Selina Rose leads a normal life as a princess: attending balls, tending to her garden, and going to school. But soon enough things start to fall apart.
Nothing makes sense in this princess's castle: the walls seem to hear secrets, the library seems...
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Selina's breath followed in uneven jabs as she nearly lost her balance, navigating a rocky road ahead. The chilling wind whipped across her face as she frantically rode her bike beside a glimmering lake. The sky was blue, leaving little traces of clouds as she made her way to school. Her brunette hair streamed behind her, alongside her long brown coat riding the frigid autumn wind. The trees stood bare as the last leaves fell onto the path ahead of her. She had barely nibbled on her breakfast that morning, hoping to leave early for school.
The reason behind the rushed events was a mess.
As the pebbly path ended, she slowed down by the grass lawn of her school, hopping off her bike and rummaging through her school bag hanging off her shoulder. She wrapped a long wire with a little lock around her bike to secure it by an open bike stand.
The school building was as grand as ever. The front green lawn lay luscious and flooded with the bikes of her peers. The campus, nestled with shady trees, was where students often sat down to eat lunch. The sandstone exterior of the building resembled a congress establishment.
There was a cozy atmosphere inside the adobe. There were paintings of the school professors and notable figures such as Ernest Rutherford hung all over the manor. Many marble statues lined the hallways, carved out over time by the art professor, Mr. Litedke, with the help of his students. Some countless staircases and passageways were still unexplored by her. The manor accommodated dorms for the most prestigious and older students, but Selina never bothered getting a dorm as she found her home more comforting. Most of the manor occupied rooms with classes, and she rushed to one.
Realizing the time of day, it was no surprise that the number of students was much less than what they tended to be during regular hours.
Selina hurried past some younger students, clutching her school bag. Finally, she entered the half-ajar door with the plaque named 203.
"Mrs. Castor?" called out Selina. A fragile yet stern woman was seated by her desk, working through stacks of papers. She looked to her side to see one of her beloved students gasping for air at her doorway.
"Miss Rose!"
"Hello, look, I know you have better things to do," Selina eased herself into the empty classroom. "But this is urgent."
"Yes?" replied Mrs. Castor eagerly, leaning back in her chair. Selina drew in a few sharp breaths, resting on one of the desks.
The manor was quite grand, and running through it is probably not the best of ideas. With a hard look at her teacher, she rummaged through her bag. She took out a few sheets of paper.
"If that is-" Mrs. Castor tried.
"Please, look!" Selina shoved the papers onto an unwilling professor.
"Selina-"
"I just need a bit more time, please!" Mrs. Castor gave her a tired look. "Could you please grade this as completed?" The professor sighed the other way. "And when I get the time, I promise to finish it." Mrs. Castor took out a pen from the front pocket of her coat and uncapped it.
"Your excuse?" She was already scribbling. Selina looked at her professor, stricken with guilt.
"Time."
"Time?" said a firm Mrs. Castor, giving her an eye. Their eyes met for a moment as she paused her writing. She continued. "You need to get your act together, Miss Rosetta."
"I know," Selina replied in less than a whisper. The wise lady seemed finished with the fraudulent grading and handed them to Selina. Selina slowly approached her, standing beside her desk. "Thank you," sighed Selina.
Her teacher looked up pitifully at her student.
She liked Selina as she did more than most students. She was different.
"Anything I can do to help at all?" asked Mrs. Castor. Selina looked down at her polished boots. She shook her head. Mrs. Castor stood up and rested herself on her desk. She put her calming arms on Selina's shoulder. "When things get challenging, I want you to talk to me, okay?"
Selina looked up at her teacher.
She liked it when she did that, talking to her like a person, as a friend, not a professor, but a comforting hand.
Selina nodded her head in agreement.
After dusk, Selina lay on her bed staring at the canopy of her bed. She had changed out of her school clothes and lay in more comforting ones. Often, her comfort wear included delicate white cotton in the form of a flowy gown. Selina admired the peacefulness in the castle. She did not want to be bothered much. Selina had a lot of work to complete, but her procrastination took over. The funny thing was she knew they would not take long to do with the put-offs, late work, and makeup work. She had not been getting much sleep lately, as she had picked up a new late-night hobby.
But at this moment, she was there, lying on her back. Knowing the day was not progressing any quicker, she decided to go to the library.
The castle was big, ginormous at that. She always saw the resemblance of her school to the castle, but this place was something else. Marron carpets ran through most hallways, and statues of armored guards highlighted the palace alongside paintings.
Selina slowly exited her room, entering a ball-like chamber, where she descended the stairs.
She went to the main landing and strolled a bit further, reaching a big room with dozens of tinted windows on either side of her.
Two mesmerizing thrones followed two smaller ones, facing their backs to the princess. To the left, a corner lay one of her favorite wonders of the castle.
