The Sorceress

1.17

The next morning, I went separate ways with the others since the direction of my current class was the opposite of theirs. So I was walking alone and enjoyed the short-lasting peace before I was greeted by his royal highness, Prince Brayden.

"Good morning, my friend!" He chirped cheerily as he slung his hand over my shoulders while we walked.

"Geez, you're happy," I pointed out, "can't relate, to be honest."

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, it's tourney day. What makes today even better is that we only have class until our third period. Isn't that exciting?"

"The class, yes. The game, not so much." I replied dryly as I munched on a piece of the leftover cookies I made last night.

Brayden's attention was immediately caught by the plain-looking cookie, "Did you make that cookie?"

"Yeah, why?" 

"That is the most beautiful cookie I have ever seen, I swear. And I've seen a lot of cookies." Then he stared at me pleadingly with his hazel, almost green, eyes, "Can I have a bite? I'll just have one bite, please."

I rolled my eyes at him before breaking a decent-sized piece for him. The prince immediately took a bite and let out a delightful groan, "Mon amie, this is amazing! How- What did you put inside of the cookie dough?"

"Wow, is it that good that your French is showing?" I remarked sarcastically and listed out the ingredients I'd put, "Well, there's toasted walnuts, some salt that I almost mistook as sugar, and a white chocolate bar, if I remembered correctly. And I accidentally browned the butter too much, so I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"You are going to do great in Tiana's class, I guarantee." He shoved the cookie down and looked intensely at me, "Do you have any left?"

"I got a few in my locker. I'll give it to you before the tourney, perhaps?" We made a turn and arrived at a kitchen with all of the equipment that we needed for a cooking class.

Brayden grinned as he side-hugged me, "Perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you. And before I forget," He paused as he pulled out a paper bag and gave it to me, "Today we have a piping hot vanilla latte with oat milk. A classic yet delicious order."

I took the bag from him and muttered thanks, "But I requested it for yesterday only. Why are you giving me another one?"

"Because I finally have someone that actually enjoys hot coffee." He explained, helping me take my bag and placed it in the locker inside of the room, "Ben prefers tea whilst my other friends only drink frappuccinos. It gives me a brain freeze every time I drank it. By the way, do you like the one I got you yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah, it was good. But a bit too sweet for me, unfortunately." I took a sip from the cup and the fragrant taste of coffee and its perfect bitterness took me by surprise, "Wow, oh yeah, this one's good."

"Okay, so, you're like, the type to prefer having bitterness in your coffee than having it sweet." He stared inquiringly at me.

"I think you could put it like that." I answered hesitantly and Brayden nodded his head understandingly as we sat down on a bench near a window while waiting for the class to start, "Anyway, can I ask you something?"

 He chuckled gently and nodded, "You just did, but yes. What is it?"

"Why do I feel like you're acting very differently? Like, you were ready to throw hands when we first met and now, you're just ..." I paused, trying to find the right word to say, "friendly."

Brayden rolled his eyes and leaned back against the window, "Come on, really? You know, it's gonna be hard for you to believe it because of my previous attitude but I really want to make friends with you and the other Isle kids. No hidden motives or anything, just good ol' Brayden wanting to make friends and trying to make amends." Then he sighed defeatedly, "I really made a bad first impression, didn't I?"

"You did, and I actually thought I would be sent back to the Isle right after," I replied half-jokingly, "And now ... does that mean you don't see us as a threat anymore? Or are you just pretending?"

"Heck no!" He exclaimed dramatically, "I really mean it when I wanted to befriend you and your friends. Besides," He cleared his throat before leaning closer to my side, "if you guys ever did anything that is deemed dangerous to Auradon, I would know. So far, you guys are safe and I hope you guys could keep it that way. Oh, I totally didn't mean it in a bad way."

Oh my goodness, he's keeping his eyes on us.  A tight-lipped smile adorned my face as I spoke, "Don't worry about it, we mean no harm."

"Good morning, everyone!" An accented female voice greeted the class and I have never turned my head around this fast before.

Right there, in front of the class, stood the famous and beautiful Princess (or Queen, I don't know) Tiana in the flesh. I've read and heard stories about her ever since I was a kid and it felt like a dream come true seeing her standing in front of me. She was wearing a light green dress with lily pads intricate that just came below her knees. Her hair was done in a bun, accessorized with a headband that was a similar color to her dress. 

"Settle down, settle down." Tiana chuckled as she took a clipboard before writing something on it, "Is the transferred student present today?"

I raised my hand and stood up instantly, "Uh, yes, I'm here."

"Nevaeh, is it?" Tiana turned toward me and gave me a dimpled and welcoming smile, "Hello and welcome to my class, sugar. Sadly, Louis isn't here because yesterday someone gave him a raw brownie." A student smiled sheepishly at Tiana and muttered a sorry, "Anyway, welcome to Auradon and I hope you enjoy your stay. Do come by my restaurant if you could with your friends, honey. It's by the bayou and we are open for 24 hours so we could serve everyone a delicious and hearty gumbo whenever they want."

"Y-yeah, yeah, of course, sure. Thank you, your highness." I replied with a bit of stuttering.

"Ah! Please, do call me by my name, sweet cheeks." Tiana stated before writing on the blackboard, "So, today we will be learning to make the most requested recipe since I've started teaching here ..." She finished her last stroke, "Beignets!"

The whole class erupted into a round of cheers and whoops and Tiana exclaimed excitedly, "Now, let's get cookin'!"

I.S.:

Nevaeh: 22

Brayden: 21

Author's Note:

So, picture above is what I imagined the class looks like. I hope you're doing well and remember to take care of yourself. Tell me, do you think Brayden is acting out of character? I hope he's not. Again, feel free to comment and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Love,

Del.