(A/N: I over-lapped a little so this'd run smoothly. Like peanutbutter. Anyone know if 'this'd' is really a word? Anyways, this is a little short but I hope you like. Review please! )

I looked back at the rest of the Royal Family. The king had passed away some four years ago, so there stood three young men; two blonde ones grinning foolishly at the three of us young women, and the third black haired one—Adrian I knew—standing somberly between them, giving no interest to anyone in particular.

I observed Charming first. Blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, a muscular build, a rather suave smile, but still a little bit too smooth for my taste. Something too… too SLICK about him. Definitely a player, I decided.

Then I skipped over to Henry, who had the same blonde hair, blue eyes, muscular build, but a little stupid, it seemed. But there's two kinds of people like that; simpletons who were honest and nice, and oily barbarians. I didn't know which.

I looked at Adrian finally. He had black hair with rather long bangs he frequently brushed out of his eyes and it was a little messy. But all for the better, because I suppose it drew girls' attention and I know for a fact that it's supposed to be attractive because I heard Belle whispering to Cinderella about it behind their fans. He had amber colored eyes and tan skin, and a lanky build. Then I saw him turn his gaze on me and smirk. That same smirk he gave me not eleven years ago. That same smirk that drove me insane. That same smirk I felt like wiping off his face by means of a hard punch. I averted my gaze quickly, carefully taking care not to blush. I am happy I am not made to blush easily.

We seated ourselves at the tea table as such (clock-wise): Camilla, Hilda, Cinderella, Belle, Charming, Henry, Adrian, and then me. I hated being stuck next to Adrian. He still had that stupid SMIRK on his face and I wanted to punch him.

The queen and my step-mom immersed in conversation quickly, and Cinderella and Belle were busy flirting outrageously with Charming and Henry. I decided this was a good time to make origami from the stiff cloth napkins on the tables. I really was bored enough to consider doing something like this. First, I made the swan. Then, the candle and flame and was half-way through making a frog when a voice interrupted my concentration. It had come from Adrian, I realized, and had completely missed what he had said.

"I'm sorry—what? I wasn't listening," I said, not caring I was being rudely blunt. Well seriously, what did I care? Adrian seemed to still be his cocky-self.

Adrian smirked again. Argh. I meant to smack him, but instead clutched my teacup and sipped it. "I SAID that it's been awhile since I've seen you. Have you gone deaf since then?"

"Oh yes," I said putting down my teacup, "Especially when I don't care for the person talking to me. It's rather convenient." And to my fury, Adrian found this amusing.

"You still don't care for me then? If I remember right, you DO pack a pretty hard punch," he smiled at me; a boyish grin that must make the girls flip. But not this girl.

I nodded and smiled sweetly, "Why thank you, you're too kind. And I do believe that I've improved since then."

"Well I had better not make you too angry, though I would find it amusing."

"I'm sure you would," I said bitterly, sipping my tea again.

"Oh and that reminds me," he said, "Did you ever learn how to sword-fight anyway? You did seem pretty determined about it." Did I learn how to sword-fight? DID I LEARN HOW TO SWORD-FIGHT? Hah, you bet I did. And I must say I am rather adept at it, not to brag too much, though I believe I do have some bragging rights.

I laughed. I did, I laughed however odd that may seem, "Of course I did! And I am one of the best." Adrian cocked a brow, which I might add, was pierced. I wondered how his mother reacted when he had gotten home. Her son… her precious, precious son with a lip-piercing and an eyebrow pierced. OH NO! (sarcasm, that was sarcasm) Actually, it doesn't look half bad… Argh, what am I saying? No Alice, you will NOT become one of Them. 'Them' refers to the usual ditzy Court Ladies (i.e.: Cinderella, Belle, Veronica—or rather, Snow White—, Aurora… and the list goes on and on!) who can't do much more for themselves than opening their fans. And even then, some have their servants do that for them. This world of the Court is truly mystifying and unstable. Even though I despised Adrian with all my heart, I had to give him credit for at least being rebellious.

Adrian opened his mouth to say something, but was cut-off abruptly by his mother. "Oh Adrian dear, can you go fetch a servant to get some more tea? It seems we've quite run out and I've not a clue where Hillary disappeared off to."

Adrian rolled his eyes, but got up and disappeared down the hall, muttering something under his breath. Hah. Serves you right, you no good servant-user. I turned my attention away from him and instead observed the people at the tea-table.

Charming was flirting outrageously with Cinderella (no surprises there folks) while she flirted back giggling and batting her eyelashes. I wondered how much trouble I would get in for throwing my tea cup at them. I decided against it. Belle and Henry were having a nice conversation at least. Belle really isn't as stupid and flirty as she first appears. She just follows Cinderella most the time. Henry seemed pretty nice. Camilla and Hilda were reminiscing about their children. You know the: "They were so adorable. Where DID the years go?" And the embarrassing things: "Oh, I remember when she was born. What a smooth bottom she had!" And even WORSE: "Remember when they got potty-trained? I have it all recorded!"

Man, this is so boring. I thought.

I sipped down the rest of my tea, and just as I put the cup down, a chair scraped down in front of me. I expected to see Adrian (and that reminded me: Where did that boy disappear off to?) but instead I was greeted by…

CHARMING?! What did he want? I thought he was having a great time with Cinderella. If he was looking for more flirting, I wasn't about to give it to him because: A) I despise him. B) He's a player. C) Cinderella would kill me.

He smiled at me. "Hello Alice. How are you?" I shuddered inwardly.

(A/N: This one is rather small, yeah, but I'll crank out another soon. WHAT DOES CHARMING WANT?!?!?!?! 00 Well we'll see my lovelies. Tune in next time! )