𝐚/𝐧: major canon divergence from now onwards. thus, i would appreciate some respect from readers even if you may have some different opinions about the story you knew. read at your own risk. i warned you.
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K02 ‖ Lords of Time: Temporal Efficiency
𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕲𝖚𝖎𝖉𝖊:
Italic words — the thoughts of a character / a foreign language is spoken
Bold and italic words — a lie, only when Princess Caitlyn's around
Bold, italic and underlined words — the timeline of memories, past, hallucinations etc.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Year 2039
Haarborg City, Elderbourne Isle
The southern city of Elderbourne Isle is the only location on the entire island with an airport and harbor, making it the busiest and most developed city in the entire island in terms of tourism and international businesses.
When the Student Council officers from Poposi Academy for Girls stepped foot on the island, they were genuinely amazed by the technological developments of Haarborg City.
"The fashion here is to die for," Maria admired herself in the mirror of the fancy boutique they found, spinning around wearing a short black dress with fine details. "I am truly surprised that this island has any developments at all. Look at this dress! It's so cute, definitely not what I had in mind about Elderbourne fashion."
She turned to her friend who smiled at her from the sidelines.
"What do you think, Princess Neelam?" Maria asked.
Neelam, the youngest princess of India, smiled with her eyes closed, clutching tightly on her black Birkin bag. After an almost six hours flight from Poposi Island to Elderbourne Isle, the Indian princess was about to collapse on her feet out of exhaustion. Tugging the sleeves of her beige-colored trench coat, she let out a soft chuckle, wondering how her friends were still so energetic.
"I think the dress looks lovely, Princess Maria," Princess Neelam said, smiling at her friend. The seventeen-year-old girl with steel gray hair and cool gray eyes of blue to match, was known to the world as Maria Blavatsky but to the students of Poposi Academy, they knew her as Princess Maria, the betrothed of the Russian Prince. "It certainly suits you," Maria beamed at Princess Neelam's words.
After the gray-haired girl turned back to the mirror to admire herself, the Indian princess looked around the boutique, observing its unique layout and smiled gently at the sales ladies stationed around the place, ready to serve their customers.
No matter how much Princess Neelam tried to shake the odd feeling off, it kept bugging her especially when she caught sight of the boutique name.
"Doesn't the name 'Blue Rebelle' sound like a French brand to you?" the Indian princess asked no one in particular.
A loud snort of laughter came from the skirts section and from behind a rack of long skirts, a girl of Korean descent with dark purple hair appeared. Her dark gray eyes produced tears of mirth as she laughed at her best friend's inquiry. "Oh, Neelam," Princess Han Su Jung said condescendingly. "How in the world would 'Blue Rebelle' sound French to you? If anything, it should be American instead."
"True," Maria said, still posing in front of the mirror. "Don't Dior or Chanel sound more French to you? But I suppose this giant island is not important enough to have a Dior or Chanel boutique. This Blue Rebelle is probably the best they could do."
"It's not like Poposi could do any better," said Princess Neelam under her breath. Fortunately, none of her friends heard her. From the corner of her eyes, she could see the expressions of the sales ladies turning sour. Her dark eyes met with one of them and she immediately flinched away, hiding behind her dark curly hair.
"You there," Maria's sharp voice rang as she called for a sales lady. The group of women glanced at each other warily until one of them stood forward reluctantly, forcing a smile. "I'll take this dress along with everything else I've tried before," said the Russian girl. "No need to pack this dress up, I'll be wearing this out."
"Yes, miss," the sales lady said through gritted teeth and went into the dressing room where Maria left some clothes she tried moments ago.
Princess Neelam watched quietly as another sales lady assisted Maria to wear her jacket, also noticing that Princess Han was still in the middle of selecting skirts and blouses. Her legs nearly gave out under her, so to save herself from that embarrassment, the princess decided to make herself comfortable on the sofa. She carefully thought of what her friends told her, believing that they misunderstood what she meant. Her thoughts were interrupted when a sales lady offered her tea.
The Indian princess hesitantly accepted the cup of tea, surprised by their excellent customer service. With the hot tea cup clutched in her hands, she suddenly felt a twinge of guilt. What her friends said was rude and had crossed the line.
The well managed condition of the shop and the sheer size of it should have already been a big enough sign that Blue Rebel was not just any local fashion brand like the ones they have in Poposi Island. Princess Neelam made sure to send an apologetic smile to the sales lady and received a business-like one in return. The princess wondered if she could leave some tip since money could solve anything but feared that she could come off as arrogant and condescending.
Those thoughts made her feel worse and she shoved it to the back of her mind. The reason for their arrival at the island provided a distraction. She remembered how Maria and Princess Han discussed their visit on the plane like they were plotting a war, and that Ever Realm Academy would be the war zone.
Princess Neelam cringed at the thought. She felt that they were being too paranoid of the rumors that surrounded the school.
When Maria and Princess Han were paying at the counter, the Indian princess joined them and said, "You're going out in that dress?"
Maria gave her an odd look. "Why not?" She said, "I have my jacket."
"It's mid winter," Princess Neelam stated, looking worriedly at the length of the black dress on Maria's body and the weather outside. "I know we're at the south of the island but it's at least negative degrees out there."
"Aw, you're sweet, Neelam," said Maria with a pout. She then turned to the cashier and handed her the credit card before saying, "I've handled colder weather than this back in Russia. If you're worried you'd be cold, I can give you more heat packs." The Russian girl offered.
Princess Neelam shook her head in response, "That's kind of you but I'm good."
Maria shrugged. "Suit yourself. Where should we go next, Su Jung?"
When the South Korean princess suggested they visit some souvenir shops to purchase something for their hard working Student Council members, Princess Neelam immediately felt the need to interrupt.
"Shouldn't we head to the school soon?" she asked, flinching under the sharp stare that Maria gave her.
"Princess Neelam, we just got here," said Maria like it explained everything about their decision to continue shopping.
Princess Neelam answered, "Four hours ago."
That made Maria roll her eyes at the Indian princess. "My point is that we told them we're arriving today but we didn't say when we will visit them. If they really did prepare for our visit today, then I truly admire their dedication. Makes me feel so welcome," she said tossing her hair over her shoulder. "Shall we get going, Su Jung?"
Princess Han hummed in response. Maria sent a smug smile over her shoulder at Princess Neelam as she and the South Korean princess strolled out of Blue Rebel.
Princess Neelam returned it with a weak smile, the grip on her Birkin bag tightened.
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Year 2039
Ever Realm Academy (ERA), Elderbourne Isle
"Forget it, Prez," Princess Caoimhe of Ireland said, rolling her eyes. "It's already nightfall, they're obviously not going to visit us at this hour."
Lounged on one of the sofas in the middle of the President's office, the Irish princess was invested in an intense mobile game on her phone while the President paced around the room. The massive size of the office was one of the many perks of being the Student Council President of Ever Realm Academy (ERA), no doubt what made the competition so extreme among the students during every presidential election.
Princess Marioara of Romania, one of the longest serving presidents of the academy sighed, pausing in her step as she stared out of the window where snow fell outside, contrasting the darkening sky.
Wringing her hands, she said, "I just wanted to wait for a report, at least I'd know they've safely arrived."
That earned her a scoff from the Irish princess. Princess Marioara smiled.
She moved again, continuing her endless pacing until her office door was thrown open. Her smile widened when her Vice President strolled in with a scowl on her face.
"You can stop worrying now, Mademoiselle Prez," said Duchess Esmeralda Bourbon of France as she threw herself on the sofa opposite Princess Caoimhe's, crossing her arms over her chest.
"They arrived at midday today and spent five hours at my boutique in Haarborg City, then proceeded to insult my fashion brand with their ignorance of the fashion world before leaving to tour the city the whole day. C'est horrible! [How horrible!] Oh, One of your people called just now, Prez, and they said those three just checked into their hotel at Littlewood Town, and even got into a fight with the receptionist!" The Duchess laughed, her thick French accent sounded endearing to her friends' ears.
Princess Caoimhe looked up from her phone screen and asked, "What? They couldn't get a room?"
"They couldn't get the room they wanted," Duchess Esmeralda laughed alongside the princess. "If they want the family suite so much, they should have known better than to arrive hours after the check-in time. Besides, this always happens especially during holiday season."
"Did they not do their own bookings?"
"They didn't bother to," the Duchess said, rolling her eyes
"They clearly have no sense of temporal efficiency or responsibility," said Princess Caoimhe. "I bet they'd be at least an hour late tomorrow."
"I bet they'll be two hours behind schedule," Duchess Esmeralda said. "What do you think, Mademoiselle Prez?" She asked, looking over to her President who now stood in front of her 3000 gallon tank that housed a lone Arapaima.
Princess Marioara tore her eyes away from the swimming predator and glanced over her shoulder with a smile. "We'll just have to show them our best Ever Realm welcome," was her sweet reply.
The French duchess and the Irish princess shared a wide grin.
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1731 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜
𝐚/𝐧: don't say i didn't warn you.