Her Majesty, Queen Elizabella Newton
Most of Class A is walking back towards their dorms while talking amongst themselves.
“I’m so glad that test is over!” Maka says as she stretches her arms above her head with a yawn. “It takes some weight off your shoulders, you know?”
“So does that mean you have a good feeling about how you performed?” Violet asks.
Maka puts her hands behind her head and looks the other way to avoid Violet’s gaze.
“...Anyway…” Maka quickly shifts the spotlight off herself. “How well do you guys think that you did?”
“...I think I did pretty well…” Love says with her usual soft voice. “...I mean, I did spend a lot of time studying for it at least…”
“I feel like I did alright.” Candi says with a shrug. “I’m not 100% confident about that answer though.”
Maka wraps her arms around Love and Candi’s shoulders with a big smile on her face that puts her sharp shark-like teeth on full display.
“Well, no matter how well you did I’m proud of you guys anyways!” Maka exclaims. “You tried your best and that’s all that matters!”
“...Thanks Maka…” Love responds with a slightly concerned look on her face. “...I feel like you're avoiding something though…”
“Whaaaat?” Maka says as her smile becomes slightly strained and sweat starts covering her brow. “What do you mean? It’s not like I completely forgot to study and completely flunked that big test?”
Candi shoots an accusatory squint at Maka who sees through her facial facade instantly.
“...That’s exactly what happened, isn’t it?” Candi says with a monotone voice.
“...No…” Maka lies through her teeth before giving in with a defeated sigh. “...Yeah…”
“...That’s alright Maka…” Love says as she pats her blue haired girlfriend on the head. “...We can help you study for the next one to make up for it…One F isn’t the end of the world…”
“We should start doing weekly study sessions together!” Violet says excitedly. “I could help you all with anything that you’re confused about and we’ll be able to spend more time with each other!”
Love and Candi both nod in approval of this idea.
“Just because you’re not particularly good at school doesn’t mean that you’re not smart, Maka.” Candi reassures her girlfriend as she pats her on the back. “Everyone has something that they are good at! Like you, you’re an incredibly strong willed person who is willing to do anything for her friends!”
Candi then points at Violet next.
“While it is true that you are incredibly book smart, I think your true strength lies in your dedication to whatever you put your mind to! Whether that’s studying, training, or helping the people you care about!”
Candi gestures to herself after this.
“I know myself well enough to say that my strength comes from my boundless optimism and the deep love that I have for just about everyone and everything!”
Candi then quickly zips around to Love and wraps both of her arms around her shyer girlfriends torso.
“And finally, you are one of the most kind and considerate people that I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting! You are also one of the most strong and brave people I’ve ever known, even if you might not believe it yourself!”
Maka, Violet, and Love now all had a deep red blush on their faces.
Suddenly, Ash runs into the girls and quickly starts trying to explain something through his deep exhausted breaths.
“Woah! Slow down, Ash!” Violet says as she puts a hand onto his shoulders. “Just close your eyes and take deep breaths.”
Ash does what he is told until he’s calmed himself down.
“Alright, what was it you were trying to tell us, Ash?”
“I just ran into our school’s new janitor which just so happened to be Wattz, the electro wizard, you guys remember Wattz, right? Anyway, he just got let out of prison and is now on parole, but before that he was talking to this guy…”
“Skip forward to the important part, Ash.” Violet says with an exasperated look on her face.
“...Sorry…” Ash says as he scratches the back of his head. “...The guy he was talking to apparently calls himself The Rook and he broke into the prison to break out the other people that Love and Maka were fighting before!”
“...That means she knows…” Violet says as a look of fear quickly washes over her face.
“I mean, probably, but we don’t know that for sure.” Ash says without confidence.
Violet puts her hand on her chin and stops to think for a moment.
“As alarming as this information might seem, I think that we’re still okay to go forward with the plan as is, for now at least.”
The rest of the group nods in agreement.
A stern looking woman with long purple hair which covered her left eye who was wearing a suit of black and grey armor sits at a desk as she reads through a page that she got from the top of a tall stack of papers.
*BOOM!*
The woman sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose with her free hand.
“...For the last time Rook, my office has doors for a reason…” She says with an intense scowl.
“My apologies, your majesty.” Windsor says with a bow. “It’s just that the doors in this place aren’t tall enough to accommodate my height.”
Elizabella sighs again as she presses the intercom button on her desk.
“Baldemort, report to my office.”
Within the next minute there was a knock on the door of the office.
“You may come in.”
“What is it that you wanted, your majesty?” Baldemort asks with a bow.
“Can you make the doors to the room of the castle tall enough to accommodate Rook’s massive height. I’m getting tired of wasting so much money on repairs.”
“As you wish.” Baldemort says as he bows again before leaving the room.
“Now with that out of the way, what is it that you wanted to tell me, Rook?” Elizabella says as she directs her attention back towards her abnormally tall underling.
“I just wanted to let you know that I have successfully retrieved Krystal and Pepper from prison and they are now back amongst our ranks.”
“Whom would those two be again?” Elizabella says with a slightly confused but still noticeably stern look on her face.
“That would be The Knight and The Pawn, your majesty.”
“Are they both currently in the building?” Elizabella asks.
“They are.”
She immediately pushes the intercom button again.
“Knight, Pawn, report to my office immediately.”
Within the next couple of minutes Krystal and Pepper both enter the office.
“Make sure to knock next time.” Windsor says with a scowl. “It’s rude to barge in, you know.”
“Like you’re one to talk.” Pepper retorts as she shoots a scowl right back at the technical giant.
“...Fair enough…”
Krystal and Pepper then both turn their attention toward Elizabella and greet her with a bow.
“Your majesty.” The two warrior women say in unison.
“...So, you both failed me…” Elizabella says with a look that could only be described as that of a stone cold murderous gaze.
“...Technically speaking, yes…” Pepper says as sweat starts to cover her brow.
“It is a yes or no question.” Elizabella says as her brow somehow manages to furrow even deeper than it did before.
“...Yes…” Pepper spits out through gritted teeth. “...We failed you, but I promise it won’t happen again…”
Elizabella stares down the two women before she closes her eyes and sighs.
“...Fine, you get one more chance to prove your worth…”
Pepper and Krystal both sigh in relief.
“...BUT, this is your last chance! I was to make this point as clear as I can make it. If you fail me again…”
Elizabella finishes her point by sliding her thumb across her neck.
“...Yes your majesty…” Pepper says as she looks down at her feet.
“What about you, brute?” Elizabella asks as she turns her head toward Krystal.
“...Yes…Yes…your majesty…” Krystal stutters out as she quickly bows.
“...So…now that you have reassured your loyalty, care to explain what exactly happened that ended up with the two of you being arrested?”
“...While we were on our way back from collecting your protection money from one of our clients…we ran into a couple of superheroes and what we gathered to be students from SUPER…then we tried to fight them so we could get the money back here…but we lost…and got arrested…”
“So, you lost my money?” Elizabella said through gritted sharp teeth.
“...Yes…”
“...That will be coming out of your paychecks…”
“...Yes your majesty…”
“...Anyway…do you happen to remember what these heroes looked like?”
“...One of the heroes had blue hair and a…revealing blue suit and kind of looked like a magician…the other had a black hoodie with a graffiti pattern and long purple curly hair…”
“...Ah yes…” Elizabella says with a sneer. “...Those sinful freakshows…Team Prism I believe they call themselves…I’m unfortunately familiar…What about the students?”
“...One had long blue spiky hair, a torn black jacket, and had a red x-shaped scar across her forehead…the other had shaggy blonde hair, a blue jacket, and a t-shirt with a pink heart on it…”
“...I’ll have Baldemort look into these students later…As for the heroes, I think that you know what you have to do to get back on my good side…” Elizabella suddenly slams a fist down against her desk. “...Nobody messes with my money and gets away with it…”
“...Yes your majesty…”
“Alright, you’re all dismissed.” Elizabella says as she gestures towards the door of her office.
Pepper and Krystal both bow before leaving, but Windsor stands there for a moment while scratching the back of his head.
“...What is it?” Elizabella asks with an annoyed look on her face.
“...Um…Since the hole I made in the wall is still there, sorry again by the way, can I use it to exit the room?” Windsor asks with a bow.
“...You may…” Elizabella says with a sigh.
“...Yes your majesty…” Windsor says before leaving the room.
Elizabella raises a cup of tea to her lips and takes a long sip.
“...Those heroes should have known better than to cross me, but I’ll admit that it was bold of those students to go up against some of my Chess Pieces…I guess the new generation just needs a reminder of who they’re dealing with…”