“Brynn, could you please wait up?”
I’m huffing and puffing as I chase my new lady-in-waiting up the circular staircase. The tight space reminds me an awful lot of what I’ve heard about Rapunzel’s old tower. I try to yank my large hoop skirt through another turn and get caught again. I hope each dorm room isn’t housed in its own tower. I am not climbing stairs every day.
“Oh, Devin! I’m sorry!” Brynn comes running back down a few steps to reach me and pulls me and my dress through another tight turn. “I should have warned you about the ceremonial tower climb on the first day. You won’t have to take these steps again, but as Princess Rule 5 in the manual clearly states: a princess should be ready to face any tower she meets.”
For the love of Grimm, is that really in the manual? “I’m glad this is just a one-time thing,” I huff. “I can’t see Olivina doing this.”
“Oh no, she’d never!” Brynn says with a laugh. “Fairy godmothers always travel by Poof Dust or bubble.” I do a double take. “But I’m sure you knew that. It’s in the manual.”
“The stinking manual,” I grumble under my breath. Lily pops out to give me a pointed glance. “Well, onward then. If it’s the ceremonial princess way.”
Brynn stays several steps ahead of me. We pass a mirror, and I catch a glimpse of my reflection. My tiara is hanging off, my braid has drooped, and my cheeks are flushed in an unflattering way.
“Hello!” says the mirror, and I jump as the glass seems to liquefy and turn blue, then purple. “You look lovely today! You’re a princess who is always ready to dig in and help. I can tell! Always remember you shine! But”—his voice lowers—“fix your tiara. You wouldn’t want anyone to call you a sloppy princess.”
I quickly reposition my tiara. “Sorry…er, mirror.”
“That’s Milo the Magic Mirror,” Brynn tells me. “Hello, Milo!” He doesn’t answer her. Brynn drags me away. “He only talks to royals. He frequents hundreds of mirrors in the castle and tells the princes and princesses what they need to hear. And,” she whispers, when Milo is far enough away, “he supposedly reports back to Olivina about you as well. Just a tip.”
“Thanks for the tip, Brynn.” I climb farther, past a pack of pixies going in the other direction (“You’re going the wrong way!” they say with a giggle) and a group of self-sweeping mops. “You seem to know a lot about Royal Academy.”
“I love reading the Enchantasia Insider,” she confesses.
The Enchantasia Insider is a gossip scroll I’ve heard Mother mention. No one knows who writes it, but the author seems to know everything.
“I’ve studied up, miss, so I’m familiar with your course books, and I know the manual back to front. I can help you with anything you ask.”
Thank the fairies! Especially since I don’t even know where my manual is. I assume in my trunk. I clearly picked the right lady-in-waiting. “You must be the guide to have at RA.”
Brynn stops short at the top of the stairs. I can hear squealing laughter and slamming doors coming from the hall ahead of us. A pixie flying by us shakes her head and mumbles to herself (“They all think they’re the next Princess Ella…”) while ladies-in-waiting run trunks, blankets, and pillows to various rooms.
“Miss?” Brynn looks nervous. “If I’m being honest, you should also know I can’t sew and I make a terrible cup of tea.” She scrunches her face tight, and I fear she thinks she’s about to be fired. “But I’m very loyal, a good listener, and I will try hard! Plus, the braids I weave don’t unravel like the one you have right now.”
I touch my hair self-consciously. “I’m not worried. Besides, I can make my own tea.” She blinks in surprise. “And we have tailors, right? You don’t need to sew for me.”
“Okay,” she says shyly. “I really thought no one was going to pick me and I was going to be sent home! My mother is sixty-fifth in line for the throne, so technically I’m a smidge royal, but since I don’t have a title, Olivina won’t let our family attend royal classes at RA.”
Wow, she talks fast.
“Olivina doesn’t want us getting any grand ideas about rising above our rank,” she adds. “But at least I can be in the castle as a lady-in-waiting!”
I try not to look surprised. That seems like a strange thing for a fairy godmother to say, especially considering Princess Ella used to be a commoner. “Well, if you want to study at RA, I can share my school scrolls. Maybe we’ll both learn something.”
“Really?” Brynn’s face lights up. “I knew you and I were meant to be together! Olivina said I was destined to get a great princess, and she was right!” She grabs my hand and leads me down the hall past an elf crew delivering basins for evening washups. “Let’s introduce you to your roommates. I’ll be staying with their LIWs—ladies-in-waiting—in the room next door.” We stop at room 215, and she points to the gold nameplate on the door. It already has my name on it. “Look!”
The Private Residency of Princesses
Sasha Briarwood, Devinaria Nile, and Raina White
“Well…” Brynn looks at me expectedly. “Do you know the secret phrase to open the door?” she whispers.
“Phrase?” I whisper back. “You mean there’s no key?”
Brynn laughs. “You’re so funny, miss! We can’t use a key. A villain could get their hands on it and find you! To enter, you have to say your coded magic phrase. It’s in your manual.”
Grr…
“Thankfully, I’ve already memorized the phrase, and since I’m your LIW, I can also use it to enter,” Brynn says. She places one hand on the door. “Starlight and fairies bright, let me enter my room tonight!”
The door begins to sparkle and glow. As it opens, we get a whiff of… Cough! Cough! Cough! What is that smell?
“Go on in,” Brynn encourages. “I’ll be next door if you need me.”
“She’s finally here!” A girl comes barreling toward the door and envelops me in a hug. I start to cough harder. “Marigold mixed with lavender and a hint of apple cinnamon!” she says, her voice bright and cheery. “It’s our official room smell! Do you like it?”
We have an official smell? “Yes,” I choke out. “But it’s a bit strong.”
“Like a princess should be,” she says with a melodic laugh.
Her eyes are big and brown, and her skin is as white as, well, snow. A small crown is perched atop her hair with a diamond-encrusted R centered in the middle, and she’s wearing the brightest pink dress I’ve ever seen. She looks like Heath in a dress, which means this must be Snow White’s younger sister.
“I’m Raina White, your new roomie! Heath already told me all about you! We’re twins.” She hugs me again. “And that over there is Sasha Briarwood.”
I look across the room and see Sasha at her desk writing furiously with a quill. She’s wearing a sleek plum gown that makes her look years older, and her hair is a shiny pale yellow. Already tacked above her desk are snippets of scrolls, mini magical pictures, notes, and maps. Every few moments she looks up from writing and stares into a mirror she’s hung above the desk. “Hey,” Sasha says to the mirror.
I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or the mirror. Is Milo here? “Hi,” I say anyway.
“Can I tell her, Sasha? Can I?” Raina asks, ready to burst. She doesn’t wait for an answer. “Sasha created Enchantasia Insider! The gossip scroll? Have you heard of it? It’s this amazing service that tells you all the royal goings-on in the kingdom, but you can’t tell a soul Sasha is the creator! It’s roommate-privileged information.”
“You write that?” I say in surprise. “But you’re so…young.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Sasha asks, finally turning to look at me.
My cheeks begin to flush. She makes a valid point. I hate when anyone tells me I shouldn’t be a creature caretaker because of my age or my background. “I’m sorry. That was silly of me to say.”
Sasha eyes me appraisingly. “I may only be twelve, but already I know more than two-thirds of the royals in this kingdom. I research all my stories and print the truth. Not the fluffy pretty stories HEAS wants you to believe or the proclamations the royal court sometimes puts out to calm their subjects’ fears.”
“Sounds sort of risky,” I say.
“Which is why mum’s the word,” Sasha tells me. “I’ve decided to let you and Raina into my circle of trust, based on the roommate confidentiality rule. Don’t make me question that decision,” she warns. “I’m sure Olivina knows what I’m up to—she is a fairy godmother—but so far she hasn’t cared. Probably because my rumblings are the real scoop on royal life and…oh.” She looks into the mirror again and pulls at her right eyebrow. “It seems my eyebrows could use a plucking. Excuse me.”
“Sasha is very into grooming,” Raina says. “I know, I know, every princess should be! I am too, but Sasha is just so good at it.” She sighs. “I guess that is what happens when your big sister is Princess Rose!” She laughs prettily. Everything about Raina is pretty.
At the name Rose, Sasha looks over again, her eyes narrowed and blazing. “Let’s get this part over with. Yes, she’s my sister, and yes, she’s doing much better. She’ll be back to public duty any day now. But more importantly, unlike my sister, I would never be swayed by a villain.”
Wow, talk about intense. Although I guess I’d be pretty sensitive too, if my older sister had helped the evil witch Alva try to take over Fairy Tale Reform School. The room is so quiet that I can hear Brynn through the wall. “I’ve never met your sister,” I say carefully, “but even if I had, I’m smart enough to know you are two different people.”
Sasha surveys me closely. Her mouth curves upward slightly. “Good. I’m glad you get it.” She goes back to writing.
“She’s not usually so huffy,” Raina whispers, pulling me away. “She’s just got her tiara all bent out of shape because everyone here keeps talking about how she’s Rose’s sister and Rose went all villain for a spell. But Sasha is nothing like her. We’ve known each other for years. She’s very focused on her scroll. We’ve been in our room three hours now, and she’s spent two of them working and the other hour combing her hair. She says the scroll is her life’s work and the whole reason she’s here.”
“My scroll is going to be way bigger than HEAS has ever been,” Sasha declares as she plucks brow hairs. I didn’t realize she was still listening.
Raina chuckles. “Oh, Sasha.” She turns toward me and takes my arm. “Let’s get you settled in, shall we? Your trunks already arrived, and they’re massive!”
“Massive?” Sasha looks up. “Is it true you came by pumpkin coach? How did you get one? I’ve never heard of you or your parents, and there is nothing on you in my royal log, but you must be someone important.” She walks across the room and stands so close that I can smell her rose-scented perfume. “So who are you really?”
“Devin Nile,” I say evenly. “And I honestly have no clue how I got that pumpkin coach. I didn’t even want to go to Royal Academy.”
Raina gasps while Sasha raises her right eyebrow.
“Keep talking,” Sasha says.
“I just mean, I already know what I want to do with my life,” I tell them. “So why go to RA? I’m going to be a creature caretaker. I’ve been doing it for a while already. There’s such a need in Enchantasia! We don’t even have a magical care expert in the village back home.”
“But you’re a princess,” Raina reminds me, sounding worried I’ve forgotten. “You have duties that are your birthright. You won’t have time to do creature care once you’re crowned.”
“Raina, you don’t really believe that, do you?” Sasha rolls her eyes. “Where does it say a princess can only do princess duties? I love a good pair of glass slippers as much as the next royal, but making this scroll a success is big for me too. I’d never choose one over the other. I want to have both.”
I think I like this girl after all.
Raina frowns. “But Olivina says we all have a purpose, and we have to set an example for the kingdoms,” Raina tells us. “We can’t be seen acting common.”
“My scroll is anything but common,” Sasha says coolly and looks at me. “And being good with animals is not common either.” The two of us smile at each other.
“I guess you’re right,” Raina says, scratching her chin. “I mean, my sister, Snow, has always been a friend to the animals, and they were a huge help when she was… You know…” Raina closes her eyes tight, and I think of Snow’s curse.
Suddenly, our door opens and our LIWs are marching in, their arms stacked with pillows and satin blankets. “What will it be, my ladies?” asks an LIW. “Do you want one pillow, or are you planning to go all ‘Princess and the Pea’ and opt for a dozen?”
“Tickle me pink, it’s a tough decision!” Raina says. “What do you think, roomies?” She lifts her skirt so it doesn’t drag and runs to the LIWs.
And just like that, the mood lightens from talk of royal duties to something we can all get behind: comfortable bedding.