Elizabella had been attending her new school for a few months now. At first, she was unsure why her father had wanted her to participate in the school so far from home. The thought made her excited to go to a new school and make new friends. The school was not a name she had heard before, so she was curious what sort of school it was.
She was surprised to learn that it was not an academic school like she was used to attending. It was not even an accredited school that would transfer to another school. It was more like an after-school program for the public but had classes all day for adults. Knowing this, she was even more puzzled as to why she would go to this "school."
After finding out what sort of school this was, her first reaction was to complain to her father. He had assured her that it was with the intention of her meeting different people from all walks of life.
"Queen Seraphina believes that learning to mingle with people that are not nobles will help you understand the ways of the world better. It will be for a few months, and then you can come back home," explained her father as they spoke through the holograph.
"But father, the lessons here are rudimentary, at best. I passed by the music section, and it sounded like beginners. What could I learn here?" asked Elizabella as Marquess Frederick sighed and finally agreed with the Queen about his daughter.
"My dear, remember that as a noble, one must understand the ways of the people beneath them. Remember that their lives are important in our society. Without them, there would be no nobles to lord over. We must know the people. Besides, you are not going to enter the music department, but the drama department," said Marquess Frederick as he told her the Queen's words, making Elizabella more confused.
"Drama? Why drama? If not music, then dance or gymnastics," said Elizabella as she was unsure what was happening.
"We can always hire professionals to help you in those categories, but to act requires a group of people to work along. It is most effective that way as an actor's job is to make others believe their act. As you know, here in the capital, it is not common for a young noble Lady to learn to act, and even if you were to learn here, the other noble Ladies will only sing your praises and will not give you constructive criticism.
"There, no one knows of your heritage and will treat you the same as them. You will not be able to use our name as you would have back at home. This is good as it will teach you humility as you will learn with others from a different class. Also, your face is not recognizable there, so no one will treat you special. Do you not want to know what it feels like to be normal?" asked Marquess Frederick as Elizabella processed his words and thought silently to herself.
"I have been curious. Maybe it will not be so bad to make friends there. Why not?" said Elizabella as the more she thought of it, the more she liked the idea while a broad smile appeared on her face making her father nervous.
"Just remember that you should always maintain the dignity of your noble blood and do not do anything that a Lady would not do," began to nag her father.
At the same time, Elizabella nodded obediently, making her father think she was up to something.
"You will still have your tutors during the day when you are not learning about drama which will periodically send me your progress reports. Finally, I forbid you from driving around in your hoverbike. Do not think that you can sneakily get away with you riding around in the night. I am sure that if any reports are coming from the town of a new hoverbike that it would most assuredly be yours."
Elizabella felt her face twitch as the smile on her face began to crack. She had thought that being away from her parents meant that she could do what she wanted. How is this any different from living at home? Was she not to experience what it was like to be a commoner?
Reading her face, her father patted himself on the back as he was sure that she was planning on doing the things he had listed behind his back. He sighed as he realized how troublesome his daughter was on a typical day, let alone now that she will be away from his supervision. He hoped that she would not get into any trouble while away from home.
"Promise me that you will be careful. Do not trust strangers so readily, and do not let others know about your background. The fewer people know about you and your family, the better. Be good, and I will stay in touch," ended her father as Elizabella sighed before saying her farewell.
Walliams had overheard her conversation with her father and knew that she had given him a mischievous smile. He knew that she would probably find a way to defy her father.
"My Lady, what are you planning?" asked Walliams curiously as Elizabella looked at his babyface.
"If I cannot ride my babies, then I will have to find another way to satisfy my need for speed," said Elizabella with a carefree attitude.
Elizabella remembers saying that three months ago, and there was still no progress in her satisfaction. She sighed as she walked to her class with Walliams. Walliams had to walk next to her because it would look strange if she walked around with a bodyguard. It was a good thing that he had such a youthful face, making it easier to pass as her younger relative than her bodyguard.
Walliams had long found that Lord Marquess had sent other Shadow Guards behind them. They mostly kept at a distance from him and Elizabella, but it was nice to know that they had backup in case of emergencies. He noticed that Elizabella sighed the hundredth time since they left their new home.
"My Lady is something troubling you?" he asked curiously.
"My time is almost up, and I still have not found anything that would be considered exhilarating. How can I just leave for home if I have not lived like a proper commoner?" asked Elizabella dejectedly while Walliams tried to find a way to cheer her up.
"Cheer up, my Lady! At least you have shown great progress in your classes. This way, you can go home earlier to your babies," said Walliams with a sweet smile while they walked down the hall, and Elizabella gave a sad face.
"What was the point of finding new ways to have fun when all I did was the same thing I would do at home? I have not satisfied my thirst for adventure," said Elizabella as she stopped walking and gave a determined look while holding her fist.
Walliams had stopped next to her and seen that they had stopped in front of a bulletin board. He looked up at the flashing display and noticed a competition being held and people asking to form groups.
"What about joining a competition? As a high noble, you never get a chance to compete at home. No one here would let you win only because you were born a noble. What about that for a thrill?" asked Walliams as he tried to come up with ideas for his Lady.
Elizabella looked up at the bulletin board and read the information. Unfortunately, the competition would be held when she was already home. Unless...
"Great idea, Walliams! I can ask my father to join! If I tell him that I want more practical training, I am sure that he would not object," said Elizabella as she saw that there had been groups who already joined and others that were missing other members to join. "I do not have time to start my own group, but what if someone lets me join theirs?"
After her class ended, Elizabella bounced back home, with Walliams following close behind. The home was a modest three-floor townhouse that had been fully furnished with all her luxury amenities. This was the first time she would live so close to other people who were not part of her household. It was located close to her school, so she and Walliams would walk to and from school.
The first time they walked through the neighborhood was an experience that Elizabella never got to feel back at her father's house. When she lived with her father, she would always be escorted even if she were to go to her neighbor's house. She was fascinated by all the passing people who seemed busy getting to where they needed to go.
Elizabella had never seen so many people who were so busy that they would pass each other without formally greeting one another. When someone would finally notice her, it would be to ask her to move out of the way in a crass manner. Walliams and the others had wanted to spring into action at the sight of such disrespect they saw. Noticing their demeanor change, Elizabella had to hold them back from lunging at the strangers.
In the three months of living alone, she has learned to keep far away from others way so now it was back to turning invisible again when she walked the streets. She had tried to get to know her neighbors. The neighbors living on her left would travel for work, so they were never home for her to meet. The neighbors on the right were always working at night and would sleep in the day. She had seen them a few times when she was leaving for class at the same time they were coming home. She had never seen a living zombie before until she saw her neighbor for the first time.
Going to her class the first time also opened her eyes to the strong scent of coffee and the addiction that people seemed to have for the beverage. She thought it was worse than when she would go for tea. The only time tea would be drunk in large quantities would be in social gatherings. Even then, she did not believe it would fill a thermos.
Elizabella's weekly call to her parents was fascinating to learn things that others would see as mundane. Marquess Frederick seeing her being distracted by all the new things made him secretly sigh that she was not seeking any dangerous thrills.
After learning about the competition, Elizabella called her father as soon as she got home. Marquess Frederick had picked up almost immediately as it was not the allocated time for her to call him. He had set it up that on weekends, she had to call him by a specific time or else he would call her. This was done so that he would make sure that she was not out making trouble.
"Bella? What is wrong? Do you need anything?" entreated her father when he answered her call.
"Father, I want to stay for a few more months to join a competition. May I?" begged Elizabella while her father remained silent after he heard her ask.
"You what!?"