Welcome to Gaia! ::

A small, slight princess tugged her bag into her room. Her skin was pale, and her hair shone iridescent colors in the light. The princess of Prisma looked up and around the room. Most of her things were already in place, all she had to do was unpack. What dull work... but better to hang everything up and put it away now than live out of a suitcase for a year. She wouldn't tolerate mess in her own room, especially if she only had the one for the entire year.

She opened her closet, curiously looking over her roommate's side of the room. From the look of things, they'd get along fine, maybe better than that. Maybe they could talk about such things as fashion and makeup! Haidee didn't have anyone to talk to at home, and she was loathe to ask the Count how she looked in lipstick and blush. Haidee ventured into the shared bathroom and lined one of the mirrors with her toiletries. Her favorite bottle of perfume, a few lotions, some hand soaps... There were things already in the shower that looked like they had been put there by the Academy staff. Thank you... but I shall use my own.

Returning to the room, Haidee hung up her dresses and coats with care, reserving a pair of gloves and a scarf to keep by her bed in the event of a late-night class. She wasn't sure how things worked here, yet. Hopefully, she would find out soon. Frowning at the plain white walls behind her bed, she pulled out a slim, silver baton. She raised it, and directed it at the offending wall. "Make it pink." She tapped the wall with the baton. The color she'd chosen spread from the tip of her baton across the wall, turning it from white to a pleasing shade of peachy pink in a split second. Haidee stepped back, crossing her arms and surveying it. Her frown deepened. "No. Never mind. Undo." She tapped the other end of the baton on the wall. Just as suddenly as the color had appeared, it vanished, returning to white. "I shall figure out what to do with you yet..." She stared at the wall, arms crossed, and thought about what she could do to it to make it nicer.

Haidee turned around as a blonde girl entered the room. She looked young and peppy. They could certainly be friends. "Hello!" Haidee said, smiling warmly. "I am Princess Haidee Janina Chroma, of the Prisma Mountains. What a pleasure to meet you, Princess Galaxy."

She looked down at the baton in her hand. Oh, drat, just after she'd turned the wall back. "This is my Prisma baton," she explains. "It lets me perform illusion magic as I like." She turned back to the wall, and thought for a moment. "Hmm. Let's try... purple." Haidee tapped the wall with her baton again, the wall behind her bed turning a disobedient shade of emerald green. "Mm. That's actually not too bad. I like it. What do you think?" she asked, turning to Galaxy. "Shall I do yours next?"

Haidee beamed, a small rainbow arcing from her cheeks. "Do let me know if you ever want something changed, I can do whatever you like to the room. Oh! You may like this." Haidee produced a flute from her sleeve, and breathed a few notes into it. With each note, Haidee's hair and skin changed colors, from pale beige to pink, then blue, and green, her hair shining with different iridescent colors in every pitch. When the flute fell silent, Haidee returned to normal, pale skin and deep green hair.

She sat down and put her flute and baton back in her billowing sleeves. "Oh, do tell me your name. I love learning about new places. Where is Timbolia?" Haidee asked politely. "I have never been to another planet. It must be so different from this planet."

Haidee folded her hands, and kicked her newly empty suitcase under her bed. She had no use for it now, and she wouldn't stand for clutter in her room.

Haidee had to consciously keep her jaw from dropping. "Oh. Oh my," she said. "That is quite the mouthful there."

She frowned, wondering if she could learn to say it eventually. If not, perhaps Galaxy would forgive her. "A rebellion? Just like mine," Haidee said. "Perhaps not just like mine. My family was killed in an insurrection, and I have been raised since youth under the Count that now rules my nation. I am here so that I may take his place when I come of age."

Haidee crossed her arms. "I hope that we do well here. It seems like we two have problems to return to at home."

"I think this is a good place to learn," Haidee concluded. "If everyone is as kind as we are, we should have no problems. What classes are you taking this year? I wonder if we will share a few."

Haidee beamed at Galaxy, pleased to have such an agreeable roommate. "Your old school must have been full of uneducated peasants. It's impolite to make fun of a person for her name, and we should aspire not to be rude. After all... one day, we will be in charge of them." She wiggled happily in her chair.

"So, what shall we do?" Haidee asked. "The welcome dinner won't be for a while yet."

Haidee peeked at her schedule, which she had set upon her bedside table. "First Literature, then Riding, then Etiquette, and lastly Law," she said. "It seems as though we will be spending a lot of time together!"

She made a mental note to memorize her schedule before classes started, and looked over the map of the school on the back. "That sounds lovely. Do you know the way?"

Haidee stood up and frowned at her wall again. She tapped it with her baton, turning it red. This was even worse. With a sigh, she erased the damage to turn it back to white. "Maybe a nicer color will come to me later. Shall we?" She held open the door for her friend as they left for the lounge.

[Exit to Student Lounge]