Making Her Own Way
Chapter 1
Lady Illinen of Shadowflax snapped the heavy, leather-bound book shut with a sigh, and, propping her elbows on the library table, rested her head in her hands. She glanced down at the book, raising her eyebrows cynically at the bold, gilt lettering on the cover. It was a book of modern Tortallan heroes, or, to be more precise, modern Tortallan female heroes. Alanna the Lioness, the Protector of the Small, Daine the Wildmage, Alianne of Pirates Swoop…. these women were inspirational! Hundreds of girls from across the realm, noble born and common alike, had followed in their footsteps, but unfortunately, they weren't providing any kind of inspiration for Illa right now.
It had been three weeks since her tutor had declared that he could teach her no more, and since then, Illa had spent most of her time in Fief Shadowflax's vast library, working her way through books such as this one, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. As yet, she had come to no definitive conclusion. She was too old to begin knight training, and anyway, she had small liking for the strenuous activities involved, like the rest of her kinsmen, she had no magical gift, so mage training was out of the question, and one of her worst fears was of becoming a flirty, air-headed court maiden. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be very many other options.
Illa picked up the book and placed it back on the shelf, while scanning for something new. Nothing seemed to catch her eye, so in an act of desperation, she shut her eyes and waved her arms wildly in front of her, swearing that she would read the first volume she touched. She groaned as she dragged out an enormous old tome of Tortallan law, but honourably sat down in her father's reading chair to fulfil her promise. Illa was certain that she would be wasting away an otherwise lovely afternoon, but somehow she was sucked in from the very first page, drawn to the complexities that held her country together, and filled with fascination for those who coordinated them. Suddenly, she had an idea.
It was many hours before she closed the book, and still many more before Duke Arthur of Shadowflax came across the pensive form of his oldest child sitting motionless in his library chair.
'A copper for your thoughts?' He asked gently, swinging the chair around so that she was facing him. 'Although,' he chuckled, 'I'd pay a lot more if the look on your face is anything to go by!'
'Papa!' Illinen jumped up to embrace him, 'You're back!' Duke Arthur was Treasurer to the realm, and therefore spent a lot of his time in Corus talking trade and finance with King Jonathon and his government. But with the advent of the warmer weather, the Royal family had relocated to their summer palace, leaving the Duke free to return home as well.
'I'd noticed,' he smiled, looking her up and down.
At sixteen, Illa was really a young woman, and a stunning one at that. She wasn't beautiful, exactly, at least not in the traditional 'court-lady' sense of the word, but she had a certain elegance that was hard to place. She was tall and sturdily built like her father (a genetic inheritance she often cursed, especially when in the company of someone slender and petite), with glowing olive skin, thick, wavy brown hair, large brown-hazel eyes with curling black lashes, a small nose and a full-lipped rosebud mouth. Rather a sweet face on the whole, but still, some of its contours betrayed the fact that Illinen of Shadowflax was a force to be reckoned with. For the most unusual thing about her was that she spoke and acted with a degree of force and authority that one didn't really expect to find in a nobly born and educated maiden. She was fiercely intelligent, a natural leader (sometimes to the point of bossiness), an incredibly logical thinker, and unfortunately, often quite argumentative and nearly always stubborn as a mule, to the point where the duke despaired of ever marrying her off. Which, as luck would have it, wasn't his goal, anyway. He felt sure that his daughter was destined to be something more than the lady of the manor, and he was about to find out exactly what it was.
Suddenly, he realised she was speaking to him. He raised a hand to stem the flow of her words.
'All right, all right, I'm listening now. Start again.' She sighed impatiently.
'I was just saying that I had a think about it this afternoon, and I've finally decided what I'm going to do next.' The Duke nodded, remembering the letter that had told him of her tutor's departure. He'd been expecting this conversation.
'So, what of the future for Lady Illa,' he asked lightly, steeling himself for what he was almost certain would be a shocking revelation. His daughter didn't let him down. She drew herself up to her full height and thrust out her chin, a familiar determined look coming into her eyes as she proclaimed:
'I am going to become the Prime Minister.'