Friday:
Because of that damn bard, I kept falling to sleep in Hexonomics class. Professor Rumpelstiltskin yelled "WAKE UP!" in my ear. I had fallen off my chair and slowly got back to my seat. He is officially the worst teacher I ever had the displeasure of learning from (like there was anything to learn in the first place).
"Cayden, you really need to sleep early." Apple reprimanded me as we walked to the castleteria. "Every person needs some good sunshine to enjoy their day! I'm not sure about villains, but definitely heroes!"
"It was that blasted bard last night. He was performing such atrocious music." I told her.
"Sparrow? That's understandable." she said. "He almost destroyed the stage at one point."
"I was this close to smashing that guitar." I told her.
"Did you?" she asked, worried.
I sighed. "As much as I wanted to, no. It wouldn't be fair."
"What's not fair?"
"He's practicing for a performance that he's putting his mind into. It's like a knight when he's training. Or a leader who is looking through hypothetical situations with their strategies." I explained to her.
Apple thought about it before she nodded. "Still, you should get some shut eye. You're almost becoming like Briar."
"Briar?" I asked.
"Oh, you haven't met her before. I should introduce you to her!" she exclaimed as she dragged me along to the castleteria.
She was rather insistent, so I complied.
When we reached there, I found Ashlynn with another girl. Her clothes were reminiscent to roses and thorns. They were on print, jewelry, and even hairstyle. Her colors consisted of pink and black, accentuated with silver accessories. She had thick and wavy brown hair with pink streaks running through it, light brown skin, and light mauve eyes.
Overall, she was beautiful.
"Girls, I'd like you to meet Cayden." Apple introduced me.
"Hey, Ashlynn." I greeted.
"Hi." she gave a friendly wave and smile.
"You two met each other already?" Apple asked.
"Yeah. Me and Hunter were on a date and saw Cayden working at a huge garden." she explained.
"They went on to help me later on after I couldn't finish. And I still thank them for that." I continued.
"It's no big deal." Ashlynn said.
"Oh, Cayden! This is Briar." Apple introduced.
"'Sup." the girl called Briar greeted. "Briar Beauty, at your service."
"Yes, you are..." I slipped before I shook my head. "I mean, it's nice to meet you."
She chuckled. "Real charmer, aren't you?"
I scratched my head in embarrassment.
"Where's Blondie?" Apple asked.
"She's doing the MirrorCast show." Ashlynn answered.
"MirrorCast?" I asked.
"You don't know what the MirrorCast is?" Apple asked, genuinely surprised.
"Well, I am new here." I reminded her.
"Oh, right."
"Don't worry about it. How about you join us for lunch?" Briar offered.
"Alright." I said as I sat next to them.
We spent most of the lunch period talking about various topics. Briar was the daughter of Sleeping Beauty, so she was destined to follow her mother's legacy. However, she seemed really uneasy about it. So, she decided to live life to it's fullest. Ashlynn owned a shoe store, which was doing really well.
"Oh, there's gonna be a party tomorrow night. You guys are coming, right?" Briar said.
Apple and Ashlynn nodded.
"What about you, Cayden?"
"Well, I can't say no..." I replied, unsure.
"Great! I'll see you tomorrow night!" Briar exclaimed as she got up.
"Where are you going, Briar?" Ashlynn asked.
"I'm gonna dragonride through the mountains! See you back at the dorm, Ashlynn!" With that, she's off.
"She has a knack for dangerous things, doesn't she?" I wondered.
"Briar says she wants to do everything before she goes to sleep for a 100 years." Apple said.
100 years?! Wouldn't she age? I was about to ask that question, but I went with my hunch not to since it sounded like a sensitive topic. Still, I can't help but feel sorry for her. 100 years and she'll wake up to find her friends...gone.
We talked for hours before I had to get to my next class.
I met Raven in my Crownculus class. I really like Madame Maid Marian's class. She's a really nice teacher. I mean, I could talk to her in a casual conversation and it's all pretty good. I sat next to Raven as class was about to get started.
"So, I heard that Rumpelstiltskin gave you an earful." Raven said.
"Literally and figuratively." I replied as I dug my ear with my pinky. "I mean, I couldn't sleep last night because of Sparrow's music practice."
"Well, he is passionate about it." Raven replied before she frowned. "Though I can't really stand that arrogance of his."
"I'm sorry about Sparrow." Madame Marian cut in. "Sparrow really has dreams of becoming a huge rockstar. I didn't know that he would disturb you."
"Oh, it's alright. He was only practicing for his performance tonight. I wouldn't want him to stop all because of me." I said.
"Nonsense. I can't have students sleeping in my classroom." Or have damsels snoring in front of their captors." she joked. That got a laugh out of me and Raven. "But in all seriousness, I should at least tell Sparrow to be more considerate for others."
"It's alright." I insisted.
We continued to converse before the bell rang as Madam Marian went to her desk to start the class.
"She's really cool." I said as Raven nodded in agreement.
"She's actually okay with me acting like a damsel in Damsel-in-Distressing, though I'm actually not that enthusiastic to be in the class since I'm not quite fond of calling for a hero to rescue me." Raven replied.
"To be honest, a damsel that can escape the clutches is quite a useful person if they have the determination."
"Mhm. And besides, I have magic that can help me." Raven's hand glowed a dark purple aura.
"Incredible." I remarked.
"Not really." Raven muttered.
Before I could go on, we noticed Darling walking towards us. Guys look really awestruck as they watched her walk pass by them before sitting next to Raven.
"Hey, Raven." Darling greeting before she noticed me. "Cayden, great to see you here!"
"Afternoon." I greeted.
"Hey, Darling." Raven gave her own greeting.
"I'm not late, aren't I?" Darling asked.
"Nope, right on time." Raven answered.
"Oh, good. A couple of guys were trying to confess their love to me."
"You're not boasting, are you?" Raven said with a smirk. I knew that she was teasing.
Darling blushed. "It's not like that! I'm flattered and all, but I just can't accept fake feelings."
"I agree with you there." I added my thoughts.
"I wish I could meet someone with a pure heart." she said before she sighed. "But it's hard finding the one since my brothers always seem to scare them."
At least I know that Daring cares for his siblings.
"Maybe they know that those people have fake feelings?" I suggested.
"Yeah. Daring might be a narcissistic meathead, but he probably knows how it feels since you have the same charm as him." Raven added.
Darling gave a ladylike snort. Was that even possible? "You're half-right. He actually likes to take advantage of that trait." She slowly smiled. "But Dexter's a really modest guy. Still, I can handle how I choose my suitors."
It became girl talk between them and decided to focus on class.
After class, I was about to leave before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Darling looking at me.
"Can we talk?" she asked.
I nodded as we walked through the hallways.
"About my dad..." she began. I knew what this was about.
"No need to say more. He seems to be a man of tradition." I told her.
She rolled her eyes. "He's way more than that. He's totally pro-destiny."
"That must be quite tough."
She shrugged. "Not really. I can actually handle myself pretty well."
I nodded in approval. "That's good to hear."
"Someday, I wanna prove that females aren't just princesses and can be heroes as well."
"I agree there." I said. "Times are changing. Women are becoming more independent and they should be given more active roles if they're up for it."
"Finally, someone gets it!" Darling exclaimed. "I think the knights back at your home are really strong."
"They are." I replied.
"What kind of training did they do?" she asked.
"Well..."
The conversation went on before we reached the next class.
A/N: Done and done. Who do you want Cayden to interact with next? As usual, same and different characters.