Hi. Sorry for the bit of a wait of this one. Not as bad as before, but I probably could of done better. I managed to before motivated and finish my homework early though, so I have time now, not really, but I'm going to anyway. Well, before my window of time runs out, on with the chapter.

Chapter 4 - Of Mothers and Languages

The riot was the subject of most conversations for about the next week before things in the palace finally started to die down. Keane wasn't sure if he could believe most of the rumors he heard during that time, especially those from the other princes. His teacher said that it was caused by a rallying group of the lowest class citizens, as well as some animas, apparently, demanding food and freedom. Of course, he didn't say it in such clean cut words, piling layer upon layer of technical and political terms. Most twelve year olds would probably be lost after about two sentences of the old noble's lecture, but that was the language Keane was meticulously being taught.

The red head wound his fingers around in his hair in frustration. Speaking of languages, the political mumbo jumbo all his teachers spoke in was miles easier to learn then a completely foreign one.

It wasn't that he was terrible at Asterian or anything. His teacher said he actually had a knack for it, apparently. It was just the grammar, he had to know how to do all the political and royal speak that was already difficult in his native language in another one. Of course, that was the whole reason for him to learn it though, so that as king he could interact with the leaders of Asteria. Most other countries he'd need to worry about either spoke one of the two languages, so thankfully he didn't have to be fluent in any more then that.

That of course didn't help with the work he was suppose to be doing now. What was the past conditional again? He couldn't even remember what the Sailandian equivalent was. Why couldn't they have easier names? He knew it had something to do with the past tense… but how was he suppose to conjugate it?

Needless to say, that class felt about twice as long as it actually was, even worse with being the last one of the day. His teacher had endlessly emphasized the need for him to study more, it was essential that he get this down. Keane had wanted to ask when, his schedule was already full to capacity. If he added anything else he'd end up overloading. Of course he didn't actually say any of that though, simply nodding and promising to do better. Father wouldn't like it if he back talked his teachers, and messing with the approval of the King was asking for trouble.

It wasn't even that he was desperate to keep his position of soon to be crowned prince. Sure becoming it had been everything at one time, but now that it was a reality, well, he'd brooded on the negative enough already. He just had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't the only one who's future depended on how highly positioned he was amongst his siblings.

Smiling at the irony and rare occurrence, he quickly ran up to his mother as she turned around one of the bends. He almost never saw her anymore, and best of all she was actually alone for once, not flanked by a few other queens trying to position themselves higher in the rankings like normally.

"Mother!" He called, making sure she noticed him. The tall woman turned around and smiled at her son, completely distracting him from his earlier annoyance about Asterian. She must have been having a good day, she didn't smile much anymore. She never really had actually, but since Myrrah's death she'd changed almost as much as her son. Almost always serious, she seemed to be on another world most of the time. Keane wasn't sure how exactly her life had changed since the other boy's death, but it was obvious to see that it caused her quite a bit of grief.

"Hello Keane, finished with your studies for today?" She asked, and the red head nodded happily. He almost always tried to act cheerful in front of her. She didn't need to know about how hard he was being pushed.

"Yes mother, how have you been?" he asked. Neither of them would probably go into much details about the past weeks, but it was great just having this time to talk. The other princes didn't realize how lucky they were to have enough time in their lives to actually see their mothers on a regular basis. Of course, it wasn't like no one was without a bit of parental abandonment, hardly anyone seeing their father, and when it did happen, it wasn't really their father. It was the king of Sailand, and they had to treat him as such.

Keane was right in that they didn't go into long stories about what they'd been up to. It wasn't really like their was that much variation in their lives anyway. They both stayed on the broader side of things, but they didn't want to push.

"Well dear, I'd best be heading back to the queen's quarters," the red headed woman declared after about ten minutes. A frown set onto Keane's face, normally he wouldn't protest, but there wasn't anyone else there to judge them right now.

"But I never get to see you anymore," he pouted. It was the first non-positive thing he'd said since they started, but it didn't seem to surprise his mother any.

"Yes, but you know how important both our duties are in keeping our positions from changing, I promise it will all be worth it. Now, you should go and rest while you have the chance," she said, and Keane reluctantly decided not to attempt anymore protests. It wouldn't change her mind anyway, when his mother wanted something, she got it.

"Alright mother. Well, have a good day," he resigned, and the red headed woman simply nodded at him before heading back down the twisted hallway towards the stair case.

Sighing under his breath, Keane decided it would probably be best if he did what his mother had instructed him. Even if he didn't complain to her, she could tell how hard he was being pushed, just like how he could tell how troubled and distant she usually was now a days.

Distracted with replaying the meeting with his mother in his head over again, the ginger wasn't exactly watching where he was going. It wasn't like he needed to, he had all the important places he needed to know memorized. It wasn't hard for him to get around the Prince's floor half asleep or completely out of it, except for the other people that tended to also walk around. This of course led to quite a few run ins, causing the others to taught him as clumsy and spacey. He couldn't really disagree though, and had that description proved right yet again as he fell back, not even sure what he'd run into this time. It was bigger then one of other princes.

Eyes focusing, he saw the distinctive bottom of a queen's dress. Quickly picking himself up, he prepared to apologize. Some of the queens could be nasty if provoked. Upon seeing exactly what queen it was though, his mind went temporarily blank. He wasn't very good at dealing with her when he was prepared, let alone suddenly out of the blue like this.

"L-lady Marian!" he stuttered at last, eyes wide as he looked up at the pale, silver haired lady. Well, everyone said it was silver, but it looked more blue to him. The strange woman was staring at him indifferently the entire time. No one really knew what was with her. Even when Myrrah had been alive, she'd always been hard to read. One of the younger queens, she quickly became one of the king's favorites, and was probably tortured promptly by the other's for it.

Now though, they mostly left her alone, pitied her even. No one deserved what she had been though, but there was something else that made the other queens let up. She wasn't a threat without a son anymore.

Finally gaining enough control to stop gaping at her like an idiot and actually talk, the red head started to clear his though, a last ditch and completely useless attempt at playing it cool. "I apologize for running into you, Lady Marian, I wasn't watching where I was heading," He somehow managed to say, the silver haired woman simply nodding at him slightly afterwards. Fidgeting slightly, Keane tried to make a quick excuse to leave.

"W-well, it's best I be heading to my room, goodbye," he managed shakily, running off before she could say anything, not that he thought she would. Lady Marian never spoke to him, and he didn't really blame her. Not only had he been one of the kids to torment her son, but then he went and took his place.

In fact, sometimes he wondered why he simply got away with only the cold shoulder. It was almost like she didn't care it was all his fault.

Freezing up, he quickly shook his head. It was not all his fault. He wasn't the only one who teased him. He hadn't meant for anything like that to happen. Maybe Lady Marian saw how remorseful he felt, and that was why she mostly left him alone? He didn't know, but he wasn't about to go and ask her about it. If she didn't feel like torturing him, he wasn't about to give her ideas.

Reaching his room, he went inside and quickly sat down on his bed. He needed to rest, like mother had said. Before he could though, he glanced over to his desk. His teacher had said he needed to study more. If he didn't get his Asterian fluent, it would severely hinder his performance as king.

Reluctantly pulling himself away from his bed, he headed towards the desk and sat down, bringing out a piece of paper and writing tools. Starting to go over how to congregate the past conditional, he tried to keep an optimistic view about it all. After all, mother had said it would be all worth it.

Done it is. I promise things will start happening soon. I hope. I always worry I'm spending too much time on unimportant things, but then I feel like I'm rushing. Once I get to the main plot of the story, it will flow better. Until then, I hope I'm keeping it at a good pace. Tell me what you think.