Queen Of His Heart

Chapter 4

A flamboyantly dressed man appeared from the smoke. He appeared to be in his Middle Ages, maybe senior years, with his clean shaven head, and salt and pepper beard.

His spectacles fell to the top of his nose, and he peaked over them with a cheeky grin. He wore a blue based, colourful jacket. Much like professor Dovey's, his outfit was detailed with gold in a swirl pattern.

And as he waved his hands, the smoke dissipated and he turned to face the whole hall.

Julianna felt her skin form goose pimples and her body tense slightly. This confused her, for she had no reason to feel on edge, the man had not presented himself as a threat and everyone around her seemed to be in awe. Yet as her limbs remained tense and her goose pimples got goose pimples, the girl knew to trust her gut feeling, and that was to stay under the radar of the School Master.

"It's such a happy first day, and to see such promising students, I know that you all will perform exceptionally well, and like your parents before you, you are all here because the world of story's needs great heroes, and villains to teach the people of the outside world to make choices; to find their way."

He addressed the entire hall in his speech, and a happy murmur rose from the Evers.

"So, obey the rules, study hard and remember, the Storian only chooses the very best, of our students for their own adventure."

Storian? What on earth was he talking about? Julianna had no idea what the colourful man was speaking of, but she had to put the thought aside, because from the corner of her eye, she saw Sophie stand up hastily.

"But what if we've been dropped in the wrong school?!" The hall went silent.

Julianna stood from her seat and looked towards Sophie.

"Or there has been a mistake and we need to go home!" Honestly, Julianna didn't have the highest hope of getting out of there, but Sophie decided to chance an impossible question so why couldn't she?

She heard a gasp leave from one of tDeans but didn't take her eyes of Sophie, who was staring intently at the School Master. His eyes wavered between Sophie and Julianna, noticing the tense stance the Ever girl had and how she was looking directly at Sophie.

"There are no mistakes in the school, for good and evil!" With a flick of his cloak the smoke returned, enveloping him and disappearing within a split second. Sophie finally looked towards Julianna, who hadn't taken her eyes off of the blonde.

Julianna recognised the emotion, swimming in Sophie's eyes. Pure, untainted fear! The crowds began to filter out and Julianna pushed her way through the bustling groups in an attempt to reach Sophie, her actions were in vain because no sooner had the doors opened and the Nevers began storming out had Sophie been grabbed and escorted away.

The girl's face contorted into one of worry and as she craned her neck to keep Sophie in view, but her ankles gave up their fight and she felt herself trip and begin to once again fall. She let out an impromptu squeak when she felt a rough hand grasp her arm and waste, preventing her from falling.

'Are you okay?' Julianna grasped the hand on her waist tightly and turned towards the voice. The idea of finding Sophie had dissipated from her subconscious, being replaced by the need to thank the person who saved her and to get them off of her.

Her desperate need to rid herself of human contact faltered when looking upon her saviour, the same red haired prince that gave her his rose. At this point the hall was empty, most were making their way to their dorms. She smiled hesitantly at him as he pulled her up into a balanced standing position. The prince stuck his hand out and gave her a cheesy lobs sided smile.

'I'm Gregor, Gregor Charming, but I'll try not to be too charming.' The attempt at a joke landed well with Julianna and she shook his hand, giving him a smile in response.

'I'm Juliana, and don't worry about being charming, so far you're the nicest prince I've met.' They dropped their hands and turned towards the door, making their way through the castle towards the dorms. Apparently Gregor was given a tour before he came so he remembered where everything was. They made pleasant conversation and Julianna felt comfortable confiding in him about her unsureness about the school.

'Thank you for your rose by the way, it was very sweet.' The rose was still clasped in her left hand.

'You were the only one that didn't laugh when I made a fool of myself at the orientation. I knew for some reason that you weren't the type to judge so easily. Roses shouldn't be given to those with beautiful looks, but to those with beautiful hearts and I can tell that you have a heart like that.'

Julianna stopped and looked at Gregor in shock, the boy realised what he said and began to go red, spreading from his ears down to his cheeks and neck.

They had reached a fork in the corridor that separated the girls and boys dorms. Gregor took a step back from Julianna and towards the stairs.

'Gregor I have known you for mere minutes and you have proclaimed the most kind and sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. I will cherish this for a lifetime and I want you to know that you may confide in me whenever you wish.' With one last shared smile the both ascended the stairs, each happy to have found a friend amongst a sea of confusion and misplacement.

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The doors to her dorm were a baby pink colour with painted roses and gold handles. She grabbed at them haphazardly, pulling them open and stepping into her new room. A group of girls stood in the centre, but Julianna paid no notice; she was focused on not letting her jaw drop at the overly fancy room.

Comfy looking beds lining one side of the room with golden tables next to them, opposite were vanities, full of makeup and hair products, candelabras hung on the walls and at the far end was a large window with a couch on it.

Faint crackling of fire filled Julianna's ears, there was no fireplace in the room, yet Juliana was sure she could smell the comforting aroma of burning wood.

Her eyes finally took notice of the girls she was apparently sharing with. Julianna flushed pink at being caught gawking. She recognised Kiko's squeal as once again she was nearly knocked over with the power of the hug. She gave a breathy laugh at patted the small princesses back.

'Maybe I was wrong...you aren't a Never.' Julianna looked towards the head princess and gave her a sceptical look.

'I wanted to thank you, for the rose...what you did was...anyway I'm Beatrix.'

Julianna had peeled Kiko off of her by now and made her way up to Beatrix. She extended her hand towards the princess and smiled.

'Julianna, and don't worry about it. I guessed how much you liked him, so I gathered the rose would have been for you. You are really pretty after all.'

She remembered the words Gregor spoke to her about the roses. And wondered if Beatrix's heart was as beautiful as her face.

Beatrix looked towards the hand before gently taking it. Without a second thought Julianna leaned down and kissed Beatrix's hand. She chuckled at her own gesture, but knew that it was best to flatter this girl into friendship than anything else. The princess was flushed a bright red and the others looked shocked.

'A princess should be greeted like royalty, anything less would be an insult.' Julianna took a step back and winked before walking towards a bed. Beatrix remained frozen in place.

If I'm going to stay here, having the princesses as friends will help me