Dear Prince Gilo,

I respect you but I am not so sure you gave me good advice in your last letter.

I tried to collect information about Sednaland. After reading half of the book the schoolmaster gave me, I wrote down 5 facts:

(1) Sednaland has a warmer climate than we do.

(2) The people worship the goddess Sedna.

(3) Their king has no siblings.

(4) Their king never married.

(5) If a man and a woman want to get married, they can, even if their parents are against the match.

It wasn't easy collecting those facts either!

Then, I went to Rilla and showed her my list. She looked and said, "You must be using an old book. Number 4 and number 5 are wrong."

I nearly dropped the parchment. Then I signed "Why"?

"The king got married about…fifteen years ago. So now there's a queen too. And not everyone can marry whoever they want."

"Why?" I signed.

"Because," Rilla said. "There are temples and priests and things. And that makes things more complicated."

"How?" I signed.

Rilla shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I was very small when we left." And she changed the subject so quickly that I had no chance to write anything else. I've noticed that she does that when she doesn't want to talk about something because she knows I cannot interrupt.

I don't have that much time left. But how can I do a report when half of the information in my book is outdated? Perhaps, I will choose a different land to study.

Roland

Dear Roland,

Certainly, you can choose a different land to study. Or you can try asking Rilla again. Do as you wish, but in your place, I would not give up so easily.

Sir Sander and I went horseback riding this morning. It was excellent weather. We spent some time discussing horses and then, I gradually turned the conversation to Sednaland. "Your queen…she became a ruler by marriage?" I asked.

"Yes. The king had some illness none could heal and after the wedding, he began to get weaker," Sir Sander said lightly. "So the queen took on more and more responsibilities and authority with time and as she did, she chose new people to serve her. I was quite young when she chose me to move to court."

I smiled. Sir Sander had said that with such pride. And he wasn't finished. He kept on talking eagerly, a blush coloring his face. "I serve the queen wherever she needs me. I am her most trusted servant. And our queen is clever and good and generous."

"Why?" I asked.

"Pardon?" Sir Sander looked confused.

"Give me an example," I said. "Please."

I was being a bit abrupt. But it seemed to me that Sir Sander was praising the queen primarily because she had given him his career and he liked it. And I wanted something that proved she was good to everybody.

"She makes sure nobody starves," Sir Sander said. "You can always get food at the palace. However much food you need."

"Ah," I said.

"She gives the people gifts too. On the day of her wedding, queen Sedna gave all of the people lovely mirrors for their homes. She even promised to replace any mirrors that broke."

Food was good. But mirrors? I looked at his naive, proud expression and considered how to ask what I really wanted to know: whether the people had clothing, medical treatment, schooling...Or did they only have pretty mirrors to reflect the poverty they lived in?

Only I didn't know how to delicately ask that. So I didn't.

Perhaps, you can collect more information on your end. I know I shall be talking to Sir Sander again.

Prince Gilo

Dear Prince Gilo,

Your last letter bothered me a bit. I never thought that I had given-up, I just thought I was being polite.

I decided to try again.

I took a piece of parchment, wrote "My grades are awful" and showed it to Rilla as soon as she walked in the door.

Rilla's face fell. "Really?" she asked. "But you're so smart."

I pointed to the clock.

"Time?" Rilla said. "You didn't have time to study?"

I nodded.

"Why?"

I pretended to be digging in a garden.

Rilla understood. "Oh, Roland! You shouldn't have helped us so much!"

I stood still sadly.

"Isn't there anything you can do to fix them?"

I nodded. Then, I picked up my list of "five things about Sednaland" and crumpled it up.

'What are you doing?" Rilla shrieked. "It's your work!"

I made a fist, our sign for "stupid" and pointed to the list. Then, I wrote on the parchment, "Tell me about living in Sednaland."

Rilla sighed. "I don't remember much. And my parents don't like to talk about it."

I signed, "Why not?"

Rilla bit her lip. She had been told not to talk about it to anyone, I could see. But she felt bad for me. And she wanted to help.

I waited quietly.

Finally, she said, "There's a law in Sednaland. About first-born children. When they are three months old, their parents take them to the temple and leave them there."

My mouth dropped open. "To die?" I signed.

Rilla looked blank. She had forgotten the sign for "die."

I wrote it.

Rilla gasped. "Of course not! They grow up in the temple and people take care of them and they have school and everything. But they have to stay there. They can't ever leave. And my parents didn't want to follow that law. They wanted to keep me."

I pretended to have my hands bound behind me and fell to my knees.

"What?" Rilla looked lost.

I pretended to lock a door and hide the key.

"Oh! No, they weren't arrested. But…people were mean to them. And when I was five and went to school, people began to be mean to me. So we left."

My face got hot. Who would be mean to a little five-year old girl?

Other five year-olds probably. I remember what that was like for me.

"I'm sorry," I signed.

So that's what I've gathered. And in spite of the available food and the pretty mirrors you mentioned, I don't think I like Sednaland very much.

Now, it's your turn.

Roland

Dear Roland,

It is remarkable how much you were able to find out. Excellent work. Unfortunately, you'll have to wait until my next letter if you want me to contribute something. I've been busy because today, Rosalie's father Angus arrived.

He was muscular and tall with long brown hair, pulled back from his face with a leather string. His large feet in leather boots made big strides as he walked towards Rosalie and me.

I had heard him described that way but seeing him was a different thing altogether.

I smiled in greeting. "I am Gilo, your brother in law."

Still, I found myself straightening my shoulders in a useless attempt to seem taller.

Rosalie pressed herself to my side.

The man nodded. "I am Angus." He looked down at Rosalie and said softly, "It's me, daughter."

"Pleased to meet you, father," Rosalie said. Her voice was strong and clear, although I felt her body quaking like a leaf.

I invited Angus to sit down.

"Do you go to school?" Angus asked Rosalie. He looked her up and down again and again.

"I study with mother."

Angus looked around, startled. "Is she here?"

"No, she didn't want to be here," Rosalie said with characteristic honesty.

I could not read Angus's face as he considered this. "I see. Well, perhaps, it's for the best."

There was a brief silence.

"Have you had a good trip?" I asked.

"What? Oh, yes. None of my tools got lost or broken along the way."

"Do you…fix things?" Rosalie asked.

"I am a shoemaker." Angus said. "Not poor people's shoes. Anybody can learn that. I make shoes for the wealthy and I make them elegant and strong." "Angus smiled. "Let me see your foot."

Rosalie hesitated. "No," she said.

Angus looked puzzled. "Why not? I am your father, no?"

Rosalie shook her head stubbornly.

"You can pick out your prettiest dress and I'll make you shoes to match. Come, let me see your foot."

"No." Rosalie got up from her place, reached for a doll on her shelf and devoted her attention to braiding the doll's hair.

I wondered how to distract them both from their standoff. "Are you hungry?" I asked Angus. "Dinner will be served soon."

Angus shook his head impatiently. "I wish to look at my daughter's foot, so I can make her some shoes as a gift. Why is that a problem?"

Now that he looked as stubborn as Rosalie, I suddenly saw a resemblance between them. Something about their chins perhaps.

"Trust takes time," I said quietly.

Angus glanced back at his daughter and must have finally noticed the tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Forget the shoes, daughter," he said quickly. "Come. Sit here."

Rosalie came cautiously, bringing the doll with her.

They sat quietly for a moment.

"You are every bit as pretty as I imagined," Angus said.

I waited for Rosalie to frown at this. She generally frowns at flattery, as if she suspects that it might be false. Instead Rosalie attempted a shaky smile.

I inwardly praised her for how hard she was trying.

"I'm smart too," Rosalie said.

Angus burst into such loud laughter that Rosalie jumped a little.

"I like that! I suppose you know every fairy-tale ever written."

"Almost," Rosalie said.

"What's your favorite?"

"Tom Thumb."

"Can you guess which one I like?"

Rosalie got up to put the doll back on the shelf, thinking, as she did it.

"Cinderella. Because she has glass slippers and you're a shoemaker."

Angus grinned. "You are smart! May I shake your hand as a sign of respect?"

Finally Rosalie smiled a little. She allowed him to shake his hand and her hand practically disappeared inside of his.

"You know..." said Angus, "If I had been making Cinderella's slippers, they'd never have fallen off while she was running."

"They would too!" Rosalie said. "Even if they fit, one shoe would still fall off."

"And why is that?"

Rosalie withdrew her hand and wound a strand of hair around her finger. "Because that's the point."

She jumped up suddenly and said, "I have to go. I have to practice the flute."

Rosalie," I said, "You certainly don't have to practice right now."

"But I do!" Rosalie insisted. "My music teacher said!" She ran off and closed the door behind her with a loud bang.

Angus and I remained alone.

"She is a clever little girl," Angus said. "But she...I don't understand her."

"How do you expect to understand her when you've just met?" I said.

I did not add that some fathers don't understand their daughters after a lifetime together either.

Later, Angus, Rosalie and I had dinner together, while Ellis and Rianne had dinner in the servants' quarters.

Rosalie nibbled at her meat and left everything else untouched. She spent most of her time watching Angus pensively. Angus had several helpings but said very little.

I hope fervently that those two will learn to love and trust each other.

Prince Gilo