Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked or any of its characters. If I did I would slap Morrible with a wet fish!!
Summary: Past-fic; the child Fiyero explains to his governess just why he can't ever seem to pay attention (MusicalVerse, with faint hints of BookVerse if you squint)
The Wrong Lessons
"Are you listening to me, Fiyero?" Idani cut short her explanation of the reasons for which the Lurlinist philosophy was so widely disapproved of and looked sharply at the eleven-year-old prince, who was staring abstractedly out of the window at the busy courtyard.
Predictably, Fiyero did not reply.
Idani closed her eyes momentarily in barely-withheld frustration. It would not do to shout at the prince, even if he was less than half her age.
"Fiyero!" she raised her voice as much as she dared, "are you listening to a word I'm saying?"
Startled, the boy hurriedly turned to face her properly. "Yes," he lied, not very convincingly. Not so easily deceived, Idani tightened her lips disapprovingly.
For Oz's sake, Idani groaned inwardly, we're to have an ignorant fool for our future king!
Aloud, she said in what she hoped was a mild, unassuming voice, "Well, then, why don't you summarise what I've just been telling you?"
Fiyero looked at her blankly. He couldn't even remember the subject of Idani's lecture, much less what boring rubbish it contained.
Idani thought of her niece and nephew in the village, and how they listened so raptly to her tales and teachings. She considered how they would never get a real chance to make their knowledge matter, and she thought of how this shallow, inattentive child could not even be bothered to pay her lessons any mind, when one day he would be king! My Lorne would make a far better king than this one, she thought bitterly.
"How are you going to put a stop to Lurlinist riots if you don't even know the principles behind them?" she demanded of Fiyero, who shrugged unconcernedly.
"I'll get someone else to do it," he told her, "why should I care?"
Idani looked scandalised. "Because," she managed, "this is to be your country! How can you not care what becomes of it?"
Fiyero narrowed his blue eyes, actually thinking about this. "Because," he said eventually, "I don't want to be a king. It's boring, and I don't see why people need a king to tell them what to do and take all the fun out everything anyway."
Idani was surprised that the boy did not want to be king. She had thought that any child would jump at such a chance to be so important and tell everyone what to do. Apparently, though, Fiyero would rather not bother his head about such responsibilities.
"You don't have a choice," she reminded him, "if we have no king, there'll be all kinds of troubles. Wars will break out. People will start arguing over power and things like that. You need to be taught how to stop things like that from happening."
"You're teaching the wrong lessons," replied Fiyero, "maybe if you went and taught people to stop getting all annoyed and worried about everything, there wouldn't be wars and all that."
Idani laughed derisively. "Why? Because everyone would be too busy having a good time?"
Fiyero nodded, looking for all the world more serious than Idani had ever seen him look. She wasn't sure quite whether to be amused or irate.
"But... but..." she spluttered.
"Idani," said Fiyero, that familiar mischievous smile lighting his face again, "I think you should have a day off."
A/N: Brownie points for anyone who can figure out the significance of Idani's name!!