Title: Milantis

Rating: T

Disclaimer: The only ideas I can lay claim to are the royal titles of the characters and the plot. I do not own Disney or Hannah Montana.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in updates!

Chapter 2: New Kid in School

Duchess Miley stood frozen; everyone was staring at the new kid in school. She winced when the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind her, sealing her fate. A hushed murmur slowly rose and magnified to the usual dull roar that echoed in the castle hallways.

"She was being home-schooled –"

"–she's all right, a little plain looking."

Miley glanced over at a nearby group of gossiping girls; they were dressed in simple skirts and frilly blouses so she assumed they were middle-class servants. One girl turned around and gave the duchess a quick skim before bursting into a fit of giggles. Miley brushed her long curls behind her ear and tried to ignore the heat blazing through her cheeks, igniting her face a bright shade of pink.

"Indeed, her dress is outdated, and –"

"Poor thing, they will devour her within the morning hour. It's a strange desire to begin proper schooling in upper levels."

She turned away from the criticizing gaggle and hurried up the grand staircase to where she was rather sure the headmaster's office was located. She had ducked her head down hoping it would decrease the horrendous amount of comments circulating about her.

"Her family lost the majority of their power when her father relinquished the throne."

"I'll be surprised if she makes it through her first day."

"She won't."

"I bet her only friends are chickens and a cow."

"Well who else would she talk with, the servants?"

Miley pushed past the mingling cluster of students and knocked rapidly on the office door of the headmaster. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled as a shiver went down her spine; numerous pairs of eyes remained focused on her figure standing isolated in the doorway, waiting impatiently for a respite from the unforgiving comments of teenagers.

"Come in," boomed a man's voice from the office.

Miley entered the office with trepidation; she faced a curly haired blonde man in a striking blue vest and plaid-patterned pants. She glanced at his messy desk and spotted a shiny name plate engraved "Viscount Francis Corelli, Headmaster."

The viscount motioned to a worn leather armchair which Miley immediately sat down in as Sir Corelli pulled out a scroll and unrolled it.

"File number 11231992: Lady Miley Ray Stewart, Duchess of Montana. Daughter of former King Robbeth Ray, now Lord Robbeth Ray, and the deceased Queen Susan. One sibling – Sir Jackseth Rod Stewart, Earl of Montana. Previously tutored privately at Franklin Castle in Montana. Does all that information sound precisely accurate to you, Lady Miley?" The viscount glared down at the young girl.

"Yes sir."

"Then there is only ONE question I have for you."

Miley gripped the armrests of the padded leather chair in anticipation, sorting through her mind the various bits of knowledge she had garnered from her sixteen years of experience.

"Fish stick?" The viscount broke into a jolly smile that took the duchess by utter surprise.

"Oh, no thank you Sir."

"Quite an invention fish sticks, whoever thought of them should be commended. Your father still has the old power of honoring those who've advanced our world, you know, with the lavish ceremony and shiny medals?"

"I'm not sure Sir; we haven't done anything…lavish in years."

"Yes, since the passing of your beloved mother. She was quite a queen, I met her multiple times. A very kind woman; and that sense of humor! No man could compete with her sharp wit and candor."

"Yes Sir, she was…like nothing else," Miley replied quietly, feeling tears prickle the corners of her eyes.

"Enough of this idle chitchat, you are here to be educated properly in the great fields of science, cooking, mathematics, languages, grammar, history, art, and fitness," Sir Corelli tapped his quill on the desk and left ink blots all over a pile of blank parchment.

"Fitness? I thought only the boys took fitness."

"In the past yes, now though, we have changed the agenda. I think it's for the best that both genders be involved in physical wellness, even though it only really matters for the boys. Moreover, can you imagine what I'd look like if I didn't supervise the sports class once a month?" The viscount proudly patted his impressively enormous belly.

Miley merely nodded her head while inwardly cringing at the thought.

"Now that we have all your classes figured out, time to have you properly outfitted with all the materials a young student would need. First off, your class schedule, it's rotating so you might be confused at first, but I'm sure you'll adjust. Next comes your assigned storeroom where you can leave your various supplies in between classes. And finally, a wish of gratitude for joining this fine establishment. Good luck Lady Miley Stewart, and welcome to Seaview," Sir Corelli gave her another happy smile and handed the girl her scrolls.

Miley balanced the armful of scrolls precariously in her hold, trying to study the intricate map of the castle to discover the location of her storeroom. The top three scrolls slipped from her grasp. She stumbled right into a lavishly dressed girl who let out a screech when Miley accidentally tore the girl's long veil.

"Excuse me, I apologize for the mishap I really didn't mean to damage your attire. Could you tell me where –," Miley started as she unraveled the rest of the map.

The student made eye contact with a similarly dressed girl and scoffed at the fumbling girl with utter disdain. The girls whispered to each other, and in unison, commented rudely, "The plight of being the new kid in school, how positively droll!"

Miley swallowed the rest of her words and turned down an empty hallway where she could find an empty room to dump all her belongings and organize herself for a most strenuous day.

She tried the first couple of door down the deserted hallway but they were all locked and she wasn't sure where she placed her storeroom key. She managed to jiggle a doorknob open and collapsed with her pile of books and scrolls all over the closet floor.

"This is a storeroom but you might want to put those on the shelves. If you leave them on the floor they're likely to get trampled," said a boy with a lantern who emerged from behind a wall of shelves.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drop everything, it just got so heavy," Miley replied breathlessly.

"First day I presume? It'll improve after a week or so, just make it through your classes without causing a catastrophe and you'll blend in well enough," the shaggy brown-haired boy beamed at the duchess.

"What is your name good sir?"

"My name is Smokin' Oken," the boy puffed out his chest, but let it deflate at the look of disbelief on Miley's face, "Fine, if we're being formal, my name good lady, is Sir Oliver Oken, Baron of Okenland, and next in line to the throne. And you must be the new girl, Duchess Miley of Milantis. Pleased to make your acquaintance," Oliver made a low bow in her honor before offering a hand up off the stone floor.

"Likewise," the duchess gave a quick curtsey for emphasis.

"I'm surprised to see you here, usually they give the powerful students their own private closet than make them share with the commoners."

"Actually, I have no idea where I am, I just wanted to get away from this one snotty girl and her cohort."

"Snotty and cohort? You mean Countess Amber and Lady Ashley of Envy Isle."

"So it was them! I had heard many stories of their nasty tendencies but never was I witness, or victim, to their vicious comments," Miley exclaimed.

A series of long clangs echoed through the castle, resulting in the startled duchess to spring to her feet and lunge through the doorway in defense mode. Instead she noticed throngs of her peers socializing in the hallway.

"It's just the church bells, they signal how much time the students have until next class. It seems we have another ten minutes for us to get acquainted before morning period," Baron Oliver explained while hiding a grin at Lady Miley's peculiar behavior.

"Of course, I was just – checking to make sure … the other students had properly heard the bells too," Miley avoided eye contact and brushed nonexistent dust off her sleeves.

"So you're from Montana, do you eat possum?" Oliver looked at Miley with curiosity.

"No! Where did you hear that?"

"Rumors, people say you eat possum. You're from the countryside, you're different and no one knows anything about you, so they make stuff up," Oliver shrugged his shoulders at the confused girl.

"If they just make stuff up, how will they ever learn the truth?" Miley mused, gazing out at the multitudes of students mingling in the hallway.

"I doubt Amber and Ashley care about the truth," Oliver snorted.

"Countess Amber and Lady Ashley started those vicious lies about me?"

"I didn't say that!" Oliver stuttered.

"It was them, wasn't it?"

"Well yes it was, but don't tell them I told you what they said about you."

"No, more dilly-dallying will only give them more time to create malicious lies about me to further damage my personal reputation as I try to study here. I must confront this problem, confront them, head on," Miley gritted her teeth in preparation of tackling the challenge of taking down the most popular kids in school on her first day.

"Sweet! Chick fight!" Oliver put his hand up for a high five but Miley just gave the boy a glare.

"…lady…fight?" Oliver tried half-heartedly.

The duchess merely shook her head at the baron and exited the storeroom.

"Did you tire of socializing with pigs all day?" Countess Amber remarked at Miley's arrival with Baron Oliver.

"I'm stuck with a pair of pigs right now," Miley shot back.

"Darling little duchess, naturally without your mother you obviously never learned any manners, or anything about fashion for that matter," Ashley crossed her arms and stared at the duchess with a hideous sneer.

"Oh that's right, your mother died, didn't she?"

Miley simply nodded in affirmation, she felt her throat constrict and could not utter a word.

"Shame she had to die so young, though if she saw you now in those clothes, she'd probably die of a heart attack!" Amber shrieked out, a few laughs issued from the assembled crowd.

"Leave her alone Amber," a cold voice broke through the giggles.

"Another loser commoner challenging me?"

"I am no commoner I assure you. And the only losers are the ones like you, who mock others in fear," a blond girl replied calmly as she stepped out in front of the murmuring swarm.

"Fear? What do I have to fear, besides horrible fashion sense and a some filthy disease such pathetic people like you probably carry in your family blood," snorted Amber as she backed up a step, placing Ashley in between her and the angry girl.

"Leave this girl alone Amber, same to you Ashley," warned the blonde.

"You have no authority over me! In your land you may hold power but here, you are nothing more than a dirty insect for me to squash!" Ashley shrieked back, still hiding behind Amber.

"Indeed! Crush you, like a worthless bug!" Ashley echoed.

"I'd like to see you try," dared the imposing girl to the wavering pair of nitwits.

"You bet we'll try!" Ashley suddenly stepped forward but scurried back to Amber's side at the sight of the blonde's ferocious glare.

"I think she got the point. Come on, we have more important matters to settle than to converse with these losers," ordered Amber.

She pointed her nose up at Miley and the girl, and brushed past the pair. Ashley attempted the same maneuver but the blonde stuck out her foot and tripped her.

"Ashley! Walk like a proper lady, get up off the ground!" Amber shrieked from atop the staircase.

"I'm coming, just a minute!" Ashley called back as she stumbled trying to climb up the stairs, but repeatedly tripping on the long hem of her dress.

Miley and the mysterious blonde laughed at the sight of the struggling, spoiled brat. Oliver was trying to hold in his delight but burst out into a fit of giggles. He started to choke and Miley pounded on his back till he breathed correctly. She looked up expecting to see her blonde savior but the girl had disappeared, leaving a disappointed duchess.

Unbeknownst to the duchess, the cruel duo was discussing their vile plans to remove their sudden competition for the coveted crown of most popular and powerful, and embarrass the poor new girl and her savoir.

"Revenge will be sweet," Amber snickered as she reapplied a deep red color to her wickedly grinning lips.

A/N: Hmm I wonder who that blonde girl was… :-P Reviews are greatly appreciated as always.