DINNER WAS an ordeal. They all ate in a dining hall, which Andorra had pieced together was like a cafeteria, only the dining hall in this place was far larger than the cafeteria at her old high school.

Gone was the dingy linoleum tiles, the bright overhead lights, the sticky metal fold-down tables with the attached benches. Gone was the smell of cafeteria food and ketchup. Gone were the lunch ladies and the lines to get food and the loud chatter and the what do you have for lunch today?

Instead, the dining hall was a grand room, practically a square, with circle tables. It looked almost like a wedding reception, with white table clothes and fancy china and cloth napkins. Above them were chandeliers, one for each table, and there were large, floor to ceiling windows that covered one entire wall. Outside the windows were a view into the mountains.

Coralia knew exactly where to go. She grabbed Andorra's arm and hauled her towards one of the far tables on the right, not quite in the back, but certainly not in front. Bort and Hans were both already sitting there, arguing over something, but when they saw Coralia, they grew quiet.

"Leelee, check it out. They're making roast beef for dinner tonight."

Coralia rolled her eyes, but it was good natured. She sat down beside Hans, then turned to Andorra. "Roast beef is this dummy's favorite."

Dummy or not, Andorra could hear the teasing in Coralia's voice. These were her friends. Something Andorra had never had, not really. Not with Kyle, who she had once believed to be her friend. Not with Noah, who she had once believed to love her.

Bort was saying something about classes tomorrow, but Andorra was too busy watching as her betrothed walked into the room. The word had haunted her for the rest of the day since she had met with Headmaster Fizulo, but the word hadn't been wrong. She was to be married to him, even if she didn't want to be.

Anders walked with such confidence that it made Andorra sick with disgust. But what made her stomach roll was who he was sitting with.

Aihfie, Eve, and Jezebel all sat at the table. When they saw Anders, they waved in a hello, waving him down and leaning on their hands to talk to him. They were genuinely happy to see him, the boy who would become king. Their king, Andorra realized. He would be their king, but she had a feeling she would never be their Queen.

"Oh, ew. I see you've spotted Anders." Coralia was leaning around Andorra to get a closer look.

"Gag me," Hans said, pretending to gag. Bort let out a laugh, also looking at Anders. His nose scrunched up in disgust. "Wish he just wouldn't come back."

It seemed to Andorra like Anders wasn't everyone's favorite after all.

"I'm sorry you have to marry the guy," Bort said, and he actually did look sorry for Andorra. "I wish you could become Queen without him. He's just... he's such a meanie."

Only someone who looked like Bort could say meanie and get away with it. Despite having to be at least eighteen years old, he had the essence of an innocent child. Andorra wasn't sure if it was because his baby fat had yet to leave his face, or if it was because of his personality.

"I'll hire a hit man for you," Hans said, a clear opposite to Bort. Where Bort was soft, Hans seemed to be hard. His humor though was refreshing.

"Thanks. Maybe I'll take you up on that." Andorra let it slip before she realized maybe she shouldn't be saying that in front of a random faerie in Anlithamy. Because technically, her saying that was treason against the future King.

Hans didn't seem to think that deeply into her words. His sharp grin was response enough to show her he knew she was joking.

There was a ring in the air that sounded like a bell. Andorra turned, along with everyone else, to look at where it came from. Towards the front of the room, Headmaster Fizulo floated on his invisible cloud, above everyone. His bone hands were pressed together, elbows out, against his rib cage.

The bell that had rung hung in front of him.

"Welcome back students. Today makes a glorious day, a mark in history. You were given time off due to the welcoming of the Princess, future Queen of Anlithamy. She has finally returned home. And to that, we greet her here, welcoming her to Hornwell Academy. She will complete her education here until she is ready to take the throne."

Andorra's face burned. She wanted to hide under the table, wanted to run away, wanted to cry. Like that night at the dance, in that red dress, everyone was looking at her. Watching her. Andorra couldn't take it.

Applause rumbled through the students. It seemed most were happy to have her there, seated at a table just like they were. But, when her eyes passed the table of her betrothed, none of them were clapped. Aihfie held her gaze first, eyebrow raising in annoyance, or maybe in a challenge.

She looked at all of them, blank faced, perhaps bored. When she finally looked at Anders, she nearly flinched. He was grinning at her, feral and dangerous and murderous.

For the first time, Andorra realized that Anders didn't want her there. Anders too didn't want the marriage to happen. And his burning hatred for her was far beyond her dislike of him.

She could see it clear as day on his face, as if she were having a vision of the future. He didn't just hate her. And he didn't just want the wedding to be called off. She could tell in that moment that Anders didn't want her there, in Hornwell Academy. And he didn't want her there, in the Royal Court. And her absolutely didn't want her there in Anlithamy.

No, Anders wanted her dead. And Andorra knew, deep down, he wouldn't be above murdering her. Despite her talk of a hitman being a joke, to Anders, hiring a hit man would be very, very serious.

And Andorra wasn't entirely convinced he hadn't already hired one.

When she tore her gaze away from his, her blood had chilled and fear snaked its way down her spine. It wasn't just that people here didn't trust her, or like her. No, some people here wanted her very much dead, just like her Sun Clan.

She swallowed glass in her throat as she focused on Headmaster Fizulo. She was used to hatred. She was used to bullies. She was used to overcoming this. To overcoming her murderous Aunt. To overcoming Kyle and Paul. To making it our alive.

He stopped the applause. In his world, nothing had happened in that brief moment. In his world, students were clapping for their future Queen. In Andorra's world, things had just shifted significantly.

"Tonight, we dine on Roast Beef. A favorite of our beloved and missing King and Queen of today. Tonight, we will think of the tragedy surrounding Princess Andorra and her parents, our King and Queen. And tomorrow, we will begin to rewrite their legacy through their beloved daughter."

There was more applause, but it died down as soon as plates of roast beef appeared in front of them, seemingly out of thin air, cutlery appearing with it as well. Andorra was shocked, but no one else seemed to notice as they dug into their dinner.

Coralia winked at her. "It pays to be a magical being, huh?"

Andorra grabbed her fork, but her hand was shaking. She was shaking, she realized, and not from the onslaught of attention she had just received.

No one, thankfully, noticed. Coralia was too busy trying to fling roasted potatoes onto Hans' plate. Bort was shoving food in his face with the gusto of a twelve year old boy who thought he would never see food again. And Hans was trying to shovel the flung roasted potatoes into his mouth, one at a time, pop pop pop.

Andorra was the only one who didn't fit in. Yet, she told herself. This was her new home, and her new family, and she would become their friend. And eventually, when she rescued Oberon and Lithe, they would become a family of their own. She could picture it happening so vividly, she knew it had to be true.

One taste of the roast beef had Andorra swooning. It really was delicious, more so than any cafeteria lunch she'd eaten in high school. She gobbled it down as if it would disappear, and when she glanced up, Bort was giving her a smile, like he saw himself in her.

Friends they would be. Andorra willed it to be true as she tried the roasted potatoes, humming at the taste, loving every moment of the dinner in front of her. If this was what she would be eating every night, Andorra couldn't complain. She wouldn't complain.

Once dinner was eaten, and everyone was stuffed, the Headmaster released them. Coralia pushed back from the table first, grinning so hard Andorra was sure her face would split. "C'mon. Let's go back to our room. If we're lucky, someone will shoot off fireworks tonight."

That seemed like a common occurrence. Andorra trailed behind the three Autumn Court faeries, taking in the castle. It has been stone on the outside, yes, but the inside felt more like a home, with wooden floors and walls decorated with gorgeous wallpaper. No one else seemed to take note of the wallpaper, but it was all Andorra could look at.

Living here was so much more than the Human World. And she had no idea it had existed. That alone made Andorra feel homesick, wondering if her parents were watching television at that very moment, snuggled together on the couch. She wondered briefly what they had eaten for dinner, and if it had been anything close to as good as the roast beef here.

"Andorra! C'mon!" Coralia laughed from ahead of her, already on the staircase. Bort and Hans were there too, turned towards her. Bort looked at her, a smile on his face, but Hans was looking at Coralia.

Whether or not Andorra knew it, being there at Hornwell Academy was the beginning of her new life. And it was just the beginning of the prophecy that was more than just a competition between two feuding clans.

* * *

Want to learn more about Anlithamy and Andorra? Read my blog!

https://wickedpromisesblog.wordpress.com/my-books/the-golden-prophecy-series/