Madeline stood a little ways over from the campsite, watching the colours of the sky change as the sun set past the mountain range.
They had just finished their third day of riding, travelling northwest of Glefield into the northern duchies. As per Tolys's guidance, they were following the north side of the Raevellian mountain range, which would meet with the Far North mountains at Rochosta's capital city of Bruuburn. It was there that she would attempt to lift the winter again, having the range of the spell go as far east as possible. After that, they could travel east through Vousta and likely into Ridudia, investigating the other magic that hers got entangled with.
She heard footsteps behind her, and glanced back to watch as Tolys came over and stood at her side, watching the sky as well.
"Now here's a sight that never gets old," Tolys remarked, "Having the sun set past the mountains is always beautiful to see."
"Yes, I have always enjoyed watching the sunset," Madeline agreed, "Even in my most stressful times, I could always find peace watching the sky change colours."
"You spent your entire exile here in the Raevellians, right?" Tolys checked, "Did you ever make your way to the western edges, and the coastal mountains?"
"I tried in the early days of my exile, but never made it that far," Madeline elaborated, "While I knew I wouldn't be easily found in the mountains, I was not prepared for the challenging lifestyle. I journeyed here and there for a while, sheltering in whatever caves I could find. After casting my winter spell, I had no choice but to permanently settle in the cave near Glefield."
"That's a pity, the sunset is particularly beautiful on the coast," Toris described, "Bruuburn itself is only a short distance from the ocean, with only one mountain in the way. It does take a full day to climb that mountain, but when you reach the summit, the oceanview stretches out below you as far as the eye can see."
"That sounds truly amazing," Madeline said, "We probably don't have time on this journey to fit in that detour, do we?"
"Probably not, but that doesn't mean you'll never see it," Toris assured, "Once this is all over with, you could always return to Rochosta and do it then. I'd be happy to guide you up there myself, if you wanted me to."
"That sounds nice," Madeline accepted, "I might have to take you up on that offer."
She glanced over to smile at Tolys, noticing that he was also giving her a small smile before he looked at the sky again. She couldn't help but notice the glow of the sunset shining favourably on his face, making him look quite handsome. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Madeline looked out at the sky again, willing herself to retain composure and not get distracted.
"Stew's ready!"
At the sound of Lovino's call, Madeline nodded at Tolys as she turned to return to the campfire. Lovino was serving the stew into bowls, handing the first ones to Feliciano and Arthur who were sitting close by. As Madeline reached the campfire, Lovino had a bowl of stew ready to hand her. She nodded in gratitude as she took the bowl and went to sit beside Feliciano on the log, who was chatting away with Arthur.
"So Italy has a president instead of a King?" Feliciano asked, "How does that work?"
"Many nations have presidents as their heads of state in modern times, instead of a king," Arthur explained, "With the citizens working together and forming the government, they elect these officials to lead their country for a specified term. Their powers differ from country to country, although they are primarily a party leader and figurehead for what the elected government officials want to accomplish."
"A party leader?" Lovino flagged as he and Tolys both sat down with their bowls of stew, "What is a party?"
"In terms of government, a party is a group of elected and aspiring politicians who share common ideas of how the government should run the nation," Arthur defined, "They can range from conservative agendas that try to minimize costs and help businesses succeed, while socialist agendas will invest in healthcare, infrastructure and getting involved to provide as much support as possible to the citizens. When electing a government, these officials will group together as one party, coordinating the power of their single votes to hopefully earn a majority vote on all decisions."
"And what of the nations with Kings?" Tolys brought up, "Do they not have presidents?"
"The nations that do still have royalty will have prime ministers instead," Arthur elaborated, "These are usually elected members of government, chosen as the leaders of the party that won the most seats and controls the vote. While they are the leader of the government, any new laws must still be ratified by royal assent."
"You yourself are a kingdom, are you not?" Feliciano remembered, "You would have one of these prime ministers serving a King?"
"Yes, that is the form of my government, upon which Canada's is also based," Arthur confirmed, "Queen Elizabeth II has been ruling our Commonwealth of Nations for almost 70 years now, one of the longest royal reigns in my world's history."
"There's a Queen instead of a King?" Madeline inquired, "Did she never marry?"
"She did marry, but her husband was never recognized as a King of England," Arthur clarified, "When Elizabeth took the crown after her father's death, we had just ended a war with Germany. Her husband, Prince Philip, was of German nobility, so there was some concern over letting a German become King of England. As such, he only kept the titles of Prince and Duke of Edinburgh his whole life. Elizabeth is Queen, he was the Consort, and it's her royal bloodline that their children continue."
"So they allowed a woman to rule?" Lovino checked, "Without having to declare her husband the ruler?"
"That is true, although her power is more symbolic nowadays," Arthur amended, "As I mentioned, most of the power nowadays is with the elected citizens of the land. Having a woman as the head of state, whether royalty or not, is still difficult to accomplish. One philosophy is that a ruler of the land must be both strict as a father and caring as a mother. When you level this at a woman, however, she is either not maternal enough or too soft."
"I know that problem all too well," Madeline stated, "Before the murder, the court could never agree on what education I should have as a future queen. They wanted me to learn how to rule, but they also wanted me to be obedient and submissive, whether to the court's whims or to whoever marries me and becomes King."
"I have seen many princesses face that same challenge," Arthur recalled, "There have been many queens who only had power because a group of noblemen allowed her to, as the last member of her house. This was almost always on the condition that she ruled the way they wanted her to. Even if a queen managed to rule a long time, there were always rivals who protested her rule, personal sacrifices to be made, and very often untimely deaths."
"Can you think of any powerful women who haven't faced such pressures?" Madeline requested.
"Quite frankly, women have been poorly treated for most of human existence," Arthur confessed, "It's only in the last couple hundred years that women have earned their right to not be the property of their fathers or husbands. That doesn't mean there's no hope, of course, it just means that women have always had to work harder to earn respect from their male peers. I cannot say I fully understand those pressures myself, but I have been the perpetrator of ill treatment many times. It takes time, effort and dialogue to change how society addresses change, including the respect of women's rights."
"That doesn't sound very different from here," Madeline noted, "Women are still treated like property here."
"Well, perhaps you can help change that," Arthur suggested, "If you were to address these issues and make the court hear your story, perhaps you can convince the kingdom that it is wrong to treat women in such ways, that you were justified in defending your own honour. Great changes cannot start without someone taking a stand, and you are in a position where your voice can be heard."
"I will have to explain myself when I eventually return to Primgate," Madeline proposed, "Perhaps, if you're still here at that time, you can help me prepare those arguments."
"I'd be happy to help, Your Highness."