Aubrey shut the car door with a loud bang and started to make for the front door of the mansion. She had the biggest frown on her face and it even grew worse as she walked in.

"Welcome home Miss Aubrey." Ignoring the butler intentionally, she fastened her steps towards the stairs. The further she was away from everyone, the better for everyone, she couldn't let her mother see her like that.

In as much as she hated to admit it, Paris was right, a hair change was just what she needed, even though she would have been a bit happier if it was a choice she had made on her own, and if she wasn't made fun of first to be able to make that decision.

She looked like a whole different person with straight brunette hair, way better than she did with the curly black.

She had spent hours at the saloon with Noa and Paris and even after getting her hair done and changing it's color, she wasn't really sure she was confident with this new look. It felt the same to her, she felt the same, empty, and invincible and it didn't matter how many layers of hair dye she had on her hair, or how long it had gotten from being straightened that long, her life felt the same, miserable.

She walked down the huge hallway, not bothering to take notice of the different childhood pictures of her in her favourite swimming suit with medals hanging from her neck that hung on the wall. There were about three of them, each with different kinds of medals, each telling its own story.

But what hurt Aubrey the most wasn't the feeling of complete uselessness, it was the feeling that even a change as big as that was never going to get noticed by the people that mattered the most, her family.

Everything had changed for her since she got withdrawn from Breton's Junior swimming club after her foot accident. It had been eight years, but shorter than she remembered. She could still hear his voice, like an alarm that woke her up every morning before the start of her day, the look of disappointment on the faces of her parents when the doctor told them that she was never going to be able to swim again. It was the day she could never forget, the day her parents saw her as nothing but a big embodiment of disappointment.

Aubrey like most of the kids in the Royal academy was born into a prestigious family. Her father was a chief judge in Breton, and her mother was a very popular neurosurgeon who owned one of the biggest hospitals in the city. For people with such busy schedules, Aubrey's professional career and dream of being a child swimmer somehow was the only thing that brought her parents together even on their busiest days. Before the accident, Aubrey remembered herself to be their little princess. Even with their busy schedules, they made out time to attend all her games and interviews, as well as manage her career as one of the leading stars in the country as a family.

She was the pride of her family, and a symbol of strength and talent for all the children in Breton, a representation that only a few could attain.  But what seemed to be Aubrey's perfect life came crashing down right after the announcement.

She did her best to heal, to be better again, she tried to get back into the swimming pool but she was never as fast as she used to be, and her legs gave up before she reached the finish line. She was slow, and never made it back in time to even win fifth place. Even after giving up on her dreams of participating at the championship,   Aubrey never gave up. She did her best, and practiced every single day to be better again. Her parents got her the best instructors in the whole country, and world, and she spent all the rest of the year practicing and learning to use her legs again but it didn't matter how hard she tried, she never got better at it.

In time, her parents stopped attending her competitions and lots of companies replaced her photos on their products with that of other rising talents. No child looked up to her anymore and no media outlets cared to have them on their show either. Her entire identity as Breton's princess was lost in the wind, and so was that of being her parent's dash of pride.

They both got too busy with their lives, being available only when they could afford to. No one cared about her classes anymore, or her competitions until she finally stopped trying.

"Oh my goodness Beatrice," her mother's voice echoed from the stairs, followed by her footsteps. Aubrey pushed herself closer to the long spiral stairs, raising her gaze earnestly so she could watch her mother rush down it, throwing her coat on as fast as she could.

Gwendoline Bolton, could be easily mistaken to be Aubrey's twin. Her curly hair made a bounce with each step she took, raising her legs behind her so she could fix her heels while she kept on chatting through her phone,

Aubrey refrained from taking another step, forcing a smile on her face and holding on tightly to the arms of her backpack as the lady drew closer to her. She tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping that for once, her mother took notice of the change she had made, preferably scold her even for it and give her an earful about how she could have been more proud of her curly hair.

"You won't believe it Candice, I've got a meeting with a few investors for the hospital in ten minutes," she looked like she was in so much hurry even as she got to the last stair. "I can't believe I lost track of time."

"Mum-"

"Welcome home baby." Her mother stole a quick glance at her, letting a smile spread on her face before she walked past her immediately, still gluing her phone to her ear with her shoulder.

Aubrey let go of the breath she was holding. Of course she didn't notice, she never did, how on earth did she think that day was going to be any different? She slowly turned around so she could watch how her mother raced to the door as fast as she could like her life depended on it. She let out a shaky breath.

"Aubrey," Aubrey turned around immediately she heard the voice that called her name. She could recognize that voice even with her eyes closed. It belonged to her brother's caregiver, Nancy.

Since her parents were almost never home all day, her mother had thought it was best to employ a caregiver for both her children, Aubrey stopped needing one since her fifteenth birthday but Solomon, he was just three, he needed one much more. Aubrey managed to return the lady's smile as she drew closer to her.

"You're home quite early." The lady went on, "And I can see you did something with your hair too."

Of course the caregiver had to be the one to notice out of everyone else in her life

"Yeah," she said. "My friends thought that I tried a change."

The older woman raised a brow like she had doubts.

"Whose idea was it? " she asked her. "Was it the future Queen's?"

"I wanted to do it." Aubrey cut her off quickly, intending to take away every negative conclusions Nancy had about the situation, "I was getting sick of it, and it's length, and it's curls."

"Well," she let out an obvious frown, raising her upper lip as she did. "I thought it was pretty and made you stand out a lot."

Aubrey let out a weak exhale.
What now? One person hated it and another liked it?

"But I like this change," the woman went on, "it suits you really well. Everything looks good on you Aubrey."

Aubrey let out a weak scoff, fancy her trying to joke about it. Thanks to people like Nancy, Aubrey's day was always brightened whenever she was home. Aubrey let her eyes scan the house shortly.

"Where's my Dad?" She traced her gaze back to the woman in front of her. "Is he home?"

"Not yet." She said. "And you shouldn't wait up for him, he said he had a few things to do at the office, but I had the chef make your favourite for lunch, just in case you're hungry first."

What was the point eating alone again on that big table anyway? It didn't matter if she did, it's not like anyone was there to stop her or tell her that she had to.

"Can you have someone bring it up to my room please?"

"Sure thing."

"Thank you."

Aubrey turned and started to make for the stairs until she was out of sight.