Chapter Text
To be a Lady Royal meant to be a trusted advisor to the Queen and to help guide whomever you were under to a remarkable reign that is for the good of the Kingdom. It meant to be smart and open-minded, yet driven and thoughtful. You had to not only think about the good of the people, but the good of the Kingdom’s own status and royal family. And most importantly, you had to be ready to dedicate your life to whichever Kingdom you helped lead to a better path.
Alexandra Privet was ready to accomplish all of those things.
The youngest daughter of a family descending from countless Lady Royals always picked for powerful Kingdoms, she would not disappoint anyone. Her own mother was the Lady Royal for the Kingdom of Floravia, and Alexandra lived most of her life in that Kingdom watching her mother’s every step, studying her actions to make sure she would be able to emulate them and be a top pick for Princesses and future Queens.
Alexandra’s sisters were just as talented as their mother. Aurelia, the oldest, was the Lady Royal of Hilgovia and was never seen by Alexandra. She was the most devoted Lady Royal she had ever seen, yet Alexandra held the most disdain for her. Aurelia was picked right after her Graduation, right when Alexandra was born. She was the popular one, the one who distanced herself from her family in order to stay focused on the Kingdom. With how little she saw Alexandra, she was the most critical, even more so than her own mother, and always had something to say when she saw Alexandra studying or practicing.
Charlotte and Cecelia both had a few more years until they were chosen as Lady Royals, but it wasn’t as if they were the bottom of their classes. In fact, they were some of the best students who were only held back by their own desires to work on their craft for even longer, studying under their mother.
That left Alexandra all alone for most of her life. With her sisters gone and her mother constantly working, the only moments she saw them she was faced with constant criticisms and questions about her future.
Alexandra couldn’t stand for that, and she was going to prove to them how great of a Lady Royal she could be. She spent years of her life studying different laws, rules, royal customs, and more just to be prepared.
And this was the day Alexandra would truly begin her journey to prove herself. She was accepted to Princess Charm School with a full-ride scholarship and knew she was ready to finally achieve her dreams.
Lady Royals always arrived at the school a day earlier than the Princesses. They were required to set up their bedrooms and be ready for the Princess Procession, where they would fill up the school to make it seem homely and lived in, and to help any Princesses out, as they would already be fairly familiar with the layout of the school.
Alexandra made her way to her room, her bags in hand, and closely looked out for any markers that she could look for in case she got lost throughout the halls. Once she reached her room, she chose her bed, a lavish pink bed right by the window with an identical bed right beside it and right across. A large bathroom was in the corner and the room was fairly plain, open for countless decorations by whomever inhabited it.
She spent the next day touring the school, occasionally chatting with her different teachers and becoming faintly acquainted with a few students. Alas, she stayed confined to her room most of the time, reading different books and trying to get used to the new bedroom.
After a long yet somewhat restless sleep, Alexandra awoke and put on her uniform, ready to mindlessly wander the halls for the cameras. The next few hours were pure boredom, only broken by the occasional students acting out, leading to a harsh reprimanding by one of the teachers.
She watched the Princess Procession through a window, and slowly heard the school becoming louder and louder. Eventually, it was time for the lottery girl to be picked, a thought Alexandra hated. Most lottery girls had struggled to pass and if they did, they were rarely picked. If anything, it was just a ploy to show the school of being more accepting and progressive.
As the Headmistresses said their speeches and introduced the future Queen of Gardania, Princess Isabella, Alexandra watched the Princess move and excitedly announce the lottery winner, a girl named Diane Devin. Alexandra had seen Isabella pick the winner for years through her TV, but this was the year that Isabella would be an actual student of the school. And once she graduated, the Kingdom would officially have their heir.
Alexandra stayed by the window for a bit longer, watching as the fans scurried away in disappointment as they were not the “lucky” one chosen to be the lottery winner. Eventually, they were all gone, and she began her walk back to her room, expecting to see her two new roommates.
However, it did not go the way Alexandra imagined in her head. She thought she would just walk in, have their introductions, and go on their own little way. But as she was walking to her dorm, she heard a blood-curdling scream echo throughout the hall.
She couldn’t exactly make out what the person said, but she knew something wrong was happening. Alexandra ran towards the sound, locating the source to be her dorm. She prepared herself before she walked in, knowing she might have to use her first aid experience.
Her preparation was not needed.
As Alexandra opened the door, she saw nothing. She looked around in the room and for a second, believed she had just imagined the nightmarish scream. Right as Alexandra closed the door, a slightly shorter blonde girl swung the bathroom door open, her hands and upper arms an assortment of different colors.
“Oh god, someone’s here.” The blonde girl took Alexandra’s hand and yanked her into the bathroom, where nothing could’ve prepared Alexandra for what she was about to see.
The toilet was overflowing with a chaotic medley of colors staining everything it touched. The water was slowly getting closer to the bathroom door as the blonde threw towels on the ground in an attempt to stop the flood.
“What… exactly happened here?” Alexandra inquired. This wasn’t exactly something she was used to seeing.
“I’ll explain later, but please, this can’t get worse.” The blonde threw her last towel as she realized it did nothing to help. “Oh god it’s going to get worse.”
Alexandra slowly made her way to the toilet, regretting each step as she knew her socks and shoes would require intense cleaning. Upon inspection, she noticed the toilet had been clogged with something… but what exactly? What colorful thing would cause such a disaster?
“Is there a plunger nearby?” Alexandra asked.
The blonde nodded and ran out, only to return a few seconds later with a plunger, tossing it to Alexandra. Alexandra did not catch it and looked with confusion at the blonde. How could someone be so scattered, especially someone at a school of such high prestige like this one? She ignored her concerns for now as she realized the water was about to reach the bedroom. She leaned down and grabbed the plunger, getting ready to fix the toilet.
Eventually, Alexandra fixed the issue and the water started to settle down. Now all that was left was to clean up all of the colorful water, get rid of all the rainbow stains, clean the towels, wash her clothes, and most importantly, question this odd blonde.
“Oh my god, you’re a lifesaver.” The blonde walked over and looked at Alexandra with a grateful look in her eye, only for Alexandra to roll her eyes in annoyment.
“How does this even happen? Toilet water isn’t exactly known for being a rainbow.” If Alexandra’s hands were clean right now, she would have her hand on her face in disappointment,
“I… got curious, okay? My mom got me bath bombs as a little gift for my first day, and I don’t usually take baths, so I needed to do something with them. And I brought them here, and I saw the toilet, and a thought formed in my head…” The blonde looked away, a bit ashamed of her actions.
“You tried to flush them down the toilet?” Alexandra exclaimed in bewilderment.
“Not exactly! I just wanted to see what would happen at first, and I slowly added them, but then somehow it started to overflow, so I went to flush and… You can assume what happened.”
All Alexandra could think at this moment was she was going to be stuck with an idiotic fool for the rest of the year, the exact opposite of what she desired.
“Look, I’ll clean up everything else, I’ll even get the royal cleaners to fix up any clothes you need!” The blonde pleaded.
“Royal cleaners?” Alexandra turned and looked at the blonde in confusion. “I could clean these myself, and even then, this school has its own laundry system. You wouldn’t even be able to get the royal cleaners unless…”
Alexandra took a good look at the blonde, her mind realizing yet not exactly accepting who she was talking to.
“Oh! Wait, sorry. Forgot my introduction.” The blonde took a deep breath and a step back from Alexandra. “I am Princess Isabella of Gardania, the first in line for the throne of the Kingdom of Gardania…” Isabella rolled her eyes. “Or just Isa, Bell, Bella, whatever you prefer. But me personally? I like Isa the most.”
Alexandra knew about those scenes in cartoons where the characters had their jaws drop right to the floor. At this moment, she felt like one of those characters. This… this utter catastrophe was the Princess of Gardania, and more importantly, her roommate. To put it shortly, nothing at all what she imagined.
“Um. Hello?” Isabella waved her hand in front of Alexandra’s face. “You okay? Did the bath bomb fumes get to you?”
Alexandra snapped back to reality and she truly realized who was in front of her. “I apologize for my rudeness, your majesty. I am Alexandra Privet, future Lady Royal.”
“You don’t have to be so posh with me. We’re just roommates. And besides, I’m the one who almost drowned the entire school.” Isabella said.
The Princess was a lot more chill and fun than Alexandra imagined. When she saw the royalty of Floravia, they always came off as cold and callous haters of fun. And to see the Princess of Gardania, one of the most important Kingdom’s in the land, be as disorderly as she was, was a shock.
“I doubt your little mistake would have drowned the entire school. The worst it could do, which it did, is just make a terrible mistake to clean up.” Alexandra stated.
“I could go get more cleaning supplies from the janitor’s closet. And towels…” Isabella looked sad as she looked down at her failed solution.
“That… would be a good idea. Ideally, we will have this done before the orientation, and that includes cleaning up ourselves.” Alexandra glared at Isabella’s stained hands. Isabella’s face turned red and she quickly walked out the door, only to return a bit later with an entire cart full of cleaning supplies and towels.
“Did you… just? Steal the janitor’s cart?” Alexandra was baffled at her actions.
“Don’t worry, I know the guy. This is his backup cart, and he isn’t even working until late tonight anyways.” Isabella assured.
“Sure… And what do you mean? Does the janitor actually know you, or does he just know he can’t do anything about it because you’re the princess?” Alexandra said as she stared at Isabella.
“I know him for real. I know all of the staff here. You don’t think the Princess of Gardania visited here often as a kid? It’s practically my second home.” Isabella stated.
“Well, I guess the palace isn’t that far from here. Anyways, we need to soak up all of the water first. Do your thing with the towels, just try to be a bit more efficient than before.” Alexandra said.
And Isabella did just that. She took the towels and sprawled them out across the floor, making sure she did not miss any spots. Once she placed down all the towels, she wrung them out in the bathtub and used the faucet to make sure any of the water would go in the drain instead of staining the bathtub as well.
Alexandra watched on as Isabella completed her task. The Princess was quiet and focused, almost as if she was trying to make a good impression. Once she finished, she turned around and looked directly at Alexandra.
“What now?” Isabella asked.
“Now, we just clean up the floor and toilet. Make sure all the stains are gone, and once we’re done, let’s just change our clothes and get your hands all clean.” Alexandra stated.
Isabella nodded and brought over supplies. Silence returned as the two girls awkwardly scrubbed the floor, opting not to look each other in the eye. Eventually, the silence did go away as Isabella attempted to initiate a conversation.
“So… future Lady Royal? You seem pretty sure of that.” Isabella said.
“I know I’m going to be one. I’ve studied my entire life, and every single person in my family was a Lady Royal. I have experience and am prepared to be the best one possible.” Alexandra said.
“And you’re confident someone will pick you?” Isabella said.
“Absolutely. Even if I don’t get picked at Coronation, I will still be a credible option for future Princesses.” Alexandra said. She hated sounding as if she was so self-absorbed and bold, but she knew her worth, and she knew she was perfect Lady Royal material.
“Well, I see. Who knows, maybe you’ll even be my Lady Royal.” Isabella laughed as a small wave of fear hit Alexandra. She couldn’t imagine being the Lady Royal for her, or even Isabella being a fit Queen in the future.
“I might be a bit confident in my abilities, but aren’t you as well? You said you’re the future queen, something that can only be accomplished if you pass.” Alexandra said.
“I’m not as dumb as you think. Plus, what are they going to do if I get low grades? Fail me? They need a future ruler. They didn’t exactly think this system out that well, did they?” Isabella remarked.
“I suppose so then. Well, I hope whoever you pick to be your Lady Royal is ready for whatever you throw at them. Hopefully, it won’t be any worse than this.” Alexandra looked around at the bathroom, only about half-way done with the cleaning.
Isabella laughed at Alexandra’s comment. “I guess this is one of the worst things I've done. But, I have to get all of those things out now before I become Princess.”
“Queen, too.” Alexandra said.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be a long time until I become the Queen.” Isabella stated.
The two continued bantering until they finally finished cleaning up the bathroom. The lingering smell of bleach gave them headaches and the two quickly left, happy to finally be free from that Hell. Isabella returned the cart and supplies as well as turning in the towels, leaving Alexandra alone for a bit. She opted to wash her socks and shoes herself, but wanted to wait a bit until the bathroom smelt a bit better. She found new pairs and put them on before brushing her hair, awaiting Isabella’s return.
Isabella knocked on the door and opened it. “Guess who’s here to make their long awaited return!” Isabella exclaimed, walking in with a smile on her face and her uniform on now.
“I see you chose to use the lockers technology to get changed.” Alexandra remarked.
“It was quicker, alright? Plus, I’ve never done it before anyways. Have you?” Isabella asked.
“No, I prefer to just get dressed on my own, And, by the way, shouldn’t you have waited to get dressed until after you cleaned off your hands?” Alexandra questioned.
“Oh god, you’re right. But we can’t go back to the bathroom yet. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to have a massive headache if I go back there. I’ll just… put on some gloves!” Isabella ran over to her bed, which was the one on the side of Alexandra, and opened her drawer. Her drawer was disorganized and as a result, it took her a while to find the gloves. Eventually she did though, but there was a slight tear in the palm of the one on the right.
“I could fix that for you.” Alexandra said.
“No, there’s no time. The orientation is about to happen really soon, and we can’t be late.” Isabella replied.
“You do realize sewing does not take that long?” Alexandra said.
“I know that. But we just need to be absolutely prepared right now. My mom would kill me if I was late.”
“Speaking of late… don’t we have another roommate? Where is she?” Alexandra asked.
“Oh! She’s going to be the lottery girl. You see, it took my mom convincing to let me actually stay in the school instead of traveling from the palace to here every day, so she said if I stay here, I should make a positive impact on those around me, and the lottery girl would be the best example, and went on a whole spiel on how this will help my leadership skills. The lottery girl is probably just late. Or lost.” Isabella said.
“Doesn’t the Princess of Gardania usually stay at the school though?” Alexandra asked.
“Yeah, but you see, my mom is super protective of me. She thought if I stayed at the palace, she could give me private lessons and get my grades up, but I told her, it would be nice to maybe make some real teenage friends. It took a bit of convincing, but here I am.”
“Here I am!” A loud and slightly obnoxious voice proclaimed. Isabella and Alexandra turned to see a tall blonde stand in the doorway with tons of bags in hand.
“Diane Devin, I presume?” Alexandra commented.
“You guys already know my name! I must be a celebrity around here.” Diane said.
“Well, we knew you were the lottery girl. And I picked the name. So…” Isabella said.
“See? I’m so famous that the Princess knows me!” Diane said.
“That’s… quite a bit of bags. I thought lottery girls came on the first day with nothing?” Alexandra said.
“I had these bags packed weeks ago. I knew I was going to win, so I wanted to be prepared. You guys are going to witness the rise of the next great Lady Royal!” Diane exclaimed. She was a bit theatric, yes. A little self-absorbed so far? Yes. But who knows? Maybe she would get better as the year went on.
Alexandra looked at Diane. “Well, we all know you.” Alexandra turned to Isabella. “We all know her. The only person left to make introductions is me. I’m Alexandra Privet, future Lady Royal.”
“Ooh, another Lady Royal? Maybe I can help you out a bit with your classes.” Diane said.
“I… don’t think that’ll be necessary.” Alexandra was a bit shocked at how much Diane, the lottery girl, was sure of herself.
A ringing noise began to echo throughout the dorm as Diane reached for her phone in her bag. “Ugh, sorry. My little brother has been texting me the entire time since I left.” A few swift texts later and Diane saved her phone, rolling her eyes.
For a second, a tinge of jealousy fell upon Alexandra. Sure, Diane appeared to be a bit overconfident, but she had a sibling that cared for her. In the entire time Alexandra arrived at the school, none of her sisters or her own mother opted to contact her.
“Well, do you need any help with your bags?” Isabella said. Diane had quite a few bags just in her arms, and behind her were tons more. How could someone even bring that much stuff?
“Please and thank you. Those workers didn’t even offer to help me earlier! I even had to leave a few things back at my house because they,” Diane placed her bags down and did some air quotes, “Didn’t have enough room for it.”
“How much more did you have?” Isabella said in complete disbelief.
“You know, just a few more bags. Nothing much.” Diane nonchalantly said.
Before any more words could be said, a bell rang and the voice of one of the Headmistresses echoed through the intercoms. “All Princesses and Lady Royals-in-training must now report to the gardens for the Starlight Welcome Assembly. We will start in 10 minutes.”
“Come on guys, I’ll save you two seats in the front by me.” Isabella said as she put on her gloves to hide her bath bomb stained hands. All she hoped was that the tear wouldn’t get bigger and nobody, especially her mother, would notice.
“And my bags? We can’t just leave them here.” Diane said with a hint of slight annoyance in her voice.
“Just push them in the room, we’ll get them later.” Alexandra said as she walked past Diane, who just stood there in shock as she was just ignored.
Isabella followed as well, leaving Diane to just push her bags back in. Isabella and Alexandra didn’t get too far, as Diane soon caught up the them, not necessarily out of a want to hang out with them, but out of desire to not get lost or miss the orientation.
And so the group of girls began their walk to the gardens for the Starlight Welcome, unaware of their futures ahead of them.