Greenly watched Amber rummage through her trunk. She pulled out several items; a skull, some black candles, and several spell books. Then finally, she found what she was looking for. "Bingo!" Amber took out two bottles, each containing a different colored liquid. One was a glowing teal color and the other was glowing orange. "This is an invisibility potion." Amber said as she held up the teal potion. "And this is the visibility potion." She held up the orange potion. "With these babies, we can get to where we need to go without being seen. Now remember, it's really important that we keep this a secret." Amber said seriously. "Nobody can know about this, promise me you'll keep this to your grave, do you promise?"
Greenly looked into Amber's eyes. They looked very, very serious. Even though she wanted to make a friend, Greenly had to make sure that this fairy was trustworthy herself. "Well, if this secret is that important to you, then we should take a royal oath."
"A royal oath?" Amber questioned.
"That's right, I may not approve of most royals, but this is a tradition I always follow no matter what." Greenly held her hand out. "Give me your hand."
Amber hesitated for a moment, then she put away her potions in her skull backpack and took Greenly's hand. When she did, Greenly held onto the fairy's hand tightly, but not too tightly. However, this 'royal oath' was only something Greenly made up. What she was really doing was using her magic touch; her sensitive skin. As the daughter of The Princess and the Pea, Greenly can detect things by touching them. It's how her mother felt the pea under all those mattresses. So, when Greenly touches someone, she is able to detect any kind of lies or wrongdoings of that person. If they're being honest, Greenly feels nothing. If they are lying, she feels a sharp pain in her hand.
"Amber, are you taking me somewhere safe?" asked Greenly.
Amber nodded. "Yes."
No pain.
"Do you want to harm me?"
"No!" Amber responded, a bit surprised by that question.
No pain. And now, the final question. "Amber, do you really want to be my friend?"
Hearing how serious Greenly sounded, Amber was caught off guard again by this princess. Why did this princess have these trust issues? Has she ever made a friend in her life? But seeing her roommate so serious, Amber knew she had to give her an honest answer. Amber looked at Greenly, them slowly nodded. "Yes."
No pain.
Greenly let out of her roommate's hand. "Thank you." She smiled, feeling a lot more relieved. Now she can venture with this fairy in peace. "Alright, let's go!"
Amber blinked. "Oh! Uh, right." She took out her invisibility potion.
"But you're a fairy. Can't you just cast a simple invisibility spell?" Greenly asked.
Sighing, Amber looked at her reflecion in the potion bottle. "Not really, I maybe a fairy, but my magic isn't all that strong. So, I rely on potions, wands, charms, and stuff like that. This is a perfected potion I made. I tested my last batch on a goblin guard at home. He said it tasted like water just as it was suppose to, but then he got nauseus, barfed out the potion, became visible, then his barf made the whole floor invisible!"
"Yikes!"
"I know, right?" Amber uncorked the bottle and took Amber's hand. "C'mon. Let's get this adventure going." She took a sip and within moments, Amber had vanished. She handed Greenly the potion and the with took a sip. It tasted just like water and so far, she didn't feel nauseus. Amber took back the potion and put it's cork back on. She slipped it into her invisible pocket as she held onto Greenly. "Okay, don't let go of my hand or we'll both end up losng each other!"
Greenly nodded. "Got it!"
Amber slowly opened the door. The girls walked out together and Greenly slowely closed the door. Amber began pulling Greenly in the direction of the secret place. As they walked down the halls, Greenly saw how nobody noiced them at all. Normally, she didn't need a potion to be invisible, but Amber was a girl who definitely drew attention. So, this potion was necessary. Suddenly, Amber stopped moving. She yanked Greenly close to the wall.
"What's going on-" Greenly whispered, but Amber quickly shushed her. Greenly looked ahead and saw why Amber stopped. Walking toward them was a girl with wavy black hair streaked with purple that matched her purple eyes. She wore a purple and black dress that flowed behind her as she strode down the hall. Amber felt horror creeping inside her. Greenly felt mother goose-bumps raising upon her skin, because they both knew exactly who that was.
Raven Queen, daughter of the Evil Queen. Queen Pea had told Greenly many stories about the Evil Queen and her vicious deeds at Ever After High; poisoning apples in the castleteria, casting spells on teachers to get straight A's, making almost every student at school the butt of her evil pranks, including Queen Pea. Greenly had never met Raven, but she recognized Raven because she looked exactly like her mother from Queen Pea's yearbook picture. Queen Pea specifically warned her daughter not to provoke any villains whatsoever, or they will retaliate with greater force.
When Raven turned around a corner, Greenly and Amber sighed in relief.
"That was too close!" Amber gasped.
"Yeah, no kidding." said Greenly. "So, that was the Evil Queen's daughter?"
"Yeah, best to avoid her." Amber warned. "Let's go. We're almost there." She and Greenly walked a little longer and finally, they arrived at...the laundry room?
"The laundry room?" Greenly saw the walls of washing mahines and large shelves of detergent and cleaning supplies. "What are we doing here?"
Amber brought out her visibility potion and took a sip. She became visible and handed it to Greenly. Greenly sipped it and was visible again. Amber then took out her key. "Prepare to have your mind blown." she said with a smile. She walked to the vacant piece of wall next to the washing machines. She placed the key against the wall and motioned it as if she was unlocking a door. Suddenly, the wall shimmered a bright gold color and an ornate gold and white door appeared!
Greenly gasped in shock. Amber took in her friend's stunned reaction. The fairy opened the beautiful door. "Welcome to the secret room!" She and Greenly stepped inside. Amber couldn't believe what she saw. Inside the secret room was one of the most posh looking rooms she ever saw in her life. There were snack machines, drink machines, a large mounted mirror screen T.V. and lavish furniture to sit on. There was even a kitchen!
"This is nuts!" Greenly shouted as she walked in. "Has this room always been here?!"
"Yeah, my mom is good friends with Tinkerbell, who's family helped build the school from the ground up. They built this hidden room that will only appear with this magic key that Tinkerbell generously gave me for my birthday last year." Amber smiled and inhaled the greatness of this room. "With this room, we don't have to worry about any royal snobs bugging us if we want to chill and hang."
"I like the way you think, Amber. I like it a lot." Greenly said, holding two fairyberry sodas she took out of the fully stocked refrigerator. She gave a soda to her friend. "This calls for a toast!" She raised her soda. "Here's to our new-"
"Awesome!"
"Whoa! This room is sick!"
Gasping, Greenly and Amber spun around and saw two teenage boys standing in the room, their mouths hanging wide open.
"Oh, crud! I forgot to shut the door!" Amber quickly flew to the door and slammed it shut. She flew back to see the faces of these intruders. The first boy had scruffy brown hair that was trimmed short with bangs that hid his brown eyes. He wore an orange hoodie with black cargo pants, and orange sneakers.
The other boy had short, light blue hair that matched his wide light blue eyes. He wore a dark blue baseball cap facing backward, a white t-shirt, a blue jean vest, baggy blue jeans, and blue sneakers.
The boy wearing orange looked around as he kept his hands in his jacket pocket. "Look, we don't mean to bust in on your girl chat, but we need a place to hide!" he explained quickly. He frantically looked for the best hiding spot.
"Relax, the door goes back to being a wall when it closes. So, you're safe." said Amber.
"Really?! Phew!" the boy in blue wiped his forehead. "Thanks, babe!"
Amber glowered. "It's Amber!"
"And what are you guys hiding from?" asked Greenly.
The boy in orange raised his hands up in defense. "Nothing!" When he took his hands out, Amber spotted something sparkle in his hoodie pocket. She flew over and reached into the pocket, pulling out a royally gorgeous diamond choker. "HEY!"
"Oh, yeah? Then what's this?" Amber questioned. Her eyes flashed. "Unless you want to be covered in warts from head to toe, tell us who you stole this from!" She raised her hands, black magic sparked at her fingertips.
Seeing that he was hopelessly outmatched, the boy sighed in defeat. "I stole it from Briar Beauty." he groaned.
Greenly blinked. "Briar Beauty?" That name brought back painful memories for her.
Amber paused. Then looked at the choker in her hand. "You steal from the royals?"
"Well, duh! Royals carry all the best stuff! That choker alone is worth more money than I get in a whole month's allowance!" The boy sighed again. "So, I guess you're going to rat me out, huh?"
"Hmm...no, not really." Greenly said, confusing the boy. "What's your name?"
The boy blinked, then looked away, as if he was deeply ashamed. "I'm... Ian Crywolf."
"CRYWOLF?!" Greenly and Amber shouted.
"Yeah, yeah, son of The Boy Who Cried Wolf blah, blah, blah." Ian grumbled. The Crywolfs were famous in the Fairytale world, or more rather, infamous. Everyone knew the story of the lying shepherd boy who repeatedly tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his town's flock. When a wolf actually does appear and the boy again calls for help, the villagers don't believe him and the sheep are eaten by the wolf. But that wasn't the end of the story for the boy. After his flock was eaten, the boy feared the worst from his father. But when his father heard the news, instead of reprimanding his son, he decided to take his son on a little trip; a trip into the bitter adult world.
The father decided to show his son what he does for a living; be a con man. They ventured into all kinds of villages to observe adult's tactics firsthand. Precisely calculated cons, well executed pickpocketing, and learning to read the people they intend to rob. And one of the most important lessons the boy learned...was how to lie properly.
Once the boy grew up into this life, he made enough money to start his own business. Despite being a family of powerful business people in Ever After, the Crywolf family were considered as villains; villains who should never be trusted. And like his father, Ian was well-educated as a lying con artist.
"Look, I know my family's got a bad rep, but if Briar wasn't such a jerk to me, I never would have stolen from her! I saw Briar in her dorm having trouble opening her trunk because she lost her key. I asked her if I could pick the lock for her. But she took one look at me and brushed me off like I was insulting her!" he huffed.
"So...how did you get her choker?" asked Greenly.
Ian shrugged. "When Briar went to get Blondie Lockes to help her, I unlocked her trunk, stole the bling, locked the trunk, then made tracks all the way here."
"Huh. Not bad, Crywolf." said Amber, handing Ian the choker.
Greenly turned to the boy wearing blue. "And...you are?"
"I'm Bentley Blue, son of Little Boy Blue." he answered. "So, what kind of club you got going on here?"
"A club that hates royals." Amber answered, her words fiery.
"Really? So, what's the deal with her?" Ian turned to Greenly. "She's wearing some expensive looking clothes and jewelry. And that crown is solid gold. Are you a royal too?"
Greenly nodded. "I am, but not the kind you think I am. I'm not some superficial spoiled brat like Briar and the other princesses. So, Amber told me about this hidden room so we can find a place to hang without those dumb royals bugging us." She blinked. "You know...I think we got a good setup here."
Amber, Ian, and Bentley stared.
"What are you talking about?" asked Amber.
Greenly looked at her fellow outcasts. "Think about it, the four of us obviously don't fit in at this school and we probably never will. But if we stick together, maybe our school life here might not be so bad."
A dead silence. Finally, Ian spoke. "So, what you're saying is...we should all be friends? Cause, I'm not real good at making friends."
"Well, neither am I." Greenly admitted honestly.
"Same here." said Amber.
"I honestly think I can't make anymore friends if I tried." Bentley added.
"I think it's a great idea." said Greenly "I mean, we can't survive this school on our own. There's a reason why there's strength in numbers." She went to the refrigerator and grabbed two more sodas. She offered it to Ian and Bentley "What do you say, guys? Friends?" She gave the boy a welcoming smile.
The boys were unsure, but they could use some more friends. Besides, they were both thirsty and that fairyberry soda looked refreshing. "Okay, I'm in." Ian took the drink gave smiled a little. So did Bentley.
Greenly cleared her throat. "Okay, let's try this one more time." She raised her drink. "Here's to our new lives at Ever After High. It may not be perfect, but it's not all bad either. So, let's make the best of it...together!"
Amber, Ian and Bentley stared at Greenly for a moment before toasting their sodas together.
"That was a pretty good speech, chick." said Ian.
"Really?" Greenly asked, surprised.
"Yeah! Not too corny, not too long. It's simple, it says it, and it works!" Bentley complimented. He took a big gulp from his soda and let out a huge belch.
"Whoa! Who swallowed a seal?!" Ian laughed. Amber laughed too. But Greenly was silent. Normally, belching out loud like that would give Greenly a sharp whip on the knuckles from her mentor who taught her everything about royal etiquette.
"I bet I can top that!" Ian began chugging and waited a few moments before letting out a great big belch. "Come on, princess! Let 'er rip!"
Greenly blinked in surprise. "Me?! Uh, I'm not sure..."
"Aw, come on! Go for it!" Amber insisted. "Just let loose! We're school kids after all! You're allowed to take a break from being all prim and proper!"
Greenly looked at the fairy, then she grew a thoughtful look. "Can I...really do that? I mean, as a princess, my actions should never bring shame..."
"So what?" Amber replied. "There's plenty of time for you to act like a princess, but not enough time to be a teenager! So, you're entitled to cut loose!"
"So...burping is how I can cut loose?" Being raised and sheltered in a family of royalty, Greenly knew very little of how to act casual with commoners.
"You can do more than just burping! Just do whatever you like!" Amber said. "For example, going to the Royal Rumble Bowling Alley in the village! Or go window shopping! Or eating fast food!"
"Ooh! I recommend The Herald's Hamburgers! They're not only cheap, but they have the best burgers around!" said Bentley.
As her schoolmates bounced back and forth all kinds of ideas. Greenly started to feel...happy. A lot happier than she felt when she first came here. Greenly drank her soda, waited a few moments, then belched, it wasn't a big one though.
"Hey! Not bad!" said Bentley. "Not exactly a winner, but not bad!"
As her friends laughed and belched together, Greenly heard her phone ping. She put down her soda on the table and looked at her phone. It was a text message from her mother.
Mama: How's school so far, Honey? Did you do well with the other royals?
She hesitated, but Greenly knew exactly what to tell her mother.
Greenly: I sure did, Mama. The royals here are very welcoming. And I even made some new friends!
Mama: That's great! I'm so glad to hear that! I'll let you go so you can hang with your new friends. Stay in touch and call me if you need any help with anything.
Greenly: I will, Mama. I love you.
Mama: I love you too.
Sure, she didn't make any royal friends, but Greenly didn't care. None of the royals she met so far were half as funny or interesting as these people. And Greenly was actually looking forward to the rest of the school year.