Evie woke up early, not wanting to eat breakfast so she instead tried to get ready, her other dormmates running around her. Well, all, except for one.

Dizzy.

The necklace burned its image into Evie's brain and wouldn't leave no matter what she did. She genuinely wanted to have fun at this school, but she also couldn't let her mother down. She gave her a mission, and she had to fulfill it.

She tried to wake up Dizzy, but the girl just rolled over in her bed.

"Don't bother her, she's young. Middle school starts in a few more hours," Hannah, or as she liked to be called, Princess Hannah of the Southern Isles, huffed, already fully dressed. Evie was initially curious about meeting another princess, but soon decided Hannah was pompous and arrogant to the point of annoyance. Evie didn't really know much about her father but assumed she got it from him.

"Really? Oh." Evie couldn't hide her disappointment. She needed to be on her good side sooner rather than later.

"Are you going to breakfast?" Hannah continued. Her vibrant red hair was tied up with a simple pink ribbon, and her dress was a low-cut ball gown in bright pink with embroidered cherry blossoms on it, a sash tied around her back into a massive bow that was patterned with swirls of wind. Evie assumed her fashion came from wherever her mother hailed from.

"No, we don't eat breakfast in-"

Hannah had already left.

"Don't worry about her, she's had a stick up her behind since she arrived here yesterday." Her other roommate, Lucille LeFou, tried to comfort her with a surprisingly blunt tongue. She walked over to her mirror on her side of the room. She looked at herself, touching up her appearance. Lucille had springy and perfect bouncy curls, and Evie wondered if those came from her father. Probably not. "We don't have to be friends with her."

"What makes you think I want to be her friend?" Evie stabbed, perhaps too harshly, as Lucille's face fell. "I mean, she doesn't seem like she'd want to reach out. I shouldn't bother with people who don't want to be nice."

Lucille finished checking herself out and stood, spinning around. She was an incredibly tall, buxom, and busty girl, with vibrant brown eyes and peach skin. She wore a light pink frilly dress patterned with cherries and roses, and Evie recalled High Queen Belle wearing similar fashions. Were they from the same realm? Her curls were kept under a pink bonnet.

"Want to come with me to get breakfast?"

"Sure." Maybe it couldn't hurt to get something quick to eat.

Lucille smiled and the two girls left the dorms, heading downstairs to the large cafeteria.

The actual room was unimpressive, just long brown benches and wooden tables arranged around the room, with a few smaller tables having mismatched colored stools, and tiny windows to light up the areas of the room the gas hanging lamps didn't get to. The tables had white tablecloths and a simple vase and flower on top, which Evie appreciated. The whole room was decorated with warm wood, and the sounds of a fire crackled out of the tiny kitchen window. It had the vibes of a castle keep. Several kids were already there, eating breakfast. The two got their food and sat at a random table, not wanting to bother anyone. Evie had toasted bread and egg white omelets, while Lucille had a slice of bread and a creamy soup in white.

"I just got whatever looked good." Lucille said breezily, sitting beside the kitchen. Evie was amazed that while there seemed to be nobody behind the counter, the food was made almost instantly, and exactly how they described it.

She changed the subject. "Do you wear makeup? Makeup was worn by many back home but here I want to experiment. So many different styles!"

"Oh yes! Makeup is quite fashionable. King Lionel loves makeup, Queen Belle is a bit…well, she's a modern woman, so she's not really into it. But Maman loves makeup, so she and my aunts helped me do mine!"

Evie smiled. "I do my niece's makeup all the time too. She's good at it, but she prefers how I do it."

"You have a niece? How nice."

Most in her kingdom would beg to disagree, but Evie kept that to herself. Lucille was nice, plus she could exercise her French skills with her; most back at home didn't speak French, only German or Armenian.

"I'm excited to experiment here. I think pale colors would look good on you, like rose or peach or a light gold." Evie said, already planning out looks. She often got to experiment with shades and tones, since her skin was tan and Snowdrop's was pale white. Lucille was peach, which was an interesting shade to work with.

Once they finished eating, Lucille headed off to her own classes, book in hand, leaving Evie to stare at her red schedule for juniors. Her first class was….Cooking.

Cooking would be fun!

She followed the directions and found herself in an airy classroom with stone walls, the floor also made out of stone. Giant ovens lined one wall, and the rest of the room was filled with several counters with ingredients on them. A few posters on the walls had pictures of cute cartoon food items on them, and the biggest poster in the room was of various safety tips, such as washing your hands and equipment. Notably, there were no gas lamps, just a single candle on the wall for light.

Since there were no desks, everyone awkwardly stood by the teacher's desk, looking around.

"Morning everyone! Welcome to Cooking!" The teacher ran in, smiling. He wore a brown suit and red tie with a brown newsboy cap, with dark brown skin and hair. "I'm…well, I don't care about formalities, so just call me Ralphie. Yeah, it's a bit unprofessional, but it releases a barrier between us, doesn't it? I'm going to rattle off names and assign everyone to a partner, okay?"

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Okay! So, we have…Miss Marianne Thatch!"

"Present." The girl wore a long and high-necked dress with buttons in a light blue, a matching floral hat on her head. Her hair and skin were both light brown, and she wore grey glasses. She folded her hands demurely in front of her.

"Miss Ally Liddel!"

"Present!" Ally had blonde hair with blue streaks in it, which Evie stared at curiously. Hero or Villain Kid? Her bangs were pushed back with a black headband, and her dress was a light grey buttoned-up one very similar to Marianne. The two girls nodded politely at each other and took the nearest counter.

"Princess Hannah Westergaard!"

Her roommate, who nodded politely.

"Prince Louis!"

"Present, Uncle Ralphie!" The boy with a green striped shirt and brown overalls and a matching cap pointed and winked at 'Uncle Ralphie', who just playfully rolled his eyes. Evie watched him take Hannah as his partner, her heart thumping.

He was a prince. A real prince. Just like she wanted to meet.

"Princess Eleanora White!"

"Here!" She shot her hand up instantly, smiling.

"Prince Chad Charming!"

"Yeah," The boy next to her said, taking the last open counter, which was farthest from the desk. Evie looked over a bit longingly at Louis, but managed to smile at Chad. He had dark skin as well and wore a blue waistcoat over a cream blouse and pants, looking very formal. Even his boots were perfectly shiny. His hair, though black, sparkled with blue shimmers.

"Okay, today I'm starting you all off on simple things! Apple pie!" Ralphie grinned. "Just ask me if you get stuck. I have faith in you all!"

"Apple pie!" Evie gasped dreamily, thinking of the warm apple pies Queen Snow White often made, using the leftover bits of dough to lovingly spell out their names on top. She would make pies no matter the season, not just apple but also gooseberry, cherry, pumpkin, blueberry….she couldn't wait to try her hand at her own pie.

"Hey! I know you! The weird sorta-sister of Snowy, right?" Chad asked, smiling charmingly at her. Evie almost melted.

"Yes! I'm her aunt, technically. Princess Eleonora White." She gave him a formal curtsy.

"Uh, I don't really think you're a princess. I mean, your mom's the Evil Queen, right? She doesn't have a claim to her land anymore. Audrey told me." He sorted out the ingredients, looking at the finished project on the page on the cookbook they were given.

Evie felt her face fall. "But…but surely that doesn't mean-"

"Anyway, I'm going to do this myself. Your mom poisoned an apple so you're crazy if you think I'm going to trust you with this!" Chad suddenly took the bowl from her and finished mixing in the ingredients, pouring flour in so aggressively it brought up a cloud and Evie coughed, waving her hands around.

"But wouldn't you want a princess to cook for you?" Evie smiled shyly, still trying to turn up the charm. "Actually, your name sounds really familiar. Surely you're not related to King Hmayich Charming?"

Chad grinned, whisking everything rapidly and making the liquid slosh around. "Yup! Very distantly though, so we're not actually cousins or anything. I was born in Schönheit though."

"You were? Isn't it such a beautiful kingdom?" she asked eagerly.

"I guess. Kinda boring. Like you guys apparently don't have balls every month? And there's so many…forests. Snowy likes it but I don't get it. Well I was only born there."

The pieces clicked together in her head. "You're the prince of Kasteel!" She picked up an apple and sliced it carefully, eyeing Chad as she revealed the white inside.

"Stop!" Chad rushed over and knocked the knife out of her hands, barely missing her feet as it clattered to the floor. She winced at the small cut on her finger.

"That's no way to treat a princess!" she scolded.

"You're not a princess!"

"Lady then. All girls are ladies." Her heart hammered as she looked away. Why did titles matter so much to him? Queen Ella wasn't a noble before Prince, now King, Charming married her. She was just a commoner. She rubbed at her cut, angry. He poured an entire cup of water into the bowl. "Do you know a Lady Corinne?" She tried.

"She's my stepcousin! Or one of them. I make her and her cousin do chores. Best to get that evillness out of them early, right?"

"Can you tell me anything about her?"

"Hey, you're close to Snowy, right? Do you think she'd make a good girlfriend for me?" Chad asked, completely changing the subject. Evie frowned. She was so close to learning more about her target and Chad was throwing her around like a ragdoll. If that was how princes were though, she'd just have to learn to play that game. "I had one girlfriend last year but she was just so clingy and weird. I don't remember her name but she was a mermaid. And-"

Evie looked around the room to see how everyone else was doing. Marianne and Ally looked like peaches in their near-identical dresses, Ally carefully pouring the batter into the pan to cook it while Marianne watched with a calculating eye. Hannah smiled a strained smile as she watched Louis pour the crust over the filling, telling her he had it under control. She sighed and sat on a stool, knowing Chad just wanted to hear his voice more than anything. Class was almost over, so she could just smile prettily next to the pie and accept her failure.

At least, she tried to.

"Chad, what did you do?" She winced at the runny, grey crust, the pie reeking of death and somehow formaldehyde.

"I baked the pie!" He pointed to it proudly. "No way was I going to let you slip poison into it!"

"Do you know how to cook?" Her smile felt strained against her cheeks.

"Of course not! Princes don't cook, that's for the princesses to do!" Chad scoffed.

"Hey, I cook!" Louis huffed. He looked hurt. "Well, bake, but still."

"Your family is weird, they're into cooking. It doesn't count!"

"Alright everyone!" Ralphie jumped up again. "I'm going to sample your pies!" He walked over to Ally and Marianne first, nodding at it. "Golden, crumbly, good in terms of looks." He picked up a fork and took a gentle bite, nodding again. "Warm and full of flavor! A!"

"Thank you. I help my mother in her tea shop so I have some baking knowledge." Ally said.

Ralphie nodded at Hannah and Louis and took another bite. His eyes lit up. "Flavorful and tasty! A! I'd expect nothing less from my nephew though,"

Louis grinned.

Ralphie got to Chad and Evie, his eyes widening. "Oh my," He winced openly, making Hannah snicker meanly. "Well, the outside doesn't give me hope. But, appearances are deceiving!" He took a bite and chewed. Evie's heart hammered in anticipation.

After a few seconds, he went pale and ran over to the trash can to spit it out. Evie winced. "Sorry, but you two fail. Inedible and I don't think you followed the directions." He shook his head sadly.

"Whatever! This isn't even where I need to apply myself!" Chad scoffed, rolling his eyes. Evie hung her head, ignoring the other eyes on her.

It was only her first day and she already had a bad grade. Why did she care? She only attended to get close to Dizzy and poison her for Mother. Doing well in school wasn't part of the plan. So why did those words sting?

"Did you actually poison the pie? I misjudged you." Hannah asked, ignoring Louis and staring at Evie. "I don't trust magic, Papa says anyone with it can't be trusted, but if you're truly villainous…"

"No! Chad messed it up because he can't cook!" Evie wailed, frustrated. She shook her head and chased after Chad, knowing she had to be on his good side to learn more about Dizzy.

Ally and Marianne talked happily, walking to their sport together. Ally was on the school's jump-rope team, which wasn't unusual for a ninth grader, but Marianne was in twelfth grade so that was unusual. They grabbed their jump-ropes and headed out into the small patch of grass next to the Tourney field set aside for them, their coach smiling at them.

"Morning everyone! It's just going to be a free period today." Mrs. Adams was brunette, sunny, and extremely nondescript. She wore a red jacket and something called 'blue jeans'. Ally wondered what it would be like to wear pants. Her mother didn't really like them but told Ally she could wear whatever she wanted, but Ally was just fine wearing whatever her mother dressed her in. She grabbed her green plastic jump-rope and walked to where the younger students were.

Jump-rope was a sport often encouraged for the middle-school students, but Ally was just a freshman so she was told jump-rope would still be good for her. She smiled at one of her friends and tried to settle into a rhythm. Dizzy Tremaine was there, a funny girl with glasses who was easily skipping along with her rope, wearing a brown dress stained with orange and red and a striped pinafore over it, big ribbons tying her pigtails back.

"Morning!" Ally greeted, thinking jump-ropes kinda looked like big snakes that wrapped people up in their coils.

"Hey! Do I know you?" Dizzy asked, still jumping.

"Ally Liddel." Ally curtsied politely.

"Oh right! Your mother fell down a rabbit hole!"

"Yes."

The two girls jumped together in silence, Ally dulling her mind with the rhythm. One of her friends was a strawberry blond boy with big doe eyes and a brimmed hat. He grabbed his rope and jumped to the side, kicking his legs. They never touched the ground, and he still cleared the rope every time.

"So cool!" Dizzy said in awe. "I can't really do tricks yet. Just jumping really fast."

"It is nearly impossible." Marianne sighed, trying to skip but tripping and falling down, her jump-rope entangled in her legs. "Ugh! Curse my father's unathleticism!"

"Don't worry! I'm quite clumsy too!" Ally ran over and tried to help her up, but Marianne looked away and untangled herself.

"I thought I was coordinated enough for this sport, but I suppose not. Ugh."

They continued jumping until their time was done, Ally making plans with her friends for lunch. When lunchtime rolled around, however, she was surprised that Dizzy was following her.

"Hey, can I sit with you? I don't want to intrude, but…."

"You have no friends?" Ally asked in slight surprise. "But strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!"

"Yes! But…." Dizzy trailed off and ran ahead. "I want to see if they have buttered rolls!"

Ally wasn't sure if her friends would let a Villain Kid sit with them. Well, there was one specifically she was worried about. Ally and her friends met last year in eighth grade and stuck like honey. Aside from one, they were children of commoners and left-out of many things, so they formed their own group. They didn't really care about the Hero and Villain Kid labels, but prejudices were hard to let go. Ally just shrugged and got a tea set, not feeling very hungry.

"I brought someone new to our table!" she announced before sitting down. Dizzy popped over with a wave, a meal of soup on her tray, sitting beside her. "She doesn't have any other friends."

"She's welcome here!" Michael Darling, the strawberry blonde, nodded happily. "We don't judge." He was the third Darling child, the youngest, so he was only then starting ninth grade. Still, he loved his years of wonder and fantasy, especially since his older brother John had long outgrown such stories and was more interested in books and organizing everything, and Wendy, while still dreamy, had been married and moved out for a while at that point. He wore a brown brimmed hat and a white baggy shirt and brown overalls.

"Yup! We're all just a bunch of weirdos." Lilo nodded as well, diving into her food. Around her neck was a long piece of string woven into different colors and she wore a printed dress in red decorated with white tropical flowers. "Like me! Pepperoni pizza with chocolate ice-cream and chili!" She dumped her bowl of chili onto her pizza, making the last member of their group turn her face up.

"Yuck! How can you stomach that stuff?" Princess Melody demanded, her black hair tied back with a seashell scrunchie with a loose pink dress worn with tight blue leggings that fanned out from underneath her dress. She was one of the few royals who hated the fashion of her realm and often dressed in more modern clothing, such as sailor dresses and trousers. Being the daughter of Ariel and Eric, she usually wore a swimsuit under her clothing so she could easily swim when she pleased and loved to surf with Lilo.

"Growing up with aliens!" Lilo responded breezily.

"I don't think it looks gross," Ally said, stacking her empty tea cups on top of each other, along with some spoons.

Michael laughed. "Well you'd eat anything! Especially if it begged you to!"

"This place is amazing! I made the right choice in coming here!" Dizzy exclaimed, stars in her eyes. "It was really boring back home. I did chores, and painted, and I want to sew but I'm not the best at it,"

"What's your name?" Melody asked curiously.

"Lady Corinne! But everyone calls me Rin, or Dizzy, it's cuter." Dizzy pushed her glasses up. "Oh, granddaughter of Lady Tremaine. Bye!" She jumped up and ran off with her empty tray. Melody tried to hide her displeasure. Ally finished stacking her tower.

-0-

School was boring. Jay didn't know if that was a hot take or what, but it was boring. His morning classes were composed of math, history, one of the worst grammar lessons he's ever sat through (seriously, an entire lecture spent on proper nouns? When he was basically eighteen?) lunch, which was boring simply because he couldn't find anyone to sit with, and now he was in a class called Basic Chivalry, which he couldn't help but to think was the most useless of them all. It was split up by grade, so everyone there were dudes he wanted nothing to do with. Aside from Aziz. At least they had that class together. Seniors, like himself, but a few juniors too.

"Afternoon, everyone!" Their teacher stood at the front of the class in regal kingly robes. He was tall and golden and the perfect picture of what one would expect a king to look like. "I am King Arthur, the most famous chivalry practicer ever! Call me Sir Arthur, if my title is too much for you. I know, I do not look how my story usually portrays me, but I am wise, I promise you." He looked around the room. "One of the most important parts of being a prince is your beloved. Your betrothed! So because it is our first day, we shall keep it simple by describing what she is like. Do not be shy! Whatever you say will not leave this classroom."

"I don't have a…betrothed? Yeah. We don't really do that back home. My parents married for love." A boy with sandy curls and faint dimples nodded, wearing a loose brown robe and sandals. Herkie Egan was his name.

"That doesn't mean you can't still have a betrothed," one boy said, wearing blue embroidered clothing.

"I have a betrothed." Jay spoke up, and all eyes turned to look at him in a way he didn't like. "It's not my father's idea. I'm sure that man wouldn't care if I died alone with nothing to my name."

"What's she like?" King Arthur coaxed.

"Uh, nice. Very pretty, but I'm sure you royal princes would find her unconventional. Funny too. I treat her well, I guess." Jay shrugged. "The most annoying part of being betrothed is that you can't hang around other girls, and I miss that."

"Who is she?" another boy asked, with gold pieces in his ears and around his neck and a vibrant robe.

"Ming-Lei. Ming-Lei Fa. Oh, wait, Fa Ming-Lei is how she does it. You guys probably know her."

"Why would an HK be engaged to a VK? That makes no sense," Chad said rudely. "Like, wouldn't each parent wish to keep VKs and HKs separate from each other?"

"My folks raised him like an Agrabahian prince. Naturally, he gets a girl to marry," Aziz said. "She's not a princess though because Jay likely won't claim anything!"

Several of the boys laughed, and Jay's chest burned in a way he definitely didn't like. Chad looked smug about something and stared him down, but Jay stared back. Maybe he should steal something from him later, just to put him in his place. Maybe a button off his clothes, or a sack of money.

"My betrothed is Princess Liwei from Chūnlán. We're both heirs, so naturally, we're paired together." Aziz winked. "She's the perfect princess. When she walks, she looks like she's floating on clouds, and her clothing helps. She plays music beautifully and always knows what to say and when to hold her tongue."

"And do you treat her like the princess she is?" King Arthur asked with a smile, and Aziz nodded.

"Naturally! She's amazing!"

Jay thought back to that dinner party before they came to school and felt that sick feeling in his gut return.

Basic Chivalry was their last class of the day, so as everyone filed out, Jay tried to not bump into anyone and headed back to the dorms, not going to his but instead going to Aziz's to hang out. He flopped right into the bed, making himself at home. Aziz had already decorated, his bed was much lower to the ground and silken curtains of gold and yellow were hung around the room, with a nightstand with a fragrant flower and a bowl of nuts next to it.

"Check out what I stole!" Jay held out a fancy pouch of jewels, clanking as he held it in his hands. "Got it from Chad."

Aziz turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Jay! You stole something? From Chad?!"

He rolled his eyes and tossed the bag around. "Does it matter? He's a stubborn jerk. He's in my science class and spent the entire period insisting I was stupid. Agrabah is one of the most advanced realms of Auradon when it comes to math and science, I knew what was going on! He deserved it."

Aziz kept staring. "Well, he's my roommate, so you better hope you can return that without looking suspicious. And also, you promised you'd turn over a new leaf here. That means no stealing! I can't vouch for you!" He finally marched over and ripped the bag away, tossing it on the desk that belonged to the side that sparkled and glittered. "Thirdly, as if I was keeping track, that's just something you have to deal with here. A lot of Hero Kids are unfortunately jerks."

"So let's take them down a peg!" Jay said. "It's not right that they treat us like that."

Aziz just shook his head. "It's one year. You can handle one year."

"Liwei is your betrothed?" Jay said instead, trying to trip Aziz up. He knew what he saw in the garden and needed answers. How long had it been going on? Was it a one-time thing? Who else knew? Did Liwei? Did Aladdin and Jasmine? Did Fawzi? Did-

"What kind of question is that?" Aziz laughed, jumping into the silk hammock he fashioned on the windowsill, swaying gently. "You know that."

"Yeah, it's just that…well, you're like me. You aren't ignorant to other women. Just wondering, I guess, if you ever…miss just flirting in a carefree way. Not caring."

"A little bit," Aziz said. "It was sprung on me so suddenly, I didn't even really get much of a chance to properly experiment, you know?"

Jay rolled over to look at him.

"That's just how it is when you're a prince. You're expected to take responsibility a lot more than others, and sooner."

"Yeah…" He let the question remain unasked. He knew he was lucky to have a girl like Ming-Lei, even if their marriage ended up being more of an official partnership. She was a nice girl. He still missed those carefree summers under the desert sun, when he could run around, ride the wild and untamed desert horses into the distance, flirt with any guy or girl that caught his eye, kept up a collection of goods stolen from unsuspecting people at the bazaars, and not to worry about what others thought of him. Nobody treated him as the spare or even Jafar's son. To most people, he was himself. He didn't realize how much he'd miss that.

He couldn't go home yet though. Who was he, to back down from a challenge?

-0-

The first week had gone swimmingly for Carlos. He was surprised, but why should he be? He didn't really have anyone to worry about. His first two nights, his roommates had been too tired or disoriented to talk to him, but now he felt he was getting to know them. Eddie, of course, shared many of his classes, and the other two were the sons of henchmen which interested Carlos. One was the son of one of Maleficent's demon assistants, Eddie asked if Maleficent was his mother but he declared quite loudly that no, there were female goblins, including his mother. His name was the very creative Thorn. The other had a name Carlos couldn't really pronounce to his dismay, but he was the son of one of the pirates that mutinied a ship called the R.L.S. Legacy. He seemed nice enough, if slightly crude, and Carlos hoped they could be closer. The fact he had several eyes and tentacles fascinated Carlos more than disgusted him.

Classes were fine too. Most were regular academic stuff, as expected, and he had enough of that back home.

There was only one class that bored him, even though he felt bad admitting that. A class solely focused on religion. What did that even mean? Like, praying? The history of religion? It was bound to be boring. Even the room itself was structured more like a church, with long pews and candles lighting the room, stained glass reflecting down on them. HK and VK sat where they pleased, some messing with the booklets or baskets they found under the seats.

"Hello and good morning to you all, or a blessed morning if that's what you would prefer!" A man in a long grey robe and badger-like face walked in, his hands clasped together. "I'm Friar Tuck, and I'll be your teacher in this class."

A girl shot her hand into the air and waited patiently to be called on. "Pardon me, but what exactly is the point of this class?"

The friar laughed. "It's a bit vague, I know. Simply put, we study religion. We study it historically, culturally, philosophically….and we also have moments of prayer and songs as well."

"What if you're not Christian?" A boy asked.

"Ah, yes, the school did say I would likely get some students of other faiths. Islam and Hindu, I believe. If you're one of those, you may have a worship session with your peers in another part of the room. I wish I could be more accommodating than that." Friar Tuck then began to start the class, asking what religion meant to them and if it was a word that could be defined outside of the dictionary definition.

"Religion is simply the tree of beliefs you personally hold yourself to, right?" A girl dressed like a pink cupcake and an accent like butter melting over honey(and Carlos later learned she was the daughter of a Charlotte something-or-other, nobody really paid much attention to her once her best friend Queen Tiana was named one of the Fourteen Great Queens) said, blinking. "Like what the book and what your family say?"

"Isn't it more complex than that?" A girl sitting behind Carlos asked. She wore bright colorful clothing in primary colors and reminded him of Anxelin. "I was always told my version of Christianity was the correct one and others in Auradon were wrong in some way or another."

"Religion is a complex thing." Carlos chimed in. "I think the point of the question is to not have a specific easy answer. Religion is different for everyone and means something different for just as many, even if they all call themselves the same term."

"That's interesting!"

"I'm surprised you can stand to talk to someone like that." Another girl strode over, her chin high up in the air. She wore a long lavender gown with lace in her dark curls that made her look like she came from a movie about the Middle Ages back home. "I don't really mean to cause alarm, but you smell like a wet dog."

"That's what happens when you live with a hundred of them," Carlos said back, unbothered.

The girl huffed.

"I don't really mind. He's quite smart, you know." The other girl smiled shyly.

"He's weird, Snowdrop!" The girl stormed back to her seat, a flurry of skirts. "Like, we don't smell like animals."

The girl, Snowdrop apparently, continued to smile awkwardly, looking away.

"Besides, what if he's a really bad person? I heard one of the freshmen was the son of Cruella de Vil. You know, the woman who tried to skin puppies alive to make a fur coat? If he knew you, he'd probably cook up your beloved birds and rabbits into a stew…alive! And then eat them!" The girl carried on, making Snowdrop gasp sickly. Carlos just rolled his eyes.

"Animal cruelty is one of the worst crimes!"

"Yes! You should be glad I warned you. What could anyone think, allowing someone like that to attend school with us? He would be a menace."

"And I'm sure you two make your parents proud," Carlos couldn't help saying.

"Ahem!" Friar Tuck cleared his throat. "That's correct. The main theme of all our classes this year will be focused on that. Religion isn't easy to define. And that's okay."

When class ended, he gathered up his things and walked off, going back to his dorm at the end of the day. His roommates were all there, and Carlos jokingly hit Eddie with a pillow. He was writing something at his desk.

"Oh, go away!" Eddie teased, throwing the pillow back.

"I have to say, my first week was actually pretty good. I didn't even get any homework!" Carlos jumped onto his bed, suddenly missing the radios and movie theaters back home. They were pretty primitive, but entertaining. The school didn't have anything like that, so your time had to be spent either reading or doing a hobby. He remembered how every movie back home started with the familiar jingle from Kasteel playing, a merry and nostalgic tune that showed a blue castle being highlighted by magic.

"Too bad that can't last." Thorn sighed, reading a book and curled up. He had dark grey skin and even darker eyes, with curly red vines as hair, pig ears poking out. He wore a nondescript black tunic and was on the shorter side, like all of Carlos' roommates.

His other roommate had a blue jacket and white breeches on, the jacket open to reveal grey skin on his chest. He stared up at the ceiling, tossing a ball up and down.

Yeah, if this was going to be his year at school, Carlos thought he could handle it just fine.

-0-

Mal could not believe that out of all the classes she was made to take, something called Princessology was one of them. Was this place serious? She wasn't a princess! Not even in terms of title, as King Phillip and Queen Aurora granted her the title of simply 'Lady'. A title, yes, but one typically reserved for royal bastards. The schedule she was given called the class Virtues and Values, but a student she asked in the hall scoffed and asked if she meant 'Damsels-in-Distressing'. Yeesh.

The room was small and decorated in pristine whites and perfect pinks, and instead of desks, everyone sat in soft pink chairs with tiny white tables, and when Mal sat down, she was almost completely swallowed up by the chair. Flowers embellished everything in the room, and the tables were so dainty she supposed they couldn't even fit a saucer. All the other girls sat around in nice pastel gowns that showed off their realms of origins, and most talked with each other.

She hated the environment, but getting fr-allies couldn't be so bad of an idea. But who to talk to? Mal looked around and tried to scoot over to two blonde girls dressed entirely in purple and green, but they didn't notice her. She then tried to scoot over to another group of girls, but they didn't notice her either. Frustrated, Mal just sighed and scooted back to her seat, her eyes falling on a girl with blue hair dressed a masculine shirt but long skirt. She smirked. Blue hair? Had to be a Villain Kid.

"Hey," she said, plastering a smirk on her face. The girl looked around before giving her a charming smile back.

"Hello!"

"What's a girl like you doing in this class?"

"It's required for all girls. Plus-"

"What are you doing here?! I don't believe it!" Audrey cried from the doorway, dropping all her things dramatically. Everyone turned around to look at her. "Why was a Villain Kid given a class like this? Everyone knows that VKs are not royalty." She scooped up her things and gave a pointed smirk at the two girls.

"Actually, I am! My birth mother is Queen-"

Audrey cut her off with a smirk, marching over. "Your mother is nicknamed the Evil Queen for a reason. She has no claim anymore, not since Queen Snow White combined her kingdom with King Charming and took back the throne that was rightfully hers. You are not a princess, just a beggar noble desperately trying to cling onto a title." Audrey smirked more and looked over at a girl who looked just like Snow White, as did the blue-haired girl, but the lookalike kept staring intensely at the ground, looking at nothing.

"Don't be so mean!" A young girl in an embroidered dress stood up. "Stop it! We're all princesses!"

"Shall I just continue for everyone in here? You are the daughter of a peasant." Audrey looked at another girl, who had a teal dress and white cloak on, her hair tied back with a purple seashell scrunchie. "You are the daughter of a nobody and an adopted man. And you-"

"Do you ever shut up?" One of the girls in purple, the one with a cropped haircut, stared at Audrey with a cold expression. "Seriously."

Audrey glared back, finally just flipping her hair and taking her seat, while the girl in the embroidered dress sat too, looking hurt. Mal felt fire churn in her stomach. This was exactly why she wanted nothing to do with Audrey and was hoping to avoid her for the rest of the school year. She was used to her brand of wraith, but it was still uncalled-for. The worst was when Audrey got with her two other best friends, another princess and prince, because they could be just as awful as Audrey in their own ways.

Mal assumed loud noises were something the other princesses were unused to, as the room fell into a hush and even Audrey felt reluctant to break it, staring at the girl who looked like Snow White but not saying anything to her. Even the two blondes had stopped talking and faced the front of the room. Everywhere, everyone felt ruffled.

"Hello, young ladies!" Queen Snow White's cheerful voice filled the room as she walked in, wearing a striking gray gown with a red hoopskirt, several long pearl necklaces, and a flowing white veil that fell to the floor. The most noticeable thing about her was her very long hair, left to sweep around her waist. "Good morning! I am so happy to see the class is full!"

Of course Mal knew who Queen Snow White was, who didn't? She was best friends with Queen Ella and Queen Aurora mainly, the three never going anywhere without each other. Despite what she had heard, the queen looked like she hadn't aged a single day, just with a more mature aura to her. Her beauty was still ethereal.

"As you may know, Princessology is an important course here at AP that all female students are required to take. It is the study of being a princess and what values and behaviors are important in that field. That is why every few weeks, you will have a different teacher. One of the Fourteen Great Queens. Being a princess means something different to everyone, which is why it's important to hear different perspectives on that. Every queen here in Auradon sees royalty differently. This round, you have me, Frau White, but in a few weeks, who knows who you'll have?" She giggled.

Mal tuned out the lesson to think about her mother's words again. She had power, mainly transfiguration and fireballs, but they could be useful. What she truly needed were allies, people with their own brands of magic and powers that could help her. Would Mad Maddy help? Could she try to charm others to join her? She was a fairy, that seemed reasonable. Should she just write to her mother for advice? She really didn't want to admit to that woman she needed help, especially so soon, but she was at a loss. At the very least, she needed help honing her magic better.

"I hope you all had a good class! It's still the first week, so do not worry, I will not burden you with homework. I'm not the Evil Queen!" Frau White laughed breezily, and several other girls laughed with her. A dainty bell signaled the end of the period, and, immensely curious, Mal gathered up her things and ran after the girl with blue hair.

"Hey! I want to know more about you." Mal stopped her in the hall, bringing her over to the wall where there were less kids. "What's your name?"

"Evie." She smiled a bit. "I don't need to tell you my formal, long name."

"Touche. Mal."

The two girls shook hands.

"What's your next class?" The two pulled out red schedules.

"Grammar."

"Oh, mine is Chemistry." Mal shoved down the disappointment she suddenly felt at that. Why did she care about Evie? She was just a stranger. "Guess we'll see each other in another class."

"Maybe. Good day!" Evie curtsied a bit and hurried away, walking gracefully on her feet. Mal walked in another direction, acutely aware of how her dark clothing stood out in a sea of pastels and primaries and other bright colors. While her hair wasn't as usual as she originally thought, her clothing definitely was. Hero Kids didn't dress in dark colors.

The chemistry class was down a flight of stairs and the first door on her left in the science wing. To Mal's relief, it looked completely normal, she didn't recognize anyone, and she got to sit at a table by herself.

"Hi everyone! I'm excited to meet everyone this year!" The teacher bounced in, literal sunshine and all-yellow clothing, the only other color being her pink glasses. She wore a large yellow bustle gown, with part of the skirt gathered up to reveal her grey stockings and high black boots, and her hair was all messily piled into a plain white bonnet. "I'm your teacher, Miss Lemon!"

Mal somehow resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Did every single teacher here have to be the literal embodiment of sunshine goodness? At least Chemistry would be more useful to her than whatever that princess class was. She leaned back in her chair and listened to the woman speak, making mental notes on things that seemed to be important to her.