The next day, Greenly was awoken by her alarm clock that hung from her bed frame. She reached out and slammed it off. The sleepy princess yawned as she got up and stretched. She pulled back her sparkly bed curtains and looked down, all the way down. Since her bed was so high, it nearly touched the ceiling. Thanks to a shrinking potion, Greenly was able to pack all twenty of her favorite mattresses to sleep on. Greenly turned to the two enchanted teddy bears that were still sleeping in sweet bliss. Smiling, Greenly petted her beloved plushies, their light brown fur felt so soft and fluffy to the touch.
Deciding to let the toys sleep, Greenly stuck two fingers in her mouth and whistled sharply. Next to her towering bed, two pink enchanted unicorn slippers opened their glittering blue eyes and flew to the top of the bed with their little wings. They placed themselves onto Greenly's feet and gently lowered the princess to the floor. Ever since she was young, enchanted objects had always kept Greenly company in the castle.
"Morning..." Amber groaned once she staggered out of bed, her messy hair held up in a mangled ponytail. The fairy rubbed her tired eyes and yawned. "Well, let's get this nightmare over with..."
"Oh, don't worry, Am. I'm sure school won't be that bad." said Greenly. She had already changed into a black sleeveless blouse with a short white skirt with green polka dots. She had to make sure her crown was at a perfect jaunty angle just how she liked it.
"Easy for you to say." Amber said. "You're a princess, so you'll be surrounded by the beautiful people. Meanwhile, I have to put up with all the social rejects like trolls, ogres, and..." She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "villains."
"Villains?!" Greenly said as she put on her gold loafers.
Amber scowled. "Yeah, since I don't know what kind of fairy I'm going to be, they decided to just lump me with the rest of the trash."
"Amber, don't say that! You're going to be fine, just as long as you do well with your studies, that's all that matters." Greenly grabbed her backpack. "So, what's your first class?"
The gloomy fairy sighed, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. "Home Evilnomics. It's like cooking class-ic, but with evil ingredients." Amber's lack of enthusiasm showed throug her clothes. A short sleeved black dress that was two sizes too big and her usual black boots.
"Well...it can't be as bad as my first class, Princessology." Greenly rolled her eyes. "Basically, we have to learn how to be prim and proper and junk like that."
"Really? You're not into that kind of junk?"
Greenly shrugged. "Nah, I already know all that junk. So, why learn it all over again? Ms. Fairywell was my Princessology mentor back home. She was the worst of the worst!" The princess shuddered with fear. But she spotted something sparkle on Amber's vanity. It was a necklace with a small silver skull pendant with ruby red eyes. "Why don't you wear that necklace?" She pointed to the accessory.
"That? It's not like I'm going out on a date."
"I know, but a little jewelry never hurt anyone." Greenly took the necklace and helped her roommie put it on. She also helped put on a pair of silver spider web earrings and some spiked wristbands. "And if anything gets in the way, just take it off."
Amber looked in the mirror, impressed by the few simple touches. She certainly felt better. "Wicked." she smiled.
The girls were all dressed up and ready for school, whether they liked it or not. They had to go down seperate hallways to get to their respective classrooms, so the roommates gave their respective goodbyes and went to class.
Greenly finally came upon the door to Princessology. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The young princess was amazed. The room was decorated with the most beautiful jeweled rainbow drapery she's ever seen. The walls were flawlessly white and decorated with ornate gold. It was like stepping into an enchanted dream. But when she looked at the students, this dream just became a nightmare.
There was Apple White, happily chatting with other princesses. Greenly remembered this from Ms. Fairywell's lessons; pre-class socializing, where princesses gather together to gossip about boys, clothes, and other non-important things. Greenly turned her attention away from the frivolous minded royals, but froze when she spotted a familiar someone sitting on the other side of the room. It was Raven Queen, sitting all by herself. Greenly couldn't help but stare. It really was her, the soon-to-be queen of all things dark and evil. As Greenly stared, she wondered what could Raven be plotting in her head. Poisoning someone? An evil spell to cast on her classmates?
"Greenly!" Apple said, snapping Greenly out of her thoughts. She saw Apple waving to her. "Come sit with us!"
At that moment, Greenly was at a stalemate. Sit with prissy royals or sit with the future Evil Queen? The most vile villain ever after?
Raven heard several princesses gasp. She looked beside her and saw Greenly calmly sitting beside her and unpacking her belongings from her backpack. Once she took her seat, Greenly felt Raven staring at her. She glanced over to her surprised classmate. "What?"
Raven blinked twice. "Uh, I'm sorry! I mean, I'm not used to someone...sitting next to me."
"It's too noisy over there with those other princesses chit-chatting. And it's quiet over here." She casually explained as she glanced at the clock. "But if you don't like it, I can just move."
"No! No! You don't have to move!" Raven insisted. "I'm... Raven Queen."
Greenly decided to face her classmate. She turned and looked at her straight in the eye. "I know. I'm Greenly, Greenly Pea."
An awkward pause filled the room. Raven's eyes darted around the room as Greenly organized her pencils on her desk. The other princesses were still in shock.
"Whoa! I can't believe it! She's actually sitting next to her!" a princess whispered.
"She's got to be the bravest girl ever!" said another princess.
"Brave?" a princess so rudely honked. "More like stupid."
Hearing someone call her 'stupid,' Greenly shot a glare to the foul mouthed princess. She was quite beautiful with her long black hair and white ballet dress. But her dark eyes were not friendly.
"Duchess! You shouldn't call someone stupid just because they're sitting next to Raven!" Apple chided.
The princess named Duchess rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Apple. That poor, oblivious girl just burned her social life at the stake. Any friend of Raven Queen is an automatic loser." She made an L shape with her hand.
Apple put her hands on her hips. "I'm Raven's friend." she said firmly. "Well, we're not exactly close, but you know what I mean."
But Duchess was not fazed. "Like I said, an automatic loser." she snipped right to Apple's face. "This compassion you have for every living creature is, like, sickening, Apple." She tossed her hair and returned to her seat.
Greenly frowned. "What makes her so high and mighty?"
"Relax, don't let Duchess get to you." said Raven. "She may have the power to turn into a swan, but she's always had an alligator mouth. She hates anyone who has a happily ever after because her story, Swan Lake, has a sad ending."
"Oh..." Greenly knows the story of Swan Lake all too well. A ballet about a princess cursed into a swan's body by an evil wizard. The Prince Charming of the story falls in love with her and promises to break the spell. Unfortunately, the prince gets tricked into falling in love with the wizard's daughter, the Black Swan. The prince realizes his mistake, but it was too late. The evil wizard forces him to keep his word. Despite this, the prince would rather be with the White Swan, the princess he promised to help and be with forever after even if it means...well, it wasn't a good ending. That story was a good reminder to Greenly that not all stories have happy endings, not even fairytales.
The door opened and in walked the most radiant woman Greenly had ever seen. She dressed entirely in gold. Her long, golden hair was held back with a gold barette. She wore an elegant gold gown that sparkled like a sacred treasure. She even wore the most amazing gold high heels.
"Oh my fairy godmother!" a girl with auburn hair exclaimed, shooting up from her seat. She didn't notice the many stares she received as she rushed over to the woman in gold. "Where did you get those shoes?! They're breathtaking!" she gushed, falling to her knees.
The woman wasn't bothered at all. She proudly smiled. "They're the latest from the Empress brand."
The shoe-crazy girl got to her feet. "No way! That brand is top-shelf!"
Duchess raised her hand. "Excuse me, Miss Gold." she said politely. "But don't we have important lessons to learn?"
Suddenly embarassed, the girl returned to her seat as Duchess gave her the nastiest smile Greenly has ever seen. Just when Greenly couldn't hate snooy royals anymore, she had to share a class with this snob.
After class, all the princesses gathered up their things and moved onto their next classes. As she left the classroom, Greenly felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Briar Beauty, the princess that caused Greenly the painful memory of being ignored after falling from a staircase. It took a great amount of strength for Greenly not to chew her out for that.
"Look, um, what's your name again?" asked Briar, pure cluelessness in her words.
Greenly resisted the urge to scream at the top of her lungs. "Greenly." she answered, composed.
"Okay, Greenly, you really shouldn't be hanging out with Raven. Hanging out with her will put a damper on your royal status. I mean, sure, she's a princess. But not the good kind, she-"
A petite girl with long, bouncy blonde hair suddenly popped up next to Briar. "That's the understatement of the year! Raven's the next Evil Queen! Listen! It's not too late! Just keep your distance from Raven and you'll be fine!" she told Greenly.
Greenly blankley stared at this perky girl. "And..who are you?"
The perky girl smiled. "I'm Blondie Lockes! Goldilock's daugher and fellow royal!" she proudly introduced.
"Oh, my wand, Blondie!" Duchess sneered. "For the millionth time; You. Are. Not. A Roy-al!"
"Duchess, I AM totally a royal, you see-"
Briar rolled her eyes. She was about to talk more to Greenly, but she was already gone. In the other hallway, far away from her schoolmates, Greenly sighed, thoroughly annoyed.