ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴ ❅ 𝕽𝖔𝖞𝖆𝖑 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖓𝖎𝖈𝖑𝖊𝖘

❝𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 4❞

K02 ‖ Lords of Time: Temporal Efficiency

"Some girls get lost amongst fairytales and stories of ever after, while others find themselves pressed between pages of Edgar Allen Poe and dreams of nevermore."

―Ann Marie Eleazer, She's Magic & Midnight Lace

𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖉𝖊:
Italic words — the thoughts of a character / a foreign language is spoken
Bold and italic words — a lie, only when Princess Caitlyn's around
Bold, italic and underlined words — the timeline of memories, past, hallucinations etc.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Year 2039
Ever Realm Academy, Elderbourne Isle

"We have arrived, your highnesses," said the driver.

"Finally!" Maria Blavatsky said and was the first to get out of the car with Princess Han Su Jung following behind her.

"Thank you, sir," Princess Neelam said, handing over the cash before getting out of the car herself.

After the car drove off, the three girls were left standing in front of the Ever Realm administration building. As minutes passed, Maria started to grow weary and uncomfortable while Princess Han was busy checking out her makeup with a compact mirror and Princess Neelam was admiring the scenery. From where they stood, the trio could hear faint shrieks of children's laughter from the grounds.

Princess Neelam wondered if the younger students of Ever Realm Academy (ERA) were having a snowball fight on this glorious Sunday morning. The thought made her smile.

"Are they going to make us wait outside the whole day?" Maria asked indignantly. "Didn't they say someone will greet us at the administration building? Where are they?!"

Just as she finished her last sentence, the entrance of the administration building opened and a dainty girl stepped out dressed in a long black coat with matching high-heeled boots and black French barrette hat on her head. She was flanked with bodyguards on either side of her as she stood on top of the stairs, looking down on the trio.

"Welcome to Ever Realm Academy," she drawled lazily, looking like she would rather be anywhere else but here. "Princess Han of South Korea, Princess Neelam of India and Lady Maria Blavatsky of Russia. I hope the trip here was satisfactory?"

"Of course," Princess Han said, still staring at herself through the compact mirror. "And I see you've done your research about us. It's a pity you couldn't put in the effort to greet us on time."

"Says the one who was an hour late," the girl laughed.

Maria started moving forward, "You—!"

Princess Han closed her compact mirror with a snap while Princess Neelam tried to calm the infuriated Maria, glancing worriedly at the huge bodyguards beside the girl.

"What is your name, girl?" Princess Han asked through gritted teeth, earning a louder laugh from the black clad girl.

"Surely you could recognize a fellow royal?" she said, as the mirthful smirk on her face widened. "That's the basic etiquette of meeting another royalty. Oh, perhaps they don't teach that there in Poposi?"

Princess Han winced, stepping back like she had been slapped across the face, a flush creeping across her fair cheeks. That widening smirk on her hostess's face did nothing to help the pooling dread in her stomach. She opened her mouth but no words came out as the girl tilted her head to the side, waiting for an answer. The South Korean princess was at a disadvantage. She knew no one at ERA and had hoped that they would save her the burden of researching by introducing themselves. After all, she's a guest at ERA.