I know I should probably go back to sleep. I have another long day of lessons, tests, training, visitors, and other princely duties ahead of me. I’m still too shaken by The Nightmare to sleep, though. So here I am, sketching all over the dull map in front of me.
Well, at least it used to be dull; nothing more than three grey continents floating in a blank ocean. Over the course of this year, though, I had slowly filled the empty spaces with sketches of various people, buildings, and scenery. Copies of pictures from other books and paintings as I’ve never had the opportunity to see anything residing outside of New Capital.
I tap my pencil on my desk as I think. Of the seven kingdoms, Xenovol is probably the one I know the least about. I have no idea what designs they normally use on their clothes, which is making it a bit difficult for me to decide how to color the fairy I’d sketched along the Xanavi border.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I jump at the pounding on my door. I cautiously close my history book, trying to not make any noise so that I don’t wake Vilda as I make my way to the door. I open it, ready to shush whoever’s there, but stop when I see a page boy, about ten years of age, dressed in an orange smock and hat. He holds a sealed envelope out to me.
“A letter for His Royal Highness, Prince Cai,” the boy says with a short bow.
I take it from him and nod back. “Thank you, kind sir.”
The boy giggles, placing a hand to his mouth. “The prince called me sir!”
The two guards standing on either side of my bed-chamber doors chuckle along with him. I can’t help but smile at his giddiness as I step back into my bed chambers and look at the envelope.
I have to squint through the hazy, early morning darkness to see the seal pressed into the blue wax. It’s a picture of an elf woman, a tall crown on her head. She holds a scepter and sword held in either hand, crossed in an “X” over her chest. My body tingles with excitement and nervousness as I rush back to my desk, tearing the envelope open. Using the light from my candles and the just now rising sun, I read:
“To his Royal Highness,
Crown Prince Cai Ephriam Donar Gesamere,
Son of King Donar and Queen Idnania of Durcardi,
Future heir to the throne,
Allow me to first say that I am most impressed and pleasantly surprised that you would be so concerned with the future and education of one of your servants. This Seana of yours is most welcomed to attend Cristabel Academy along with you and your sister.
As for the fees and tuition payments, let us not concern ourselves with that for now. As fortune would have it, Cristabel is a most popular establishment. Nobility from all over the world has given us several generous donations over the years. As a result, we have a surplus of currency that, therefore, allows a few, exceptional students who could otherwise not afford Cristabel Academy’s fees, to attend for free on the condition they excel in their studies.
Having studied the samples you sent me, I believe that this Seana is more than capable of obtaining the marks needed to stay enrolled under such an agreement. Should things change then we may have to discuss payment arrangements. For now, however, I am looking forward to meeting the three of you in person next month.
Sincerely,
Headmaster Ardan Reiner of Cristabel Academy
P.S. Remember, as you said, this is our little secret.”
I let out a sigh of relief as I fold the letter up and tuck it into my art kit, hiding it behind my paintbrushes and pencils with all my other secrets.
As the sky grows brighter, my eyes wander to look out my window at the brown, lifeless mountain range that cradles the backside of the castle. The bottom fourth of my view is cut off by the outer castle walls. The gray slabs occasionally interrupted by the orange splashes of a Durcardian Flag, the sun, ox, and blacksmith dancing lazily in the wind.
I sigh as I open my history book and study my still colorless sketches again.
“Your Royal Highness, you’re not vandalizing your school books again, are you?” one of the guards posted at my door asks.
“No…” I lie, closing the book back as I mentally kick myself for leaving my door open.
Nice going, Cai!
“You know your father and tutor do not approve of such behavior,” the guard sighs.
“You talk to the Crown Prince like that?” the other guard asks in a bewildered voice.
“You must be new,” I grumble as I return to my studies, for real this time, opening my arithmetic workbook. “Mind shutting the door?”
“Of course, Your Royal Highness,” the first guard answers as he closes the door.
“Forgive me, sir, but I’m a bit confused,” the second guard whispers to the first, clearly thinking I can’t hear him.
“He may the Crown Prince, but he’s also a child, and…” the door clicks closed, blocking their conversation from me. I sigh and mumble at the rows of numbers and symbols before me.
I suppose homework would be the better option. It’s certainly more productive than drawing people and places I’ve never seen. Of course, the best option would be going back to sleep, but now that the sun is up, Axellia and Seana will be coming in at any moment, so what’s the point? As I chew on the end of my pencil, I hear a knock on my door. It’s too soft to be the guards again, and Axellia never knocks, so I’ve already guessed who it is before I even open the door. Bebin stands in the hall, silver hair shimmering in the early morning light.
“I’m sorry to bother you, dear, but is Vilda-”
I gesture my thumb towards my bed.
“She’s here. She had a bad dream last night,” I answer.
Bebin nods, letting out a sigh of relief, and walks back towards the nursery. I smile as I watch. Vilda is the last of us in the nursery. Tempest turned twelve a few months ago and moved into her own chambers. I’m not entirely sure what will happen to Bebin with no more young children for her to dote on once Vilda ages out. She was the nursemaid who cared for Mother and her brother so surely she wouldn’t be sent away.
But what will she do?
Once Bebin has closed the nursery door behind her I go to check on my youngest sister. She’s still asleep, a tiny lump with a doll tucked under her arm. I’m glad.
I’d already given her quite a scare last night when I woke up with another nightmare. Ironic how Vilda and I had been plagued by the same beast on the same night. It had taken me forever to get her back to sleep. First I had to convince her that I had not had a nightmare, but had just seen a spider. When that terrified her even more, I had to assure her that it hadn’t really been a spider, just a shadow. Even after that, it had taken two hours and about six bedtime stories to get her back to sleep. By then I was too awake to go back to sleep so I got a head start on my “homework.”
I pull the curtains around my bed closed and turn to walk back to my desk.
“Um, sir, would you like us to…”
“Oh, yes, please,” I quickly answer, blushing as I realize I’ve left my door open.
Again.
The guards oblige the old hand chuckling and shaking his head at me before the door clicks shut. I feel my face heat up even more as I go back to my equations. I finish about five problems before I hear my door creaking open.
Slowly.
That’s not at all like Axellia so I, once again, guess who it is before I even lift my head from my workbook. I turn to see Tempest, dressed in her robe, the edges of her white nightgown peeking out from underneath the velvet lavender as she shuffles towards me. Books and papers are tucked under her arms, her black hair is an utter mess. She must have slipped out before any of the handmaids woke to come tend to her. I smirk a bit as she closes the door behind us.
“Cai-” Tempest starts. I turn and put a finger to my mouth, pointing towards the bed to tell her to be quiet for Vilda. Tempest nods, her wavy hair bouncing as she does so, then she continues in a whisper.
“I have an exam over the ten familiars today. Axellia’s not awake yet, can you help me study?” she asks in a frantic voice.
“Of course,” I nod. She pulls one of the spare chairs next to the walls over and sits opposite of me.
“Alright,” I whisper as I pick my pencil back up and continue with my own lesson. “Most common of the Mystical Animals is…”
“Unicorn,” Tempest answers.
“And it’s magic is…”
“Lavender.”
I sigh with a bit of a smile. “Yes, that’s what color it is, but what does it do?”
Tempest thinks for a while, chewing on the end of her pencil like I had earlier. “Heal?”
“Very good,” I nod. “What comes next?”
“Um…” Tempest thinks for a while. “Sea serpent?”
I shake my head. “No.”
Tempest hangs her head in defeat.
“Here’s a trick, Tempest,” I say, causing her to look up at me. “Just remember that the three that look like horses go first.”
Tempest thinks for a moment. “Pegasus?”
“There we go!” I cheer, writing down the answer to a multiplication problem. “Now, what magic do they have?”
“Air manipulation.”
“Next?”
“Kelpie?”
The door bursts open, bouncing loudly off the wall.
Axellia, still dressed in her nightgown, her hair a messy bunch of curly tangles, storms in.
“Cai, how do you find the answer to-”
“Sh!” I hiss. “Vilda’s asleep in my bed.”
Axellia mouths an “Oh.”
I roll my eyes. “Honestly, will you ever learn to knock?”
From behind Axellia, Seana steps into the room, already fully clothed and ready for the day, Axellia’s emerald and gold robe thrown over her arm.
“That’s going to get you into trouble one of these days when it’s not your twin on the other side of the door,” Seana chuckles as she helps Axellia put on her robe.
My face heats up as I recall the event Seana is referring to.
“What’s she talking about?” Tempest asks, cocking her head to one side.
“Nothing,” I quickly answer. “What is the kelpie’s magic?”
I shoot Seana a glare, to which she just smiles smugly, turning around to grab another spare chair for Axellia, swishing her orange cape behind her. I think she’s trying to subtly sass me, but subtle and Seana don’t go well together. Despite being covered from head to toe in a black and orange ladies in waiting uniform she is an impressive figure. She’s as tall as me, and I’m a bit on the taller side for a sixteen year old human boy. Even through the thick material I can see the faint outline of her muscles, built from years of manual labor before Axellia took her as a lady-in-waiting.
Even if she wasn’t as tall as a tree or as strong as an ox, though, she’d stand out. Her blond hair, though not unheard of in humans is rather uncommon, especially in such a vibrant, golden color as hers. Her eyes are the shape and color of a deep blue diamond, almost black in certain lights. A pink dusting of freckles covers her round nose and high cheekbones, sparkling against her tan skin. At last, her ears pointed like an elf but flat like a human. Yes, no amount of heavy fabric could ever hide her beauty.
Before getting to work taming Axellia’s wild curls, she pushes a few strands of her own hair behind her ears.
“A kelpie’s magic is green and shape-shifting,” Tempest answers.
“Good. What comes next?” I answer, turning the page in my workbook.
“Cai, what’s the answer to number twenty-two?” Axellia asks as Seana begins to comb and section her hair.
“I don’t know, I haven’t gotten there yet,” I reply.
“Is a sea serpent next?” Tempest asks.
“Yes,” I answer. “And it’s magic?”
“Blue, water…manipulation. That’s the word, right?”
“Yes, that’s the word,” I nod.
“And who do we know that has a sea serpent?” Axellia asks as she begins comparing her answers to mine.
“Mother,” Tempest answers with a smile.
Axellia taps my shoulder and points to one of my previous problems, then hers. I realize we have different answers. Examining mine, I noticed I skipped a step. Grumbling to myself, I scratch my work out, and begin again.
“How can you even follow your own work?” Axellia asks with a sigh. “Honestly, you’re so chaotic!”
“You’re one to talk,” I grumble.
“No, he’s Cai-otic,” Tempest grins.
“That was a horrible joke. You should be ashamed. Now leave me alone,” I frown at her.
“Actually, I thought it was rather fitting” Seana chuckles as she ties off one of Axellia’s braids.
“You’re supposed to be on my side!”
“Since when? She’s my lady-in-waiting. If anything, she should be on my side” Axellia says, before turning to a giggling Tempest. “Which familiar comes next?”
“Um…”
While Tempest is still thinking, a knock comes outside my door.
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