Chapter Text
Marlene works in a cafe where she cleans tables, serves coffee and collects every tip she can. Every now and then she buys a blueberry scone for her mother there. Then she goes to buy groceries and takes the tube home.
Today she comes home to her little sister Emelie watching the Princess Procession, the beginning of the school year for Princess Charm School, broadcasted on live TV with a parade and fancy dresses. Emilie loves everything to do with Princesses. Marlene doesn’t see the appeal but goes with it anyway. Putting on a big dress and managing a country don’t have much to do with each other.
Emelie is lying on the floor, her homework spread out before her, but she’s clearly focused on the TV. On her shoulder-length brown hair sits a golden, paper tiara, decorated with rhinestones.
Marlene quietly closes the door and puts the groceries down, then stealthily sneaks up behind her sister, yells, “Boo!”, and tickles her.
“Marlene! You’re home!”
Marlene takes Emelie’s hand. “Dance with me Princess Emelie”, she says in her most sophisticated voice and starts ballroom dancing the best she can, holding her little sister in her arms. Emelie has always loved dancing, Marlene doesn’t enjoy it very much, but she enjoys seeing Emelie happy.
In the background two reporters are talking about the parade. Marlene and Emelie are still laughing and dancing when their voices switch to noise. Marlene stops dancing and goes to fix it. “You’ll hurt your eyes looking at this.” Emelie ignores her, giving her a pink paper tiara instead. “Your tiara, Princess Marlene” Marlene scoffs. “I am so not a princess.” She hits the TV again and Andrea and Phil are back to their outfit talk.
“Every girl is a princess, some of them just have fancier crowns”
Marlene just smiles and picks up the bag with the groceries she brought home. “Mum okay?” she asks. “Kinda. The doctor says she’s comfortable.”
“Comfortable? She should be all better.” Marlene sighs. Their mother’s quite ill and the doctors only ever got her to be stable, never cured. “She’ll get there though. I just have to keep working. Then we can afford our own little house, in a better area.” She starts putting away the groceries.
“With better doctors for mum?”
Marlene hummed in agreement. “And a better place for you to grow up, some place right out of the pictures you draw.”
“Marlene?”, Ms. McKinnon enters the kitchen. She has her short brown hair tucked behind her ears and is wearing a bathrobe over her pyjamas, in her hands a dark brown wooden cane.
“Hallo Mama”, she comes to greet her mother. “Ich hab dir ein Blaubeerscone mitgebracht.”
Marlene hands her mother the paper bag with the blueberry scone and helps her to the living room.
Ms. McKinnon is German and raised both her daughters with the language.
“Oh, dankeschön.”
“Das ist das mindeste was ich tun könnte”
“It’s time! It’s time! It’s time”, Emelie shouts from the couch. “It’s Princess Charm School lottery time! We have to watch!” Marlene and her mum join Emelie on the couch.
On TV the Charm School Headmistress Minerva McGonagall is moving to address the cheering crowd. As soon as she opens her mouth the cheers die down.
“At Princess Charm School, those born to the royal life unlock their princess potential. Yet every year, one regular citizen of Gardania wins a full scholarship to the school, with a chance to become a lady royal and change her life forever.” She pauses for dramatics. “Will it be you?”
“Oh, I hope, I hope, I hope.” Emelie chants and turns to Marlene. “Did I mention I hope?”
“When you’re old enough you’ll enter. I promise.” Marlene puts a hand on Emelie’s shoulder and leaves her sister and mother on the couch to continue putting away groceries. Emelie deserves that scholarship, and Marlene knows she’ll get it.
Ms. McGonagall continues on the TV. “To choose this year's lottery winner, I present Miss Dorcas Meadowes.” The camera pans to the dark skinned soon-to-be Princess of Gardania, Dorcas Meadowes, waving politely. Beside her, Dorcas’ mother puts a hand on her daughter’s shoulder and walks up to the microphone, taking it over from Ms. McGonagll, “You of course mean Princess Dorcas Meadowes. My daughter will soon be ruler of Gardania.” She has the broadest of grins on her face when she looks at the camera. She’s radiating confidence. She's the sort of person you notice instantly when they enter the room.
Ms. McGonagall covers the microphone and whispers something to Lady Meadowes, before removing her hand again to gesture to the younger woman. “Miss Dorcas?” McGonagall pronounces. Dorcas is standing in front of the selection box. Lady Meadowes looks mildly displeased but nods toward her daughter.
The box spins until a small flap appears in front of Dorcas. She opens it and reaches inside. The crowd curiously leans in and so does Emelie. Dorcas pulls out a folded piece of paper and reads its contents out loud with a flat expression.
The box of cereal Marlene was holding just seconds ago is on the floor. She looks at the TV screen, there are people cheering but she barely notices. Emelie is turning around with an expression of pure elation. She’s saying something, Marlene hears her, the vibration reaches her eardrums but the words don’t register. All there is, is Dorcas’ voice repeating her name over and over inside her head.
“Marlene McKinnon”
What?!
Emelie has gotten up from the couch to pull her sister into an excited, hopping-in-a-circle-dance, causing Marlene to snap out of her trance. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!” Emelie chants cheerfully. “Who’s a lady royal? Marlene’s a lady royal!”
“Emelie, that's not possible.”
She goes ignored. “Who works in the palace? Marlene works in the palace! Uh huh, go Marlene!”
Realisation hits Marlene and she grabs Emelie’s shoulders roughly. “You entered for me?!”
Emelie looks caught, but there isn’t a sign of regret on her face. “Only five or six times… A day… For an entire year.” Emelie smiles apologetically, but continues dancing through the apartment with cheers while Marlene's thoughts spiral. What was she going to do? Say no, obviously. Emelie would be so disappointed. This isn’t about her though! Maybe she should go. To a princess school?? Who would take care of her family?
The doorbell rings. Emelie gasps. “They’re here! They’re really here!”
“Mama!” Marlene turns to her mother with a plea, while Emelie runs to open the door. A tall chauffeur in a silver suit with sunglasses was standing behind it. “Marlene McKinnon?” he asks the tiny Emelie with a scottish accent. She stares at him in awe and points him to her panicking sister.
“Congratulations, I’m here to take you to Princess Charm School.” he greets.
“No, I’m sorry. There’s been a mistake. I’m not going to Princess Charm School.”
Why was he here so fast? How did Emelie think this was a good idea? Why was everything going so goddamn fast?!
“Yes you are!” Emelie says, still beaming. Marlene needs to keep it together. She is really mad at Emelie right now, but there were more important things.
She takes a deep breath.
“Emelie, I don’t belong with a bunch of princesses and lady royals. I mean look at me. I’m a barista. I have sugar packs in my pockets and coffee on my socks.” She gestures to the stains on her clothes.
“You look perfect.”
Marlene’s anger evaporates. She said it so genuinely. Emelie didn’t mean to do any harm, she saw an opportunity and took it. She probably thought Marlene would want this.
Still. She can’t go.
“Thank you. But the girls there won’t think so. And I have responsibilities here.”
“Marlene, es war nicht richtig von Emelie dich hinter deinem Rücken einzutragen, aber das hier ist eine große Chance. Eine Position als Lady Royal…"
Marlene wants to brush her off but she realises her mother is right. This was a massive opportunity. A position as a Lady Royal could open doors for them that they didn’t dare dream of. She might finally be able to support her family properly. Get her mother proper doctors. Buy one of those houses Emelie was always drawing.
“...würde unser Leben für immer verändern.” Her own words sound unreal. This was it. She could change their lives forever, right now. Emelie was an accidental genius. There isn’t enough time to think it through.
“I’ll go.”
If things don’t work out she could come back anytime, right?
“Yes!” Emelie cheers and hugs her.
The sound of a horse neighing comes through the windows. Emelie lets go and rushes over to see where it came from. “Wow, you get to ride in a carriage.” Marlene and Ms. McKinnon look too. There is a golden carriage with a pink tent roof parked in the street, in front of it a white horse, waiting patiently.
The chauffeur interrupts their awe. “It’s time to go.”
“Now?”
“Now.”
“Uhhh… just let me pull together some clothes and I–”
“It’s all at the school. We need to leave now or you forfeit your scholarship.”
Marlene does not like the idea of having to wear clothes others picked out for her. “But what about my–”
“Tick Tock, Tick Tock.” he interrupts while pointing to his wrist where a watch would be.
Fine.
She turns to her family and hugs them both. “I love you” She lets go and follows the chauffeur out the door but not without looking back. Before she’s gone, Emelie comes to hug her one last time. All this is moving unfairly fast.
Downstairs she can see the entire carriage. She wants to roll her eyes at how palatial it was, but couldn’t help admiring it in wonder. Her mother and sister shout her name out of their living room window and are waving down at her. She puts on a smile and waves back, trying to show optimism even though her stomach feels heavy. She really doesn’t want to leave them.