, now that her mind was distracted by the picture of Aurora's interpretation of...what was it? A princess? A goddess? 'Should I weep now?' The queen asked herself. Was she destined to prepare the future queen while she played dress up as if she was a child?

"What are you wearing?" Was all she could make out from her throat.

Aurora looked down at the dress, and brushed the snow from its soft fabric, "Oh, this was for a school thing." She answered in a voice that betrayed her by revealing that this 'school thing' was more important than its meant to sound.

Mallory shrugged the strange tone off. No reason to waste no more time by asking questions she could figure out later. She stood to her full height, and Rosetta followed in that suit. Together, both women guided the nervous teen to her office (of course, Mallory didn't touch or acknowledge her).

Rosetta shut the the doors behind her, and allowed privacy apart from the rest, and set down the queen's notes on the study.

Mallory drummed her fingers over her dark mahogany desk, reading over the instructions she had carefully planned out for today. She raised her bad foot slightly so it wouldn't feel as pressed against the hard wood floors.

"Good afternoon, Aurora." She announced like a school teacher welcoming the day to her class. Prepared and organized with a lesson plan in mind.

Her niece politely returned the salutation, titling her as "Godmother".

She tilted her head. "How would you greet me properly?" Mallory asked, turning gently on her good foot.

Aurora was taken aback, not understanding their was a certain way she should greet her aunt. After all they are family. Maybe since she's a queen, there might be a more formal way of doing so?

She dipped into a slight bow, pinching the cool colored fabric of her costume.

Mallory instantly found flaws in every curve she would spy.

Her right foot wasn't behind the left, her knees weren't bent into a curtsy, the sentiment was too quick and would rather appear impolite at a social gathering; these were things that mattered to a person of nobility.

She clicked her tongue, and took a deep breath. It appeared it would be much simpler to get rid of all flaws before beginning anything else, she thought through her eyes.

Making adjustments to posture, teaching her ways out of that callow state she's comfortable in, confirm to make sure that those "clothes" weren't to be seen worn again. Well at least in her presence. As well as in front of the other diplomats. Or just anywhere, with anyone.

Yes, the queen could picture the perfect princess the girl could become, under her training.

Smiling a Cheshire smile, she allowed for Rosetta to arrange Aurora into the better curtsy.

They redid the greeting, where the teen only wobbled on her knees slightly this time, and it was dragged on a tad too long, but it certainly did better than the one before it. They'll work on it.

The phone rang. Rosetta quickly went to pick it up, and Mallory directed Aurora's eyes to the bookshelves behind her desk.

Her fingers delicately traced across the spines of each novel, then pulled out three books, and stacked them on top each other with one arm.

With an eye glance, the teen quickly caught on, and took the stack from Mallory.

She then ordered, "I want you to read all of these, doesn't matter when you finish them, just as long as you finish by March."

"Why?" Aurora's doe eyes widened with question.

Rosetta held the telephone to her shoulder, "Ma'am, it's the prime minister, Clarion."

The queen gave the waved the girl off, then accepted the call from the prime minister.

"Good afternoon, prime minister." She greeted, leaning back into her office chair.

"The afternoon, dear? It's barely two hours past midnight!"

"Time differences." She then frowned deeply. "Why are you calling so late at night?"

Mallory could hear Clarion's tired sighs through the other end. "I actually meant to call three days earlier, but a few meetings with the council actually got in my way."

"Oh?" How is the council?

"Anyways, I've noticed that your stay in New York has extended to over a week?"

"The problem?"

"Your vacations there never last that long."

"I'm sorry, but I've never said this was a vacation."

"Then what word should be to describe your situation?"

"Private matters. Business."

"And what work would you need to settle in New York? It wasn't in your schedule."

"It's private matters, I told you, Clarion. I'll tell you when I believe its time. Besides, I have almost all forms and files with me."

"I respect your wishes, but you'll indeed have to tell me sooner. It isn't right for a queen to be out of the country for too long."

"I'm sure they won't miss me too much."

"And the media? Cameras could soon be flashing at the mention of your name." you mean my title?

"And why worry? I've done this before. And accomplished it without getting caught."

"You have, but it all was accomplished in less than a week. You are now over a week. How long are you planning on staying?"

"Until March."

There was a pause, "You have duties here, Mallory."

"And what are they? Besides standing next to a fool because the council doesn't even allow me so much as to even voice an opinion in private."

"Mallory…"

"What does that say about my importance? I keep everything together for them to only reject my help! It's obvious they won't accept me despite my natural line."

"They're the council. Your council. They are our serving congress, a government for Moreise."

"And I am their queen."

She hung up, falling into the comfortable leather of the chair that hid behind her desk. Sighing like always when the world turned against her.

But there were other things to worry about.

Aurora had patiently waited, and her fingers were skimming through the pages with her eyes. At the distant and angle, perhaps the lighting too, she looked like Leila. Strands of hair tucked behind an ear, pale long dresses, and a book in hand.

"Presentation is everything. Work on your posture. Study the characters, take in their actions. Look up to them." Mallory explained with a cleared throat.

With that she dismissed her, but not before she added, "And don't let that be part of your wardrobe."

Aurora acknowledged her comment with a nod, embarrassed slightly but she understood and left with Diaval.

There left the crown princess, Aurora.

At this rate, Im'm not certain when I'll post the next chapter. This one has just been rewritten so many times...

I'm truly sorry for making so many of you wait for this story, and I'm currently in the process of rewriting some of the chapters (nothing too dramatic), and organizing all my thoughts for this fanfiction. I'm definitely not going to abandon it since I am a bit too attached to this storyline now, and I do think I'm growing as a writer.

Thank you to those who took the time to read this. It took me more than I wanted to finish, but I was motivated by my mind and readers to finish this, as it turns out, it's been a year since I first posted this story.

Thank you.