Blood of Acheron

Ariella

ARIELLA

I shook myself awake, Today was orientation and I just wanted to get there early and leave My sisters and their minors were going to be swarming that place, and I wasn't in the mood to be publicly embarrassed. I slipped out of bed and took a glance at my mirror, I groaned as my hair flopped everywhere I stretched and made my way to the bathroom. I noticed that one of the bedroom doors was closed; I must have a roommate. That was enough to get me sprinting to the bathroom. I slid into the room and locked the door. I put my hand on my chest to steady my breathing. "Relax, Ariella; she probably doesn't know who your sisters are,"  I thought. I brushed my teeth and took a nice hot shower to calm myself down. When I was done, I wrapped my towel around myself and slipped back into my room.

I sat at my vanity and prepped myself for the day. I curled my long black hair and allowed the harsh curls to flow around my face. I added some mascara to accentuate my almond eyes and a light pink gloss to bring out my pouty lips. It wasn't enough. I added some blush to top everything off and gave myself a small smile. I looked...presentable. I admired myself for a bit in the mirror before moving toward my closet. I picked out a pink sundress and some white flats to match. Despite all of this effort, I knew my sisters would have something to say about my appearance.

"You're a princess, Ellie; it wouldn't kill you to dress or act like it." They'd hiss.

My twin sisters and I were total opposites; they were dominant, assertive, popular, and pretty, and they knew it. They had ranked as the top princess of the year since primary school; they knew just exactly how to be a princess, something I wasn't the best at. My sisters were both in line for the throne, which scared all of our close family. We all knew that behind all of the fame and glory, they were cutthroat and ruthless; there was no limit to how far they'd go.

I braced myself and strutted, or at least tried to, out of my room. My roommate was awake, and she scrambled around quietly in the kitchen, presumably looking for something to eat. She looks up at me, smiles softly, and waves. I take in her features; she wasn't that tall; she seemed like she was just over 5'4; her chocolatey brown hair flowed far past her waist; and she stared at me straight ahead with her brown doe eyes. Her dark skin seemed to glow even in the harsh light surrounding us.

"My name is Sapphire, " She says finally

I smile apprehensively; it doesn't seem like she knew Sintelle and Mintelle.

"Ariella," I offer.

She grins and I notice she's dressed quite casually for the orientation today... I wonder if she even knew it was happening.

"Ready for the orientation," I blurt.

Well, crap I didn't just want to blurt that out. She looked up at me, confused; she definitely didn't know.

"Yeah, it's a small garden party; it's still formal though."

"Oh, shoot, well, sweats aren't to cut it then." She chuckles.

I smile; the other girls would eat her alive if she showed up like that. She frowns and pulls at her sweats.

"Formal probably means dressy, but I left all of those at home."

"You still have time; it starts officially in about two hours."

She nods at my suggestion and pulls out her phone. It begins to ring, and I move to the living room to give her some privacy. She definitely didn't know my sisters; she was clueless about orientation. It was nice not having to listen to how it was the perfect opportunity for princesses to find a potential suitor and that this was our breakout moment. All I wanted to do was hang out and enjoy the little sandwiches and tea cakes offered.