[A butler opens the door to a car, containing

Maeve. Her mother gets out of a separate car as the butler gathers Maeve’s belongings and brings them inside.]

Mother: This is it Maeve. They’re going to teach you to be a proper princess here. No more of your delinquency. 

Maeve: Can you not call me a princess? I’ve done nothing wrong.

Mother: Where to start, Maeve? You’ve been a disappointment every year of your life. It’s your fault I no longer have a son. It’s your fault I no longer have a husband. It’s your fault the Angel Region is in political turmoil. You need to do something productive for once in your life.

[Maeve looks down. She doesn’t even know how to respond.] 

Mother: Quit complaining. Goodbye, Maeve. 

[Her mother walks into the building with her security in order to speak with the headmistress] 

[Maeve is left speechless] 

[A boy shyly approaches her, scratching his neck awkwardly] 

Boy: Can I show you to your room, your royal highness?

Maeve: Oh, sure. Thanks- and you can just call me Maeve. 

[They walk into the school together] 

Boy: Right- so… Maeve, how was the drive? 

Maeve: It was ok. Long and boring. I got to listen to some music so- at least there’s that? 

Boy: Ah yes- I came here by bus, and music is a lifesaver.

Maeve: I can imagine- What region are you from? 

Boy: Same as you! I’m from the Angel Region. Although I live pretty far away from the palace. 

They walk up the stairs. 

Maeve: How long have been here? 

Boy: This will be my second year— your dorm is in the boys hallway for some reason. It’s this one, right here! Oh- here are the keys- Miss Parselle, told me to give them to you- 

Maeve: Well- thank you. 

[Maeve opens the door]

Maeve: You can come in if you want to hang out for a minute- 

Boy: oh! Thanks- wow, the stuff they say online about you is so not true- 

[Maeve’s expression turns serious] 

Maeve: What have you seen online? 

Boy: Oh- people just say that you’re a demon and you killed your brother or something- wild conspiracy theories. 

Maeve: Right. 

Boy: Not that I was looking for it or anything! It just popped up while I was scrolling through stuff, that’s all! 

Maeve: Yup. 

[Maeve sits on her bed and takes off her jacket. She stretches and her wings unfold and stretch out.]

[The boy backs a few steps away.]

Boy: Oh…R-right- I should probably get going then- 

[The boy runs out of Maeve’s dorm room.]

Maeve: Wait a second! 

[Maeve stumbles out of her room and runs after the boy. She bumps into Elle and they both fall to the ground.]

[They both stand up and brush themselves off. Elle looks Maeve up and down.]

Elle: Why hello, Princess. You’re adorable. 

Maeve: Hello- please just call me Maeve. 

Elle: Sure, Maeve. What’s up with your wings?

Maeve: Excuse me? 

Elle: Is it like a birth defect or something? Or are the rumors actually true and you’re a demon?

Maeve: I’m half demon, for your information- and why do you care? 

Elle: Well, demons like you aren’t typically the most observant. Besides, you feed off of pain, don’t you? That explains why you’d purposely run into me- 

Maeve: What?

Elle: Nevermind. I’ll give you a pass since you are still half an angel. Anyways, Amelia and I were looking for a demon. About this tall, (she motions with her hand) and he acts like he can’t speak. Have you seen him? 

Maeve: No. 

Elle: That’s a shame, he must be hiding somewhere. Do you want to come with us so we can find him and have a chat? 

[Maeve laughs, Elle pouts]

Maeve: Oh my god, you’re serious. No, why would I go bully some demon with you, when you’ve already insulted me multiple times? 

[Elle slaps Maeve]

Elle: I’m going to make your life hell. You’re nothing, princess! 

[Amelia and Elle walk away as Maeve gently touches her cheek where she was slapped.]

[Maeve wanders back to her room and lies down. A tear rolls down her cheek.]

~~~

[Maeve awakens from her nap, it is now the evening. She slept the entire day.] 

[She puts on her sweater.] 

[She walks down to the common areas. An older adult woman with graying hair is chatting to a familiar Prince.] 

[The Prince stops talking mid sentence when he notices Maeve.] 

Prince: Oh, Maeve, hello! I haven’t seen you in a while! 

Maeve: I didn’t know you were going to this school? 

Prince: Haha, no, I’m too old to go to school, I used to go to school here though! 

Maeve: Oh- well why are you here then? 

Prince: I’m dropping off my brothers- plus the school wants some good press and who am I to say no to embarrassing my brothers? 

[The Prince shifts his stance.] 

Prince: How have you been? We haven’t heard much about you since you all last came over for a play date- how long ago was that? 

Maeve: I have no idea. I’ve been… fine. This whole new school thing is supposed to be a punishment. 

Prince: Don’t worry, once you get used to it, this place can actually be kind of… entertaining. 

Maeve: I hope so- anyways, I should probably get some food now. I slept the entire day…

[Maeve pulls her jacket off. The Prince’s eyes widen and he takes a step back.] 

Prince: …you shouldn’t show your wings in public. 

Maeve: Why? 

Prince: Rumors will spread… people are afraid of- you know…

Maeve: Ah. I see…

[Maeve slips her jacket back on.] 

[The Prince’s phone rings. He pulls it out and looks at it.]

Prince: I should take this- 

Maeve: It was great seeing you again. 

[Maeve’s face remains apathetic.] 

[The Prince nods, and he heads outside to take his phone call.]

[Maeve walks back to the table, opting to sit near Ethan, who is chatting with Elle.]

Ethan: Hey Maeve, it’s nice to see you. Have you met Elle yet? 

Elle: We have. Maeve turned down my offer to be friends. 

Maeve: You stereotyped demons, why would I ever want to be friends with you? 

Elle: I was joking, Maeve. God, why do you have to be so serious? Can’t you take a joke? 

Ethan: I’m sure you will get along great with Elle! Your personalities are so similar, Elle is just so kind. 

Elle: Oh, you flatter me! 

Ethan: It’s true, though! 

[Ethan and Elle continue to chat, and Amelia adds on to their conversation occasionally. Maeve is troubled and barely talks, only speaking to add in one word responses.]

[Eventually, students start to file back to the dorms.] 

[Ethan finally walks Elle back to her dorm room, so Maeve walks over to speak to Oliver and August.]

[Once August notices her presence, he excuses himself from the table and walks away.]

Oliver: Hey Maeve! Gosh, I didn’t even realize it was you at first, you look so different than the last time I saw you.

Maeve: Hey Oli… you’ve also grown a lot. What’s up with August? Is he ok? 

Oliver: You don’t know? 

Maeve: What don’t I know? 

[Oliver shifts his weight on the chair.]

Oliver: He was attacked by a demon, so he’s uncomfortable around demons. He saw your wings earlier.

Maeve: Oh, god, I had no idea.

Oliver: Yeah, he’s still nervous around demons. He will warm up to you again eventually

Maeve: I hope he does. Anyways, what’s been going on since I last saw you? 

[They talk to each other for a while, laughing and reminiscing on their memories together.] 

[Eventually, they are the only ones in the dining room, so Miss Parselle sends them to bed. They walk back to their dorm hallway.]

Oliver: I should probably start unpacking, but I’ll see you tomorrow! 

Maeve: Right. See ya! 

[The door to Oliver’s shared dorm with August shuts.]

[Suddenly, Maeve is alerted by a noise from further down the hallway.]

Elle: FINALLY! Where did have you been hiding? I’ve missed you, you know! 

[Maeve spots Elle, hands on hips, speaking to an unfamiliar boy. The boy is shaking and seems uncomfortable, but doesn’t speak.]

[The boy turns to the opposite direction to flee from Elle. Instead, he is met face to face with Amelia, who blocks his path.]

[Maeve is about to head to her dorm, but she hesitates.]

Elle: What? You want to run? Haha! There’s no escape! 

[The boy steps back until his back is touching the wall of the hallway. He slides down the wall, ready to submit to his fate.]

[Elle laughs maniacally. Amelia leans against a wall and crosses her arms.]

Amelia: Can you hurry up? I have to go unpack. 

Elle: You can’t rush the sweet taste of revenge, Melly. 

Maeve: Elle! 

[Elle turns to find Maeve. Her excitement fades to apathy.]

Elle: Oh boy, it’s the princess. What do you want? 

Maeve: Don’t call me a princess and stop bothering him! He obviously doesn’t want to talk to you. 

[Elle laughs. Her apathy bubbles into interest as her lips curve into a strange smile.]

Elle: Why do you care? He doesn’t mean anything to you. 

Maeve: Yeah, but I’m an actual decent person and I don’t want this kid to suffer- 

Elle: You’re not even a person, demon.

[Maeve looks down for a moment, hurt.]

Maeve: Stop picking on him and fight me instead, you coward. 

[Elle laughs again, unfazed by Maeve’s aggression.]

Elle: I like you, cupcake! Meet me tomorrow, during breakfast, in the courtyard. No one will notice us missing.

Maeve: Fine. Just us. No one else. 

Elle: Whatever.

[Maeve nods. Elle links her arm with Amelia’s. They leave the hallway together, excitedly chatting about the upcoming fight.]

[Maeve turns to talk to the boy, but he’s already down the hallway, quietly rushing into his dorm.]

[Maeve collapses into her bed, weary of the day ahead. She doesn’t know what exactly awaits her.]

~~~

[Maeve’s eyes open. She has bags under her eyes and it seems that she fell asleep on guard, propped up by pillows, staring at her door.]

[She attempts to navigate the hallways with people chattering and usual chaos. She makes her way downstairs, and explores around to look for the courtyard.] 

[Eventually she finds the courtyard. Elle is impatiently leaning against a wall. Amelia is nowhere to be seen.]

Maeve: So, how do you want to start this?

[Elle pushes off of the wall and sprints at Maeve. Maeve, surprised, spreads her wings out and jumps into a fighting stance.]

[She blocks Elle’s first hit, and responds with a direct hit to her face. Elle stumbles backwards, touching her cheek. Her confidence is destroyed, and she panics.]

Elle: AMELIA! DO IT! 

[Maeve looks around for Amelia, who sprints behind her and stabs her in the shoulder. Feeling the sharp pain in her shoulder, Maeve stumbles. She is in disbelief.]

Maeve: You-you stabbed me.

[Elle laughs at her]

[Maeve falls to the ground, her shoulder burning as if the knife was laced with some poison.]

Elle: It’s fun to see you on the ground for once, Princess. 

[Elle links arms with Amelia, who is full of regret and shock. They leave Maeve on the ground, bleeding] 

[Just as her vision starts to blur, Maeve sees a person in a male uniform getting closer and closer, his footsteps getting faster as they approach.] 

[Maeve falls unconscious just as he arrives.]

~~~

[Maeve opens her eyes, uncomfortable at first, then confused at her unfamiliar surroundings. She sees the boy that Elle was talking at in the hallway.] 

[He scribbles words down on a notepad, and hands it to Maeve.]

Luka (written): How do you feel? 

[Maeve seems confused. She realizes the boy wants her to reply verbally, as he is still holding the pencil.]

Maeve: I’m sore. Actually, that’s an understatement, I’m in massive pain. 

[Maeve hands the boy back his notepad, where he scratches in a new message. He sits on the bed now, and holds the notepad close enough so Maeve can read.]

Luka (w): What you did was incredibly stupid. 

Maeve: I thought that maybe if I won, they wouldn’t bother anyone. 

Luka (w): That’s never going to happen. Elle is horrible. She would never have stopped. 

Maeve: Yeah. I just- I wanted to scare her. I should’ve known she would fight dirty. 

Luka (w): I don’t need you to fight for me. I can handle it myself. 

Maeve: I know. But I just- 

[The boy writes thoughtfully, with a slight smile. Maeve can hear him dot the final period.]

Luka (w): Thank you for caring, though. 

[Maeve smiles, happy to have finally made a true friend.]

Luka (w): My name is Luka. I can’t speak sometimes, so I’ll write. 

Maeve: That’s fine with me. My name is Maeve. Thank you for helping me. 

[Luka smiles.]

Luka (w): You should go get your shoulder fixed. Ethan could probably help you. You two seem to know each other. 

Maeve: Right.

Luka (w): You missed an entire day of class. Dinner should be soon. 

Maeve: Okay, thank you. See you tomorrow!

[Luka waves. Maeve exits his dorm to find that she is in her own dorm hallway. She shuffles down the corridor, gazing at the name tags on the doors. She stops at one labeled, “Ethan”.  She knocks at the door with her unharmed shoulder. Ethan opens the door.]

Maeve: Can I come in? 

Ethan: Yes- are you ok? Why weren’t you in class?

[Maeve realized how disheveled she must look. Her hair was tangled and partially matted with her own blood, her school jacket was missing, and she seemed to be in serious pain. Add the lack of sleep, she looked like a zombie survivalist.]

Ethan: Maeve? Hello? 

Maeve: Yeah- Yes, I’m fine. 

Ethan: Okay?

Maeve: Actually, I might not be- can you help me with this? 

[Maeve partially unbuttons her shirt, and pulls it down around the shoulder, turning around to reveal her wound to Ethan. As she does, his face switches from curiosity to pure concern.]

Ethan: Is this why you weren’t in class? What happened? Did someone do this to you? Was it Luka? He was acting suspicious all day-

Maeve: Just fix it please. 

Ethan: Tell me who did this to you! This wound is serious! 

Maeve: So fix it! It’s starting to really hurt. 

[Ethan surrenders. He grabs a first aid kit and cleans her wound with a small amount of rubbing alcohol. He then bandages her shoulder.]

Ethan: There. Fixed.

Maeve: Thank you. I’ll go now. 

Ethan: Maeve! 

[Maeve stops in her tracks, refusing to face Ethan.]

Ethan: Tell me what happened, please. I can help you. 

Maeve: Just a silly accident, that’s all. I’m fine, seriously. 

[Maeve leaves Ethan standing there, unconvinced. The familiar bell rings, so he gathers his things and heads to dinner.]

[Meanwhile, Maeve heads back to her dorm, exhausted. She collapses into bed and the instant her back hits the bed, she is reminded of the impact from collapsing unconscious during the fight with Elle.]

[Her shoulder aches, but she manages to fall asleep]