"To be honest, sister, I'm a little bit worried about you."

Alexandra swung her feet as she looked at Elias curiously. After they had stopped laughing, she had shocked her brother by suggesting they climb the oak tree. He was even more shocked when she'd hiked up her skirts and begun scaling the tree trunk. Now, they sat side by side on the lowest branch, feet dangling in the air. 

"Worried? Why?"

He stare pensively off into the distance, as if he were trying to figure out the best way to say something.

"...well I'm going to be the Head of the Duchy, right? And I know you wanted to do that... So I guess I'm just wondering what you're going to do? I mean no offense, because you seem to have your heart set on this, but I'm not entirely sure Prince Nicholas is...um...a good guy for you?"

Alexandra raised a hand and Eli flinched, as if he were waiting for her to smack him off the branch, but she only ruffled his hair.

"Well," she sighed a little defeatedly. "You're not wrong there."

His mouth opened in shock. "But didn't you want to marry him? You were kind of obsessed with him! It was a little scary..."

Alex looked askance. "I've had a lot of time since the accident to think about that too..." She scowled. "Honestly what was wrong with me to be so obsessed with him? He's such a DOUCHE!"

"I'm here to see Prince Nicholas!" Alexandra announced. Her small hands clutched at a picnic basket as she looked up at the guards in front of her fiancé's office. She was proud of herself. She had gotten the Sanari tea set! Now she and Prince Nicholas could have the best date ever!

"I'm sorry, Lady Sinclair, but the Prince has said none must enter without an appointment," one of the guards said. "Please make an appointment and return another day."

"I'M HIS FIANCEÉ!" she raged, but the guards only shook their heads.

As she was walking back to the palace gates, she heard familiar laughter from the garden. She took a closer look, and gasped in horror.

Prince Nicholas was with another girl!

Since that day, she had caught him with different women many times, but she had only become angry at the girls. Instead, she became even more fixated on him. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she recalled Old Alexandra's memories. It seemed as if Old Alexandra and this body had truly loved that good-for-nothing prince. 

Eli reached over and pulled his sister into a comforting hug. She resisted for only a second before collapsing into his warmth and letting out all of Old Alexandra's sadness and frustration.

"I'm okay now," Alex said after a moment, wiping away the last of the tears. "Thanks."

"...I'm gonna kill him." The response was so soft she could barely hear it.

"What?"

"I said, I'm gonna kill him," Elias glowered at nothing. "How dare he make his fianceé feel this way, the sh*tty sh*tty b*stard!"

"You can't kill him, that'd be treason, dear brother," she laughed softly, then stopped and sighed. "But you're right, he is a sh*tty sh*tty bastard."

"He's an idiot," Eli nodded.

"An a**hole," Alex agreed.

"Coward"

"Insensitive jerk"

"Flighty cr*phead"

"Two-timing womanizing piece of trash"

Her brother grinned. "Good one Alex!"

She beamed back, already feeling much better about the whole situation.

"Who needs someone like him?" she sneered.

"Yeah!" he cheered.

"I can do just fine by myself!"

"Yeah!"

"I'm going to dump his a**!"

"Yeah—I mean what?" Eli gasped. "How?"

Alexandra smirked. "Wanna help me with that?"

He grinned back wickedly. "It would be my pleasure."

"Okay, here's the plan," she began to whisper into his ear.

***

It had been a week since the tea party, and life at the manor had changed drastically. She and Eli were close now; although they made sure not to use the nicknames in front of the Duke, they could often be found together whenever they had free time. Alexandra had also completely changed the aesthetics of her room and wardrobe. Gone were the extravagant, overly-frilly sheets and dresses; instead, her closet was now comprised of elegant gowns, light casual skirts, and comfortable blouses. She had even bought some men's pants, which she fully intended on having Marie tailor later to fit her. 

Speaking of Marie, Alexandra had also won the favor of the manor's servants. Her "changed" personality and new tendency of giving the maids her old frilly items had quickly made her a beloved lady of the house. However, being close to her age, Marie remained her favorite maid and personal attendant.

"Miss Alexandra, you look beautiful!" Marie exclaimed as she brushed out the last of Alexandra's hair. Alex gazed at herself in the mirror. Her scarlet hair flowed down her back in gentle waves. She had pinned back some of her hair in a half-up-half-down style with a gorgeous white flower hairpin. She wore a sky blue empire-waist gown with a sweetheart neckline. A string of white pearls adorned her neck and cute white flats covered her feet. The whole ensemble was a bit too nice for casual wear, but she was going to the palace today after all, she had to look good.

Yes, today Alexandra and Elias would be going to the palace. The house of Sinclair had been producing Prime Ministers for generations, and as the next-in-line, Elias was supposed to shadow their father for the day to learn more about the position. As they had planned, Alex tagged along by telling their father that she wanted to go to see Nicholas. Since her "change" in personality had made her a more "respectable" lady, the Duke was willing to let her go with them. 

The carriage ride was silent, as it always was, but both siblings spent the trip quietly mulling over their plan and reviewing the steps. Before they knew it, they had already arrived at the palace of Iridia. It was a grand, glamorous, behemoth of architecture, with vast gardens and a large courtyard. 

Stepping out of their carriage and past the palace gates, the two siblings exchanged devious grins. It was time.

Operation Garbage Disposal: Start!