Today I woke up to a whole new world, which is one way to put me in the perfect mood.I sat up on my large new bed and smiled to myself; everything that happened yesterday was real. And I am here.

Now I have to get my head in the game.

I guess I woke up before the time my maids were supposed to arrive, seeing as I was the only one in the room. Honestly, if it were up to me, they'd be stationed in my room from dawn break.

Anyway, I should take a bath and go pick an outfit. As I've said before, first impressions matter.

I shrugged off my new crimson duvet and strolled into my new bathroom.

I didn't look at it much yesterday, but I wish I had looked at it sooner. The whole room was gold, like it was carved out of space itself, with a sparkling chandelier and a pristine white bath to match. I've actually never used a bath before, but I'm sure I can figure it out.

I stripped down, hung my clothes on a rack, and climbed into the bath. There was something weird sticking out from inside; I think it was called a tap? I'm not sure how to use it though.

I took an embarrassingly long time just staring at the tap, naked and cold, before I heard a knock on the door.

I didn't say anything in reply. I do not want anyone to see me like this.

It was silent for a while until I heard some murmuring outside the door, and I heard someone speak to me.

"Lady Bella? It's your maids. We apologize for being late; we hope you can forgive us."

So they were late. Good in one way; means they're hard on the maids here.

I still didn't say anything; I really didn't want anyone to see me like this. But I bet they'll have to come in after a while, to make sure I'm not dead or something.

I took a breath and said,

"It's completely fine, come in, I'm in the bathroom!"

Rebecca rushed in first and bowed low.

"Lady Bella, I'm terribly sorry. There was a bit of commotion with another child, and it hindered us. Please forgive us."

Lilly rushed in next and bowed so hard I thought her head might come off.

"L-lady Bella, p-please forgive us." I don't think I've heard her speak before.

Mary rushed in last; she looked like she was in a dizzy."Ye-yes L-lady- Ara- I mean Bella-, it's like Rebecca said, there was a problem with another Child. Please forgive us."

I wonder if the child was that mysterious one from Aetos that travelled behind me.

I gave the girls a warm smile.

"Really, don't worry about it. I understand."

"You're too kind, Lady Bella," Rebecca replied.

I really am.

"Well, um... girls, could you help me work this bathtub? I'm not sure how it... functions."

The girls looked at each other, and Mary even laughed.

"Oh, Lady Bella, I understand that you used to be a low-rank like us, so I understand how you don't know how this bath works," Mary lectured me.

Don't patronize me, you stupid maids.

"It's very easy to turn on really; you just have to hold it and turn it on with magic. I would demonstrate, but I don't have the magic capability for it. It's designed like this to make sure maids don't sneak a bath in their masters' quarters."

Oh... magic... I have that now.

"Oh well, thank you for informing me."

I reached for the tap, with the maids still watching me, and tried to turn it on with magic.

The results were great.

It burst into flames and danced on Lilly's face before water sprung out, filling the bath.

I mean, it was great in the fact that it ended up filling the bath with hot water.

I haven't gained control of my powers yet, it seems.

"Oh my goodness, Lilly! Are you ok?" I put on a fake air of concern.

"It's... it's ok, L-lady Bella. I'll just go to the infirmary after work hours."

It wouldn't look so good to Mary and Rebecca if I didn't let her go now, and I don't need an injured maid.

"No no, please Lilly, go now. It was my fault, after all." She looked like she wanted to say no, but she winced in pain and decided otherwise.

After Lilly left, Rebecca and Mary moved into the main room, leaving me to have my bath in peace. After finishing my bath, Mary and Rebecca helped me pick an outfit. They told me that on certain days, outfits would be picked for me, which would usually match the other children.

"For example, when it's publicly announced that all the Children of Aster have been found, you'll be presented to Altair, but today is dedicated to making you feel welcome, Miss," Rebecca informed me.

Now that actually made me wonder what I was doing today. I wasn't given a schedule or anything.

"Do you girls know what I'm doing today?"

Rebecca spoke first, "Oh yes, sorry for not telling you earlier, Lady Bella, but we were sent word to bring you to the common room for the Children of Aster as soon as you were finished getting ready."

"Oh, are you to escort me then? I don't know the way, after all."

"Oh yes, we may be able to show you other rooms along the way."

Mary and Rebecca guided me to the common room, which helped me gain knowledge of where some things were, but not much, seeing as we only walked through the Children of Aster's hallway of quarters for the girls, where multiple guards nodded at me, and down a set of stairs, to get to the common room. It seemed that on the other side, there were stairs leading to the boys' rooms.

"Lady Bella, we'll be leaving you here now. Please take care."

"Thank you very much, Rebecca and Mary. Please send my regards to Lilly."

They turned to leave, and I got my first proper look at the common room. It was a soothing purple, which reminded me of space. Many constellations were painted on the ceiling, as well as the walls. There were also many paintings of people that seemed important, so at first, I assumed they were royalty. But none of them were wearing crowns, and royals love their crowns. So there's no way they'd have a portrait without them. There were also many sofas in the common room, all the same soothing purple as the room, and looked a million times more comfortable than the ones at home. There was also a big shaped twelve-pointed star carpet in the middle of the room. There also seemed to be a table in one corner, decorated with pastries and tea that I'd only seen in my dreams.

While I was observing the room, a girl with not-blonde but not-brown hair and hazel eyes came up to me and took my hands.

"Hello, I'm Iris. I'm from Aetos, and I got here yesterday morning." I blinked in surprise. She was certainly bold.

"Nice to meet you, Iris. I'm Ara; I arrived here around sometime last night."

She also blinked in surprise.

"Oh wow, Ara, are you from Altair? You talk very... I don't know, sophisticated-like, and you've got that kind of aura."

Wow. Very Bold. Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell her that I'm from Aries. She seems to be... the nice type? I guess. Not to mention she's only from Aetos.

"Haha, no, I'm actually from Aries."

She blinked in surprise AGAIN.

"Wow! Really? You don't look poor."

Female dog.* I don't think she has a filter.

"Ah well... I try... my best... not to look that way?"

"Sorry... that was probably rude."

You think?

"Ah, no... it's really ok."

"Anyway... come sit with me! Seeing as I've been here a day, I can tell you what to expect."

Oh, that would be very helpful. It would also be good for me to have some sort of friend. Being an outcast does not look good.

Iris dragged me to one of the sofas, where another girl with long black hair, purple eyes, and glasses was sitting.

"This girl is Demi; she also got here around the same time as me." The girl looked up at me and nodded.

"Hey, I'm Demi. I guess you got kidnapped by Iris too, huh?"

I looked at her and smiled.

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Ara, and yes, it seems like that's the case."

"You know I'm right here?" Iris said with a pout.

Wow. This girl really annoys me.

"Anyway... ignoring Iris, I'm from Altair, and like she said, I got here yesterday morning."Iris butted in.

"Don't make sounding like you're from Altair an achievement or something; you're like a rebel!"

Oh, now I'm curious. I was thinking about how she sounds like someone from back home.

"Oh, please tell me. I'm curious now."

She looked at me and sighed in defeat.

"Well... long story short, I was brought up in Altair, so I was a noble. I got tired of it and ran away." There is definitely more to it than that. But I don't think she'll tell me right now.

"Anyway... what's your story, Ara?"

To be fair, I'm not telling her everything either.

"Ah well... I grew up in Aries. My mom died when I was nine, my dad is in service, I have an older sister who isn't in service due to her being blind, I have a younger brother, and that's really it. My life isn't really interesting, well, up until now."

Iris spoke up.

"Ah yeah... I totally get it... life in Aetos was so boring. I have six siblings, and it's a living hell. I'm so glad to be away from them."

I really, really, REALLY don't like her. How ungrateful can you be? At least you have a warm house.

"Anyway, Ara, let me fill you in on everything I know so far," Iris said.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

She pointed to the table in the corner from earlier with all the food.

"Since the first day a Child arrived, we've been given breakfast from that table. I think that when every child arrives, we'll move to eating in the dining hall."

"We were told that when every child arrives, we'll be given proper tours and classes, among other things." Iris looks at me like a light bulb has gone off in her head.

"Oh Ara, are you the last to arrive?"

"Ah well, I'm not sure. I did see another boy with me on my journey here, but I'm not sure where he could be now. He was really strange; he needed extra guards as well."

Demi spoke in.

"Well... maybe he's a troublemaker or something. I know I wasn't easy to drag here."

As if on cue, the boy I saw walked in with two guards holding him, who threw him in the room and locked the door. He didn't spare any of us a second glance and walked over to the table in the corner to grab breakfast.

Demi blinked.

"Woah. Definitely a troublemaker."

I need to find out more about that weird boy. There's definitely some secret about him. But he did remind me that I need to eat.

After eating some food that practically took me to heaven, a tired man that seemed to be in his forties, with dark brown hair, black eyes, and a robe dressed in constellations, just like the room we were in, walked into the room. He was followed by a man with midnight black hair, crimson red robes, no doubt to signify Calypso, and cold orange assessing eyes that looked over all of us. They were also accompanied by many guards who stood behind them menacingly.

I guess they were important then.

The tired man cleared his throat, looked around like he was unsure, and finally spoke.

"Good evening, wait um, I think it's morning actually. Sorry. Good morning, everyone."

Wow. Okay.

"My name is Andreas Makris. I am the royal oracle of Calypso. It is nice to meet you."

He looks around the room.

"Children of Aster."

Oh, he was an oracle. Interesting.

The other man looked impatient the whole time he was talking. I don't think they get along.

"Rise, Children of Aster."

We all stood up in response. This guy demands things. I need to be like that someday.

"Good morning, Children of Aster. I am the High Chancellor, George Poulos, right hand of the king, his most trusted advisor."

Oh yes, I need to be like that, and even more.

The oracle spoke up again.

"Now that all of you are in Altair and safely in the castle, we will inform you of what to expect here, seeing as this will be where you reside for the rest of your lives."

A quiet murmur travelled around the room. I guess it hadn't hit some people that they were never going home.

"But first, we'll start with introductions. You'll need to know each other, seeing as you're all Children of Aster. We'll go around the room."

He scratched his head and pointed at the strange boy.

"You go first."

He sighed and got up from where he was sitting. He might have made some friends, seeing as there was a girl and two boys sitting next to him, or maybe his situation was similar to mine, and he was "kidnapped," as Demi put it.

"My name is Alec Delis. They took me from Aetos. I'm seventeen, but we all are anyway."

That's all he said as he sat back down.

"Uh well okay... you next."

He pointed at the blond boy sitting on the sofa next to Alec. He had sky-blue eyes and sat with a carefree air. He got up with a jump and said,

"Hey, my name's Chris Bakas. I'm from Altair. Nice to meet you guys."

He winked at nobody in particular and sat back down. The next girl with black hair and blue eyes didn't even wait for Andreas to call on her.

"Good morning, my name is Thalia Demo, I come from the noble house of Demo, which has relations to the queen. I come from Altair. My hobbies are painting, singing, dancing, and playing the piano. I hope we can all find ourselves getting along."

She reminds me of Iris, but maybe not as annoying in a way.

Andreas nodded and pointed at a boy with neatly trimmed blonde hair next to Thalia.

"Good morning, it is nice to meet you all. My name is Julian Asker. I am from the house of Asker and from the capital, Altair. I hope we will all find ourselves getting along."

He seems proper, I guess.

Andreas pointed at me next.

Now's my time to shine. I cleared my throat and straightened my skirt as I stood.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Ara Bella. I come from Aries-"

I heard someone scoff somewhere.

"-and I hope we will all be able to get along."

I sat back down quickly. When I find who the hell scoffed, they're gonna regret it.

He pointed at Iris next. Oh boy, I can tell it's long.

"Hi everyone! My name is Iris Floros. I'm from Aetos. I have six siblings, I know, it's a lot. My whole life has been really boring, so I'm really glad that I'm here now. I think it's going to be really exciting; it's got to be better than Aetos, you know? 'Cause this is Altair and all. I'm really curious about what everyone's powers are! Oh, you know what! My power is-"

Andreas thankfully cut in.

"Thank you... Miss Floros. Your magic is classified until tomorrow when training begins. You can show off then."

Iris basically deflated with an "aw" and slumped back on the sofa.

"Alright, you next." He pointed at Demi.

Demi kept it short and simple.

"Hello, my name is Demi."

She sat back down straight away. Now I'm sure there's a lot more to her.

Thalia looked very skeptical as she said that too.

Andreas pointed at a red-haired boy next, with chocolate brown eyes and a very relaxing aura.

"Hey, my name is Robin Nicoli. I'm from Aetos. I really like poetry. Hope we can be friends."

Andreas smiled when he said he liked poetry. Maybe they have that in common.

He continued to point at a nervous girl with brown hair in two braids that went along her back, and she looked at everyone like she was an outsider with her hazel eyes.

Robin nudged her, and she stood up.

"Hi, my name's Kora Metro. I'm from, um... Aetos. Nice to meet you all."

She sat back down very quickly.

He pointed to the next and final friend group, first pointing at a red-haired girl with green eyes that kept darting around the room, along with dark skin. She was quite short, and she seemed... meek? She basically seems to be someone I could manipulate if I needed to.

"H-hi, my name is Katherine, but you can call me Kat, if you want... I really don't mind. I'm from A-aries. It's nice to meet you all."

Someone else from Aries. Was it just us?

Andreas moved onto the last two, a girl who had blonde hair with blue streaks in it, who was sitting next to a boy with short black hair and brown eyes. By the way they were sitting, they seemed to be close.

He pointed at the girl first, who I noticed had gone through the effort of styling her wardrobe.

"My name is Kyra Makos. I'm from Altair and the house of Makos. Nice to meet you all." Kyra nodded at the boy to go next.

"Hi, my name is Iason Athans. I'm from Aries. Nice to meet you all."

I wonder how two people from Altair and Aries became so close.

Andreas looked around and spoke again.

"That seems to be everyone. Re-"

The High Chancellor cut in. He looked like he couldn't keep quiet for another minute.

"Ahem, yes, it is as Andreas was about to say. Remember that for the rest of your life, your duty is to serve your kingdom. Your life is now for your kingdom, and your kingdom only. Think only of how you can benefit your kingdom and what you must do to achieve it."

Everyone was silent. This news must shock them. But it's not so weird to me. This has been the obvious reality ever since we got here, ever since I realized I was a Child, ever since the king announced it in the square. Ever since I saw it in those picture books for the first time all those years ago.

The Children of Aster were obvious pawns.

But that won't be me.

And I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking it. Though I'm sure most of us will just accept it eventually, I don't think that Alec boy will be one of them though. I leaned forward a bit to look at him. His hair was barely hiding the scowl on his face.

The High Chancellor spoke again.

"Today will be dedicated to meeting the royal family for lunch. Tours will commence tomorrow."

Really? That was unexpected.

"You're now given time to prepare yourselves, but you'll meet back here in thirty minutes."

And with that, we all left the common room. I walked with Demi and Iris, who talked, but I was only half-listening.

If we're meeting with the royal family, I'll need to present myself perfectly. This could decide what the rest of my time here is like, which is, really, the rest of my life. If I want to make myself stand out, I might need to make others look worse.

I glanced at Iris. She was bubbly describing something with her hands and nearly hit a maid in the face. She was definitely a target. And...I looked behind me. That girl Katherine, who seems so unconfident. She'll be my next prey as well.

✭✭✭

Back in my room, my maids helped me pick out a beautiful blue dress, my favourite colour, with rhinestones sewn on. My dress reached the floor, which was something I did on purpose.On the way here, with Iris and Demi, I mentioned to Iris how a short skirt dress would look great on her. She seemed to beam at my advice. I really said that to her because it might not make a great first impression to appear so... scandalous. I know that short skirts must be something people are against here, seeing as I only had one outfit with that kind of thing. I've also seen no one wearing short skirts today. In fact, I saw a maid with a ripped skirt, and everyone scowled at her as she passed. It's honestly so different from home, you'd just wear whatever you could afford.

I brushed my hair while I thought about what to do with Katerina. She was obviously very shy, and I'll have to highlight that during our meeting with the royals.

I set my brush down on the table and stared in the mirror. I smiled at myself. Look at me now, way better compared to a year ago. My blonde hair is light, and my blue eyes shine in the mirror. For once, there isn't any dirt on my face, and there are jewels in my hair.

This is what I'll look like for the rest of my life.

No.

One day I'll look even better.

I tucked a pen in my sleeve and made my way to the common room.

Andreas was standing at the front of the room, and everyone who had arrived was sitting on the sofas. I made my way to Demi and Iris, who was wearing a short skirt, like I had said. I smiled as I sat down.

"That looks great on you, Iris."

"Thanks, Ara! You were right; this looks amazing on me."

"It's no problem. I'm glad to be helping a friend."

Iris was beaming now.

A panicked girl rushed through the door suddenly, and I drop my pen on the table at the opportunity.

Katherine.

She seems to be overtaken with nerves; she's shivering and shaking all over the place.

Andreas spoke up.

"Alright, now that all of you are present, we'll now depart to the dining room, where you will meet the royal family for the first time. We'll line up in an orderly fashion."

I think I hear him mutter "good luck" under his breath.

Naturally, Iris dashes to the front, dragging me and Demi with her. Demi looks annoyed and says, "Iris, could you slow down!"

"Hehe, sorry!" She says with no remorse at all.

" Oh, I left my pen on the table. I'll catch up with you guys," I say in a fake tone.

I go to retrieve my pen and see that after Demi, Katherine is next in queue.

I smile to myself. She might have been so shaken because I had found a spider earlier, and I might have happened to slip it into her room as I passed by. The stupid girl forgot to close the door. She seems like the kind of person to be scared by a spider, so I took a gamble and gave her a little present.

I join the back of the queue, and we start to move. Perfect. Because Katerina was delayed due to the spider, she was in front of the door, meaning she's close to the front, and I assume she'll be sitting closer to the prince.

We travel through the castle and arrive at the dining room. When I look at the oval table, I release a silent sigh. I was completely right.

The dining room is magnificent, with an incredibly high ceiling, so high that I can't see the end, but a magnificent chandelier decorated with many diamonds is hanging from it. Many star-shaped sculptures float in the air, the result of magic, no doubt. There are hundreds of paintings hanging from the walls, this time with crowns. They all stare at us with scrutinizing eyes. There are also many pillars, with designs forever twisting and turning upon them. Mesmerizing.

At the front lies a colossal stage, with dazzling red curtains carrying the coat of Calypso.

And on the stage lay the royal family.

They looked even more majestic than when I had seen them in Aries. King Nikolas was wearing a colossal crown, adorned with many different jewels. He stood proud with his hands behind his back, showing off his sash, decorated with many badges he probably didn't earn. He had a long velvet cape that fluttered behind him when a breeze flew through the room. He watched everyone with assessing eyes and raised an eyebrow for a moment when he saw Iris, but quickly went back to looking at us.

Prince Lukas was also wearing a sash, but without the badges. His crown was smaller in comparison to his dad's but grand nonetheless. He was also watching us, but with an innocent kind of curiosity, which made me wonder what kind of person he was.

I turned my attention to Queen Ariana, my real target for tonight.

She was wearing a long crimson dress that wrapped around her body and fell to the floor. She was wearing matching gloves, and her gold jewellery complemented her dress perfectly. Her hair was almost as long as her dress, and her crown dazzled in the light. Her eyes showed that she was far away from here, and I wonder if she ever comes back at all.

The king suddenly started to address us, his voice booming throughout the hall.

"Children of Aster, we are delighted to receive you into our care today. My family and I thoroughly hope that for the rest of your time here, you will find yourselves comfortable and find everything you need at your disposal."

"But remember, even though you're all Children of Aster, you'll need to prove yourselves to your country, whether that's through your powers or public interaction, but you are never to forget your country."

Or maybe we're not supposed to forget him.

He put on a toothy grin.

"Moving on, I don't know about you, but I'm feeling rather peckish."

And with that, he travelled down from the stage and came to stand at the head of the table. We all went to stand next to a chair at the oval table. Because I was at the end, and the table wrapped around, I found that I was going to sit to the side of Queen Ariana. Truly perfect. I've realised that from every time the king and queen have come to Aries, that Queen Ariana is always on the right of the king. I also know from books that when you are invited to dine in Altair, you have to wait for the most important person to sit first, and in this scenario, it would be the king. However, Iris and Alec sat down before him. Iris looked excited and was practically bouncing in her seat before she realized everyone was looking at her, and she got up sheepishly. Alec, on the other hand, looked at Iris get up and looked like he was questioning if he should stand, but after a roll of his eyes, he was on his feet. The king watched both of them with narrowed eyes the whole time. After they both got up, the king cleared his throat and sat down to eat, and everyone else followed.

We were served what I think were lamb chops, but I don't know, seeing as I've never seen this quality of food before. I do know which knife and fork I'm supposed to use and how to use them, though. I looked around at the table; everyone from Altair was holding the right forks and knives and was holding them correctly, but everyone else was holding them wrong. Except for Kora, who held everything correctly. Maybe it was luck. Katherine was a whole mess though, and I saw the king look at her with degrading eyes. I did see him admire my table manners at one point. Good.

I turned my head to look at the queen. She was absently cutting her food and putting it in her mouth.

Looks like I'll have to make conversation.

"Your Majesty."

"Hmm?" She looked at me like she had just woken up.

"I would like to ask if you are alright?"

"Oh." She looked at her food for a second and looked back at me.

"Yes, child, I am alright."

This is going to be hard.

"If I can be frank, Your Majesty, you're quite the role model for me. You've married into the royal family and have been a proud figure of Calypso."

And that is somewhat true.

"Hm." She poked at her food.

"But I also understand that it must be incredibly hard for you. The role of queen must be heavy upon your shoulders, and I'd just like to say that it would be my honour if I could help lessen the weight sometime." The queen blinked at me in surprise, and shockingly, she smiled at me.

"Child, you are most kind. It would be my pleasure to speak again sometime."

I smiled back at her.

"The pleasure's all mine."

The rest of the lunch went by quickly, with Iris talking non-stop and Katherine constantly dropping various items, while the king eyed them both. Everyone in their respective friend groups chatted animatedly, and some even spoke with the king. Eventually, we were dismissed, and we returned to our rooms, while I watched Iris and Katerina both look defeated.

I opened the doors to my room and sat on the balcony with a cup of tea while I eyed the gardens.

There's a lot waiting for me here.