fakes in shining armor // k.s.

chapter six

"Faye, wake up!"

Faye woke up from her dreamless sleep with a start. She opened her eyes to see a girl with wild, curly brown hair, flawless, tawny skin, and a green shoulder pad sitting on her bed. Under the girl's protective gear, she wore trendy-looking clothes — an olive green shirt with the shoulders cut out, a silver necklace, and a pair of skinny jeans. She wore a crystal ring on her right hand.

Faye screamed.

"Shhh!" the girl hissed. "Please don't start screaming."

"Who are you and how did you get in here?" Faye snapped, looking the girl up and down. She looked unrecognizable and familiar all at once.

"There'll be time to explain once we get to Knight School, now get dressed!" the girl ordered before leaving her bedroom.

Usually, Faye wouldn't have listened to some random stranger, especially of her status, but she was too scared to ask any further questions. Faye scrambled out of bed and dressed herself in a flowy, yellow sleeveless top with a round collar, dark skinny jeans, and brown boots. She picked up her white wing covers and slipped them over her rainbow ones. She walked outside, and the girl was nowhere to be seen.

Was Faye losing her mind?

"Over here!" a voice yelled.

Faye looked in the direction of the voice to see the girl rushing up the stairs. She felt the gray bricks until one pushed into the wall, revealing a secret passage.

"Whoa," Faye whispered.

The girl pulled Faye into the secret walkway, and pushed a button on the wall to seal the passage.

"Okay, we gotta get to Knight School, let's go," the girl stated, taking Faye's arm.

Faye wriggled free. "Wait a minute."

She adjusted her blouse. "Who even are you?"

The girl simply smirked, lifted her right arm as if she were checking the time on a watch, but instead pressed down on the ring she wore. Behind a cloud of sparkles, the girl with big brown curls, trendy clothes, and green armor immediately transformed into—

"Princess?" Faye's jaw dropped.

"That's right." The Princess twirled around, now out of her armor and in a lacy, green gown. Her brown curls reverted back to her normal waves, topped off with a huge tiara. The only thing the remained from her trendy form was the ring on her right hand.

She pressed her ring again, and she was back to her armor and casual garb. "But you can call me Ciara," she said, adjusting the gear she wore.

Faye nodded slowly. "Okay... Ciara."

"Ciara" turned away from her, starting to head out of the castle, when she turned back to Faye. "Oh yeah, what's your name?" she asked.

Faye blinked. "Um... Faye?" she responded, a little confused.

"Ciara" groaned. "No, no, your fake name. I'm not going by 'The Princess'. You think "Ciara"'s my real name?"

Faye shook her head no, then took a moment to think. "Well... I guess I could go by my middle name. Blair."

"Ciara" thought about it. "It's pretty. I think it suits you, too. Good job, Blair."

Blair. It felt weird, coming out of Faye's mouth, but whatever would keep her from being killed.

"Ciara" continued to walk and pressed another button at the end of the passageway. The ground seemed to turn around, and before she knew it, "Blair" was in a green room with a bright blue couch in the middle. On the other side of the couch was a pool table, a catapult, and a jar of jelly beans. Once "Blair" stepped away from the wall, the passageway turned around, turning into a seemingly normal bookcase.