you have left?” Mathieu said, already forgetting what Avian had just said.
She stood and polished off her drink. “A lovely mixture of learning about government styles and deciding what kind of ruler I’ll be along with goals I aim to accomplish, then free study, and finally more literature.”
“That sounds horribly boring...”
“Learning is important. And fun.” Shrugging, she smiled down at him.
“I’m coming…” Stretching and getting up, he held his arm out. They turned towards the palace and crossed the sweeping lawn. Even in the short time that he’d been at the castle, the excessive number of windows, long hallways, and high ceilings were becoming a comfort to him. They were very beautiful and they cocooned him. Of course he still couldn’t navigate to save his life.
Depositing her in a seat once they were in the library-slash-classroom, he smiled a little shyly and sat beside her. What the teacher said didn’t matter to him, so he watched out the window as their lunch table was quickly collapsed and cleaned away, the lawn fluffed back up.
Rolling his eyes, he wondered how appearances of some grass can mean so much. The Professor wasn’t there. In fact, they were the only thing there wasn’t made of paper and smelled vaguely like pipe tobacco. “Where’s the teacher?”
“She’s probably late. Pregnancy hasn’t been easy on her.”
As if on cue, the woman Mathieu presumed was the teacher busted through the door. “Sorry!” Her hair was aflutter as she came in, coming to rest in long red curls that cascaded down her back. Her face was heart-shaped and she had kind eyes that were well-suited for motherhood. Smoothing her hands down her dress and over her protruding tummy, she swayed to the window. “So Avian, who is your little friend?”
“This,” the brunette said grandly, “isn’t my friend. He’s my new guard. Papa hired him.”
“Oh, a guard! How wonderful!” The pregnant woman smiled. “Well, I’m Mrs. Emers.”
“Hello. I’m Mathieu.” He said in a bored tone. Everyone felt the need to ask who he was today instead of just leaving him to his own. It bothered him to have such attention placed on him.
Taking a reclined position against the windowsill to alleviate the pressure on her back, she cleared her throat. “Avian. Where did we leave off?”
“Difference between a republic and a democracy. Both are stupid.” The princess said, arms folded.
Mrs. Emers tapped her toes lightly, a brow cocked. “What brings you to that conclusion? And where were you yesterday? Hmm?”
Blushing, the brunette pointed accusingly at Mathieu. “It’s his fault! He…he kidnapped me! Yeah, that’s it.” She grinned as he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, I don’t like either because they’re stupid.”
“We covered that,” The redhead teacher said. “But why?”
Huffing, the young woman lifted her nose into the air. “Okay, so with like a democracy, everyone gets a vote, but there’s so many people that it takes forever to get anything done. If it’s a state of emergency, I want a decision made right then and there, not a year later after everyone sits around, talks about it, and pisses me off! I’m going to be a queen with intelligent advisors that will give me a five minute brief on what they think is the best course of action and why. Then, I’ll make a decision. Effective.”
“That’s an interesting theory…”
“And I dislike republics for the same reason because it’s the same crap, just on a smaller level.” Avian nodded factually.
Mrs. Emers smiled. “I’m glad that you’re so opinionated. Being a leader takes resolve and determination.”
As the teacher spoke, Avian got up and went to a group of scrolls, pulling down a slender tube of parchment and opened it, pinning it to the wall.
Mathieu got up and went to see it. “What’s this?” It seemed both him and Avian were tuning the teacher out.
“It’s my goal charter. Until the day I take over, I’m writing down all
of the goals that I desire to accomplish, that I believe will better the nation.” She looked at the long list and sighed. “I’m going to be really busy when I take over…Do you think I can do it?”
“I think you can.” Mrs. Emers was standing beside them, looking at the chart. She laid her hand on Avian’s shoulder. “These are all selfless goals, therefore accomplishing them will be important. Although important things can be difficult to accomplish, the fact that they will make things better for the majority is enough to help you through the difficulties and the trials.”
“I’m with the teacher. I think it’s