this was really what i thought about how everyone had to set up their lives, so i put it in from Lianna's POV. i've read some really good stories, like Jagged Rose, but it seemed really ooc for Jon and Thayet, so i put them in as how i thought they would act.
and i don't own her or anyone else mentioned.
My life is alright. Actually, it's really exhalent. For crying out loud, I'm a princess who isn't going to be forced to marry a foreigner. Not that that would necessarily be bad, I mean, look at Roald and Kally. They're both happy with their marriages. But that isn't the problem.
I can join the Riders in five years, or I can go into knight's training in the fall. But no matter what I do, there's so much pressure. My mother is an amazing person; a warrior woman and a great ruler. My father is a king who commands a thing of legends. My parents' generation has heroes left and right, and it dribbles a bit younger then them. Look at Kel.
And therein lays the problem. I have to, as Tortall royalty, be exceptional. Roald gets some slack as a knight because he's going to be king. I don't envy him that. Anyways, I want to enjoy what I do, not hate it because I'm being pushed to be the best. And if I'm not I'll feel guilty about it, then I'll be mad at myself for being guilty, and then I'll be annoying.
Possibilities for life: Diplomat. That got thrown right out the window because mother and father didn't want me to leave the country like I would have to.
Knight. We have enough, and if I did, who would ever let me actually do anything? The protection I would have every time I left to go fight would be a nice mix between an onion and a turtle.
Rider. There are some possibilities here.
Princess. Like, a proper one. Too restricting.
Queen's Lady. Maybe, and with no real problems. I do like being clean, and traveling, and fighting, and hunting, all of which Shinko does.
Another problem is: I'm ten. I'm going to be a different person in six years then I am now. Everything is set up so final. What ever I chose now I'll always be held to. Why does anyone have to plan out their life at ten, when we're still considered children?
Shinko suggested that, since I could live with being a Queen's Lady, first for my mother, and then possibly for Shinko, and a Rider, I spend the next six years learning both how to fight and how to be a lady. Then, when I have a better idea of what I want to do, I can chose.
I think she's right, as do the rest of my siblings, and my parents. But Liam laughed and said I think too much. The sad part is, no one argued. Except for me, but I had to just because he's my annoying older brother who can never be right. It's a thing of pride.