Demure scowled at her schedule, the pink paper mocking her with glitter and flowery cursive writing. For her Legacy Year, the schedule was determined by a student's destiny, though there was room for some electives, but it could only be electives tailored to her destiny. If a Charming wanted to attend Princess Design, that would be approved. But a class like Magicology? Nonexistent. She tried to go to the counselor, to change it, but all she gave was this condescending smile and the automatic reply of "sorry I can not help you with that."
She was already dreading stepping into her first class. The room was wrapped in pink wallpaper but also covered in dark fuchsia roses. They wrapped and twisted around the chairs, desks, even the board had roses growing along the sides.
The next thing the princesses noticed was a woman laying on the teacher's desk, slumped over as gracefully as she could.
"Is she dead?" Several of the princesses gasped at the thought. One of the more fragile girls even fainted.
"She's asleep, not dead." A girl with bright auburn hair pulled into a tight braid rolled her eyes. She stood out with her dark green hooded jacket, sleek black jeans, and black boots that had the image of an arrow running along the sides. On the back of her hoodie was a black bird in flight. Demure thought she looked familiar, but she couldn't remember where she saw her. As she spoke, the woman began to stir from her slumber. The roses that covered the room began to wilt and die, leaving behind pink petals.
"Oh hello." She yawned, standing up right while stretching her arms and legs, "Sorry about that, I tend to doze off."
Now that she stood up, the class got a better look at their teacher. She was tan skinned brunette with curly streaks of dark pink and wore a long, magenta flower dress with waves of black and full in bloom roses covering parts of it.
"Now will everyone please take a seat anywhere you would like."
After finding out their teacher was not dead, the girls shuffled into their seats. Demure sat in the middle section while Ambrosia and her friends sat in the front. Unfortunately, she was separated from Lilypad, but the auburn haired girl with the hoodie sat to Demure's right though she didn't seem to notice that class had begun or was just not invested as the rest as she was tuned into the music that was blasting from her headphones. Demure pulled out a small case from her purse, revealing a pair of glasses. She slipped them on, the blurry, far away image of her teacher now clear as day.
"My name is Briar Beauty, Queen of Beauregarde and I will be your teacher for Princessology." She wrote out her full name on the board in chalkboard pink. That name struck her like lightning, it was her aunt teaching the class. While they were not related by blood, her uncle Dexter married Briar's sister Rosabella Beauty from the tale of Beauty and the Beast. She knew her aunt and uncle very well, who were in a better relationship than her own parents. They admitted that it wasn't love at first sight, they stayed together due to their friendship and for the sake of the kingdom. Whenever there was a party or a ball, Demure found herself always gravitating to them. They didn't have low expectations of her, they treated her like their own daughter. They even supplied her with books that would've been viewed as unacceptable by her parents. Though she wasn't particularly close with the Sleeping Beauty side of the family, what she did know was that Briar Beauty was supposed to be asleep for 80 more years. She knew that the infamous curse rendered Sleeping Beauty and the kingdom of Beauregard for 100 years, yet the last generation hit a roadblock in the tale. She didn't quite know what exactly happened, only that the Evil Queen had something to do with it and it caused quite a mess.
"Now can someone tell me what it means to be a princess?" Demure was snapped out of her thoughts by her question.
"A crown?"
"Technically yes, but think deeper."
"Our destinies, obviously." A number of girls agreed with Ambrosia's response.
"Not every destiny starts or ends with a maiden becoming a princess."
"Courage in the face of adversity." Demure spoke out, she didn't know what compelled her to answer, though she wished she hadn't as every eye was now on her. Even the auburn haired girl gave her the side eye.
"That is a wonderful answer, Ms. Demure." Briar smiled at her, "For your first assignment, I would like each of you to write an essay on a princess who has gone through her destiny already, now as for the rest of the semester…"
After an hour of reviewing the curriculum, Demure gathered her things and moved onto her next class. Well, she would have, if it wasn't for someone tapping her on the shoulder.
"Hey, just wanted to say I thought your answer was really interesting." It was the auburn haired girl from before.
"If you think otherwise, I can-"
"No, in fact I agree with it." She shook her head, "Too many people think that princesses should stand around and look pretty even to themselves. We face just as much danger as the princes do. I'm Wren Hood."
"Demure White-Charming."
"Any relation to little miss fairest?" She gestured to Ambrosia White who was already walking out of the classroom with her friends.
"She's my sister."
"Family dinners must be tough."
"They're okay." By okay, she meant awkward and on some occasions nonexistent. Then the realization kicked in.
"You're the Wren Hood, the Faytube star."
"I wouldn't call myself a star, I just make music and covers." She shrugged her shoulders casually.
"I love your albums! Your collab with Melody Piper was amazing! But what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on tour with your dad and his band?"
"Headmaster Grimm decided that all Legacy Year students should be in class in person this year, so no castleschooling for me."
"I don't see you as the princess of your story though."
"Because Grimm decided that I was destined for Maid Marian, a woman couldn't possibly Robin Hood, she must always be a maiden, blah, blah." She imitated Headmaster Grimm's low gravelly voice.
"Guessing your dad wasn't very happy with that."
"Nope, he was fuming about writing a song about the cranky old man, pretty sure he was strumming the first notes when I left."
Demure laughed, "Would you like to walk with me? I'm pretty sure we have the same Damsel in Distressing class."
"Lead the way, Charming."
While Demure was thriving in the highest tower, Talon was drowning in the lowest of dungeons. His General Villainy class was literally in a dungeon, a dark, cold dungeon. The chairs and desks were poorly made, it smelled weird, and he was stuck in the very front with everyone's eye on him. It had been like that since he stepped in. Some looked at him with jealousy, desire, or seething hate. Some saw a catch, a way to get into one of the most notorious fairy tale lines, while others saw a rival. In other words, nobody here liked him.
Well, almost nobody. He glanced at Antionette from his seat to the right of him who was stacking a group of cards into a tower in boredom.
"Can anyone tell me what it means to be a Villain?" Cerise Badwolf scratched the words on the chalkboard with an ear piercing screech. The whole room was silent except for a few coughs and not so subtle whispers among the students.
"Anyone?" Cerise's eyes examined the room, picking out her next prey, "Mr. Queen?"
Talon flinched as he was now under the stone cold gaze of his teacher, someone that his mother disrupted their destiny and probably wanted to rip him to shreds like paper if he stepped out of line.
"It means to be-to be mean a-and-
"To be a villain means to be unmerciful, cunning and downright nasty to anyone who crosses you." A cold and proud voice spoke out. Talon turned to see a young woman dressed in an all black ballet dress with sharpened black feathers draped across her slender figure, she wore pointed ballet shoes and a small metal crown made of feathers and thorns. She smirked at Talon as if she just struck a sword into his chest, victorious in her first blow.
"While I admire your initiative Ms. Marquess Swan, please let the other students answer for themselves." Cerise gave the feathered princess a warning stare which she shrugged off. Talon was internally relieved he didn't get to finish his answer, he didn't know anything about being evil. He was raised by the Good King, yet everyone had this horrible image of him being the next Evil Queen.
The screeching of the bell brought back to reality, he had dozed off to the end of class.
"Everyone except Mr. Queen may leave, I would like to have a word with you." He froze up at Professor Cerise Badwolf's stare.
As the rest of the class left, Antionette gave him a sympathetic look that made him want to run after her as soon as she left the room.
Now. it was just Talon and the Big Bad Wolf herself.
"Mr. Queen, I would like to offer up an apology if I have made you uncomfortable during class."
"No it's not that I just…I haven't quite figured out what being a villain, being the Evil Queen, or rather being the Evil King means to me." He rambled, hoping his hands would stop shaking in fear as her eyes looked over him like a predator assessing its prey.
"That is understandable. You were raised by your grandfather, a king respected by many in and out of the Good Kingdom. Perhaps I can help you understand your destiny better."
"Really? You can do that?"
"Think of it as an extra credit assignment." She explained, "I would like for you to write me an essay on what being the Evil King means to you. You have until the end of the semester to complete it."
"Thank you, Ms. Badwolf."
She gave him a fanged smile, "Lesson one of being a villain: You don't say thank you to anyone, even to fellow villains."
"Oh Roosevelt catch me~" A maiden not so subtle fainted in front of the young brunette prince who was holding a stack of books.
The prince made no attempt to catch her, instead he sidestepped out of the way and continued walking. The princess huffed, yet she could not stay mad at him, no one could. His curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail similar to old aristocrats, his well put together white shirt under a maroon jacket with golden stitches resembling roses. Many princesses spoke of his blue eyes that sparkled like sapphires hidden under a pair of glasses. Roosevelt Beauty was one of the most eligible prince charmings in Ever After. With ties to both the houses of Beauregard and Charming. Princesses from far and wide longed to be the next Beauty, while he was destined to be the next Beast, a destiny he wanted no part of. He knew that such a destiny was not meant for him, to be cursed into a hideous form for being selfish and ugly on the inside. He was not selfish or ugly, nor was his father when he became a beast. He was kind, selfless, and courageous. Though their marriage wasn't love at first sight or true love (like the Whites proclaimed), it blossomed from a friendship to romance.
"Roosevelt, care to comment for Just Right?" A voice that gave him headaches shoved a microphone in his face.
"Whatever ploy you schemed this time, I want no part of it."
"I just need confirmation on a certain spawn of the Evil Queen being your roommate."
"I don't know what you're talking about." He did know, but he wasn't about to give that kind of private information to a deplorable girl like Marigold Lockes. Her sunny blonde hair gave her away as the future Goldilocks. Her lacy dress was a honey amber color and she wore a bear skin fur coat that made him grimace at the poor creature's fate. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes, like a desperate fisherman about to catch a bite on his bait. He inherited his mother's ability to see past appearances, to see a person's inner emotions in the form of auras. What he saw in Marigold's heart was greed, a self consuming greed.
Her smile wavered then turned back when her cameraman was focused on her, "Well then, what about the rumors of you and Petunia O'Hair being seen tog-"
"Don't you have a trashy tabloid to write, Goldie?" A dark chestnut skinned boy strolled in front of him, confidently. His skin was not of flesh but of wood. No one could tell the difference from far away, but his facial features also were wooden, finely detailed lines etched into them. The boy's limbs also audibly creaked and whined whenever he made wide movements.
"It's Marigold, not Goldie." She huffed, "And Just Right isn't a tabloid, it's-
"A reliable news blog for everything just right." He repeated the same statement she always said at every one of her segments. "Why don't you take that nonsense to someone who actually cares, Goldie?"
Marigold pouted and stormed off, her cameraman bumbling after her.
"I swear she gets worse and worse every year."
"Thanks for the save. I'm not used to being rescued, that's usually my job."
"No problem, so is it true?"
"Don't you start too, Augustus Wood." He frowned disappointedly at the wooden boy.
"Hey, it's one of the most popular rumors anyone at this school has ever heard." He shrugged his shoulders, "The son of the Evil Queen attending Ever After High and sleeping in the same room as the heir to the Beaumont kingdom."
"If I were to confirm or deny it, you will not use it for your next segment on Knock on Woods."
Knock on Wood was Augustus Wood's own news blog, a site devoted to the truth unlike Just Right. The site was formed due to Augustus' own code of honesty, wanting to spread the right kind of information to the students of EAH. Unlike his mother, Cedar Wood, the descendant of Pinocchio did not have a truth spell casted on him, but he still held honesty in high regard.
"As your friend and confidante, you have my word that I shall not speak or write a single word that comes from this conversation."
"Yes, my roommate is Talon Queen, the son of the Evil Queen."
Augustus' eyes widened, "What is he like? Does he have magic? Is he really evil? Does he curse peopl-"
"I'm going to stop you right there before you go into reporter mode." Roosevelt interrupted him. "I haven't seen him do any magic so no on the curses, and he's…strange."
"Strange?"
"No, it's more like he's trapped in a room he can't get out of yet he has the key." The beauty prince wasn't quite sure how to describe Talon Queen. When they first met, he kept trying to make himself small, hide within himself, and barely spoke to Roosevelt. But whenever he was with the Wonderlandian heirs, he came out of his shell, spoke more, and his aura was more outgoing.
"I think you've spent too much time with the Wonderlanders." Augustus laughed, "You're speaking Riddlish."
"Right. I have to get to Advanced Wooing." Roosevelt didn't like the class, as a prince, he was forced into the class. Yet as he walked down the hall, he thought more and more about his unusual roommate.
*Crawls out of a grave* I LIVE! Sorry for the late updating on The Class of Future Tales. School started up again for me, I was swapped with homework, lack of motivation to write etc. But I'm back and motivated to keep writing!
In this chapter we meet new characters!
Wren Hood-Daughter of Sparrow Hood, FutureMaid Marian
Marquess Swan-Daughter of Duchess Swan, Future Swan Princess/Odile
Marigold Lockes-Daughter of Blondie Lockes, Future Goldilocks
Augustus Wood-Son of Cedar Wood. Future Pinocchio
I appreciate feedback; kudos, hits, and comments are appreciated!