Elena begrudgingly walks into the dining hall, and she begrudgingly takes her food. She doesn't think she even has the appetite to eat after what happened today. A lot of people haven't stopped staring at her.
The people who never used to look her way and the people who always gossiped about her wave at her, but since she's a nice person, she waves back. But they're still pretentious assholes.
She walks over to where she normally sits, and she throws the tray of food on the table, startling everyone.
"Whoa, are you okay, Elena?" Alex asks.
"No, I'm not," she says snarkily.
This table is what Elena calls the party table, where all of her closest friends sit to dine with her. If Elena picks you as a friend, that means you're cool to her.
Alex is there because of course. Pierre sits with them, which he never usually does because he's always with Anastasia and her crude friends, but Elena isn't complaining because the more the merrier.
"What happened?" Francesca asks.
Francesca Alessia Lombardi is the princess of Italy. She's a water fairy with blue hair, which she cut short even when her parents warned her not to. They grew to get used to it because at least she's the lastborn, so there's no way she's getting close to the throne any time soon.
She's dressed in her yellow shirt with sleeves rolled up, she doesn't wear a tie, her shirt isn't tucked in, and she's not wearing a skirt like the rest of the other girls; instead, she's wearing navy blue trousers like the guys.
She dresses like a boy all the time.
Her dream is to become a knight, but her parents are against it. What aren't her parents against when it comes to her?
Sometimes she secretly trains with Alex and Pierre, and according to them, she's been doing a good job.
"You know that woman who was hired by my uncle to tap into my powers?"
Fran nods, chewing on a chicken wing.
"Well, she basically didn't teach me anything. I thought I'd learn how to use my powers to fight, but apparently not."
"Huh? So what did she teach you today?" Fran asks, genuinely wanting to know what she was, though it's not to use her powers as a weapon.
"Nothing! She only told me to sit on the grass and connect with the wind and nature."
Fran snorts.
"Wow, okay," Alex says.
"Connecting with nature isn't so bad," Olaf says.
Alwin Wagner is an earth fairy, a nice kind kind-hearted boy who is in a grade below theirs. He has short green hair, bright electric blue eyes, a cute German accent, and he also has flowers plastered on his green hair. He's calm and talks smoothly, like most earth fairies do.
He doesn't hold any royal title, but his parents own a successful flower shop in London.
Alwin is dressed in a yellow shirt, a tie, and a navy blue sweater. His signature look, even when it's hot, he still wears his sweater.
"I'm not saying connecting with nature is a bad thing, Alwin. I'm just saying, I want to start with the big stuff, I want to know how to kill witches and all that stuff."
"And you will look badass doing that," Carlos says dreamily. Alex's other friends, Sevt and Carlos, are also welcome at her party table.
"Why, thank you, Carlos," Elena says to him, and Carlos blushes. Alex shakes his head at his parents' delusion.
"Maybe she'll start teaching you all that in the next class," Pierre says. And everyone faces him, which is something people do when he opens his mouth to speak, because he barely speaks. And when he does, he always has something wise to say.
"This is the first day, maybe it's just a warm-up." Pierre continues.
"I agree with Pierre." Says Fran. "I mean, in your first combat class, weren't you guys told to like mediate under the trees?"
"Oui," Pierre says and then drinks from his cup.
Francesca shrugs. "You see, it's just the first day, maybe you'll learn the big stuff next class." Says Fran, chewing her bone, if only her parents were to see her now.
"Patience is the key," Alwin says, slowly breathing in and out.
Elena looks at her friends and smiles.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe I should be patient."
"Patience is not your strong suit, cousin," Henry says from behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
Prince Henry IV Barnaby Baron-Grant. The first and only son of King Conrad Baron-Grant. A prince indeed.
He has short golden blond hair, electric blue eyes, beige skin, a heavy lower lip and a round face.
He's dressed in a full uniform. His yellow shirt, tie, royal navy blue blazer decorated with elaborate gold designs, chains, epaulettes and symbols-including crests and ornate patterns suggesting status and nobility, his navy blue pants and polished black shoes. He's dressed so regally, anyone who sees him will automatically know he's a prince.
"Why hello, cousin, nice to see you too," Elena says, placing her hand on her cousin's.
"Nice to see you alive and in one piece, cousin," he says, smiling and then he faces Alex. "Hello Alex," he says shyly.
"Hey, Hen." Alex winks at him, and Henry blushes. Alex is the only person who calls him "Hen," and Alex is the only one allowed to call him that.
Elena smiles to herself because it is pretty obvious Henry has a crush on Alex, but Alex is so clueless that he doesn't know when someone has a crush on him. Elena isn't going to tell him anything because it's not her secret to tell, and also, she wants Henry to tell Alex this himself.
The two stare at each other for a long time, but are interrupted by an evil witch who just happens to be a fairy.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't the princess who didn't have powers before, but now she does." Anastasia. "I bet she thinks just because she has powers she's a big deal now." She laughs, and her friends follow suit.
It's strange to think that she and Anastasia used to be friends, best friends even. But she isn't anymore because Anastasia changed. And it was after her parents were killed by trolls when they were thirteen.
It was a lot for her. Her eighteen-year-old sister was forced to become Queen, and she was alone. Well, Elena didn't want Anastasia to be alone in all this, but Ana completely shut her out, and Anastasia went from being the kindest and sweetest person on earth to a brutal bitch.
Princess Anastasia II Anya Romanov is petite, has pale skin, long wavy white hair, icy blue eyes, pronounced cheekbones and a soft, curved chin.
She has a ballerina-like frame, which is obvious because she is a ballerina.
She has a blue headband on top of her head, just like her other two friends, Kate and Cecelia. She also wears a navy blue cape over her uniform, and she wears a glove on each hand.
"What the bloody hell do you want, Anastasia?" Elena asks, annoyed.
"Oh, I don't want anything. I just want to remind you that just because you're one of the most powerful fairies in the whole magic dimension, doesn't mean you're not an embarrassment to the royal family."
"Alright, little rat, you've said what you wanted to say. Can you go now?" Fran tells her.
"I wasn't talking to you cross-dresser," she says, and Alwin gasps. Carlos and Sevt's mouths drop.
"What did you just say?" Fran's eyes glow a bright blue, which is something that happens when a fairy shows intense emotions. In this case, Fran is extremely angry.
"Calm down, Fran, she really isn't worth it," Alex says to her.
"Yes, she's not," Elena says, still looking straight into her enemies' eyes. Anastasia looks her up and down before turning around.
"Whatever," she walks away with her friends.
"Are you okay, Elena?" Alex asks.
"Of course." Elena forces a smile. "You know Anastasia, she has a knack for being an evil bitch."
"Dude, how in Zeus' name were you able to keep up with that?" Carlos asks Pierre. Pierre only sighs, and he looks away. Elena also wants to know how a nice guy like Pierre dated an evil witch like Anastasia. He doesn't want to think or talk about it.
It's either that he feels heartbroken that he and Anastasia aren't together anymore, or he regrets ever being with her in the first place.
Pierre looks at Elena, and Elena looks away from him.
She doesn't want Anastaisa's words to get to her, but they do. And she hates that her words cut her so deeply.
Because screw her.