Chapter 30: Dinner Rules

It was late Sunday afternoon, and all Serenah could think of was that tomorrow was her first day at school. Her thoughts and feelings were in a riot. She was excited, nervous, happy, and worried. She kept trying to calm down, but it was impossible.

"My Lady, you will be fine."

She looked at Lael's serene expression and felt her emotions gradually calming. "Thanks."

Lael smiled. "It is only natural to feel some trepidation at entering a new place. You can do it, My Lady. I have faith in your good nature and your intelligence."

Serenah blushed at the unexpected praise from her maid attendant. Lael didn't give out praise or compliments very often. When she did they were to be treasured.

"I agree with Lael. You will do great tomorrow. Remember that I will be by your side as well."

"I know, Alastar. You won't let me go astray."

"Now," Lael clapped her hands and pointed to the closet. "Let's pick out some outfits for your first week of school while we review the plan for this week."

Serenah followed Lael to the closet. Lael opened it with a flourish and bowed. She laughed at her attendant's actions and walked inside. She decided to do a mixture of dresses and pants and shirt pairings. She had read in books and was told by Lord Hulight that the first day was crucial. It would set the tone for how the humans would treat her for the rest of the school year.

"Should I wear an elegant yet classy dress and shoes or should I do a dress shirt and pants suit?"

Lael studied the choices and Serenah before pointing at the dress. "This brings out the color of your eyes and will flatter your figure without making you look trashy. If we also complement this with light natural makeup and a French braid, you will stun them all. Remember, always dress to impress and wear your clothes like armor. You will succeed at everything that way."

Serenah smiled. Lael was a few years older than her and never failed to give great advice. They spent the next fifteen minutes deciding on the other four outfits for the first week of school. She was satisfied with the choices and thanked Lael for her help.

After they hung the clothes up, they exited the closet. Alastar was sitting at her table with several papers spread out on it.

"What's this?"

"Our schedules and some of the syllabuses for a couple of the classes."

"Oh." Serenah plopped down in a chair and pulled one of the papers over to her. She found the one with her name on it and glanced over the schedule. She had seven classes in total: Advanced Language Arts, Chemistry, Pre-Calculus, Government Studies, Art, Gym, and Business Studies.

Most of the subjects she had studied with Lord Hulight with the exception of Chemistry, Gym, and Business Studies. Art she knew from their old home, but she didn't know much about it in this new place. She was looking forward to learning about it.

She smiled. She was starting to feel excited at the prospect of meeting the humans who would attend school with her.

"Your Highness, I want to remind you of your backstory about why you have not attended school along with your twin."

"I remember, Alastar. We are sticking to the truth. We are saying that I was in a coma due to a chronic illness that I have suffered since I was a child."

"And also, Your Highness, when the humans are suspicious about your lack of knowledge or innocence, you will say you were homeschooled and don't have a lot of social skills because of it."

Serenah frowned at his words. "It makes me seem stupid."

"No, Your Highness. It is the excuse that was used for your sister."

"Oh." She didn't say anything for a few minutes as she pondered that bit of news.

"One final thing."

"There's more, Alastar?"

"Yes. This is the last, I promise."

"Fine," she sighed.

"It's a reminder about our human first and last names."

"Your first name is Sera, and your last name is Holland. Your sister's name is Amy and your father's name is Benjamin. My name is Al Marks, and my father works for your father. We grew up together and are best friends. Our relationship is platonic. Nothing romantic between us."

She smiled at his explanation. Secretly she was relieved that they wouldn't have to act as a romantic couple. There was no way she could do that. She didn't see him that way and wouldn't be able to pull that lie off.

"Any other questions?"

"None at the moment."

Alastar started to say something but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," she ordered.

The door opened and one of her father's guards entered and bowed. She tensed.

"Excuse the intrusion, Your Highness. His Majesty has invited you to dinner this evening."

"I understand." She nodded her head and watched him leave. She let out a shaky breath and stared off into the distance, her mind rampaging about. What did her father want now? Ever since that disastrous day in his study when he basically disowned her, he had ignored her existence.

Change was scary, especially when it was her father who did it. Was he going to punish her for some perceived offense? She hoped not. She hadn't done anything to deserve punishment.

"Your Highness?"

She turned her attention to Lael. "I guess we should choose my outfit now."

Lael squeezed her hand. It felt warm and comforting. Serenah stood and headed for the closet. She would pick something demure and when dinner came, she would keep her head down and keep quiet. It was the safest course. She forced her focus back to the task at hand. She would worry later.

~***~

Soon enough dinner time rolled around, and Alastar escorted her to the dining room. This time Grand Duke Noward's presence didn't startle her. She was slowly getting used to the man's presence and being forced to sit beside him. Like usual he greeted her and made small talk with her during the meal. Their conversation was quiet so as not to interrupt Amanah who was loudly talking to their father about her excitement at returning to school and her friends.

"…my dear sister is so pitiful."

Serenah brought her attention from Noward to her twin and frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You will be the new kid with no friends except for Alastar. I feel sorry for you for being a social outcast from day one."

Serenah's eyes narrowed. She knew what her sister was trying to do. She would not fall into her trap. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face and calmly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Amanah. I will do my best not to be an embarrassment tomorrow."

Amanah snarled at her, "Don't you dare get in my way!"

"I won't," Serenah vowed. She would do everything to stay away from her twin.

"Make sure that you don't. You will bow to your sister's wishes at school or suffer the consequences. You will also be punished, Serenah, if you embarrass your sister or bring dishonor to our royal name. Your sister's word is law at school. Any disobedience toward her will not be tolerated, do you understand me, Serenah?"

Bitterness at his edict burned her tongue. She murmured, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Her father's gaze pierced her, and she lowered her head in submission. She quickly finished dessert and asked to be excused. She wanted away from the stifling atmosphere of the dining room.

"You may go."

She stood, bowed to her father, and moved to leave. She wasn't fast enough as Noward grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Good night, Your Highness."

She flinched, not liking the way his eyes caressed her. It made her sick to her stomach. "Good night, Grand Duke."

She extracted her hand and rushed from the dining room. She made it to her room and washed her hands. Unsettled, she decided to go to bed. Sleep, however, was a long time coming.