Chapter 3: All Clear

"I'll be back soon," Emma promised her father with a tearful smile.

"We'll all be waiting," he replied, giving her a kiss on her forehead.

With that he closed the carriage door, and Emma was on her way to Alaok.

...

"Your Highness...Your Highness?"

Emma's blinked slowly, she stretched her arms and groaned. "Mmm, yes?"

"We're here, Your Highness."

At that Emma's eyes shot open. How could she have fallen asleep on the journey?! Well, it was long...

Her attendant opened the carriage door for her, and she couldn't help but gaze at the castle in wonder as she took his outstretched hand.

It was large, with tall grey columns rising to the sky. Windows dotted along the front, evidence of many, many rooms. This castle was much bigger than her father's.

Green grass surrounded it, Emma wondered if there were gardens behind the castle.

Magnificent. That was the only word to describe it.

"Are you ready, Princess?" The attendant asked.

Emma smiled, "yes, I'm ready."

The attendant carried her trunk as they walked to the front door. Before Emma had a chance to knock, the huge door opened, revealing an older man with black hair, light grey eyes, and stubble under his chin.

"Welcome! I assume you to be Princess Emma?" He greeted in an accent she hadn't heard before.

She nodded, "I am, Your Majesty."

He smiled, "good! You're the last princess to arrive actually, that's how I knew who you were. My servants will take over from here, to help you get settled in."

Emma turned to her attendant, "good-bye, and thank you for bringing me here safely and helping me with my trunk."

He bowed with a grin, "it was a pleasure, Your Highness." He turned to leave, and when Emma came inside, the door the shut. The King called for a servant to carry Emma's belongings.

"I am very glad that you accepted, Princess Emma. I am sure you are eager to meet the other girls who came, as well. After you get settled in your room, you can find them in the sitting room in the A Wing. Just ask the servant where you can find it and they'll direct you to it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Emma smiled, although she really had no intention of going. She wanted to make new friends, yes, but she was painfully shy. She didn't want to walk in a room and be the center of attention, she preferred to make friends slowly, by seeing each person face to face and striking up a conversation.

When she got to her room, the servant opened the door for her and Emma couldn't help but gasp. It was much bigger than her old room. The bed was high, and had curtains around it. The floor was polished marble, and on her left side was a fireplace. There was a writing desk in one corner, a chandelier in the center of the ceiling, and a couch in the middle of the room with a small table in front of it.

"I assume the room is adequate, Your Highness?" The servant asked with a grin.

"It is," she whispered, still gazing around.

"Shall I fetch a maid to unpack your things, or would you prefer to do it yourself, Your Highness?"

"I shall do it myself, thank you," Emma replied kindly.

He put the trunk on the bed, then left the room. Emma got to work, putting away her dresses and other belongings before laying down on the plush bed.

She almost fell asleep right there, but she knew that she needed to explore her surroundings. That's the main reason why she went on this trip in the first place.

Emma crept out of her room quietly, shutting the door while making as little noise as possible.

Choosing to go right, she wandered down the hallway, looking at the intricate paintings that hung on the walls. Her feet padded along the soft carpet as she went.

"Hey!"

Her heart thundering in her chest, Emma let out a yelp as she whipped around to see another girl. She had medium-length light brown hair with dark brown eyes and tan skin.

The girl made a face. "Jeez, you scare easily. I just wanted to talk, none of the other princesses here are worth making a conversation with, anyway."

Emma stayed silent.

The girl held out a hand, "I'm Andi. Well, Andrea, but call me that and you die."

Emma couldn't help but laugh as she shook the girl's hand. "Princess Emma, of Iridium."

Andi rolled her eyes with a smile, "here I am, making a casual introduction, then you have to go into all the formalities and stuff."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Emma apologized, "I didn't mean-"

Andi laughed, "relax! Wow, you're really sensitive. If we're gonna be friends, you have to know that I'm very sarcastic. It's all a part of this awesome package," she smirked as she gestured to herself, causing Emma to laugh again. She liked this Princess Andi.

"Hey, I found the kitchens. And you know what that means?" she grinned.

"What?" Emma asked.

"Food! Come on!" Andi grabbed her hand and ran as she led Emma away, the two using their free hands to pull up their dresses so they could run faster.

"Should we be running like this?" Emma panted, "my Lady-in-Waiting told me it's inappropiate for a princess."

Andi snickered, "I do a lot of 'inappropiate' things. Or, as I like to call them, 'fun' things."

"And what if we spoil our dinner?" Emma questioned.

"We're only going to sneak a few snacks, that's it. Just-oh man, a guard."

Andi abruptly stopped, Emma nearly collided with her due to the suddenness of it.

She let go of her hand, the two girls putting on the illusion that they were merely having a stroll throughout the hallways.

The guard bowed his head at them, then continued on his way. However, as soon as he rounded the corner, they sped off again, Emma giggling at the rush it was bringing.

Andi stopped in front of a door, they both gasped for breath, leaning against the wall.

"Shh," Andi whispered once she caught her breath, pressing a finger against her lips. "We're really not supposed to be in here, so we have to be as quiet as possible."

Even though Emma knew she shouldn't be where she didn't belong, she couldn't help but feel excited. Besides, she liked Andi and didn't want to make her mad.

Andi tried opening the door, but unfortunately it was locked.

Andi opened the door quietly. After giving a look-around, she gave Emma the all clear. Smiling, she followed her new friend into the spacious kitchen. There was food everywhere, many fruits and vegetables in baskets...and was that a pumpkin pie on the counter?

Emma subconsciously licked her lips.

"We can't take the pie, they'll know it's gone," Andi whispered. "Let's just settle for some muffins, they have a ton of those."

The girls took six of them; turns out they were blueberry, Emma's favorite. They quickly left after that, running back down the hall with their stolen muffins.

They stopped in a random hallway, laughing while gasping for air.

"That was great!" Andi said.

"Yeah!" Emma agreed, taking a bite of her muffin. "I've never disobeyed before!"

Andi grinned, "well, with this friendship, be prepared for a lot of fun."

"Wait. You really mean that we're friends? Really?" Emma couldn't help but question. She didn't think it would be this easy making friends.

"Of course I mean it!" Andi smiled. "You may be naive, and a bit too innocent, but you're fun, and really nice. The other princesses aren't. Well, to be fair, Mia seemed cool, but she wanted to stay with the others. She wanted to 'get to know the competition.'"

"Well, it's a good thing I'm not really a part of it," Emma replied.

"What do you mean?"

"The only reason I accepted is because I wanted to travel and have an adventure, and meet new friends." She smiled, "thank you for fulfilling half of that dream."

"You're welcome," Andi grinned. "And what do you mean 'half?' We're gonna go on a lot of adventures together, because I don't care about this Prince Jax guy either. Thank you for saying that too, because now I don't have to worry about you being secretely after his kingdom and money. Not like Maddie, anyway."

"Who's Maddie?"

Andi adopted a haughty voice. "Princess Madeline Elizabeth Victoria Van Pelt is the most eligible princess of her age. With her glorious blonde locks and crystal blue eyes, why Prince Jax is for sure going to fall in love with her instantly!"

Emma giggled, "did she really say all that?"

Andi rolled her eyes, "no, her mother did. Unfortunately, Maddie and I arrived at the same time, so I was forced to hear her mother's bragging."

Emma laughed. She pictured a pretentious older women talking and showing off her child, with Andi standing off to the side shaking her head.

"Hey, I'm gonna head back to my room, my new maids will have a stroke if I'm not there soon to prepare for dinner," Andi looked towards the ceiling, before giving her attention back to her new friend. "I'll see you later, sit next to me, okay? I'll give you the run-down on all the princesses. Oh, you know your way back, right?"

"Uh-"

"I'll take that as a 'no.' Come on, I'll lead the way back to the rooms!"

A/N:

Sorry about the delay guys, but I've been watching 'Daredevil' on Netflix, and finished it last night. It's so amazing! :D

angelcreature13: Thank you!

alli211: Soon ;)

xDreamingAtMidnightx: Thank you for the ideas :D

jemma lover: Thank you :)

Jazmyn45: The concept has been done by many authors, I just wanted to try it :) And thanks!

Guest: Thanks!