A/N Wow I have over 60 reviews. I feel very loved. Well I have made one
small change, I have changed Shea to Shae. I did this because I was getting
Shea confused with She, and if I the writer was confusing the two words
then I would thing that other people would too. This chapter has been a
little long in coming because I am now back in school from March break
(*tear tear*). I'm assuming that the three Anonymouses are different
people, so thanks to all of you. Chibi-Chingo I am keeping going. Zurizip
I'm glad the dominion jewel was a surprise to you. That made me very happy.
Golden Goddess you'll soon see who the romance will be with, though not in
this chap. Pen Mage, you are probably right. Goddess of Darkness (wow I
have two Goddesses reading this) thanks for the review. Ivy Dragon, I was
afraid that it might be obvious but I tried. I will at some point explain
how the different gods work. Thank you EVERYONE for the lovely reviews they
make me very happy.
Chapter XII: Years Passing By
Zira soon decided that she didn't want to assert any more of her differences than she could help, she couldn't change the fact that everyone knew that she was foreign and a royal, people rarely forgot royalty. So she began to down play the fact that she was a girl, she kept her hair up in battle style at all times, and never wore dresses. She had to admit she missed her old finery, but she felt that it wouldn't be wise to make herself an elegant lady as well as a page. Her pride alienated her from many people, and her race from others, but she had her own close band of friends. The first of these was Jasson.
Liam hated to see his younger brother talking and whispering with the foreign princess but there was little he could do about it. Jasson had never asserted himself before, but his friendship with Zira made him more independent, an unwelcome quality in Liam's eyes. Liam was the second son, and no matter what he did he knew he would never be as important as Roald. He would never rule, and his gift was weak for one of the Conté line. He was handsome with bright blue eyes and ebony hair, but he was the kind who loved power, and Zira had robbed him of some of his power, the power to control his brother. Zira also robbed him of another person.
Tobit became close to Zira. It was gradual and came from the proximity of the sponsor and the first year page. One day he realized that actually she wasn't cruel or arrogant, proud yes, but she had reason to be. Then some time later he noticed that he actually found her companionship enjoyable, welcome even. This put him at odds with his two best friends though, who for once in their lives agreed on something. Liam, often tried to make Tobit think that Zira was ugly, stupid and annoying. He didn't succeed. Falkin just got very quiet when the princess was mentioned. He did not approve of monarchists. He still enjoyed talking with Tobit but when Zira approached he would always find an excuse to leave.
The biggest Trespass of the princess, Falkin felt, was the hold she had over Duke Nealan. Falkin used to find sanctuary in the austere cleanliness of the infirmary and in the conversations he had with Duke Nealan, but now Zira was in there often, talking and smiling, and in every word and every smile he saw the death of his brother.
"You're smiling at his death," he would think. "You caused his death." He began to take comfort in exercise and perfecting his plan for a utopia. He was doing this one midwinter evening. He was in the library; ink stains on his powerful fingers, and a sea of parchment surrounding him covered in his untidy scrawl. He had just laid down his quill and was reading over his latest sheet when she came in.
"Oh! I'm sorry I thought no one was in here," Zira said startled, she looked at him and smiled, he was twirling a clump of his hair between inky fingers turning the blond hairs a midnight blue. He looked up, and grimaced.
"I'm sure this library is big enough for the two of us, Princess," he said sarcastically. She smiled sadly, and walked over to the map section of the room, in a corner there was a map of Antitheos. She touched it lovingly then the picture of its king; tears overflowed her eyes silently. Falkin looked at her in surprise, she had never seemed to him to be the crying type. She turned and saw him watching her. She raised her head and straightened her back, the cold and proud expression returned to her lovely face, but he saw tears glistening still on her golden brown skin.
"What are you doing?" she asked after a pause, "I mean what are you writing about?" Falkin started. She was interested in the ideas of a radical? Everyone in the palace knew his ideas were strange and out of the vogue. He was so astonished that he began to explain.
"This monarchy thing is all wrong," he said, then smiled to himself "I'm telling a princess this," he thought ironically, but Zira's large amber eyes were fixed on him with interest. He continued, "I believe that an elected oligarchy is the way to spread out the power," he was getting caught up in the fervor of his idea. He picked up a clean piece of parchment, and his quill. "You see at the moment the government is like this," he said, drawing a triangle. "The king's at the top and the commoners are at the bottom just below spiders, and dirt." Zira smiled. "But my idea is," he drew a trapezoid with three levels, "You see," he said excitedly, "At the top are three to six people who were elected by the people, right below them is an elected consul of about twelve. Then," he said with a flourish of his pen, "all the other people are equals. We get rid of the noble classes, and anyone who wishes can become a knight. We get rid of the merchant classes, and anyone can enter into free trade, and that way the economy can grow." He surveyed his messy sheet of paper. Zira looked over his shoulder. He remembered that she was there, and laid the paper down saying sarcastically, "Of course you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Yes," she said thoughtfully, and picked up the drawing. "With a few alterations, it would work well." Falkin stared at her.
"And would one of these 'alterations' be to keep the king and the noble classes," he said sardonically. Zira calmly took his pen.
"No, just the king. You see, Antitheos is mainly like this," she extracted a piece of parchment from the pile, and drew many small circles with lines connecting it to a central triangle. "All of the fiefs elect their own leaders every eight years. These leaders report to the king and his consul of bureaucrats. The bureaucrats power equalizes that of the king, so he or she cannot make decisions without their consent."
"That's all well and good but bureaucrats are famous for their corruption. Also, having a king based on birth is just wrong. What makes people think that just because they have the right blood it makes them fit to rule," Falkin said dryly. Zira smiled.
"When I am Queen I will get rid of the bureaucrats and have an elected consul. Getting rid of class systems would also be a smart thing," she said musingly. "Good idea. But the Antithean King or Queen isn't chosen by birth. There is," she paused, "a sign. I have this sign. I am the legitimate heir because of this. Poor Abi," her voice broke on he brother's name, "he desperately wanted to rule, but he wasn't chosen by Eimar." Falkin looked at her puzzled. She didn't seem power hungry or foolish. She seemed to be only a girl who wanted to do what was right for her country.
"Maybe I was wrong about her," he thought.
"But you are the daughter of the present king." he said.
"Yes, Eimar has seen it fit to keep the kingship my family, but it isn't always that way. Eimar sometimes chooses a peasant or a merchant. Anyone who Eimar believes is capable of ruling."
"What is the sign?" Falkin asked. Zira smiled apologetically.
"It is an Antithean secret. It is written in the book of Lore that we can't reveal it to anyone."
"The book of Lore?" Falkin was looking at her with interest. For the first time since she had come he didn't think of his dead brother. She really wasn't the spoiled and selfish princess he had thought she was.
"The book of Lore was written by our first Kings and Queens. There were three kings and two queens, and they wrote the primary laws of Antitheos. One of the laws actually is something you mentioned," she said pointing to his trapezoid, "free commerce for everyone. Just this thing has cut down on most of the crime in Antitheos. I hear that the thieves have their own sort of kingdom in Tortall. Well, having an open economy means that less honest people have to turn to crime." It was Zira's turn to be caught up in political systems, and Falkin was an attentive listener. Hour's later Tobit went searching for Falkin, and found them there in the library discussing politics eagerly. Falkin's hair was practically blue from his twirling it, and Zira's slender fingers were as stained a rich midnight color.
After this, Zira and Falkin became fast friends; it seemed a strange combination to everyone: Falkin was the radical, and she was the princess. Falkin also was one of the best pages; he was strong and talented at all kinds of weapons. Zira, on the other hand, was not one of the best; she was weak, and still. Even after Duke Nealan's bone strengthening spell, she broke many bones. Lord Wyldon soon found out many things that she was incapable of doing, but as she had said in the interview she always tried. He found out, rather to his chagrin, that she had trouble drawing a long bow, in the second week of training.
"I thought you father said you were a good shot," he bellowed at her on their first day of archery. She was trying to string her bow.
"I am, but in Antitheos we use cross bows," she said to him. There were two other pages that couldn't string their bows either. Lord Wyldon growled at the three of them to follow him, he got them all weaker bows. But the day that he brought out the cross bows Zira smiled. She easily put her foot in the stirrup, drew the string back, and shot it with ease. Even Lord Wyldon was surprised; she had shot a perfect bull's eye. Only these occasions, where what she could do and could do well shone through, kept her in training.
Her second year as a page was harder than the first, both Tobit and Falkin had become squires and moved on. Tobit was Prince Roald's squire, and Falkin was Merric of Hollyrose's. Zira spent much of her time with either Jasson or Shae. She and Shae would practice their knife skills, and Jasson would watch. It was during these evenings Jasson began to fall for Zira. Shae was beginning, even at eleven, to be thought of as a beauty, but it was Zira who Jasson watched, noting her grace and the speed that she moved her knife. Most of the other pages had begun to think of Zira as one of the boys, but not Jasson. He saw the loveliness in face and eyes. He knew that though Shae was considered a beauty, when Zira decided to dress as a lady everyone would see that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
"She is as quick as a cat," he thought, and smiled "The black and white jelico has amber eyes too." The jelico was often seen roaming the palace. He smiled to himself. "The cat has amber eyes too."
Zira spent much of her time in her cat form spying throughout the palace. She couldn't get It back while It was at Pirate's Swoop, but she wanted to learn more about King Jonathan, and Queen Thayet. She liked the Queen; she was sensible and kind. She also wasn't afraid of work. The midwinter of her second year as page she asked Jasson to introduce her to his mother.
Thayet had guessed her favorite's son's partiality towards Zira and approved. She knew that her husband was arranging the marriages of all his children, and she looked at Zira with the eye of a potential daughter in law. She liked what she saw.
The years passed. Zira also fell in love, first with Tobit. His curly hair and easy manners charmed her. He had no idea he had a little admirer. But when she turned twelve, Falkin had to stay at the palace for a year, they spent most of that year together, and his tall strong form, golden hair, rich brown eyes, and fervent ideas, captivated her. Falkin was perfect in her eyes, but to him she was a little sister, and a person of high intelligence to talk to. He hardly differentiated her from one of the boys. He loved talking, and spending time with her, though.
Another man who took on the role of an older brother was Duke Nealan. Whenever she had punishment work he requested that she would do it in the infirmary. He didn't know why, but the bandages that she rolled and the medicines that she mixed worked better that the ones that were worked on by the apprentice healers. When she became a squire it was Duke Nealan who was her knight master. He helped her with everything she needed help with, and loved her with the puzzled affection, of an academic older brother.
Chapter XII: Years Passing By
Zira soon decided that she didn't want to assert any more of her differences than she could help, she couldn't change the fact that everyone knew that she was foreign and a royal, people rarely forgot royalty. So she began to down play the fact that she was a girl, she kept her hair up in battle style at all times, and never wore dresses. She had to admit she missed her old finery, but she felt that it wouldn't be wise to make herself an elegant lady as well as a page. Her pride alienated her from many people, and her race from others, but she had her own close band of friends. The first of these was Jasson.
Liam hated to see his younger brother talking and whispering with the foreign princess but there was little he could do about it. Jasson had never asserted himself before, but his friendship with Zira made him more independent, an unwelcome quality in Liam's eyes. Liam was the second son, and no matter what he did he knew he would never be as important as Roald. He would never rule, and his gift was weak for one of the Conté line. He was handsome with bright blue eyes and ebony hair, but he was the kind who loved power, and Zira had robbed him of some of his power, the power to control his brother. Zira also robbed him of another person.
Tobit became close to Zira. It was gradual and came from the proximity of the sponsor and the first year page. One day he realized that actually she wasn't cruel or arrogant, proud yes, but she had reason to be. Then some time later he noticed that he actually found her companionship enjoyable, welcome even. This put him at odds with his two best friends though, who for once in their lives agreed on something. Liam, often tried to make Tobit think that Zira was ugly, stupid and annoying. He didn't succeed. Falkin just got very quiet when the princess was mentioned. He did not approve of monarchists. He still enjoyed talking with Tobit but when Zira approached he would always find an excuse to leave.
The biggest Trespass of the princess, Falkin felt, was the hold she had over Duke Nealan. Falkin used to find sanctuary in the austere cleanliness of the infirmary and in the conversations he had with Duke Nealan, but now Zira was in there often, talking and smiling, and in every word and every smile he saw the death of his brother.
"You're smiling at his death," he would think. "You caused his death." He began to take comfort in exercise and perfecting his plan for a utopia. He was doing this one midwinter evening. He was in the library; ink stains on his powerful fingers, and a sea of parchment surrounding him covered in his untidy scrawl. He had just laid down his quill and was reading over his latest sheet when she came in.
"Oh! I'm sorry I thought no one was in here," Zira said startled, she looked at him and smiled, he was twirling a clump of his hair between inky fingers turning the blond hairs a midnight blue. He looked up, and grimaced.
"I'm sure this library is big enough for the two of us, Princess," he said sarcastically. She smiled sadly, and walked over to the map section of the room, in a corner there was a map of Antitheos. She touched it lovingly then the picture of its king; tears overflowed her eyes silently. Falkin looked at her in surprise, she had never seemed to him to be the crying type. She turned and saw him watching her. She raised her head and straightened her back, the cold and proud expression returned to her lovely face, but he saw tears glistening still on her golden brown skin.
"What are you doing?" she asked after a pause, "I mean what are you writing about?" Falkin started. She was interested in the ideas of a radical? Everyone in the palace knew his ideas were strange and out of the vogue. He was so astonished that he began to explain.
"This monarchy thing is all wrong," he said, then smiled to himself "I'm telling a princess this," he thought ironically, but Zira's large amber eyes were fixed on him with interest. He continued, "I believe that an elected oligarchy is the way to spread out the power," he was getting caught up in the fervor of his idea. He picked up a clean piece of parchment, and his quill. "You see at the moment the government is like this," he said, drawing a triangle. "The king's at the top and the commoners are at the bottom just below spiders, and dirt." Zira smiled. "But my idea is," he drew a trapezoid with three levels, "You see," he said excitedly, "At the top are three to six people who were elected by the people, right below them is an elected consul of about twelve. Then," he said with a flourish of his pen, "all the other people are equals. We get rid of the noble classes, and anyone who wishes can become a knight. We get rid of the merchant classes, and anyone can enter into free trade, and that way the economy can grow." He surveyed his messy sheet of paper. Zira looked over his shoulder. He remembered that she was there, and laid the paper down saying sarcastically, "Of course you wouldn't want that, would you?"
"Yes," she said thoughtfully, and picked up the drawing. "With a few alterations, it would work well." Falkin stared at her.
"And would one of these 'alterations' be to keep the king and the noble classes," he said sardonically. Zira calmly took his pen.
"No, just the king. You see, Antitheos is mainly like this," she extracted a piece of parchment from the pile, and drew many small circles with lines connecting it to a central triangle. "All of the fiefs elect their own leaders every eight years. These leaders report to the king and his consul of bureaucrats. The bureaucrats power equalizes that of the king, so he or she cannot make decisions without their consent."
"That's all well and good but bureaucrats are famous for their corruption. Also, having a king based on birth is just wrong. What makes people think that just because they have the right blood it makes them fit to rule," Falkin said dryly. Zira smiled.
"When I am Queen I will get rid of the bureaucrats and have an elected consul. Getting rid of class systems would also be a smart thing," she said musingly. "Good idea. But the Antithean King or Queen isn't chosen by birth. There is," she paused, "a sign. I have this sign. I am the legitimate heir because of this. Poor Abi," her voice broke on he brother's name, "he desperately wanted to rule, but he wasn't chosen by Eimar." Falkin looked at her puzzled. She didn't seem power hungry or foolish. She seemed to be only a girl who wanted to do what was right for her country.
"Maybe I was wrong about her," he thought.
"But you are the daughter of the present king." he said.
"Yes, Eimar has seen it fit to keep the kingship my family, but it isn't always that way. Eimar sometimes chooses a peasant or a merchant. Anyone who Eimar believes is capable of ruling."
"What is the sign?" Falkin asked. Zira smiled apologetically.
"It is an Antithean secret. It is written in the book of Lore that we can't reveal it to anyone."
"The book of Lore?" Falkin was looking at her with interest. For the first time since she had come he didn't think of his dead brother. She really wasn't the spoiled and selfish princess he had thought she was.
"The book of Lore was written by our first Kings and Queens. There were three kings and two queens, and they wrote the primary laws of Antitheos. One of the laws actually is something you mentioned," she said pointing to his trapezoid, "free commerce for everyone. Just this thing has cut down on most of the crime in Antitheos. I hear that the thieves have their own sort of kingdom in Tortall. Well, having an open economy means that less honest people have to turn to crime." It was Zira's turn to be caught up in political systems, and Falkin was an attentive listener. Hour's later Tobit went searching for Falkin, and found them there in the library discussing politics eagerly. Falkin's hair was practically blue from his twirling it, and Zira's slender fingers were as stained a rich midnight color.
After this, Zira and Falkin became fast friends; it seemed a strange combination to everyone: Falkin was the radical, and she was the princess. Falkin also was one of the best pages; he was strong and talented at all kinds of weapons. Zira, on the other hand, was not one of the best; she was weak, and still. Even after Duke Nealan's bone strengthening spell, she broke many bones. Lord Wyldon soon found out many things that she was incapable of doing, but as she had said in the interview she always tried. He found out, rather to his chagrin, that she had trouble drawing a long bow, in the second week of training.
"I thought you father said you were a good shot," he bellowed at her on their first day of archery. She was trying to string her bow.
"I am, but in Antitheos we use cross bows," she said to him. There were two other pages that couldn't string their bows either. Lord Wyldon growled at the three of them to follow him, he got them all weaker bows. But the day that he brought out the cross bows Zira smiled. She easily put her foot in the stirrup, drew the string back, and shot it with ease. Even Lord Wyldon was surprised; she had shot a perfect bull's eye. Only these occasions, where what she could do and could do well shone through, kept her in training.
Her second year as a page was harder than the first, both Tobit and Falkin had become squires and moved on. Tobit was Prince Roald's squire, and Falkin was Merric of Hollyrose's. Zira spent much of her time with either Jasson or Shae. She and Shae would practice their knife skills, and Jasson would watch. It was during these evenings Jasson began to fall for Zira. Shae was beginning, even at eleven, to be thought of as a beauty, but it was Zira who Jasson watched, noting her grace and the speed that she moved her knife. Most of the other pages had begun to think of Zira as one of the boys, but not Jasson. He saw the loveliness in face and eyes. He knew that though Shae was considered a beauty, when Zira decided to dress as a lady everyone would see that she was the most beautiful girl in the world.
"She is as quick as a cat," he thought, and smiled "The black and white jelico has amber eyes too." The jelico was often seen roaming the palace. He smiled to himself. "The cat has amber eyes too."
Zira spent much of her time in her cat form spying throughout the palace. She couldn't get It back while It was at Pirate's Swoop, but she wanted to learn more about King Jonathan, and Queen Thayet. She liked the Queen; she was sensible and kind. She also wasn't afraid of work. The midwinter of her second year as page she asked Jasson to introduce her to his mother.
Thayet had guessed her favorite's son's partiality towards Zira and approved. She knew that her husband was arranging the marriages of all his children, and she looked at Zira with the eye of a potential daughter in law. She liked what she saw.
The years passed. Zira also fell in love, first with Tobit. His curly hair and easy manners charmed her. He had no idea he had a little admirer. But when she turned twelve, Falkin had to stay at the palace for a year, they spent most of that year together, and his tall strong form, golden hair, rich brown eyes, and fervent ideas, captivated her. Falkin was perfect in her eyes, but to him she was a little sister, and a person of high intelligence to talk to. He hardly differentiated her from one of the boys. He loved talking, and spending time with her, though.
Another man who took on the role of an older brother was Duke Nealan. Whenever she had punishment work he requested that she would do it in the infirmary. He didn't know why, but the bandages that she rolled and the medicines that she mixed worked better that the ones that were worked on by the apprentice healers. When she became a squire it was Duke Nealan who was her knight master. He helped her with everything she needed help with, and loved her with the puzzled affection, of an academic older brother.