Author's Notes:

Names in This Section:

England- Alice Kirkland America- Amelia F. Jones

Prussia- Maria Beilschmidt Spain- Antonia Carriendo

France- Francine Bonnefoy Romano- Lovina Vargas

Liechtenstein- Lili Zwingli Switzerland- Vanessa Zwingli

Italy- Feliciana Vargas Germany- Louise Beilschmidt

Austria- Rosa Edelstein Hungary- Elizaveta Hédeváry

Taiwan- Sun Mei Hong Kong- Wang Fang

Russia- Anya Braginskaya S. Korea- Im Yong Il

China- Wang Yao Lithuania- Viktorija Lorinaitis

Japan- Kiku Honda Poland- Felicyta Łukasiewicz

Latvia- Regina Galante Greece- Hera Karpusi

Turkey- Sanem Adnan Vietnam- Trinh Nyugen

Norway- Margaret Ericson Denmark- Maren Køhler

Sweden- Berta Oxenstiema Finland- Tiina Väinämöinen

Iceland- Jóhanna Ericson New Zealand- Helen Kirkland

Australia- Jane Kirkland Belarus- Natalya Arloskaya

Netherlands- Larissa Dupont Belgium- Clara Dupont

Cameroon- Sierra Ahidjo Monaco- Grace Blum

Seychelles- Michelle Morphey Ancient Rome- Alessandra Roma

Thanks for the great reception with the first two chapters everyone! Jeez, I even got a REVIEW. Holy crap, with this annoying story, some kind soul saw the kindness to say something about it? However, all the favorites and whatnot made my day too every time I saw them pop up in my e-mail too. Thanks so much! You guys are as awesome as Maria.

Disclaimer: I am not Hidekazu Himaruya, and will never pretend to be. He is way smarter than me, anyways.

Also, if you have already read this chapter, don't worry about reading it again. I just realized that the breaks weren't working. So here's a fixed version of that.

The Princess and Her Knight

Chapter 2.5: They're Fine Over Here Too

"…I am just so awesome, they're probably all worried that someone has already taken me, and that's why no one has asked." It was the night after the candidates had been announced, and Maria Beilschmidt was ranting. She, along with Antonia and Francine, was spending the Friday night, as usual, in Antonia's room, a so-called "Meeting of the Bad Friends Trio". The topic on the three's lips was, of course, the assembly earlier that day. Being as Francine was the only one actually in an art program, the other two were so far not affiliated with the competition. While Antonia seemed to be fine, Maria was angry, to say the least, particularly because no one had asked her to be her Knight yet (though, really, this was unfounded, as it was only the night after it had been announced).

Francine chuckled to herself. This was so typical Maria it was simply funny. She smiled, and began fixing the three's dinners. She was in the cooking program, after all, and therefore should try out (experiment) her new recipes on her closest friends.

Maria took another swig of her hearty German beer, and continued. "Yeah, that's definitely the case. And what about you, Antonia?" the albino asked, turning the bottle towards the Spanish girl. "Why aren't you pissed that none of the Princesses have asked you?"

Antonia smiled, and looked up at the ceiling. "Lovi's going ask me to be her Knight, obviously! I'm saving myself for her."

"Yeah, in more ways that one," Maria scoffed, turning to the side. "I don't get your infatuation with that Italian prick anyways. Doesn't she beat you up every time she sees you?"

Francine turned away from her small kitchen area, and served the food to her two friends, with a glass of good wine, much classier than Maria's disgusting choice in beer. She raised her fork, saying, "You just don't understand l'amour, Maria. Sometimes people show their affections in different ways. Lovina can be a little… hard-headed, but that doesn't mean she doesn't like Antonia, oui?"

Maria laughed heartily. "Does that mean you and Alice are secretly screwing each other because everyone's back, then? You two seem to hate each other a lot."

Francine's good mood suddenly dropped to a stony face. Maria just had to go there, didn't see? Her relationship with Alice was very complicated, yes, but that didn't mean Francine completely hated the other girl. She sighed and put down her wine.

"Well, if it means that much to you, Maria, why don't you be my Knight?" Francine asked, hiding her mild sadness. She had to get a partner anyways, and she wouldn't hear the end of Maria's complaints if no one asked her, so why not?

Maria's face brightened, and she pumped her fist in the air. "Fucking awesome! Francine, I love you! We'll we be the awesomest team for this thing ever! Just try to beat us with your Italian wuss, Antonia!" Before Antonia could reply, Maria chugged the rest of her beer, and began spitting out "awesome" plans on how to take out the rest of the candidates.

Francine sighed, but still smiling nonetheless. Her friends were just so odd.

It was the Monday afternoon after the announcement, and Lili Zwingli had no idea what to do. While she had been happy that she was chosen as a candidate for the Princess competition, the small blonde was also worried beyond belief. She was the youngest one in the competition, being only a first year at the high school. Lili had also only transferred in to the high school, so she still didn't know Saint Mary's well, and only a small number of students there, who were mainly concentrated in the violin and art programs, like herself.

Lili sighed, and continued to pace around her room. It was a quiet and quaint room, with flowers abundant. However, the peaceful nature of the room did nothing to help Lili's beating heart. Oh, why had they chosen her anyways? She was clearly not suited for this role.

She sat down in her desk chair, and thought of the one person she wanted to ask, her adopted older sister in the biathlon program, Vanessa. The small girl's face heated up just thinking of her majestic older sister. When Lili had very small, she had been abandoned by her parents, and lived on the streets, an odd situation in today's time. She had been totally alone, until on a ugly rainy day, a slightly older stranger that had had chin-cut, light blonde hair with deep, beautiful green eyes and a large gun over her shoulder had found Lili and brought her to her house, where the girl's parents had agreed to adopt her.

For the first years, while they had been living in the same house, Vanessa went to a sports-centered school in Switzerland, while, because of her small and frail frame, Lili had gone to a small girl's school in Liechtenstein, as they lived at the border, and Liechtenstein was Lili's home country. Lili had taken a superb liking to her older sister, and tried to imitate her however possible, such as cutting her messy dirty blonde braids in favor of a short hair style, much like her sister's own. And, when Lili had been mistaken for a boy because of it, and Vanessa had bought her a ribbon, Lili still wore the side bow.

When Lili was in her fourth year of elementary school, Vanessa had been accepted to Saint Mary's for her talent in the biathlon. While Lili had been ecstatic for older sister on receiving such an honor, she had also been very sad and lonely when Vanessa was gone. She began to shut herself off from the world, and felt as if she was abandoned all over again.

However, during a visit to the school for a large competition for Vanessa three years later, Lili had opted to see a performance put on by the musical department. Every instrument had been beautiful, emitting a sound so incredible that Lili had almost been brought to tears. The one that truly had captivated the girl, however, had been a gorgeous solo performed by a senior on the violin. Lili had felt more whole than she had in months, and began violin lessons almost immediantly after returning home.

The violin filled Lili's gaping hole. It came naturally, as she felt the music, instead of trying too much. When her older sister returned to her home for the summer vacation, Vanessa seemed really pleased with Lili's violin playing, and encouraged her to apply to Saint Mary's for high school. After eighth grade, Lili had been accepted, and was finally going to school with her beloved older sister.

'I would really like to ask her,' Lili thought, sighing. 'But I don't want to bother ältere Schwester. She probably already has a lot to do.'

There was a loud knock on her door just then. Lili stood up and made her way over quickly, wondering whom it could possibly be. To her delight, it turned out to be Vanessa herself. Lili's day became that much better by the visit. Smiling, she asked, "What do you need, ältere Schwester?"

Vanessa swung her gun back up her shoulder, and asked Lili, "So, you're in the Princess competition, right?" Her face was a little red, and Lili wondered if her older sister was coming down a cold. "I-I was thinking that I'd be your Knight. I don't want you w-working with a pervert or anything."

Lili was so happy she could have cried right there on the spot. Her older sister was going to be her Knight. The competition was looking up already. She smiled at Vanessa, and hugged her tightly. "Thank you, ältere Schwester!"

Feliciana Vargas was crying. Crying so profusely one would think she was one of the middle school students, not a second year in the high school. She was in the cafeteria line, in the midst of buying dinner, when the cafeteria ladies had told the drawing student that they were not serving pasta that night. This was on the level of a crime to Feliciana, whose favorite food was pasta, and she ate it for basically every meal.

"Ve~ Are you sure?" she asked, pressing her face closer to the cafeteria workers.

The old woman smiled, and reminded Feliciana of the school's numerous other world-praised selections. However, Feliciana had already set her mind, and Feliciana was scary when she set her mind. She turned to Louise and expressed her concerns.

Louise Beilschmidt was Feliciana's best friend, a tall German girl. They had met during middle school orientation, as they were partners, and had stuck together ever since. Louise was a complete foil to Feliciana. While Feliciana was into drawing, Louise was at Saint Mary's for rugby. Feliciana was small with curly dark red hair in a ponytail, with her eyes almost always squinting. Louise was tall and thin with short blonde hair and intimidating blue eyes. Feliciana was a little babyish and carefree, while Louise was a stickler for rules. However, the two were so incredibly close, there were many rumors around the school that they were secretly dating. Feliciana found the rumors stupid. She just loved Louise a whole lot! (Though, Louise did remind Feliciana a whole lot of someone the Italian had known in the past.)

Louise opened up her mouth, and said, "She'll just take some of that." The German girl pointed to an order of spragel. "I'll have the same, please, and two strawberry sorbets." The cafeteria worker nodded, and, a few moments later, they had their food.

Feliciana sniffed it, and asked of Louise, "Ve~ What is this? This smells nothing like pasta!"

Louise explained, "It a good dish we have a lot at home, with vegetables. You've been skipping out on these lately. And no, tomato sauce does not count."

Feliciana sighed. It didn't look promising, but she didn't want to let down Louise. She could always wash it down with the sorbet later. Cautiously, she took a bite, and was hit with a surprisingly good taste. "Louise, this is great! Fantastico! You always know the best!" She smiled widely at her best friend.

Louise coughed, and turned to the sighed, muttering something Feliciana could make out. However, Feliciana had also decided on something then. Grabbing Louise's closest hand with two of her own, Feliciana asked, "Louise, be my Knight."

Louise's face flushed, and she muttered, "…Okay, Feliciana."

Feliciana suddenly felt super excited. She and Louise would be an unbeatable team together. They would definitely win! And get lots of pasta!

"Ve~ Louise, I love you!" she declared, hugging the German girl. This was going to be great.

Rosa Edelstein was nervous. As one of the piano program's top performers, Rosa was used to performing in front of hundreds and thousands of people. However, nothing she had done with the piano had prepared her for what she was about to do. She had to asked Elizaveta Hédeváry to become her Knight for the Princess competition. While most people were probably finding the process very simple, it was more complicated for Rosa, as she and Elizaveta had lived together for a long period with. Elizaveta's parents and Rosa's parents had been very close, so when the latter went on away for work for a good-sized period during elementary school, Elizaveta and Rosa had come to live together.

It had been a beautiful time, and Rosa felt more inspired than ever to play the piano. None other than Feliciana Vargas, and another little German girl soon joined them. However, these times came to a rather abrupt end when the little German girl disappeared. Elizaveta's parents returned home soon afterwards, and likewise, Feliciana's grandmother came for her, reuniting Feliciana with her long lost twin. While Rosa had been happy the two had found peace in their families, she was also lonely. How excited she had been when she went to Saint Mary's for the first time, and found Elizaveta there too. Unfortunately, at the time, Elizaveta had become incredibly boyish and only spent time with the odd Prussian girl Rosa knew vaguely- Maria Beilschmidt. Feliciana had appeared a year later, but instead was mainly friends with the younger sister of Maria. Rosa had tried a tentative friendship with the Swiss girl Vanessa, but that had only ended up in flames.

Despite all of this, Rosa knew that Elizaveta was the one to be her Knight. She had great respect for the other girl's talent in fencing. Rosa also knew that she was better suited to Elizaveta than any other student she was a friend with.

Rosa had reserved the piano room for an hour after school that Wednesday, knowing she would probably have to express her nervousness before the she went off to ask the Hungarian girl. Rosa placed the formal letter requesting Elizaveta's help, and sat down to work at the instrument she was so used to.

She was finishing up the session, when she heard the sound. It was sound of two hands coming together and apart in a happy clap. A nostalgic voice then called out to Rosa, "That was beautiful, as usual, Rosa."

"Elizaveta," Rosa stated, turning towards the Hungarian girl in the doorway. Elizaveta stood there, leaning against the doorway. Her hair was long and had a new flower, this one brighter, as opposed to the old faded pink one she had worn all those years at the home. Rosa suppressed an urge to run and touch it, and questioned of the other girl, "How long have you been standing there?"

Elizaveta took a couple steps closer, and smiled sweetly at her. "Almost all of the set, actually," she explained, rubbing her head. "You were just so absorbed, I didn't want to disturb you." She stepped towards Rosa until she was practically standing over the Austrian girl. She appeared to be searching for something, until she picked up the letter, and said, "Hey, this has my name on it!"

Rosa flushed, and turned away. "Y-Yes, that's right. I-I wanted to ask you something."

Elizaveta lightly tapped Rosa's shoulder. "You didn't have to write a letter. We know each other better than that." Contrary to her words, Elizaveta torn the letter open hurriedly. Her deep green eyes skimming over the page quickly, she hugged Rosa. "Obviously I'll be your Knight, Rosa! I thought you'd never ask!"

Rosa coughed, and, with her face still the color of a rose, began to lightly play the piano, and Elizaveta went along with battle strategies. It was a complete glimpse into the old days.

It was the morning break between classes the Wednesday after the contest's announcement. Sun Mei was sitting in the wide courtyard, soaking in the sun before bell told her to go the next class, trying to catch some rest from the hectic few days Mei had had previously, largely due to her being a Princess candidate. She sat with her dark brown hair and back leaning against a small tree, on a round brick area, her brown eyes flittering open and closed, almost falling into the world of dreams. Just as she was about to slip into a peaceful nap, something, or rather, someone was tug at her loose curl.

She opened her eyes once more, and found herself face to face with her old friend, Wang Fang. Fang proceeded to poke Mei on the forehead, and ask, "What are you doing out here?"

Mei yawned, and stood up. The Taiwanese girl was used to Fang appearing out of nowhere by now. Fang had always had a quiet, yet gentle demeanor, someone Mei could confine in easily. Upon meeting Fang through a family friend during one of the other girl's visits to Hong Kong from her home in the United Kingdom, they had become fast friends, and contacted one another through e-mail often. Mei had been completely ecstatic when Fang had decided to move to Asia full time. It was not very fun having one of your best friends living on the other side of the world. Though Mei was in Taiwan, and Fang was in Hong Kong, they saw each other often, and kept in touch much more easily.

Mei smiled lightly at Fang, pointing her finger in the air. "Picturing Yong Il and Anya taking turns groping Yao Dàjiĕ, of course."

Fang blinked, looking lost. Mei giggled, and patted him on the head. "I'm only kidding, Fang. I was just trying to get some rest. The last few days have been really crazy, with being a candidate, and all. You would not believe the amount of giggly sports girls who have asked me if they could be my Knights." She sighed, rubbing the back of her head. "They annoy me so much."

"But Mei," Fang started, with a tilt to her head. "You're a giggly girl too. Just in the arts."

In response, the painting girl jokingly punched Fang in the arm. After laughing a little more, she had an idea. "Hey, Fang, you should be my Knight."

Fang blinked again, and her normally stone face melted into a smile. "I'd love to."

"Good."

Unfortunately, then the bell dinged for all to hurry to class, and their moment was over. But neither really regretted it.

It was lunchtime the Thursday after the announcement, and Viktorija Lorinaitis was getting food. She, unlike the majority of the school that did other things, such as homework, actually ate in the stately cafeteria during the ninety minutes the students had free. As usual, the short-cut brunette was alone in line, though the basketball player would be joining her good friends Amelia Jones and Kiku Honda for the sit-down part of the meal. Amelia usually bought food from the local McDonald's, while Kiku made her own lunch, as she preferred the boxed lunch she had grown up on to anything the cafeteria served.

However, the lunch was suddenly shattered of normality when Viktorija's sort-of blonde-haired, green-eyed, valley girl friend from Poland, Felicyta Łukasiewicz came gallivanting into the cafeteria, yelling, "Heyya, Tori!" Tori, being the nickname that Felicyta most commonly referred to Viktorija as.

Viktorija paled. Felicyta being in the cafeteria during the lunch period and not working on her "fabulous" dressing usually only meant one of two things- one, Felicyta had made a new fashion discovery, and was coming to convince the Lithuanian to wear for the next week; or, Felicyta had made yet another bet with the oppressive Russian girl, Anya. Viktorija prayed to whomever was listening that it was something than the others.

Luckily, Felicyta wasn't carrying anything fluffy and pink, so that eliminated the first one. Also, Anya was nowhere to be found, probably off harassing Viktorija's cousin Regina again, so it most likely wasn't the second option. What could Felicyta want, then?

Felicyta ran up to the brunette at full power (something that seemed impossible in the high heels she was wearing). As soon as the fashionista reached Viktorija, she exclaimed, "I got us totally signed up, Tori! And it was, like, so not an easy task at all. Those secretaries wear clothes from, like, the Middle Ages. So not cute! Seriously, they totally need to take a tip from me. Or any self-respecting person out there. Like, seriously."

Viktorija blinked, and then sighed. "What are you talking about, Felicyta? Signed us up? For what? And slower this time, please."

Felicyta chuckled, throwing her short blonde locks back. "God, Tori, sometimes you can be such a ditz. Seriously, 'for what'? Like you don't know or anything."

Viktorija shook her head to show that she really didn't understand at all. Felicyta let out a girly gasp and shook her head too. "Ohmygawd, Tori, I am, like, so sorry! I totes forgot to tell you! Duh! I knew I was forgetting something today." She explained pointedly, "You're my Knight. Like, duh."

The Lithuanian almost dropped her food in shock. "I don't want to be a Knight, Felicyta! I want to focus on basketball, and have a normal school life!" She turned, and began to walk towards the exit. "We have to go fix this now."

However, before Viktorija could leave the cafeteria, a weak pull on her sleeve made her stop. "Like, please, please, please work with me, Tori. I like, so, can't do this without you. Please. I can't deal with all these strangers asking me to work with them."

Viktorija sighed. Felicyta was awful with strangers, so that made sense. Besides, what was the worst that could happen if she entered this contest? Even if they lost horribly, it might deter Felicyta from signing the Lithuanian up for anything again.

"Okay, let's do this, Felicyta," Viktorija said, turning back away from the door.

"Gawd, Tori, I love you! Thanks a ton, you fierce girl you!" Felicyta kissed Viktorija on the cheek and ran off; probably to work on the costumes that Viktorija had been dreading so earlier.

It was that afternoon, and Kiku was spending it as she usually did- in the art room, attempting to draw the school's various girls in anime form. Kiku was a small Japanese girl with chin-cut black hair and light brown eyes. She was in the drawing program, and while she was able to draw people normally, she preferred to draw them in a manga-style, because that was what Kiku had grown up learning from.

At that moment in time, Kiku was attempting to draw her good friend Hera Karpusi. Hera was a Grecian student in the sculpture program with wildly curly brown hair, green eyes, and a nice tan skin tone. It was proving to be a most difficult task, as Hera kept almost falling asleep. Luckily, she seemed to be thrown awake when Kiku's Turkish friend, Sanem Adnan, slammed the door open.

Sanem was a tall girl with dark brown hair, and an almost impossible to determine eye color due to Sanem's eternal wearing of a white mask over the upper area of her face. Even after being friends with the Turkish girl for a couple of years at that point, Kiku still hadn't seen under the mask. Though the mask didn't allude to it, Sanem was actually in the basketball program, instead of the acting like most thought.

Before Hera and Sanem could get into a fight (as they often did in one another's presence), Kiku let out a small, "Good day, Sanem-san." This worked, as it usually did, to calm the two down.

Sanem walked over and rested an arm over the easel. "Hey, Kiku? Whatcha doing for the contest thing?"

Kiku sighed, contemplating her choices. "I'm not sure. All of my cousins are in the arts, except for Trinh-chan, who doesn't like me very much. I am not positive of who should be my Knight for the competition." She looked to the left, a depressed shadow evident on her face. "I'm not even sure if I want to participate…"

"Aw, come on, Kiku!" Sanem enthused. "You'd do real well! And if it makes ya feel better, I'll work with ya!"

Hera slowly shook her head. "Why do you get to work with Kiku?" She grabbed Sanem lazily, as if attempting to instigate a fight. "I want to work with Kiku…"

"Well ya can't Hera!" Sanem yelled, throwing the Grecian off of her shirt. "For one, you're in the art program, y'know? Also, ya too sleepy to stay awake during ya basic afternoon classes! How can ya possibly help Kiku win?"

"We can do it, right, Kiku…?" Hera tried, turning to the smaller girl. She yawned largely, not even attempting to stifle it. Kiku felt worried for her friend's health. Why was Hera so sleepy anyways?

"Ah, that's all right, Hera-san," Kiku said. "I don't want to trouble you or anything. But t-thanks for your concern." She turned back to Sanem. "Were you serious with that offer, Sanem-san? If so, I would like to accept." The Japanese girl bowed with a perfectly straight back to signify the deal.

Sanem laughed heartily, and bopped Kiku lightly on her back, shocking the smaller girl completely. "Ya don't need ta be so formal with me, y'know? We are partners now!"

Kiku smiled, wondering if friendship was always this easy. "…Yes."

The Friday after the announcement was a rather annoying day for Margaret Ericson. Margaret was a quiet, reserved student from Norway. She had long white blonde hair, and dark purple eyes, eternally emitting a sense of annoyance. She always wore two small x-shaped clips on the left side of her head, and a sailor's hat on the top. In contrast to her personality, Margaret was a guitarist, and was apparently good enough to qualify to be a Princess at the school.

However, there was one majority contrast to Margaret. And her name was Maren Køhler. Maren was a loud, brash student from Denmark, who was in the swimming program. Maren had messy shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and an odd cap. From the first day they had met, Margaret had found the girl particularly annoying. For one, she seemed to rather enjoy teasing one of Margaret's more agreeable cousins, Berta, and Berta's sort-of girlfriend Tiina, often-saying things about taking Tiina away from Berta.

Once this faded out of importance, Maren decided that teasing Margaret would be even more fun. Maren regularly claimed Margaret for her own, to which Margaret had come to only respond by punching the Danish girl in the face. (It had only worsened with Margaret's sister, Jóhanna entering the school two years later.)

Therefore, when Maren had decided completely on her own that she needed to be Margaret partner, Margaret had found the situation most unbearable. Maren continually kept appearing in Margaret's classes, attempting to convince Margaret to work with her. It was made all the weirder by the fact they were in completely different programs.

Contrary to her constant denial of Maren's proposal, however, Margaret did not actually have an idea of who should be her Knight. She did relatively want to participate in the contest (mainly so students would stop asking her to join their bands). Unfortunately, while Jóhanna was in the sports program (handball specifically), she was in her last year of the middle school, and therefore was not eligible for Knighthood. Margaret would have asked Berta (who was in the horse-riding program), but Berta would most likely decline the offer, as it proposed spending less time with Tiina.

It was as if Margaret completely hated Maren. The Danish girl was interesting to say the least in her own right. The fact of the matter was that Maren simply annoyed Margaret like hell. Actually, Margaret suspected that she might have liked the girl much better if the incident with Tiina had never happened (though she would have maintained her stone face). Maren also had a small following, at least larger than Margaret's own, and their populations together would probably be a decent start on the votes. Therefore, it would seem as if the Norwegian girl had no option but Maren.

However, Margaret almost instantly regretted her decision. Once she told the Dane that she didn't care if she was her Knight, Maren proceeded to not only hug Margaret (much to Margaret's chagrin), but called up Berta and find out a way to harass her and Tiina some more with the news. This competition was definitely going to be incredibly odd, to say the least.

Helen Kirkland had decided on her Knight the day of the announcement, actually. However, it was Saturday after it, and the New Zealander still had not asked the other girl. It wasn't that Helen was afraid to ask the other one- in reality, Helen was very confident the other girl would agree to the proposition- but, rather, she hadn't seen much of the other girl.

Jane Kirkland was the other girl. Jane was Helen's Australian cousin, and, though she wasn't too keen on admitting it, her best friend. Helen wasn't too incredibly social (something she had probably picked up from her cousin Alice), and she had known Jane since before attending Saint Mary's, as their parents were very good friends. The field hockey team Jane was a part of for the school was doing incredibly well that year, so they were attending more and more competitions. Helen had thought she could ask Jane that afternoon, but field hockey practice had gone long, well into the afternoon. Of course, Helen was busy that evening with a film presentation for some of the middle school students in the film program, in order to "inspire" them, as Helen's teacher had so put it. It had been a relatively basic film, but Helen was pleased with it, and wanted to see the student's reactions, instead of simply giving the disc to the teacher, and going away.

However, Helen had gotten the shock of her life when the opening credits were rolling on the screen in the middle school's Final Film Presentation room. She had been sitting on a chair towards the middle on the wall, while the forty students sat on beanbag type desks. The New Zealander had been pleased to see the kids take in the opening pictures, and statements, that began to show what her film was all about. They all seemed to be enjoying it.

Helen had heard the door at the back of the classroom click open, and she turned, expecting it to be the teacher, who had gone out to obtain refreshments at the beginning of the movie. It had instead turned out to be none other than the object of Helen's musings, Jane. The other girl didn't make any eye contact with Helen, however, instead simply standing in the doorway, silently watching Helen's movie with complete concentration.

When the film ended, and the teacher called attention, having the students discuss the movie, Jane stared pointedly at Helen, to which Helen responded by walking over to the Australian girl.

Once they were both out in the hallway of the middle school, away from the film room, Jane let out an obviously suppressed, "G'day there, Helen!"

"Y-Yeah, hello, Jane…" Helen addressed, still wondering why in the world Jane was there at all. "Why are you here?"

"That was a real good movie, in there," Jane proclaimed, pointing back towards the room. "Once of the best of the year, yeah? And definitely-"

"Jane," Helen said, cutting the other off. "Why are you here?"

Jane's mood seemed to soften. She stuck her head behind her head, looking sheepish. "Well, we haven't seen much of each other in a while. This night was one I somehow got free, and I heard you were working on a new project, so…"

"Be my Knight," Helen demanded. She didn't think she could win with anyone else but Jane.

The Aussie's mood suddenly bounced back up, laughing carefree as she always did. "Of course. Let's completely cream those others, eh?"

Wang Yao was a small Chinese girl who looked as if she was one of the younger classmen, despite being one of the oldest in the Princess competition. The sleeves on her various outfits regularly overran her hands. The large buns on the sides of Yao's head didn't help much either.

Therefore, it was a strange indeed when she talked to Anya Braginskaya. Anya was an incredibly tall Russian girl in the gymnastics program (one of the school's greatest heights), with long gray-blonde hair and purple eyes. However, the two seemed to talk an awful lot. This was to the displeasure of Yao, who was a little… frightened of the taller girl, to say the least. She had first introduced herself to Anya, as an attempt to make friends with those outside of her family. Anya had looked nice enough, with her eternal smile, and the way the Russian girl talked to most everyone in the school. Yao's hopes had been shattered, however, when she had began to talk with Anya, and found out the girl was a little frightening. Though Yao had attempted to distance herself from the other girl, it seemed as if they were stuck together.

This was the reasoning behind Yao's choosing Anya to be her Knight for the competition. She had long since accepted that they were going to be friends, like it or not, and it was probably good strategy for the contest. Anya would definitely inspire something in the hearts of the voters. Also, Yao really, really wanted to become the Princess. Often in the school, she was treated like an underclassman, and wasn't even treated as an older sister in her own family, where, yes, she was the oldest. If she won, the Chinese girl would most certainly be treated with respect.

Getting it all straightened out had unfortunately taken until the second Sunday after the announcement. The majority problem was that it had taken major convincing of Anya's little sister, Natalya Arloskaya, to not go haywire over the pairing. Natalya was a tad possessive of her half-older sister, to say the least. Once she was convinced Anya's working with Yao wasn't a total betrayal, they were able to move forward.

However, looking up at the looming girl while signing on the sheet that declared their Princess and Knighthood, Yao suddenly felt an air of terror of what was coming ahead.

"No way," Larissa Dupont said stubbornly, shaking her head. Clara Dupont had been trying to convince her semi-older sister since the day after the announcement to be her Knight. Unfortunately, it looked as if that would never happen, as Larissa was continuously denying the invitation.

Larissa was a tall girl, with ear-length dirty blonde hair, and a red rose behind her ear at all times. She had rich green eyes, and a scar above her head that even after a lifetime of knowing one another, Clara was still unable to figure out where it had come from. She was relatively silent for a sports side member (though it may have had something to do with her being in the cycling program).

Clara sighed, as she had been expecting this. Larissa, for one, was incredibly stubborn, never changing her mind on much anything. It was also hard creating a plan of attack for the girl, as she never showed much emotion, other than her standard "annoyed" expression.

The Belgian cooking student wondered if perhaps she should have gone with someone else. Clara would have asked her Spanish friend Antonia, except Antonia was probably going to be working (or at least attempting to) work with Lovina Vargas, the Italian girl she was so hung up on. 'Wait, Antonia…' Clara pondered, her wheels spinning quickly. 'That's it!'

The blonde looked back up from her thoughts, and saw that Larissa was attempting to walk away once more. Hurriedly, she called out, "Wait, Larissa! Antonia's going to be a competitor too!"

Larissa froze in position. After a moment's hesitation, she spun on her heels, and walked back over to Clara. She grasped Clara's shoulders, and asked, "Are you sure?"

Clara nodded, smiling. "Well, Lovi's a Princess candidate too, right? Antonia will probably not give up on work with her, and Lovi probably won't be able to find anyone else, so…" Remembering something, she added, "Oh, and didn't you hear? That Sanem Adnan girl you don't like much either will be working with Kiku Honda in it."

Larissa backed off, letting go of Clara's shoulders, appearing to ponder all that she had been told. She walked back over into Clara's personal space, and said with a strength Clara didn't know Larissa could use when speaking, "I'll be your Knight."

Clara's lips grew into a devious smile. 'Just as planned…'

Sierra Ahidjo had no idea what she was going to do for the Princess competition. For one, the Cameroonian girl wasn't even sure she wanted to participate. It relatively seemed like a waste of time. Sierra didn't want to do much other than practice her flute playing. Wasn't why she had come to Saint Mary's in the first place? However, she foresaw the peace she would get from some of the school's more eccentric students, and wanted in again.

That still didn't solve the problem, however, that Sierra didn't have a Knight, and it seemed as if you wouldn't be able to participate with out one. Sierra supposed she could ask one of the more-than-eager sports girls wanting to enter simply so they could be a part of the competition, but that felt wrong.

It was the Monday before the competition when Sierra had received the application. When she had taken it out of her mailbox, it had looked like just another energetic sports girl application. However, once she had returned to her dorm room and read it, it was actually from someone the Cameroonian relatively knew- one of her distant cousins, Muminah "Gupta" Hassan, of the squash program.

Unlike the previous applications, this one was oddly to the point, and didn't lollygag on unnecessary things. The flute player Gupta and her were very similar, and she felt as if she probably could get along with Gupta without feeling annoyed. Sierra smiled (as much as she could) by the end of it, suddenly feeling much more energetic about the whole thing.

Grace Blum had no idea what she was going to do about the Princess competition. She suspected the teachers had chosen her to be a bit of a dark horse for the contest, as next to nobody knew her. She had entered Saint Mary's halfway through the freshman year of the high school, due to circumstances. The cello, Grace's instrument, had only been in the competition once before, and hadn't done well then. They had mentioned something about diversity in their choices the current Princess competition, with their obvious lack of singers and actresses as candidates.

The student from Monaco had been pacing her dorm floor's common room for an hour the second Tuesday after the announcement. She was very pressed for time, knowing she had until the assembly Friday morning to find someone. Grace went over the students on the sports side once more. Antonia Carriendo was still trying to get with Lovina, Elizaveta had already been Knighted by Rosa Edelstein, and… 'Wait,' Grace thought, temporarily stopping her pacing. 'Is there no one else?'

"G-Grace," a small, tentative voice called from the far end of the room. Grace spun on her heel quickly, and found herself looking at an obviously African girl with dark brown hair, light brown eyes, and large red ribbons. 'Who is that? One of those unserious sports girls, I suppose,' Grace pondered to herself. After a moment's thinking, she figured it out, letting out a small, "Oh!"

"Michelle!" the cello player declared, walking over to the other girl. Michelle Morphey was a family friend of Grace's cousin, Francine, from the small island nation of Seychelles, whom Grace had met a number of times. She had always relatively enjoyed the company of the girl, who was very good at "convincing" the French girl to not grope Grace, or any other innocent bystanders. Grace had been a little happy to find Michelle was attending Saint Mary's also, but, to the cello player's dismay, Michelle was instead a sports student, on the school's swimming team, so they had not seen much of one another.

Michelle was blushing, obviously nervous about something. She also appeared to be very troubled. Grace, being how she always was, inquired about it. "Michelle, is something wrong?"

The girl from Seychelles looked surprised, and waved her hands in front of her face in defense. "N-No, nothing's wrong!" she proclaimed, most unconvincingly. She sighed, and asked quickly of Grace, "Y-You don't have a partner, yet, right?"

Grace shook her head, wondering why Michelle would be inquiring on such a thing. She then realized the most wonderful thing. Michelle was someone she relatively knew and liked, and she was on the sports side! She would be perfect as Grace's partner.

"Would you be my Knight?" the cello player asked of Michelle.

Michelle looked jumpy, but then her face melted into a smile, and nodded enthusiastically. Maybe this competition wouldn't be so awful after all…

This competition was going to be awful, at least, in Lovina Vargas' opinion. It was the night before the deadline for finding a Knight, and Lovina hadn't pinned anyone down yet. Lying back on her bed, Lovina sighed, turning over. 'I don't even want to be in this stupid thing anyways…'

The afternoon after the announcement a week ago, Lovina had burst into her grandmother's office, demanding of the older woman an explanation for making Lovina a Princess candidate. Her grandmother had to know by then Lovina was not into those kinds of things at all. The Italian would had much rather preferred not being the competition, simply eating on the sidelines and continue to eat tomatoes whenever.

However, upon the entrance to the office, the Headmistress had made her reasoning very clear. "Lovina," she had started, using an unusually serious voice, one that sent shivers down Lovina' spine. "Sit down."

Lovina had done as told, and inquired once more of her grandmother why she had to compete. She had even asked if it would simply better if she could drop out.

The Headmistress had sighed. "You know as well as I do, Lovina, that your sister excels at Saint Mary's. Her works are very well received among the teachers. However," she had looked at Lovina pointedly. "This is not such the case with you, Lovina. Quite often, due to your extreme lack of work, teachers have asked that I take you out of the school. Thankfully, this has been avoided because I can do that." The Headmistress had smirked at herself for a moment at this. "The teachers, on the other hand, do not see this as so great. Therefore, I have pulled one last string for you."

She had set her glasses upon the desk, and stared into Lovina's eyes. "Compete fully in the competition, or you will be out of Saint Mary's."

Lovina shivered, going over the memory once more. Though most of the other students loved her, Lovina had never really liked her grandmother all that much. She had always been completely hung up on Feliciana, and it was already bad enough with everyone comparing Lovina to her little sister. She would rather have been compared to her parents. However, she could handle all that if that meant she didn't have to go home. Though she hated to admit it, at home she was really lonely, and had somehow come out with a group of friends at Saint Mary's. 'If I have to go back to the old days, I think I'll…'

A loud rapture of a knock on Lovina's door was heard. She sat up, and walked over, peering through the peephole. She saw, much to her chagrin, Antonia Carriendo smiling widely at her.

She sighed, and opened the door ever so slightly, so Antonia would not be able to hug her, as she was so prone to do. "What do you want, Carriendo?"

Antonia leaned closer, as if attempting to molest Lovina. "Aw, Lovi, you can call me by my first name. I think we know one another better than that." She was smiling ever wider, as if that were possible.

The Italian girl opened the door wider, if only to be able to kick Antonia in the shin, something that was most likely going to be handy. "You still didn't answer my question, Antonia."

The Spanish girl laughed, throwing her head back. "I want to be your Knight, like I've been saying since a while ago, sí? We should start planning a speech for tomorrow!"

Lovina rolled her eyes, wondering at the ridiculousness of the Spanish girl. Why in the world would Lovina even consider having Antonia as her Knight? Antonia was annoying as hell. She almost never left Lovina alone, always attempting to hug her, or compare her face to a tomato.

However, it was at that moment Lovina remembered she didn't know what she was going to do for the Princess competition. She looked up at Antonia's smiling face, feeling nervous. Lovina really had no option but Antonia? God was cruel sometimes. Lovina supposed she would have to suck it up and spend the next few months working with the football player. Besides, it wouldn't be like she would have to marry Antonia, right? Lovina laughed internally. Marrying Antonia? That would be so…

"Lovi? You still haven't answered my question," Antonia pointed out, interrupting the sculpture girl.

Lovina sucked up her pride, and declared, "Y-You can be my Knight. B-But just because I really need a partner, okay? Don't read too much into it or anything…"

But Antonia was already gone, reaching for Lovina, and then hugging- no crushing her. She yelled something about her love, or something for Lovina, to which the Italian could only respond by sighing. She had a headache already.

Author's Notes: This one was a bit of an interlude, giving an introduction to the other candidates (and other students) in the series. Not all of the non-candidate names will be important, but all will probably show up once more. Sorry this took so long to write, and sorry it's so long. I really tried to keep it short, which is why some are only four paragraphs, but some just ran over, particularly with ones concerning characters I like. (I am so biased.)

I'll post the next chapter soon. I was going to include it here, but then it got way too long, and I was like, "I should probably stop torturing whomever's reading this," to my cat. (Brutus is so cute~)

See you guys soon! Thanks for sticking with TPAHK (Tupac, lol) this far!

{Natsumi;;}