The Princesses of Gavaldon

Chapter 7

The next morning, fifty princesses dashed about the fifth floor as if it was
their wedding day. On the first day of class, they all wanted to make their best
impressions on teachers, boys, and anyone else who might lead them to Ever
After. Swans twinkling on nightgowns, they flurried into each other's rooms,
glossing lips, poofing hair, buffing nails, and trailing so much perfume that fair-
ies passed out and littered the hall like dead flies. Still no one seemed any closer
to being dressed, and indeed, when the clock tolled 8:00 a.m., signaling the start
of breakfast, not a single girl had put on her clothes. "Breakfast makes you fat anyway," Beatrix reassured.
Reena poked her head into the hall. "Has anyone seen my panties!"
Agatha giggled. "I think it's over there, Reena." She catcalled, seeing Reena's cheek blush. She began to paint Kiko's nails in a gorgeous turquoises color, and turned her head so Crystal could put finishing touches on her raven black hair.  
"It looks lovely! Thanks, Agatha!" Kiko beamed as she threw her arms around Agatha. Agatha only smiled. 
"Your turn now, Crystal!" Crystal smiled brightly as Kiko grabbed her nails and Agatha brushed her hair back. 
"You should totally go for Red, no Green!" 
Agatha laughed brightly, having a good time with her friends. 

Well,  at least Agatha was having a good time. But Sophie wasn't. 

"Why do we need to uglify?"
Sophie peeked through her fingers at Professor Manley's bald, pimpled head
and squash-colored skin, trying not to gag. Around her, Nevers sat at charred
desks with rusty mirrors, cheerily bashing tadpoles to death in iron bowls. If she
didn't know better, she'd think they were making a Sunday cake.
Why am I still here? she fumed through furious tears.

"Why do we need to be revolting and repugnant?" Manley jowled. "Hester!"
"Because it makes us fearsome," Hester said, and swigged her tadpole juice,
instantly springing a rash of red pox.
"Wrong!" roared Manley. "Anadil!"
"Because it makes little boys cry," Anadil said, sprouting her own red
blisters.
"Wrong! Dot!"
"Because it's easier to get ready in the morning?" Dot asked, mixing her juice
with chocolate.
"Wrong and stupid!" Manley scorned.
"Because you can rid yourself of insecurities and learn to trust yourself."

Ebony yelled to Manley, her beautiful face turning into something bloated and slimy.
"Right, but wrong!" Manely yelled and drew himself up to his full height. 

"Only once you give up the surface can you dig beneath it! Only once you relinquish vanity can you be yourself!"

Sophie crawled behind desks, lunged for the door—the knob burnt her hand
and she yelped.
"Only once you destroy who you think you are can you embrace who you
truly are!" Manley said, glaring right at her.
Whimpering, Sophie crawled back to her desk, past villains exploding in
shingles. Smoky-green ranks popped out of thin air around her—"1" over Hester,
"2" over Anadil, "3" over now oily, puffed-skinned Ebony, "4" over blond, pointy-
eared Vex. Hort drank his draught excitedly, only to see a wee zit spurt from his
chin. He smacked away a stinky "19," but the rank smacked him right back.
"Ugliness means you rely on intelligence," Manley leered, slinking towards
Sophie. "Ugliness means you trust your soul. Ugliness means freedom."
He flung a bowl onto her desk.
Sophie looked down into black tadpole juice. Some of it was still moving.
"Actually, Professor, I believe my Beautification teacher will object to my
participation in this assign—"

"Three failing marks and you'll end up something uglier than me," Manley
spat.
Sophie looked up. "I really don't think that's possible."
Manley turned to the class. "Who would like to help our dear Sophie taste
freedom?"
"Me!"
Sophie whipped around.
"Don't worry," Hort whispered, "you'll look better this way."
Before Sophie could scream, he plunged her head into the bowl.

Back to Agatha, the princesses were all ready to go to class ten minutes later.

Professor Emma Anemone, whistling in a blinding yellow dress and long
fox-fur gloves, walked into her pink taffy classroom, took one look at Agatha, and
stopped whistling and looked in awe. She murmured "Just like Snow and Belle," and
launched into her first lesson on "Making Smiles Kinder." 

"Now the key is to communicate with your eyes," she chirped, and demon-
strated the perfect princess smile. With her large, charming eyes and yellow hair
matching her dress, Agatha thought she looked like a true princess. So, she tried to mimic the perfect smile. 
Professor Anemone walked around surveying the girls. "Not so much squint-
ing . . . A little less nose, dear . . . Oh my, absolutely beautiful!" She was talking
about Beatrix, who lit up the room with her dazzling smile. "That, my Evers, is a
smile that can win the heart of the steeliest prince. A smile that can broker peace
in the greatest of wars. A smile that can lead a kingdom to hope and prosperity!"
Then she saw Agatha. "Oh my! Child, that's amazing!" She walked toward Agatha, Beatrix's "perfect" smile forgotten. 

Agatha blinked, her smile disappearing in a quizzical frown. She didn't think that it was wonderful. 
"Do it again," her teacher encouraged. 
Agatha breathed in deeply and.... 
Smiled

The other princesses gasped. The smile lit up the room like the sun, and mad their hearts fill up with happiness. They felt like they could do anything they want.

Professor Anemone clapped. 
"Wonderful, Agatha. Wonderful." She turned to the other Ever's her hand on the still-smiling Agatha's shoulder. "This is the smile that can make Nevers turn good. Remember that, children."

Princess Etiquette, taught by Pollux, was the same, if not a little better. He arrived in a bad mood,hobbling with his massive canine head attached to a skinny goat's carcass and muttering that Castor "has the body this week." He looked up and saw girls staring at him.

"And here I thought I was teaching princesses. All I see are twenty ill-
mannered girls gaping like toads. Are you toads? Do you like to catch flies with
your little pink tongues?"
The girls stopped staring after that.
The first lesson was "Princess Posture," which involved the girls descending
the four tower staircases with nests of nightingale eggs on their heads. Though
most of the girls succeeded without breaking any eggs, Agatha had a easier time.
There were a number of reasons for this: a lifetime of Sophie correcting her posture, stating that she was the friend of a princess, and princesses don't slouch and the fact that Kiko and Crystal was joking with her with their new Kinder Smiles while Reena rolled her eyes playfully.

In the end, she proudly presented twenty eggs sitting on a nest on her head.

"Twenty beautiful nightingales who will have a life . . . thanks to you,"
praised Pollux.
As class ranks appeared over each girl in ethereal gold clouds—Beatrix 2nd, what a surprise—Agatha spun to see a golden "1" hover magically over her head.
Two classes, two first-place ranks. One more and she would get the privilege of using Groom Rooms!

1111 words. 

Sorry guys! My mother cut off the internet because there was a big exam, but I'm finished now, so sorry about the delay! 

Bye, and sending lots of love~! (^^)