Just because something works, doesn't mean it can't be improved"- Shuri

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It was still dark outside when Chase woke up to an alarm he didn't remember setting. A moment of panic sent him jumping to his feet as he realized that he wasn't in his own bed, but the crazy events of the previous day came back to him quickly enough. Feeling his way along the wall, he finally found the light switch, flicking it to illuminate a spacious bedroom that he hadn't had the time or energy to properly explore the previous day. He marveled at the high ceiling and ornate bedframe, the back of which sported a subtly carved pair of dice, as he made his way to the nearest door. 

Opening it, he found that it led to a walk-in closet whose off-white walls were decorated with a huge picture frame. Inside it was a newspaper clipping the majority of which was taken up by a large photograph. In it, a young Violet Hewkin stood with her arm around a taller woman whose blond hair was pulled up under a diamond tiara. In the background of the photo were two men, one of whom Chase recognized as his father. While Violet smiled sweetly, almost pleadingly at the woman, she didn't seem to be returning the gesture of friendship. Instead, she stood with her arms fixed rigidly at her sides and her expression left calculatedly neutral. Both women's bellies bulged outward, straining the dark fabric of their elegant gowns. Heir to the throne Princess Melodie VanderSchee and Lady Violet Hewkin in first public appearance since pregnancy announcement, read the caption underneath. 

So that was Juliana's mother. If it weren't for the caption, Chase would've never been able to guess that the two princesses were related. There seemed to be something markedly unfriendly about Melodie's eyes- something that warned others to keep their distance. While Juliana was animated and compassionate, she seemed inexplicably dry and empty. 

Turning his eyes away from the picture frame before he could get too lost in thought, Chase noticed a single outfit suspended from a black hanger toward the back of the closet: a red shirt and sweater with black pants and a tie. Taking it off the hanger, he examined it to see that it sported the Royal Academy's crest, a monochrome version of the Order of Chance insignia. A uniform. They really did expect him to be at school today. 

"Morning. You'd better get that on- we leave for the Academy in five minutes." 

Chase jumped around to see an immaculately groomed Princess Juliana leaning against the closet doorway, her arms crossed casually over her chest. While most of her uniform was identical to Chase's, she wore a pair of polished heels and tights and her shirt was tucked into a neatly pressed black skirt. 

It took Chase a moment to register his own appearance as opposed to hers. He was shirtless in front of a royal. Scrambling for his uniform, Chase pressed it impulsively against his chest, suddenly very conscious of the light layer of flab that lined his sides and his pasty, bony arms that looked like they hadn't seen the light of day in years. Still clutching his clothes against his wiry frame, he awkwardly waddled past Juliana and into the nearest bathroom to change. If the princess had any internal reaction to seeing a fellow heir in nothing but his glasses, his socks, and a pair of bright yellow SpongeBob shorts, she didn't show it. 

"How has he been adjusting?" Juliana turned around to see an enthusiastic Mrs. Montgomery standing behind her and wearing a quaint vintage floral dress. 

"I don't know- I haven't yet spoken to him. He's changing into his uniform."

"The poor boy... this must all be so strange to him!" Mrs. Montgomery exclaimed. "But I think he will make a good companion, especially for you three. He will ground you, while you show him what he can be."

"We're one small incident away from being at war," Juliana replied darkly. "The Jackers have more leverage on us than ever before. I don't think 'grounding' is what we need right now." 

"Oh, but it is," Mrs. Montgomery continued, sounding much more insistent than usual. "As your father always used to say, strength without humility and perspective is like a tree without roots. It looks insuperable, but falls at the slightest wind. I know that deep inside, you doubt Lord Hewkin's decision to raise Chase in America, but I can assure you it is perhaps the most intelligent thing he has ever done. Chase will be Project PROB's roots." 

"So what you're suggesting is that I lack perspective?" Juliana looked at Mrs. Montgomery incredulously. It was clear from her expression that she was not accustomed to such direct criticism. 

"You have always had everything you could possibly want and more. You never required it," Mrs. Montgomery confirmed. "But you will now. Even the best of us have moments in our lives when we encounter a challenge we cannot surmount alone. And that is alright. The Eagle has the Power now. He is every inch your equal. What you will need to defeat him is not four strong warriors, but one strong team. The greatest heroes are the ones who know when to share their burden." 

"My burden is not one that can be shared," Juliana said softly, her voice slowly fading away as her eyes turned down. "My parents sought the High Generals' counsel when they found out the Jackers were in Arcana instead of going out to hunt them down, and look where that got them. I do not intend to make the same mistake. The moment we get a location on the Hewkins or the Eagle, I'm going in."

"Oh, sweetheart," a concerned look came over Mrs. Montgomery's face. "You don't have to make everything about your parents. Haven't you suffered enough? You were a baby. There is nothing you could've done to save them, and going through life with your hands constantly in fists is neither going to bring them back nor make things easier for you. You need to learn to let go... I truly believe Chase can help you with that."

"I'm back!" Chase announced as he swung the bathroom door shut. "Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Wouldn't want to make a princess late to school." 

Juliana smiled at the sight of him- he had combed back his messy curls and hung his sweater over his arm in response to the warm suite. He was beginning to look like an Order member, even if only outwardly. 

"Alright, children, it's time to go!" Mrs. Montgomery insisted, prying open a nearby window and swinging her legs over the sill with surprising agility. Before Chase could question what she was doing, she jumped out. 

Chase's first reaction was to run to the window in surprise, but what he saw when he looked down didn't do much to alleviate his shock. A sleek, triangular jet of some sort that looked more like a large alien drone than any earthly aircraft hovered just a few feet below the window. Mrs. Montgomery had just climbed down through its open top, and was gesturing for Chase and Juliana to follow. 

"Oh my..." 

"Just get in already- you have no idea how many strings I pulled to book our ride." Juliana stepped up to the window, but paused when she saw Chase's hesitancy. At first, she wanted to hurry him up even more- the last thing she wanted was for him to be late for his first day at the Royal Academy- but Mrs. Montgomery's words soon came back to her. Perspective. He was probably not nearly as accustomed to jumping out of top floor windows as she was. 

"It's alright- the probs of you falling are minuscule, and even if you did, the jet would catch you in seconds," she said, this time in a softer voice and taking time to dwell on her words. 

Chase's expression shifted as he looked down at the jet once again. Ducking to fit his tall frame through the window, he joined Juliana on the sill before the two of them jumped together, landing squarely in the middle of a circle of seats. 

"Took you long enough," Roy complained, glancing down at the massive dial of his watch as a transparent roof slid over the gaping hole in the jet's ceiling. He, Hayley, and a boy Chase didn't recognize, all dressed in their Academy uniforms, already occupied three of the five seats. 

"What even is this?" Chase looked around, marveling at the jet's shiny interior finish and the seemingly elaborate driving controls Mrs. Montgomery was currently operating. "And how many of these do you even have? Are cars only for peasants, or something?" That certainly sounds like something Roy would say while sitting in a jet, he thought. 

"Oh, it's nothing like that!" Juliana quickly contradicted. "This is the Probability-Rationalizing Operational Body Jet, or the PROBJet. It travels faster than the speed of sound and is the only one of its kind in the world. It's usually reserved for very important Order missions, but since we're already pretty late and it's your first day, I asked my grandfather if we could use it today." 

"So you just fly around town in this thing and nobody notices?" Chase asked incredulously. 

"Well," the new boy laughed, giving Juliana a knowing look before crossing his long legs. "It zooms by so fast that no one ever really gets a good look at it. It's become a bit of an urban legend here in Arcana City- a lot of people think it's some kind of UFO. By the way, I'm Adrian Harrow," he reached forward to shake Chase's hand. Chase held out his hand but winced as Adrian squeezed it a bit past the point of comfort. 

"We were basically raised together," Juliana elaborated, smiling as Adrian placed his hand on her shoulder. "He's not an Heir, but-" 

"I might as well be, right?" Adrian interrupted, not breaking eye contact with Juliana. 

"Hey," Roy cut in tersely. "Hands off the Princess." 

"Okay, big brother," Adrian laughed, raising both his arms dramatically in the air before lowering them to his sides. Even then, Chase had to force himself not to eye him suspiciously. Something about the way he looked at Juliana made him decidedly uncomfortable. 

"I'll be dropping Roy and Adrian off at Postsecondary first, and then we'll go back around to the main campus," Mrs. Montgomery announced as she began to lower the jet in front of a cluster of buildings in the middle of a park near the outskirts of the city. Chase was surprised to see that they were already so far from the city center- it felt like they'd only been in the air for a few seconds. 

"Wait... the Academy has a college?" Chase asked as he read the sign in front of the main building. Royal Academy of Arcana: Postsecondary Campus

"Yes, of course," Juliana answered as the jet touched down softly. "Most Order members continue their educations here, but of course, some choose to travel to America or the UK to study at top institutions. Not that the Royal Academy isn't one, of course," she quickly added.

"So you could end up spending your entire life in this city... school, college, and then work," Chase mused as Roy and Adrian stood up, filing toward the jet's open hatch. "I'd expect people whose job it is to protect the world to want to learn a little more about it." 

Juliana's eyes widened with surprise at this insight. This was exactly what Mrs. Montgomery had meant! She'd known these things all her life, but it had taken a random American coming to her country for them to be said. 

"You're right," she nodded slowly. "It would be nice if-" 

"We went to New York?" Hayley grinned, leaning forward with excitement. "Or Italy, or Costa Rica, or Paris! Honestly, I don't mind where, but you know what I'm getting at." 

"I don't think what Chase is talking about is a vacation," Juliana replied tersely, looking over at Chase, who nodded with understanding. "You're leading me to say something I've been thinking for a long time. You mustn't tell my grandfather I said this, but this has to be about more than just Arcana. If the Eagle gets his hands on the Box, he will kill or enslave everyone- Arcanese, American, African, Asian; he doesn't care, so neither should we. The Jackers are more than a terrorist group, so we should become more than a country. If Project PROB goes, it goes global." 

Mrs. Montgomery smiled softly to herself as she parked the PROBJet in front of a tall gate leading into the Academy compound and the three Heirs stepped through the open hatch, talking excitedly amongst themselves. It's just like taking Damian and Henry to school all over again, she thought fondly. Only these teenagers would be embarking on a much more perilous journey than their parents had ever dreamed of.