Sidney looked up at the massive, towering silver doors that had been engraved to look like shiny gemstones. As the door opened she slipped out of the car, chewing her lip out of nervousness. 

She fixed her duffle bag on her shoulder and firmly gripped the handle of her suitcase. Her heart pounded against her rib cage, feeling like it would just pop right out of her chest.

She began to walk up the gray stone steps to the front doors, every step made it seem like hours. She placed her hand firmly on the door and took a few deep breaths. 'Perhaps if I left no one would notice I was -' She cut her thoughts off and shook her head. 'No, Sidney, you can not chicken out like a baby.'

She pulled open the doors and slipped inside hoping to go unnoticed for a while, or at least until she was able to find the headmistress and headmaster.

Girls and boys were talking and laughing as they walked around the foyer which was massive, like the lobby of her hotel.

Glossy white marble floors had the light from the massive and fancy chandeliers above shine down on them. Silver lamps of the kingdom's flower were mounted on the pillars that held the high ceilings up so the chandeliers wouldn't bring them down. Chairs and couches were set out here and there, tables against the wall held flowers and other knick-knacks, along with coffee or side tables in the middle of the chair and couch set up. 

Silver carpet, like the famous red carpet, was rolled out where people would walk on to keep from getting the marble dirty or scuffed up. Rugs were underneath each table, making sure the feet of the furniture did not touch the marble floor.

Sidney slowly spun around and accidentally stumbled into a girl, who flicked her red hair to her back as she stood in the middle of the foyer with her golden-brown eyes fixed on her. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" She exclaimed, smoothing down her satin purple skirt and then fixing the matching bow on her blouse.

Sidney was flustered, she had dropped both her suitcase and duffle bag onto the floor and covered up her mouth with wide eyes. "Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't mean -" She tried to apologize to her, feeling bad for what she had done.

The redheaded girl looked her up and down, seeing the uniform she had on and her name tag, she concluded that she was: "You must be the bellhop for this academy? A little late are we? Tardiness is frowned upon, you know. I had to lug all seven of my suitcases into my room. Now my back and feet hurt all because you're late." She complained to her, pointing a finger at her chest.

Sidney waved her hands in front of herself, shaking her head at her words. "But I'm not -" She was again cut off by Dree who would not let the poor girl say a single thing.

Dree scoffed and placed her hands on her hips as she licked her bright red lips. "Look," She glanced at her name tag. "Sidney, I'm Cedreena "Dree" Collins, Crown Princess of Lonora, you don't talk back to royalty. I forgave you for my inconvenience and you should be honored that I let this slip by. Oh and here are five dollars, perhaps getting a bigger tip will motivate you." She handed Sidney the money, pretty much stuffing it in her hand before walking off.

Sidney was flabbergasted as looked at the bill in her hand and turned around to quickly to say something to Dree, whowas hurrying off with another girl by then.

"Oh boy," She sighed as she stuck the bill in her skirt pocket. "I better keep this and give it back to her when she realizes that I'm one of the scholarship winners." She bent down and picked back up her suitcase and duffle bag.

Just as she had composed herself again, she was knocked to the ground, her suitcase and duffle bag falling on the floor. This time a white rambunctious poodle began to lick her face, keeping her pinned down. While a beautiful black Maine Coon cat, rubbed her face on Sidney's arms and looked at her, and meowed. 

She laughed, managing to sit on her legs, and rubbed both their heads with a fond smile."Sparkles," She looked at the Poodle's tag then the Maine Coon's. "Pearl," She turned it to the back of the tag. "Oh your Duchess Theanna's pets."

She managed to get up on her feet and bend down to them, petting them and rubbing their stomachs. "Aren't you two cuties? Yes, you are! Missy would adore you guys. I think I am gonna write to her about the two royal pets, huh?"

Sparkles whined and pawed on her legs, head butting Sidney, wagging her tail happily.

Devona walked down the marble steps of her and her husband's office. "Ah, you must be Sidney Barnes, the scholarship winner from our very own Senoia. You might already know me, I'm Devona Domingo, Headmistress of the Royal Charm Academy."
 
Sidney curtseyed to Headmistress Devona. "Um, forgive me, I am not trying to be rude, it's just, how do you know I am a scholarship winner?" She asked, minutes prior was mistakenly took for a bellhop.

Devona smiled softly, stopping a few feet from her, and pushed up her glasses on her nose. "Your name tag gave that away. Not to mention we had to look up the names of everyone who entered to gather their information beforehand."

Sidney's cheeks flushed, talking about an embarrassing question and answer. "Oh, that does make sense." She quickly took off her name tag and stuffed it into the pocket in her vest so that no one else would know who she was. 

Devona laced her hands together and rested them in front of her dress as she had an amused smile on her face. "Now, welcome to The Royal Charm Academy, where young girls and boys blossom into royals and nobles that pride their families. What we strive for here are confidence and potential. You can do anything as long as you believe in yourself."

Sidney rubbed the back of her neck as she shifted her shoes so her toes touched together. " 'You can do anything as long as you believe in yourself.' That is quite the motto, beautiful too." She sheepishly gave a smile, feeling so awkward here with everyone looking at her. 

Devona gently smiled at her and motioned for her to follow her. "It has been the motto since the academy began." She began to walk down the halls. "Let me show you around the academy, or at least the major parts so you do not get lost in these vast hallways."

Sidney nodded, following beside the elder woman. "There is a slight chance I'll get myself lost and late for class even with a tour." She sheepishly said, pushing her hair behind her ear.

Devona was a bit taken aback at her words. "I am sure you will make do and not be late to class. I do have a tip for you: follow the other classmates or even your roommates if they happen to know where things are." She hoped that helped her.

Sidney nodded, she hadn't thought of that. "I will keep that in mind!" She had a habit of forgetting things only because she had so much to remember and was so stressed.

Devona stopped in front of two open doors, mentioning to follow her inside. "This is the library, where you can read for leisure and get information for your essays. Like all libraries we require you to speak in a soft voice, not disturbing anyone else who is here. We have a computer room so if any mishap happens with the headphones no one here will be disturbed." She explained walking down the main hall.

Sidney looked around with such astonishment displayed on her face, her eyes twinkling brightly and her mouth just hanging open. "Wow, Missy would love to see this in person instead of looking at it online so many times."
    
Devona smiled fondly at her reaction and walked back down the main hall of the library they had walked down. "So, Missy must be your sister, the one who entered you in, she just gushed about you. May I ask who Molly and Hadrian are?"

Sidney gave a sheepish look pushing her hair behind her ear. "Molly is my best friend and Hadrian is my boss at the hotel I work at." She replied, rubbing her arm as her shoulders cradled her head nestled under her chin. 

Devona nodded her head as Sidney sopke. "They made a good case for getting you in here. Even though it is a drawing of names, they sent me many emails, putting in so many good words and even begged to hope that we would let you in without one."

Sidney blushed bright red and hid her face in her hands. "I am so sorry they did that! I had no idea that they did that for me. I would never ask you to break or bend rules to get me in no matter what they said. I shouldn't be here. Someone else should since what they did wasn't right, I am so sorry -"

Devona gave a soft chuckle as she shook her head. "You have no reason to be sorry. It isn't against the rules. It states one person can enter someone three times I'm fine print." She offered Sidney a soft smile.

"That is great to hear." Sidney sighed inwardly, feeling a bit better that it wasn't against the rules and she wouldn't get in trouble for their actions.

Devona placed her hand on her shoulder. "Sidney, do you know what percentage of the scholarship winners make it through to graduation?" She asked, walking slowly down the hall.

Sidney wracked her brain for an answer. "I don't know . . . maybe fifteen to twenty percent?" She asked, only making a guess and choosing a low number.

"Try about ten percent of scholarship winners make it through to graduation. That has been the percentage since the academy began." Devona replied, always having felt bad about it.

Sidney's eyes widened now that she knew the percentage. "Oh my, that is a small percentage and it isn't that encouraging. What happened to them not being able to make it? I have a few ideas, but I'm not sure." She played with her fingers as she walked down the long main hallways. 

Devona looked over at her. "There is a lot of pressure on you because of your backgrounds. Some may not take too kindly to you coming here and making your life here miserable, not many people can take that. Others have problems with their family that they have to leave to take care of them."

"Oh," Sidney's voice trailed off, causing her to fall quiet. 'The chance Mama could get worse could cause me to leave the academy way before I'm peer pressured out.' She thought to herself, twisting the buttons on her cuffs.

Devona stopped and turned to her, placing her hands on her shoulders and looking down at her. "I try not to lose faith."

She stopped at the doors to the classrooms. "One of the most important things to remember is you must be on time for each class. If you are late more than three times unless there is a good reason for it you will get an F."

Sidney nodded along with her, peering into the classroom. "When I was in school I was at the top of my class -" She explained only to cut herself off when she stuck her hand in her pocket and felt the letter in her pocket.
    
Devona took the hint to not make a mention of the slip up. "Now, onto your locker. It has everything you need, school books, notebooks, pens, pencils, whatever you need for your classes." She explained stopping at a locker. "This is yours, it has your name on it."

Sidney looked at her locker, it was silver and looked like it was a normal locker but had a twist of Victorian style. "This is mine?" She set her bags down and opened up her locker with a smile on her lips.

Devona smiled watching her with such wonder in her eyes. "I am sure you know the school dress code, if not here is a pamphlet that explains everything." She handed a pamphlet to the girl. "I must get going for the others to come, see you later."

Sidney took the pamphlet and watched her walk away as she waved at her. She took a deep breath and ran her hand over the front of her locker after she had closed it.

A voice broke her away from her thoughts, followed by a wave from the person belonging to the voice. "You must be the other scholarship winner from our very own Senoia!" A boy around her age exclaimed, moving the bangs of his skater-style brown hair off the side, his blue-green eyes magnified behind his kelley blue glasses.

Sidney turned her attention over to the boy. "How do you know that? For anything, I could be a princess of a faraway kingdom or a bellhop like that one girl mistakenly took me for."

The boy laughed leaning against the locker beside her that had his name on it, which he tapped on it. "Because the headmistress was talking to you. The headmaster talked to me too and they only talk to scholarship winners." He told her, crossing his arms with a lopsided smile.

Sidney felt a little embarrassed, her expression mirroring her feelings quite clearly. "Oh, that could also be another reason -" She paused and then looked up at him. "So you talked to the headmaster, which means you're a scholarship winner."

The boy nodded and pointed to his nameplate on the locker. "Witty Moss, the other winner from Senoia," He introduced himself to her. "We are the first out of all history to be both from Senoia!"

Sidney nodded, pushing her bangs out of her face. "Yeah, history - that must be a big deal huh?" She herself off her locker but somehow lost her footing when she turned around to face her locker and stumbled back into someone. "Oh, I'm so sorry." She apologized as quickly as she could, whipping around to look up at the person.

Thea gasped and stepped back, clenching her fists at her side. "Watch where you're going!" She snapped with a frown then gave an amused look. "Oh, you're the scholarship winner Sidney Barnes." She asked, crossing her arms.

Mia spoke up right after her in a dull tone with a blank face. "This is soon-to-be Crown Princess, Duchess Theanna Messing of Senoia." She introduced her friend. "We will let this mess up slide, do not let it happen again or you will not like the consequence." 

Thea put on hand on her hips and eyed the two scholarship winners. "Hope you guys have what it takes to graduate. It's harsh if you're not royal or noble. Being brought up in a royal or noble family, all the weight that is put on your shoulders, it is much easier to take than it being dumped on you from humble lives." She commented in a snarky tone, placing her hands on her hips.

"I think I can manage." Sidney squeaked out softly, feeling very small next to her and scared as well. "Thank you though for your . . . words?" Her tone unsure how curtly she ought to be.

Thea looked Sidney up and down, her attire was clearly a uniform by the matching colors and button up dress shirt. "You're a flight attendant?" She asked, the only occupation coming to mind.

Sidney shook her head, glancing over at Witty, who had given her an encouraging smile. "No, a hotel worker." She replied, rubbing her crossed arms and glancing over at her. "I mostly work at the desk, since my boss thinks my people skills need a bit more work."

Mia was interested in what she had said, even if she didn't show it she was. "Oh, since you're a hotel clerk can you set the tiny chocolates on my pillow?" She asked hoping that she would say yes. "I like those tiny chocolates."

Sidney chewed on her lip, trying to figure out how to approach this delicate spot she was in. "Uh, I don't think that's what I'm here for." She replied, tilting her head to the side.

Thea rolled her eyes at Mia, whose head turned to look at her and ignored Witty and Sidney. "Mia let's go. We need to find Dree. She texted me she's here." She didn't even give the scholarship winners a second look as she walked off.

Mia shuffled beside her and walked down the hall. "So those are the scholarship winners of Senoia?" She flatly mused, glancing back at the two before looking back in front of her.

Thea tapped her finger on her cheek and her kind was swarming with not no nice words. "Yes, Mia, it just so happens they are. Anyone who wants a better life enters in hopes of getting picked, and so, you have the poor and working classes enter, like them." She explained, pressing her fingers into her temple.

Mia's attention was caught by sparkling high-end outfit. "Oh, it's Dree." She pointed her finger out at the foreign princess who was politely talking to some fellow students.

Thea's eyes followed where Mia was pointing. "Dree!" She called out, waving to the girl. "Oh my, you've finally arrived! How was the journey?" She asked, drawing the girl in for a hug.

Dree turned around and looked at Mia and Thea. "Thea!" She hugged her back, pulling away and pushing some hair from her face. "I have! It was perfect! I spent the majority getting a mani and pedi which I highly suggested to relax me before I got here!"

Thea clapped her hands together, beaming. "Oh, that sounds wonderful. What I'd do for one right now," She looked outside and looked around. "Is Skye not here? She's normally following you around like a little puppy."

Dree crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "She's back in the room. I asked her if she could unpack for me, such a sweetie. I told her I'd be back after I met up with you. I just had to find you in person and couldn't wait a moment longer." She explained, waving to someone who passed by and greeted her.

"I can't wait to see her again. It's been a few years, hasn't it?" Thea tried to recall how long it had been while trying to keep on a forced sweet tone.

Dree thought back to when she last saw Thea. "It was two years ago, I believe? " She questioned, not quite sure of the time. "I'm just glad we have a whole school year to spend together! From fall until spring, ooh, it's going to be amazing."

Thea nodded with a bright smile on her lips showed it. "Oh yes, well, we must catch up tonight at supper and make sure Skye is there. She's such a sweetie and I want to make sure she's included in our group!" She sweetly explained, hugging Dree.

Dree hugged her back and pulled away, placing a hand on her hip. "I'll make sure to bring her along." She agreed with a nod. 'Thea you little -' She cut off her thoughts when her smile faltered. "Take care." She blew them a kiss as she turned on her heels and walked off.

Thea waved to Dree and dropped her smile, groaning. "Come on, Mia," She grabbed her friend's hand and pulled her as she walked down the hall. "I'm strongly optimistic about this school year will be unlike any other."

〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰❦〰

A/N:
I know this is a bit late, but on my defense I was busy irl and my mom is so upset about me being on my phone so much. If I had a laptop that was hooked up to internet, that would be all okay yet since I don't I just have to do my best when I can. I don't even look at my fingers most of the time or the keyboard since I know where all they keys are.

I am still looking for a cast for this, none of the face claims have really hit home for me yet. I have been looking for underrated ones yet Pinterest won't give me names, so I have to download the photo, reverse search it and look through everything to find a name. Sometimes I never find it which is really sad, and you guys can always suggest ideas, tag me in books with them or post pictures in the comments with the link inline of the character.

I'm also changing names of characters and places to fit better while also working out the lore of the world. It was really messy before and now it's getting more polished. I'm actually really happy with how things are turning out this time around and it's gonna continue to be better and hopefully you guys feel the same.

Chapter Talk:
I did have to take out a bunch in this chapter and rewrite most, since I just didn't like it. It just seemed blah and I had written in Thea had a cousin named Gerald yet Idk why, I guess he was to fill in when I had lost for ideas for the MCs? He had only popped up this time and I don't think I had written him in anywhere else from what I got.

Devona is such a nice lady, and if Sidney had given her the letter she would have been understanding and would have helped. Yet Sidney was just so scared or nervous about everything, she had just gotten there. She didn't want pity or anything, and until things hit rock bottom she was just going to try and fit in. It won't be easy but she wants to manage for as long as she can.

Thanks for reading!