The girls around me clap politely and curtsy to one other. All the curtsying this week has given me a lot of lower body strength. Who knew curtsies were a workout?
“And now a message from Headmistress Flora,” Miri announces.
“Students, we hope you have a wonderful, productive day with your visitors. You have all made such progress, and I’m thrilled your parents will get to see that firsthand. Have fun, be on your best behavior, and remember,” Flora adds, her voice stern, “if you see something out of the ordinary, say something to one of your professors immediately.”
“We’re all in this together,” we repeat as we have been saying and writing on banners around school. Alva’s manifestos have been popping up all over Enchantasia, calling more citizens to join her army. No one seems to know how to contact the fiendish fairy to join, and yet somehow her ranks are growing. Jax has been sick over news that the ogre tribes wouldn’t listen to Rapunzel and signed on to work with Alva instead.
I only know this from a terse Kayla. I’ve been so busy with the RLWs that I’ve barely seen my friends in days, which might be better. Maxine bursts into tears every time she sees me. But what can I do? I tried bringing up Maxine’s name twice to Tessa and Raza, and they changed the topic to napkin-folding ideas.
“Psst.” I look to see where the noise is coming from, but the RLWs are all arranging flowers. I go back to smoothing my tablecloth. “Psst.” I hear again.
“Did you say something?” I ask Veronica, a sprite creating a goblet tower in the shape of a glass slipper.
“No,” she says, sniffing. “I’m too busy working, like you should be.”
Whatever. I go back to tablecloth smoothing, even though there is nothing left to smooth, but I keep hearing “psst” so I stop and try to see where the noise is coming from.
“Up here!” someone whispers. I look up and see Jax sitting on the ledge of a stained glass window near the rafters. He gives a little wave. He must have climbed into the room from outside. This boy loves to climb things.
“No boys allowed,” I hiss, hoping no one notices me talking to the ceiling.
“This is the only way I could talk to you,” he whispers back, his legs dangling close to Raza’s head. “You’re with these royal wannabes twenty-four seven.”
“We are not royal wannabes,” I huff. “A RLW’s purpose is to help the princesses function to the best of their abilities, set an example for the villagers around us, and find inspiration from the royal court’s royalness to harness our own power!” I gasp. “Holy gingerbread. Did I really just say that?” I sit down in a pink velvet chair near the window and breathe in and out. Jax jumps down from the ledge, and several of the girls scream.
“Boy! With the RLWs!” Tessa points at him like he’s a villain. “No boys allowed!”
Jax straightens his dress shirt and gives her a perfect bow, bending all the way to his waist. “My ladies, my most sincere apologies for the interruption. You’re all doing splendid work transforming this simple space into a tea worthy for a king, and I do not want to take away from that. I only ask that you allow me a moment to speak with this young lady here, who is my dear friend, and then I will depart.”
Whoa. Jax sounds just like a prince charming!
Tessa’s jaw drops. Olivia holds a handkerchief to her mouth and begins to giggle uncontrollably. “Um, okay, yeah,” Tessa stammers. “I mean yes, sir! Take a moment.”
“And may I suggest you hang the royal crest higher than the Enchantasia flag?” Jax adds. “In Royal Manor, the court’s flag always flies above the kingdom’s.”
“I can’t believe we forgot that.” Tessa nudges Raza, who rushes over to fix the banners hanging on one wall. “Thank you.” Tessa curtsies. Olivia curtsies. The rest of the girls curtsy. I do the same and fall into Jax, who catches me.
“It’s all in the balance,” Jax explains. “As you bend from the knees, pretend you’re about to sit back in a chair.”
“Forget the curtsy,” I say through gritted teeth.
“You clean up nicely, thief.” Jax touches my pink sash and the pink ribbon wrapped around my uniform waist. I self-consciously touch my head. My hair is pulled into another side ponytail courtesy of Olivia who has given me a pink flower for my hair. “You could definitely pass for a royal.”
My cheeks burn. “I could never be a royal.” I fiddle with the rose pin I got at my ceremony. “I’m just playing a part to get information.” Olivia walks by with a box of dishes and I frown. “Olivia, those are the bread plates, not the tea biscuit ones. You need the plates with the small gold rim for scones.” Her goblin ears flutter before she rushes back out of the room to the RLW storage closet to get the right plates.