DreamStoryVerse Story Arc Book 2

The Start of Something New

"Adzuki, are you feeling alright, hon? You're going to the Royal Ballet School! In Tomato (London)! You've wanted to go for...for...well, I don't know how long but I know it was a long time! They only accept 12 female pupils every year, you should be very proud of yourself! " Lily exclaimed, trying to lighten the dreary mood. 

Adzuki didn't respond. She only continued to silently watch the dozens of trees and fields roll by. It was true that studying at the Royal Ballet School, any ballet school, was her dream but she wasn't in the mood to relish her acceptance right now. Not after what happened.

It had been a warm, idyllic day in July when it happened. She had just finished writing friendly letters to Piño and Chester when she'd heard the rumors of her father's infidelity. There had been rumors like that before, but Taiyaki never really believed they were true. She couldn't think of her father doing something so foul. 

Nonetheless, she remembered it like it was yesterday. She remembered the news report on July 29, 2030. It was more talk of King John's infidelity, but this time they'd captured proof. She remembered the photo of her father in a compromising position with another man, their loins blurred out. She had never seen such an inappropriate picture before then.  Was John with another dignitary or just some prostitute? Taiyaki didn't know. 

The photos had been the last straw for the public. The citizens had already been on edge when John married Lily, a woman who wasn't of Waffilian (French) descent. They didn't believe she would understand their problems, that she would just be another Marie Antoinette. Lily's actions only further angered them, as she acted more casual and informal than a normal Queen, even when in public. 

Some time after the scandal, a revolution began. A mob of radical subjects nearly stormed into the palace, they would’ve been successful if it wasn't for a few brave guards. 

It was then that John decided that it wasn't safe for Lily and Taiyaki to remain in the Waffle Kingdom, and he promptly sent them away using classified methods to a classified location. 

Before all the madness began, Taiyaki had auditioned for the Royal Ballet School, in the capital city of Tomato in the Fruit Kingdom (England). She remembered the day she had been accepted. She had been over the moon with joy, but when she learned that she'd have to leave her family to live at the school, she never imagined she'd have to leave her entire previous life behind. When they were on their way to their new life, she'd seen on the news that she and her mother had been declared dead. Fortunately, however, her father made it so that she could still go to the school, she would just go with a new name. 

When she and her mother arrived in Currant (Cambridge), the Fruit Kingdom--their new home--they had their names changed. Taiyaki Dessert became Adzuki Bean and her mother simply went back to using her maiden name-- Lily Flowers. The two of them were skeptical of how effective only changing their names would be, but in the end no one ever recognized them. 

Their new house was smaller than the two of them were used to. It had an orange door with a mail slot and windows on the top. There was an orange garage with a car inside, and the keys were located in the house. The terrace house was practically empty, with notes all over the place with instructions for how to do things and such. They had been given new phones (Adzuki got her first smartphone) and a few new outfits to wear until they went shopping. Adzuki's suitcase that she had packed for the ballet school was also there, but she went through it to make sure nothing was missing. 

Her mother had been pretty depressed those first few days. The fact that John had been cheating on and then divorced her hurt her more than she could bear. She found it hard to accept, but she couldn't ignore the solid facts and evidence. She didn't want to admit it that--even though John wasn't perfect--he somewhat grew on her. She felt like their relationship hadn't really met anything to him, and probably hadn't, considering it was all arranged in the first place. As time went on, the pain began to feel less and less severe, and Lily had even started attending the nearby Anglia Ruskin University (Currant is a college town after all) in order to get her nursing degree. Now that she was no longer royal, she would have to make ends meet somehow and the course work kept her busy.