Xavier's Sister School for the Gifted.
What a dung heap.

Princess Amethyst picked her way down the walkway to the front doors, with a bewildered taxi driver carrying half a dozen pieces of luggage behind her. The man was a nuisance, but since Royal Cousin Dearest denied her basic necessities such as personal servants on this Tartaros of a trip, she had to rely on strangers. She hoped his hands did not get her bags grimy.

Gods.

The princess was wearing her full diplomatic attire, which raised quite a few eyebrow on the way here from the airport. The Queen had made sure there was some press present, but even the general public picked up their funny little square things that Amethyst already knew snapped still pictures of her as she marched across the Arrivals hall. She was wearing a dark green silk dress, flowing and pinned up in the right places, with heavy golden jewelry studded with emeralds. She liked emeralds. They were one of the stones she could not make.

Arriving at the school she could not help but notice the complete lack of a greeting committee. She twisted her lips into a frown as she walked up to the door. Did they expect her to what, just... knock?

The audacity.

Lifting one slender hand, she tapped on the door.

Gods, this was embarrassing.

The door creaked open a crack and a dark eye peered out from within.

"Who knocked?!"

The voice was young, and doing a very obvious impression of a deeper sounding adult.

"Can't ya read!?!"

There were no signs posted anywhere visible, as far as the eye could see.

The door cracked open, but still no greeting committee appeared. Instead, someone peered out at her. Someone the size of a child.

>>"Who knocked?!"

Who did she thing knocked?... She did not sound very gifted.

>>"Can't ya read!?!"

Amethyst blinked, actually glancing around for a sign that was nowhere to be seen. Her gaze then returned to the child and her eyes narrowed.

"I knocked. There's supposed to be a... diplomatic committee of some sort. I am Princess Iris Beryl Amethyst, from Atlantis. I am" gods help me "a new resident."

A thin brown arm snaked out and slapped a crudely scrawled 'Door out of order, use bell' on the door, crooked.

"No talk-y talk-y under after you read the sign!"

The arm withdrew and the large decorative door slammed shut with a THUCK.

....

Manic giggling might have been audible from inside.

Sure there had to be an adult somewhere nearby, right? Feral gorgon children did not just... run about the place unsupervised, surely?

>>"No talk-y talk-y under after you read the sign!"

The door slammed in her face. Amethyst fel heat rise in her cheeks, and an opal slid down her spine under her dress. Pressing her lips together she turned on her heel, for a moment determined to go home, or just... walk out of here and disappear. Instead, she came face to face with the very confused taxi driver.

"Oh, for the god's sake, here." she reached into her purse and handed him a few sparkling gemstones "Go." She did not need witnesses to her embarrassment. The man looked at the stones and opened his mouth, probably to argue, but... then he thought better of it, placed the luggage on the ground, and scurried away. Amethyst sighed, and turned her attention back to the door.

And rang the doorbell.

A lovely, delicate chime echoed from behind the doors. One creaked back open just a little more than before and three identical faces stacked one on top of the other peered out at the Princess.

"What's the password?!" They all demanded together, in perfect sync.

A few moments later there was a commotion behind the still closed doors, and one by one all three faces were promptly yanked away from the crack. A series of yips and yowls could be heard, and then the doors were both thrown open wide.

Elke, standing with her back ramrod straight and her nose in the air, let her eyes alight on the princess. "Ah~! Princess Iris Beryl Amethyst, from Atlantis! We have been expecting you."

The young girl swept into a short bow, pulling the fabric of her lovely maroon wrap dress that was definitely not a curtain ripped from the wall out elegantly. It was tied at the waist with a lovely gold rope with tassels, and in her hand was a length of polished bronze metal with a decorative glass bauble on top and was totally not half a curtain rod. There was a cream and gold crown on her head with what appeared to be hand painted designs, though the points looked possibly a tad bit too sharp most certainly not the rim of a vase she broke just to get this gag going.

She straightened up again and her nose was promptly back in the air where it belonged. "I am Princess Pocahontas, of the Powhatan Nation. I do so very much apologize for such ghastly treatment from my subjects. They are just so very stupid you see." She gestured over her shoulder at the clones who were picking themselves of the floor and rubbing at the lumps she had given them with her scepter.

"I have been tasked with showing you to your quarters. One of the peons will carry your luggage for you."

She waved her fancy stick and one clones hopped to it, scuttling around them with her head down in a placating manner. That single clone proceeded to start stacking sorting so she could carry and drag all of the luggage by herself. Elke gestured to the last two clones.

"Hup hup! To the second floor!"

They proceeded to lift the small girl up until she was lounging on their shoulders, directing them with her scepter.

"We have arrangements for you in the works to have your own footmen soon, should you want them~"

Her little party started on their journey.

>>"What's the password?!"

The princess' jaw dropped in indignation. Password? No one had said anything to her about a password. How could they not make sure her arrival would be anticipated? What kind of a clandestine place was this, that a brood of feral children could demand she give a password before she was allowed in?...

"Excuse me?..."

The door sprung open. Amethyst took a step back; at this point she would not have put it outside the realm of possibility that someone was going to ambush her.

Instead she came face to face with... multiple children that looked the same?...

>>"Ah~! Princess Iris Beryl Amethyst, from Atlantis! We have been expecting you. I am Princess Pocahontas, of the Powhatan Nation. I do so very much apologize for such ghastly treatment from my subjects. They are just so very stupid you see."

The... outfit, was strange. Then again, most American outfits were strange to Amethyst's eyes. She had also never heard of the Powhatan Nation, and had not been made aware that the school had another resident princess. Especially not one so... young. Amethyst's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

>>"I have been tasked with showing you to your quarters. One of the peons will carry your luggage for you."

To her credit, the other children did hop to the task. Amethyst was not very comfortable with them handling her luggage, but for lack of a better option, she finally stepped inside, worried the door might be slammed in her face once again. The diminutive princess was being carried ahead of her in a very strange fashion.

>>"Hup hup! To the second floor! We have arrangements for you in the works to have your own footmen soon, should you want them~"

Looking around, taking in the details of her new residence of exile, it did not take long for Amethyst's gaze to fall on the unique shade of the velvet curtains... and the missing parts of one such a bit further down the hallway. Truth dawned on her with ice cold shame. Heat rose in her cheeks as she stopped abruptly, digging her heel into the carpet.

"You... you dare mock me!" she snapped, voice trembling with indignation "Who do you think you are, you despicable little imp?! I demand to talk to an adult responsible! I am here on a diplomatic mission!"

Elke waved her curtain rod wand in a circle, and her clones spun her back around to face the princess. "Take a chill pill, Karen, before you give yourself a hernia."

Her clones set her slowly back down on her feet and she tapped the metal rod on one shoulder.

"Diplomatic mission, huh?" Her broken crown was plucked from her head and tossed without a care over her shoulder. Shards of ceramic scattered across the floor behind her. "You wealthy types probably use that as an excuse for everything though right? Diplomatic missions to the Bahamas, Swiss Alps, Cocomo."

The child, because she very much was one, untied the loose knot from the golden curtain rope, let it fall and kicked it away.

"I don't know much about your mission, but I've heard some of the adults talking about your visit. Unless you sh*t diamonds I'm not impressed."

The lovely and slightly ripped curtain was ripped off and flung over the nearest clone, who's muffled shout of indignation caused the ten year old to smirk a little. She kept ahold of her makeshift septer because it reminded her a little of a Gun stock club. She scratched at an itch on her stomach through her t-shirt, which had 'EAT THE RICH' scrawled across it in bold red letters.

The last clone was still struggling to try and get all of her luggage in her arms without dropping any.

>>"Take a chill pill, Karen, before you give yourself a hernia."

"My name is not Karen." Amethyst pointed out in an icy tone. At least the girl gave up the charades now, admitting she had been making a fool of their new guest. The princess made a mental note to find a responsible adult and have the child disciplined.

>>"Diplomatic mission, huh? You wealthy types probably use that as an excuse for everything though right? Diplomatic missions to the Bahamas, Swiss Alps, Cocomo."

Amethyst was familiar with some of those names from geography lessons, although she was not entirely sure what the allure of any of them was. They were supposed to be stand-ins for attractive places, she gathered as much from the girl's tone.

"Why would I lie to come here?..." she wondered. This shithole, of all places.

>>"I don't know much about your mission, but I've heard some of the adults talking about your visit. Unless you sh*t diamonds I'm not impressed."

At least someone knew she was coming. But then why did they not bother to expect her?... Was this another one of the Queen's diplomatic moves?

"I don't produce diamonds by defecating" she stated, folding her arms. Technically it wasn't a lie, but it was not the official story either. "I produce rubies, which are more highly valued, thank you very much."

Elke blinked.

"You poop rubies?"

Yup, she believed it. It was a fact that was set in stone now. She had met a princess that pooped rubies. "That's an oddly specific power."

The two clones who had been carrying her hurried past to try and help the last get all of the baggage in. There was hushed arguing about proper techniques and pointing of fingers. One clone started shoving them in one at a time while another tried to push some into nearby bushes to lighten the load.

Elke ignored the idiots. "So what, you shipped off here to have someone try and help with your power like some of the others? What kind of diplomatic mission involves this sack of X clowns?"

>>"You poop rubies? That's an oddly specific power."

Amethyst rolled her eyes.

"I bleed rubies. Get a grip." she pooped onyxes, but she was not going to disclose that, given that not even all of the royal family knew the full extent of her powers. What was it with children and feces anyway?

>>"So what, you shipped off here to have someone try and help with your power like some of the others? What kind of diplomatic mission involves this sack of X clowns?"

The royal eyebrows rose up. Maybe this brat of a child did not have that high an opinion about the school after all.

"The kind were my cousin the queen decided that a member of the Atlantean royal family had to be presented to the school as a token of good faith. I can manage my powers just fine. Is that why they sent you here? Because you make inferior copies of yourself?"

To bleed rubies.. Oof, she wouldn't survive on the streets of new york long without someone bleeding her dry. Elke almost felt sympathetic.

Inferior copies? Well, she'd hit the nail on the head there. "They don't need to be smart to get the job done. They melt after a bit anyway, so who really cares?"

Still tapping away at her shoulder with the rod, she pondered whether to tell the princess whether or not she actually lived at the school. It probably wouldn't color her opinion of her any different, and she was planning on being gone before any of the stuck up staff came around anyway. She'd only snuck in again to see if she could snag Beau to go set fire to a few dumpster around city hall.

"Oh, I don't live here." The remains of the torn down curtain rod hooks fell off the wall with a clatter. She spared a look before grinning. "I just popped in ro visit."

She tossed the end of her half of the curtain rod over her shoulder, ignoring whatever it smacked into and the crashing sound that followed.

"Do you even really wanna be here?" She tucked her hands in the pockets of her cargo shorts. "People try to send me places all the time and I just bounce when they aren't looking. If I were you i'd march my ruby making ass right out of here, hire some body guards, and get a swanky place in the city. The nerds here always think they know what's good for ya."

>> "They don't need to be smart to get the job done. They melt after a bit anyway, so who really cares?"

Amethyst briefly wondered what it would be like to be able to duplicate herself. Would the clones behave differently than she did? Would she know what they were thinking? This girl was annoying, but her clones were definitely worse. At least she knew that much.

>>"Oh, I don't live here. I just popped in ro visit."

Wait, she didn't live here? Did she just... come in?
What kind of a place were these people running? Amethyst cast a worried glance in the direction of her luggage.

>>"Do you even really wanna be here? People try to send me places all the time and I just bounce when they aren't looking. If I were you i'd march my ruby making ass right out of here, hire some body guards, and get a swanky place in the city. The nerds here always think they know what's good for ya."

The thought was definitely tempting. Get her own place, hire bodyguards, live like... royalty. Amethyst had not completely discarded the idea of running away just yet.

"Diplomatic mission, remember?" she sighed "If I make a mess, the queen can send me to a place ever worse than this one. So... are you going to show me the least awful part of this building I could inhabit?"

"Sounds like a really shitty queen."

The child was more than slightly surprised by the request, all things considered. She still wanted her to show her around? Really?? A look of pure bewilderment scrawled across her features for a moment before she caught herself.

"Sure.., I guess." She shook herself and whistled loudly to catch the attention of her clones. "Oi! The hell are you boobs doin over there? Get that @#$% in here pronto!"

"Aww, but we just finished!" Lamented one twin, who had bits of bush stuck to various parts of her body.

"Yeah! We got some of them in!" Quipped another.

"If those things aren't up in her room before I get back down here y'aller going for a swim in the pool with bricks for shoes."

The way they all flinched and hopped to getting all of the bags inside might have been a clue that she had done just that before at some point.

Spinning on a heel, she resumed her trek into a school she didn't belong to. "I was gonna show you to a broom closet before you caught on, Princess. But now i'll be nice and show you to the wing that has the least annoying adults and kids."

She paused in thought for a moment. "Look out for this Mirror hopping mutant though. They're a real killjoy."

>>"Sounds like a really shitty queen."

Amethyst was ethically required to disagree, but she was not in the mood to argue. Her cousin was a step up from her uncle, but only barely. At least Uncle appreciated the grandeur of Atlantis. Cousin just wanted to... get along with everyone. Especially the gorgons.

Amethyst did not dare look back to see what the clones were doing to her luggage. The way the kid snapped at them, however, was remarkable.

>>"I was gonna show you to a broom closet before you caught on, Princess. But now i'll be nice and show you to the wing that has the least annoying adults and kids. Look out for this Mirror hopping mutant though. They're a real killjoy."

She still did not fully trust her new guide, but at least the girl was not actively trying to make a fool of her now. Hopefully.

"I appreciate it." she said begrudgingly, picking up her hand bag. "So... where are all the adults? Is there... someone supposed to be in charge around here? Or do all the gorgons just run wild?"