The carriage ride was an uncomfortable one. Not because of the carriage itself of course – Gods, that was the softest cushion Gabe had ever had the pleasure to sit on, and those horses were so fast! – but because of the uncertainty of it all. The Queen’s personal Lady in waiting, Lady Isabella had come in a little after the first down with two carriages to fetch them to the Castle. An Official Request by Her Majesty was announced to them (not many details were shared, but both the Oracle and their need to assist the Prince was mentioned), and easy like that they were all on their way. Now, with another soothing pill running through her veins, Gabe wondered how perplexing it was that none of their opinions were asked at any point about anything at all: The girls were simply ordered to go in and face whatever was awaiting them with a smile on their faces. But she supposed having lived that way all her life made her somewhat accustomed to it. She also wondered if she would find anything strange at all if they hadn’t had Alani’s guidance or the great amount of time of their parents’ travels to be by themselves. That was how young girls were managed, was it not?

“I wish I came here under other circumstances,” Lulu said, awe clear in her voice as they saw the Castle in the distance, “The architecture of this place is wonderful. I would gladly spend hours just mapping it all.”

Lulu switched interests every other month, and the current one was buildings and how to make them stand up. Apparently, it took a great deal of thinking to make sure a house would not simply… fall down, and since she was a lover of all the hard things, she took it upon herself to learn how to do it. Where would a girl like her apply this knowledge? It was a mystery Gabe was sure even Lulu herself could not manage to clear up.

“You would not be able to do it regardless, Lulu,” Gabe spoke some sense into her, a rare occurrence. Who in their right mind would allow anyone to map the Royal Castle?

She avoided looking outside to focus on preserving her composure as best as possible.

“Just how are you two so damn calm?”

“Please Samir, watch your language,” Gabe said for the thousandth time.

“I think we all agreed that it would be alright for me to go all out this trip, no?” They said, still fretting in their place.

“We are not on the Castle yet,” Gabe warned, “You can’t make this a habit, that’s not the works of good people.”

“Well, Samir was never good, was he?” Lulu teased in a low voice only she could listen and Gabe shook her head disapprovingly.

“I am under the effects already,” she choose to answer the other question instead, before sliding a glance to the tall girl beside her, “And I don’t think Lulu took hers yet.”

Lulu grumbled.

“Do I really have to? I doubt I will be considered. I’m too foreign looking for them to want me in.”

“Come on Lucius, all the other girls are going in! Must you really be such a… such a…?”

“Such a bitch?" they all knew that was not a word Samir would use against their sisters, regardless of how annoyed they were, but besides trying to look calm, Lulu's nerves probably weren’t too good either, "You said that because the only pill you have to take is in case you feel nervous, of all things.”

“Stop,” Gabe’s voice flared up before things escalated, “We are all nervous, sisters. But we have to stay together. Lulu, we talked about it earlier already and you are smart enough for me to not need to repeat myself. Samir, be patient. You know our sister despises not being in control of her mind and your unkind words are not making anything easier.”

They both quiet down because they knew her to be right.

“We have to work together today,” Manny’s small voice was finally heard, and the two suddenly seemed even more ashamed, “Let’s all do our best, okay?”

The poor thing was sweating uncontrollably by that point. Her pills didn’t give her a fever, but they would make her melt a considerable portion of her liquids, making her have to drink a lot of water – hence the leather water bottle in her hand. Besides those side effects, she got to swallow a well-known medicine for losing weight that If she kept it at a one-pill-only would be harmless in the long run and the effects could be easily explained (she was nervous and thus, sweated a lot on the ride). Even better, it would make her look even more childish: oh but a child to be stinking after a run in a garden or whatever other place they took them to!

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

By rumors and personal accounts, the Prince didn’t seem the type to take interest in children, therefore they would play safe with Manny and make her look as young as possible. That was why she was in her long puffy dress and pigtails, together with the lowest heels she owned. They would have put her in flats but her Mother’s lenience stopped at that and, even if the older one deemed the youngest not to be in the spotlight, she demanded more formality. It was the same with the other three too: They had to appear serious, but also had more freedom in picking clothing that would fit their narrative for the event.

Gabe was, well, as pretty as she would get. She had a white dress that started its flowy skirts right under her breasts to make her look longer and harmonical. Her hair was tied up in a bun that made it look more voluminous, with just two threads of bangs framing her face. A very delicate makeup was covering her face, with the focus on making her lips bigger. She was still not a beauty by any marks, but it would do.

Samir was in a formal vest and a skirt that stopped a palm below their knees, and the rest was covered in high-quality boots. Again, common knowledge was that the Prince positively avoided… male qualities, so they would play as unhinged and tomboyish as they could get.

Lulu would try to disappear in the background, so she had the closest her Mother would allow to a yellow commoner dress (a terrible color for her complexion). With the pill she was about to take, she would not sleep but would doze off for the entirety of the event, to appear a distracted and loose individual just in case there was someone paying attention to her clever eyes.

Poor Alani, as usual, got the worst luck: She had to doll up, regardless of her wishes. A simple and symmetrical silk dress and braided hair made her look like a fairy the last time Gabe saw her, but she wondered how she was fairing in the other carriage having to ride with both, their parents and Lady Isabella.

She didn't have to wait for long. As they got off to the entrance of the castle(Gabe refused to stare at anything other than the magnificent marble entrance hall, she had to preserve her composure, preserve her composure), her sister swiftly excused herself and joined them.

As she got closer, Gabe realized her makeup was slowly wearing off and revealing protuberances in her face that looked very much like considerably large pimples.

“Father hasn’t noticed yet but Mother is furious,” she whispered, “I don’t think she believes I don’t know how this happened.”

“Keep swearing that you don’t, and don't stop until your death,” she whispered back, “some physiologists will say it might be because of stress, and once this is said for the first time, it will be your shield.” Or at least, that was what the “herbalist” they went to said to them.

Of course, just some pimples would not shy them away from the other qualities their sister so naturally displayed, but it would buy them time.

Following Lady Isabella’s lead, they marched to a salon where some couches and food awaited them.

“Ladies, you can wait here with some refreshments while the adults go discuss some important things, yes? We will be back soon,” If it could be argued that both Alani and Gabe were old enough to be considered adults as well, she did not wait to hear it: Lady Isabella gave them a polite smile and proceeded to lead their parents somewhere else, leaving them with a table full of, admittedly, delicious looking nacks, a butler and a couple of maids.

“Welp,” Samir said embarrassingly loudly.

For a moment, they all stared at Gabe, but they just had to have one look to swing into action.

“Oh Gods, this place is so huge! everything is so clean!” They continued, running their hands through multiple pieces of furniture as if to check for dust, “You there!” they pointed at the maids, “Good job! This is the cleanest room I’ve ever seen. So refreshing! It doesn’t seem like my room at all” and then they laughed at their own “joke”.

At the same time, Manny ran to the food table, “Uwaaa! So much tasty food!” she raised her eyes very big and very bright to Alani, “Could I please get some sis, please?”

Alani picked a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her face of “sweat”, “Yes, my darling, go ahead.”

“One moment sisters,” Gabe signalized, soothing, “I greet you three, we are in your hands on this fine morning.”

The servants at present were reasonably unsatisfied with the other’s actions but smiled at her, bowing, before she stopped them again.

“No need to bow to us, we are common folk just like you,” their faces looked even more pleased, “But perhaps, you are less common since you spend so much time in this wonderful Castle. Well, we will be in your hands.”

"We'll be in your hands too, my ladies," the butler complied, "I fear that our humble servants' lives are not as exciting as a young lady would think, though."

“No matter! It will be lovely to get to hear about your stories all the same!” Manny exclaimed with a sparkle that Gabe recognized as dubious in her eyes.

And in the midst of it all, nobody noticed but Lulu was already seated down, swallowing down some pastry and tea.

Okay, Gabe thought, off to an acceptable start.