Amanah was still stewing as she returned home. Without Nicholas's assistance, her plan to ruin Serenah's night fell apart. Who could've known that a magic user would be at the dance and that they would target Nicholas. She had been around these humans for almost two years now and hadn't encountered anyone with magic before.
It wasn't as if there were no magic in this dimension. The magic was there, but it wasn't bountiful. That made it even more obvious if someone were to use it. It was suspicious, too, that it only happened to Nicholas and not her sister or herself. She sat in her car, tapping her nails on the steering wheel as her mind raced with possibilities of who it could be that disrupted her plans.
No one came to mind. Frustrated, she got out and slammed her car door. She stormed through the castle, ignoring the scurrying of the servants out of the way. She barged into her father's study, not giving the guard a chance to announce her arrival.
"Amanah, what's wrong?"
She flung herself onto the couch with a dramatic huff. "Everything!" she whined.
Her father stood and joined her on the couch. "Wasn't the dance tonight?"
"Yes, it was. Like always, Serenah ruined it for me and injured a human," she snarled, unashamed of the lies she spewed.
"She harmed a human? Who?"
"My friend Nicholas. He asked her to dance, and she used her magic on him."
"What!" roared her father. "How dare she? She knows the rules. Our magic is not to be used around humans. We don't need a witch hunt from them."
"I don't think she cares. She was busy sucking face with my man."
Amanah kept her gaze on her father and inwardly crowed in delight at the rage she felt flowing from him. Her sister was in so much trouble, and she couldn't be happier with the results of her lies. Her father was sure to drag Serenah to the punishment chamber. She looked forward to the scars he would inflict on her sister this time.
If Serenah's body was scarred beyond recovery, Romeo would ditch her. That suited Amanah just fine. She always came out on top. Her twin needed to learn her place. She kept her thoughts from crossing her face. She didn't want her father to know she was manipulating him.
"I'll take care of this. You go get some rest."
"Serenah won't be home until late. Are you going to talk to her tonight?"
"No. I will deal with her tomorrow. Let her think she got away with it."
Amanah made sure to pout. Her father patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry, my daughter. I will make sure Serenah learns her place. I will not tolerate defiance of my orders."
Amanah leaned in and hugged her father, making sure to hide her smirk. Mission accomplished.
"Thank you, Father. I just can't stand the thought of my twin misbehaving and tainting our family name in front of the humans."
Her father smiled. "This is why you are the Crown Princess. You always keep our dignity in mind. I'm so proud of you."
Amanah preened at his compliment. He was so easy to fool. She stood, yawning dramatically. She had to keep up her act until the end. "Well, I'm off to bed. Night, Father."
"Good night, my precious daughter."
Amanah left the study, a huge grin on her face as she imagined her sister's upcoming suffering.
~***~
[Twenty Minutes Earlier]
King Bayrel perused the latest reports on his desk, his mind turning over the many ideas that his various companies had submitted. His companies were on track to earn him another five billion dollars this quarter. Wealth was such a fun thing to have. The power that came with it was just a bonus. It was simple to become rich and powerful in this dimension. Humans didn't think deeply enough making it easy to rise up and claim a spot in their economy. He also had many politicians and others of influence under his control.
He was wrapping up his paperwork when he received an email alert from the school. He opened it and read the contents. It was a link to his children's grades. He clicked on it and went to Serenah's grades first. He frowned when he saw the A+ grades for all seven of her classes. He looked at the GPA and class rank and cursed. It was rather high. He had hoped that by forcing her to do her work as well as Amanah's that Serenah's grades would drop. Instead, her grades remained high. He drummed his fingers on his desk as he pondered ways to make her grades drop. He couldn't stand the fact that she was ranked second. That meant that Romeo was still first.
Irritated, he went back to the parent portal and clicked on Amanah's name. He saw her grades and snarled. Her grades, which had been a mix of A's and B's, were now C's and D's. How dare Serenah disobey him! She had some nerve to sabotage Amanah. She must think she was above getting punished for her defiance. He would make her bleed for this. His thoughts were interrupted by Amanah bursting into his study.
He saw her expression, and anger filled him. "Amanah, what's wrong?"
She flung herself onto the couch with a dramatic huff. "Everything!" she whined.
He stood and joined her. "Wasn't the dance tonight?"
"Yes, it was. Like always, Serenah ruined it for me and injured a human," she snarled.
"She harmed a human? Who?"
"My friend Nicholas. He asked her to dance, and she used her magic on him."
"What!" he roared. Serenah truly had no fear if she wanted to test his patience with her flaunting of his rules. "How dare she? She knows the rules. Our magic is not to be used around humans. We don't need a witch hunt from them."
"I don't think she cares. She was busy sucking face with my man."
Yes, it was time to remind Serenah who was king. The lesson was long overdue.
"I'll take care of this. You go get some rest."
"Serenah won't be home until late. Are you going to talk to her tonight?"
"No. I will deal with her tomorrow. Let her think she got away with it."
Amanah pouted, and he patted her shoulder.
"Don't worry, my daughter. I will make sure Serenah learns her place. I will not tolerate defiance of my orders."
Amanah leaned in and hugged him.
"Thank you, Father. I just can't stand the thought of my twin misbehaving and tainting our family name in front of the humans."
He smiled. "This is why you are Crown Princess. You always keep our dignity in mind. I'm so proud of you."
Amanah preened at his compliment. She stood and yawned. "Well, I'm off to bed. Night, Father."
"Good night, my precious daughter."
Once she left, he returned to his desk and printed out the report cards for both of his daughters. He would double Serenah's punishment for not doing her sister's homework and for shaming the family name at the dance. Defiance of his orders would not be tolerated. He looked forward to taking Romeo away from her. She deserved the loss. She damaged her sister's standing and had to lose something of equal value. Satisfied with his plans, he made his way to bed. He was anticipating tomorrow's confrontation with his youngest. Blood would flow, just the way he liked it.