"Charlotte, good morning," came the voice of her mother, as Charlotte entered the dining room on the first day of Autumn.

Charlotte greeted her mother with a tired smile, and took her place in the centre of the table, waiting for her father to enter.

"Are you prepared for the school term?" Questioned her mother, as they heard heavy footsteps begin down the hall.

"I hope so. We have our big exams this year, and I'm rather hoping to do well on those," Charlotte replied, smiling politely as men began to enter and serve breakfast.

"Well, I'm most sure you will excel dear, prefect of your house as well, your father and I are very proud."

The door swung open heavily suddenly, and Charlotte grinned as her father strode into the room. "What are we proud of?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the less than graceful appearance of her husband. "Charlotte becoming school prefect, Philip."

Philip chuckled, taking his seat opposite Elizabeth. "Of course. How did you manage it then, tricked them with a little hocus pocus?"

Elizabeth made a scolding sound as Charlotte giggled. Before she could respond, however, food was placed in front of her, and knowing the rules, Charlotte began eating nearly immediately. Of course, she managed her food with as much politeness as possible, however, she knew her day would be a long one, and until she got a snack on the train, breakfast would be the only thing keeping her going.

Charlotte and her siblings, along with their father, had built up a rather interesting talent for eating food quite quickly. When the rule was that once the Queen starts eating, you must stop, there was never any time to mess around during family meals.

When the children were younger, they got into the habit of slyly racing each other to finish their meals, but nearly always, competitive Anne knocked off the younger children with grace and a quick clean plate.

Currently, family breakfast was only Charlotte, Philip and Elizabeth, with Andrew and Edward off beginning school term at Gordonstoun, Anne off preparing for a riding competition, and Charles, as Charlotte's fiery Scottish governess Catherine called it, 'experiencing the world'.

Charlotte continued to zone out a bit, as her parents began to discuss state matters over breakfast again. Charlotte loved her family, but she couldn't wait to get back around her school friends and relax a little.

Charlotte shared a dorm room with four other girls who she had made fast friends with.

Despite the fact that all five were rather different personalities, Lily Evans, Marlene McKinnon, Dorcas Meadowes, Niamh Murphy and Charlotte Hanover had managed to go through four years of puberty without killing each other. For this, Charlotte knew they could never fully turn on each other.

Her friends were also rather fashion forward, giving Charlotte a much needed lesson in what could help her blend in on a day to day basis. Before Charlotte had put on her robes on the train in first year, her tidy ankle socks, dress and cardigan had made her stand out a bit amongst the casual crowd.

Thankfully, she'd landed herself in a compartment alone for a few moments to collect herself. The environment was so vastly different to her quiet home that she'd felt some extreme culture shock in the crowds of loud, unreserved people.

It was then that the compartment door had been knocked on, and Charlotte met Niamh.

Niamh Murphy was a girl always grinning away, and a face full of freckles. Her Irish accent only added to her cheeky nature, and from day one, the two opposite were nearly inseparable.

Charlotte came back to the planet when she watched her mother take a sip of water, a calling card that she was nearly done with her meal.

In two bites, Charlotte managed to entirely clear her last piece of toast, cheeks stuffed full as Elizabeth had the table cleared. She looked over at her father, who also had cheeks like a chipmunk and was struggling to swallow down the food in there.

Elizabeth began to chuckle at the two, so intent on finishing the food they'd stuffed in their mouths. Of all her children, Charlotte had ended up with the humour of her father, and reminded her greatly of the pair of them before they had risen to take the Crown.

Charlotte was very polite and kind, and could come across as rather quiet, but had the carefree spirit of young Elizabeth and Philip.

Charlotte had nearly managed to finish, but Philip quickly swallowed the rest of what was in his mouth and grinned at her, causing the girl to glare back at him.

She quickly swallowed her food, spitting out an "unfair" at her smirking father.

"Practice," he replied. "Don't beat yourself up about it Charlotte, we can't all be as talented as I am."

"Oh stop it," scolded Elizabeth, taking a sip from the tea placed in front of her. "Margaret is still a far faster eater than you are Philip."

Charlotte giggled, Margaret, her aunt, had a very funny relationship with her father. The two both had sense of being borderline inappropriate, and their humour complimented each other brilliantly.

With a dark chuckle, Philip readily changed the topic, asking Elizabeth if she'd mentioned to Charlotte their gift yet.

"Gift? What gift," Charlotte questioned.

Elizabeth smiled at her. "With being so proud of you for becoming a prefect, and for managing to keep who you are such a secret, we simply wanted to give you something to recognise that."

"Oh no, mum, dad you really didn't have to. Just being your daughter is plenty, I really am so lucky."

"Oh shut up," chastised Philip. "Come on Lilibet, click those magic fingers of yours and get that thing brought in here."

With a quick look telling her husband to behave himself, Elizabeth politely pulled over one of the men in the room, and requested he being in Charlotte's gift for her.

A few moments after leaving, the man returned, and Charlotte's inquisitive eyes locked on a small bundle tucked up in his arms.

As she watched, the small thing moved and began to squirm around, letting out a small meow, and causing her bright blue eyes to light up.

"You got me a cat?" She exclaimed, reaching over to grab the small cat from the man's arms.

"Apparently a tortoiseshell," spoke Elizabeth, smiling endearingly at her daughter with the kitten. "Personally, when Philip suggested a pet I was all for a corgi, but he believed such may have been a bit of a standout at your school. Perhaps when you're older," she mused, as she began to trail off.

Standing from her seat, Elizabeth moved to her daughter and gave her a one armed hug and a kiss on the cheek. "All the best for the school year darling. Work hard and enjoy yourself."

Charlotte smiled, promising her mother she would, before watching her walk out of the room and prepare to do business for the day.

Left alone in the room with her father, Charlotte stood perfectly happy, petting the cat in good company before she had to head off.

Suddenly, Philip spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Name the thing something politically incorrect, would you?"