Well, the examination wasn't that bad. I mean the questions were pretty simple. Even though I haven't gone to a formal school yet, mom and dad made sure we had a good education, reading to us stories of our kingdom, forcing us to memorise the names of former kings and queens till I could recite them like A, B, C.

That isn't my problem at the moment. My stomach's virtually growling.

And guess what, Madam Alicia said there wouldn't be any eating after breakfast until lunch.

Imagine that!

Me, Alan, surviving on a measly four loaves of toasted bread and tea.

Me!

Psha!

Ignoring the stares I'm getting, I barge out of the CommonRoom where Madam Alicia said we could come to just sit or chat with the other girls.

Isaiah's eyes widen at my expression when I march up to him.

"My Lady, is anything the problem?" He asks.

"Yes! I'm hungry, that's the problem!"

I swear, I can see his lips twitch.

Some girls look at me weirdly, I glare at them and they shift their attention elsewhere.

"It's not lunchtime yet." A voice startles me.

I turn, meeting Theresa's icy blue eyes.

Get behind me Satan.

Ignoring her, I stomp down the corridor, hoping to somehow run into a place that contains food. But in the next ten minutes, I realize that I'm officially lost.

There's a particular painting on the wall and I've passed by it six times.

Ugh! This place sucks!

Thankfully,I spot a maid in the corner dusting some statues. Although, slightly baffled, she points me towards the kitchen.

I slip unnoticed down a dark stairwell and then up another, appreciating the scent of good food filtering into my nose.

When the kitchen finally comes into view, I gasp at the largeness. There should be close to ten work stations and about thirty workers, flying here and there to complete their tasks.

Okay. This should be easy. Grab a snack and go.

"Hey!" A man barks. "Don't just stand there, grab an apron and get to work immediately." He towers over me by about a feet and some inches plus his muscular frame and moustache.

He thinks I'm one of the kitchen staff. Interesting.

I wonder what Madam Alicia would say if she finds me here.

Chuckling, I grab an apron and join in the hustle.

No one cares to speak to me besides a particular young girl that occasionally stares at me.

The hell is she looking at?

"Hello." She says timidly.

Raising a brow, I smile weakly. "Hello."

My focus is on succesfully sneaking some bagels under my dress without being caught. I didn't grow up on the streets of Eaton for nothing. I learnt a couple of things from Simon and his friends.

The girl doesn't bother me and so my mission completes successfully.

Elated, I finish up the dough I'm working on and before anyone can say "hey", I scurry out of there. I continue running, taking glances behind me in case anyone's running after me.

No one.

By the time I think to slow down, I bumped into someone.

A girl.

We both fall to the carpeted floor.

"Ow!" The girl cries out, rubbing at her butt.

I chuckle, rising to my feet and noticing her dress for the first time. It screams of wealth.

"I didn't see you there. So sorry." I apologise when really, I want to laugh at her plight.

She scoffs. "Are you going to help me up or not."

Really now?

I tap my chin, pretending to think about it. "Hmm? Not."

Her face contorts with rage. "Excuse me?"

"You're excused." Grinning, I continue my race, meandering through the corridors even if I had no single idea of where I was going to.

This is fun. Quite.

Well, until I'm slammed into another body that closely smells like a mix of roses and vanilla.

This time, I'm the one to fall to the ground with an "oof" sound.

Today falling day or what?

Glancing up, my lower jaw sinks down in surprise. It's him.

The pretty boy from yesterday. There's a look of confusion on his face.

"You." He states.

Rolling my eyes, I push off the floor. "My name is not you, I'm quite sure. What are you doing here?" I ask, assessing his thick clothes made out of velvet material.

He smirks. "I should be asking you that."

"Yeah, whatever."

The boy sighs. "I'm not surprised you don't have any single respect for your prince."

Through widened eyes, I gape at him. "Wait, you're that prince. The reason for this Choosing?"

He chuckles. "Maybe, or maybe not. That would be my elder brother, Ace. He's quite cranky, unlike me. I suggest you keep yourself in check."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Why do you say it like I'm a wild animal."

The prince shrugs. "You kind of act like it. I saw you running down the hallway like an elephant on rampage.

Okay, that's a decent amount of insults.

"Says the one who almost got mugged yesterday." I taunt, smiling at the blush that stains his rosy cheeks.

The prince groans. "Could you not talk-"

"What is going on here?"

I literally wince at the voice. Madam Alicia. I've been busted.

Slowly, I spin around to meet her steely gaze. "Eh-"

"-not a word out of you, you silly child. Come with me." She seizes my hand and pulls me away. I glance back at the prince who simply waves.

Ugh!

*

My punishment for running away from my station would be to arrange an entire library filled with books scattered all over the floor. There should be around three hundred books or more.

After reading out my punishment in front of the girls who giggled at my predicament, well, except Harriet, Madam Alicia proceeded to tell us the program for each day.

MONDAYS: history lessons

TUESDAYS: etiquette of royalty

WEDNESDAYS:ball dancing

THURSDAYS: history classes, portraits

FRIDAYS:horse riding, portraits

SATURDAYS: cooking classes, games and competitions

SUNDAYS: picnic with the royalty

Ain't this glorious?

Sulking, I head to my room, ignoring the muted conversations of the girls, but one in particular had the audacity to confront me directly.

Huh. These girls don't know who they're dealing with.

"Alanna, where did you say you're from again?" Theresa asks sweetly, but her eyes are anything but sweet. There are
two other girls standing with her.

"Eaton. Why do you want to know?" I answer because honestly, I'm too drained to sneak out a snarky comment.

"Eaton?" One of the girls scoff in disgust.

I quirk a brow. "You got a problem with that?"

"No wonder you're so uncultured. You have absolutely no form of dignity in you." Theresa eyes me from head to toe like I'm some form of obscene creature.

"But look at us, breathing the same air. Funny, isn't it?" I reply, inching closer to her.

One of the girls laugh. The one that has a mixture of brown and red hair. "You're so funny, Alanna. I'm sure the Prince will not hesitate to send you packing when he discovers your social status."

Stupid.

I roll my eyes. "Remind me why I even stopped to talk to you bunch of losers again?"

That was a rhetoric question, so, I spun around , trying to walk away until Theresa grabbed me.

"Let go of me, you leech."

Her nails sunk deeper into my skin. "Stay away from my path, cockroach."

I snort. "You're the one literally standing in my way, dumb dumb."

Forcefully yanking off her hand, I walk away.

Mom, I definitely did not sign up for this.

*

Dinner goes smoothly. Because the King and Queen are absent, conversations fly here and there.

"I didn't see much of you today." Harriet speaks up from beside me.

"I somehow got lost and Madam Alicia-" I pause in my words. Why am I explaining?

Harriet raises a brow, expecting me to continue but I don't. She sighs.

"My day sucked too. I had a run in with Theresa. I mean, that girl is nuts. She feels like she owns the whole palace or something."

I smirk, catching the leech's glare across the table. "Tell me about it."

Discretely, I stick up my middle finger at her snickering how the colour fades from her face.

Harriet on the other hand joins in snickering. "You really are something, Alan."

At the end, Madam Alicia announces that we'd be having an exclusive interview on Wednesday evening after our dancing lessons, and also, she tells us about the results of our examination that would be posted in the Common Room early tomorrow morning.

"I don't sleep till past ten." Harriet says while we walk down a corridor. She appears to know her way around here.

"Me neither. Back at home, my mother would yell about how I stay up late at night."

Harriet smiles peacefully. "Mine too. I sort of miss home... not my eight brothers."

I blink twice. "Eight brothers? I have just two and it's chaos at home."

She laughs. Some girl passing fixates her gaze on us.

"Hey, what, are you looking at?" I snap.

The girl snorts. "Mind who you hang out with, Harriet."

"I'd mind my business if I were you, Celeste." Harriet hisses. I never knew she had some fight in here.

Celeste hurries away.

"See, everyone hates me."

*

What do you think of Alanna so far?

Yeah.

Our Prince will show up pretty soon. lol.

I'll explain why he has to be in the dark for now.

Anyway, that's it. Work resumes tomorrow, so I'll be having less time to post updates. But I'll try anyway.

Thanks for reading...

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