"So you just pick the person you like best?" Krel asked, nose crinkling slightly.

"That's an extremely simplified way of putting it but yes," Ophelia said.

She'd been trying to explain American Politics to the two exchange students Toby had dropped off at her house and was starting to reach the end of her rope. It seemed that the students, Aja and Krel Tarron, were from some form of monarchy with a fairly rigid caste system. She would have to look up Cantaloupia after they left. Hopefully some research on what they were coming from would help her to better deal with their questions in the future.

"But I don't understand… How do you know you're picking the right person? I mean you certainly wouldn't want someone with no training. Like what if the janitor decided to run?"

"Well… I doubt that would happen, but if the janitor won an election, I have no doubt they must have had something worthwhile to offer." Krel opened his mouth with a frown and she held up a hand to stop him from interrupting. "Yes, we do get unqualified people in office, quite a few in fact," Ophelia had dealt with far too many entitled jerks over the years, to have any illusions to the contrary. "But it also allows us to have a chance to change things without bloodshed."

"I suppose I can see your point," Krel acquiesced. "But it still seems to me that having someone who has been trained from birth and whose family has clearly proven capable of ruling would be far superior."

Aaaannd they were back at square one. Ophelia clamped down on the urge to pull her hair in frustration. She took a breath and let it out slowly. These were teenagers. They honestly did want to understand but it only made sense that they would cling to what they'd grown up with. Educate don't alienate, she told herself.

"Okay, I see where you're coming from, but what if you get someone in power that doesn't care about the interests of the people?"

Krel gave a sort of incredulous laugh.

"But it's only natural that w- they should care about their people. It's their purpose."

"But, hypothetically, what if they don't," Ophelia pushed.

Krel frowned. Aja leaned forward where she was lying sprawled on the stairs. While she had not said much since this particular conversation had started, she had been listening with interest. She seemed especially intent now.

"I suppose their advisors would have to rein them in."

"And if they didn't listen to them?"

There was a long pause as he mauled the question over.

"Well… I… I don't know," He finally admitted. "I just can't see that happening. I certainly can see them disagreeing on how to best care for their people… but to not care at all…"

He and Aja exchanged an oddly heavy look.

Ophelia wondered, not for the first time, what had brought them to Arcadia.


Author Note:

From a prompt on Tumblr.

Given their parent's emphasis on their station and the fact that Acaridians apparently worship their royalty I figure they haven't given much thought to what would happen if the royal was a bad ruler. I wouldn't be surprised if any bad incidents in the past were covered over.