Chapter 2: A Legendary Roommate

An important looking and well-dressed man came walking up to Isabella not long after Riku had dropped her off, as she was staring up at her new school. It had the appearance of a castle, with the only thing that distinguished it as being ... well, a school, was the sign in the front courtyard reading "Ever After High".

Isabella clutched the handle of her trunk a bit nervously when the man came to a stop before her.

"Ms. Gardens, I presume?" He asked.

"Yessir." Isabella replied in a bit of a quiet voice, but loud enough to where she was sure the man had heard her. She was rather shy around strangers.

The man smiled warmly.

"I am Headmaster Grimm." He introduced himself. "Welcome to Ever After High."

"Thank you, sir." Isabella spoke. "It's an honor to be here."

"Good to hear." Headmaster Grimm said, holding out a sealed envelope to her. "Here is your class schedule and a map of the school with the location of your dorm room marked on it, along with the key to unlock the door."

Isabella took the envelope.

"Thank you, Headmaster, but I really don't need the key." She said. When she received a raised eyebrow in response, she quickly explained, "I, uh, can wield a Keyblade, sir."

Her explanation appeared to surprise the headmaster.

"Show me." He told her.

Isabella did as told, holding out her right hand while holding the envelope she'd been given in her left. In a flash of light, a key-shaped sword appeared in her grasp. The handle was reddish-brown in color, with a handguard that had a stained-glass look. Attached to the bottom of the handguard was a golden chain that ended in a rose token. The blade itself was dark purple near the base where she held it, becoming lighter in color toward the tip, a thorny vine running along the blade, and a fully bloomed rose served as the teeth along with a second, smaller one.

Headmaster Grimm stared at the sword with surprised amazement for a long moment before he cleared his throat, appearing to prostrate himself.

"Alright, you may put that away." He said.

Isabella did so, her Keyblade disappearing in the same flash of light in which it had appeared from.

"I must say, I wasn't expecting that." Headmaster Grimm continued, but smiled again, "Perhaps you'll spark a rivalry with the other Keyblade Wielder here."

"There's another Keyblade Wielder here?!" Isabella gasped.

"Indeed. He could use a good push in the ... wrong direction." Headmaster Grimm replied. "But for now, go on and get settled in." He clapped his hands twice, with a few pixies showing up. "Would you please assist Ms. Gardens in getting her things to her dorm?"

The pixies nodded. They flew to either side of her trunk, taking it by the handles and lifting it off the ground.

"Have a good day, Ms. Gardens." Headmaster Grimm said, walking off before Isabella had a chance to respond to his dismissal, nor tell him she didn't really need any help in carrying her trunk.

She watched him go before turning to the pixies.

"That's not too heavy for all of you, is it?" She asked.

The pixies shook their tiny heads.

"Are you sure? I can handle bringing that to my dorm on my own."

The pixies shook their heads again, this time nodding in response to her query.

"Well let me know if it starts to feel heavy, okay? I'd hate to see any of you get hurt." Isabella told them, relenting, earning another nod from them. She began to walk forth, breaking the seal on the envelope and pulling out the map inside. "Now let's see..."

Her dorm room wasn't that hard to find, and after knocking just in case the one she'd be sharing it with was already in, Isabella entered after unlocking the door.

It appeared that her roommate hadn't arrived yet, the room empty aside from some basic furniture, prompting her to proceeded further inside. The pixies carrying her trunk set it on the left side of the dorm, right under one of the two windows letting in the sunlight outside. Isabella thanked them profusely, presenting them with a small token of her gratitude with some candy she'd packed to snack on during the trip to the school.

Once they left, she got to work unpacking and decorating her side of the room.

It was as she was almost done and making her bed, topping it off with the blanket Yen Sid had given her, that she heard the door open. She lifted her head just in time to watch as a girl with long velvet red hair tied back in a low ponytail walk in with a pack casually slung over her shoulder. She was followed by an elderly man with a long beard that reached the hem of the wizard robe he wore.

"Merlin?" Isabella gasped, recognizing him.

"Ah! Isabella, good to see you, and right on time!" The man, the famous wizard Merlin, greeted her. "Sorry I wasn't in the Radiant Garden to see you off, I was helping Kelsey in getting here." Merlin indicated the red-haired girl that'd come into the room first. "Kelsey, this is Isabella Gardens, princess of the Radiant Garden. Isabella, I'd like you to meet Kelsey Shield, the daughter of Sir Garrett and Lady Kayley."

Isabella and the girl, Kelsey, both exchanged surprised looks.

"You're a princess?" Were the first words out of Kelsey's mouth, her voice carrying a soft British accent.

"You're the daughter of Sir Garrett and Lady Kayley?" Isabella responded.

There was a pause, followed by a small fit of laughter from the two girls.

"See? You two are already getting along." Merlin smiled as though he'd already known they were going to meet - and, knowing the wizard, he likely did.

"How do you know who my mother and father are? Their story is not that well known." Kelsey asked Isabella once she had calmed down.

"I told her the tale, several times. Isabella and her mother would visit me all the time when I'd be in the neighborhood." Merlin answered her question for her.

"It's my favorite Arthurian Legend." Isabella added, tugging at a lock of her hair. "It's an honor to meet you, Kelsey."

Kelsey smiled.

"You humble me, princess." She said with a small bow.

"Oh, no! Please, just call me Isabella." Isabella felt her cheeks grow warm, still not used to others around her age addressing her by her title - or anyone that didn't really know her for that matter. "I mean, it looks like we're roommates, I'd prefer to be treated as an equal to you, so, please, you needn't bow either."

Kelsey stood up straight, appearing surprised again.

"Still as humble as ever." Merlin smiled his approval with a nod.

"Well I'm not used to the whole princess thing yet either." Isabella said.

"What do you mean by that?" Kelsey asked.

"A story for a later date." Merlin said. "Right now, let's get you unpacked and settled in. Your bag, please."

Kelsey handed Merlin her pack, who subsequently set it on the floor after opening it up. Anticipating as to what he was about to do, Isabella stepped back, with Kelsey coming over to stand next to her. Objects emerged from the pack once Merlin waved his wand, growing in size and flying about the room.

"So, might I ask what the princess of the Radiant Garden is doing here at a school for fairytales?" Kelsey asked, likely trying to make small talk as they let the wizard work.

"Oh, uh, my mom's a fairy. She went here a long time ago and wanted me to come follow in her footsteps." Isabella answered.

Kelsey raised a brow.

"You're a fairy?"

"Half fairy if you wanna be technical."

"How come you don't have wings if you're half fairy?"

Isabella instinctively looked over her shoulder, as if expecting to spread wings at that very moment. She then turned back to her roommate, shrugging.

"My mom says I'll spread 'em when the time is right." She said. "You see, she's a fairy that has the ability to retract her wings at will. I didn't even know she was one until I was ten, when I began showing signs of having inherited magic from her."

"You're saying she hid that fact from you for most of your life?"

Isabella nodded.

"She was afraid people would try to hunt the two of us down if word got out in the town I grew up in. She went as far as to dye both our hair blond and the like."

Kelsey seemed to glance at Isabella's hair.

"And your hair's not dyed now?" She asked.

Isabella looked at the lock of hair still in her hands. Brown, red, and blond strands shone in the sunlight peering in through the nearby window.

"It is." She replied. "I got red and blond highlights put in a few days ago."

"So you're a brunette?"

"Uh-huh."

"I see." Kelsey reached behind her and stroked her ponytail. "Well it looks awesome."

"Thanks." Isabella tugged at the lock of her hair again in the moment of silence that followed, then asked, "So what's your story? Isn't there a high school in Camelot?"

"There is, but my parents didn't want me going there after ... well, let's just say I got bullied a lot." Kelsey sounded like she didn't want to talk about it, though she added, "Merlin actually suggested this school for me and helped in getting me enrolled."

"Sounds like Merlin alright." Isabella smiled. "Were your parents against it at first?"

"Mother was. She wanted me to stay closer to home, but my grandmother convinced her to let me go off on my own 'adventure' after reminding her of how she was when she was my age."

"Sounds like she finally knows what she put your grandmother through."

"Indeed she does."

"What of your dad?"

"Father was playing it cool, but I could tell he was a bit hesitant too, as he kept asking Merlin for any and all details about the school. In the end, he agreed that I'd likely have a much better time here over being home schooled. Again."

"You too, huh?"

"You were home schooled too?" Kelsey asked.

"For most of my life, yeah."

"Sounds like that's something thing we have in common."

"And done!" Merlin announced his completion of decorating Kelsey's side of the dorm then.

"Thanks, Merlin." Kelsey said.

"You're quite welcome, my dear. Now, how about we all go to the Village of Book End for some tea before I leave, hm?" Merlin suggested.

"You mean before you go poof?" Isabella remarked lightheartedly.

"Yes, yes, before I go poof." Merlin laughed at her comment, as did Kelsey. "Now, come. Let us be off!"

Kelsey rummaged through her pockets as she and Isabella stood outside their dorm that evening. They'd spent most of the day at the Village of Book End exploring after Merlin teleported off, then spent the remainder of the time just before dinner exploring the school and finding where their classes would be. During which time they'd met some of their fellow students who had singled them out as being new to the school, the friendlier of whom had given them a warm welcome.

"Oh, hex!" Kelsey cursed aloud upon not being able to find something.

"What's wrong?" Isabella asked her, still casually sipping on the drink she'd brought from the school castleteria.

"I forgot the key to the dorm." Kelsey said. She patted herself down again as if to make doubly sure that she didn't have her key, then looked at Isabella. "I don't suppose you have yours?"

Isabella shook her head.

"Great..." Kelsey banged her head on the locked door. "This is embarrassing."

"No worries, Kelsey." Isabella said. "I got this."

Kelsey turned around, stepping away from the door when Isabella gently tapped her on the arm to get her to move aside. Once her roommate was out of the way, she extended her free hand, summoning her Keyblade and pointing it at the lock. A beam of light shot from the tip, with the sound of the door unlocking following it.

"There we go." Isabella opened the door after tucking her drink in the crook of her right arm.

It was when she looked back at Kelsey that she saw that her jaw had dropped open in shock.

"Is that ... a Keyblade?" She asked slowly.

Isabella gave a bit of an awkward laugh.

"It is. Sorry, I guess I shoulda mentioned it before summoning it." She apologized.

"No, don't apologize." Kelsey kept her gaze trained on the weapon that had just appeared to Isabella one day. "I just ... Merlin's told me stories ... never thought I'd actually meet a Keyblade Wielder."

"Well, there's only a handful of us currently." Isabella said while glancing down at her Keyblade herself. "Headmaster Grimm mentioned that there's another Keyblade Wielder here at Ever After High when I was talking to him this morning."

"Did he say who it was?"

"No, he ... just said I might become a rival to him."

"Well, that's a start. Least we can rule out any other girls here."

"Said that like there still aren't a ton of guys here."

"Like I said, it's a start." Kelsey laughed, walking into the dorm. "Did the headmaster say anything else that might give any further hints as to who it is?"

Isabella followed her while dismissing her Keyblade. She thought on it, recalling one other piece of information.

"He did say that the other wielder could 'use a good push in the wrong direction', whatever that means." She said.

"So helpful..." Kelsey murmured while rolling her eyes.

"I know, right?"

"Guess that's a mystery for another day."

Isabella looked out the window, seeing that the sun had now disappeared behind the horizon.

"Yeah. You're probably right." She agreed. "I am really curious though."

"Try not to dwell on it too much tonight. After all, classes start tomorrow morning." Kelsey told her. "Best get some sleep while you can."

Isabella agreed with her once again, however, she went over to the window on her side of the room, staring up at the sky as the stars began to shine.

Author's Note: Just to clarify, Kelsey's parents aren't actual Arthurian Legends. They are characters from the movie Quest for Camelot - which is one of my favorite childhood movies, and Kelsey was an OC from my original line-up, though I only used her briefly in one of my old fanfics.

In regard to Merlin, since he has a house in Hollow Bastion/Radiant Garden, I picture him just teleporting around and owning homes in multiple worlds, with Camelot being his actual home world.

Also, credits: Some of the description of Isabella's Keyblade comes from the khwiki for the third upgrade to the Divine Rose Keyblade.