A/N: Anyone else having this issue with where you stop getting alerts and then everything you missed floods into your inbox at 5:45 am or so the next day? That's happening to me...a lot...
AER: As you know as an old reader, everything turns out :P
Raider: I think all the best people do that. I wouldn't call it slipping into childhood, though. I call it slipping into your imagination :)
Aubrey: If confused...this is a response to your review of Chap 5. Yeah...Ellery and Ismine were siblings. That was meant to show how the Academy affected families. And don't worry, I'm not meant to be a princess either. I can barely manage my schedule...though princesses have their schedules managed for them. Hm...
HP: Haha...you'll meet him soon :) And the rain has stopped in time for me to go to a block party tonight. Yay! (For those who didn't catch it...no chapters tonight.)
alice: We must be in the same region...or similar ones. I spent a few years living under severe drought conditions and those weren't fun either, so I try not to complain about rain too much. Global warming and weather extremes are going to drive me mad. Have fun on holiday!
Saberin: haha...I'm now editing Purpose (the 6th and final story in this) and came across my list of couples and thought of you.
Gold: The moment would come up in the Themes. Not sure I'll write it soon since my time is coming under demand again. May get some sweet mother/daughter Themes up too...just have to wait and see.
Disclaimer: I'm not John Flanagan. And still not Australian.
Scout spent the rest of her day being ushered from lesson to lesson. At lunch a grim looking widow wearing what Scout swore was a wig and burdened by twice her weight in jewelry drilled her in table etiquette. Scout knew all about manners. At home she wasn't held to a high standard every meal but there were quite a few she'd attended that required her a basic knowledge. Nerves had gotten to her the night before but now Scout felt determined to prove she wasn't completely incompetent. Mistress Helen, however, kept finding faults in the way she held her fork and how she drank from the goblet of heavily watered down wine. Mistress Helen also thought she gripped her knife too firmly and took too large a bite from the bread.
After lunch was calligraphy. Scout sat at a table with Master Donald for an hour copying letters over and over until the slope of each line was just right. After that she had poetry, literature, and voice lessons with Lady Mackenzie. Those droned on to the point Scout thought they'd never end. Her next one was slightly better. A good looking man in his late twenties who requested to be called Tutor Reyes went over laws with her. Law wasn't something Scout had ever had a particular interest in but the protocols Felipe drilled were foreign and could be of use one day. His smooth accent helped her pay attention, too.
Lady Gwen and Kelly accompanied her to each one. Lady Gwen acted as a classmate as she studied alongside Scout. Kelly stood or sat in the background waiting to be told to fetch tea or poke a fire. Lady Gwen was too much of a know-it-all for Scout to enjoy being around. When a tutor asked a question she stared straight ahead obviously waiting to be called upon for the correct answer.
Dinner came and Scout was finally free of Lady Gwen, Kelly, and the guards that seemed to always be nearby in rotated shifts. Scout took it they were the personal guard Kineta told her about earlier. Scout sat at a table with Sean and Kineta eating roasted lamb, seasoned potatoes, and a salad filled with leafy vegetables, carrots, and a tangy dressing she'd never tasted before.
"Did you enjoy your lessons?" Sean asked.
"Yes," Scout lied. She didn't like the glance her cousins shared.
"You know," Kineta said carefully. "Your mother's an amazing actress but lying to those she was close to was always hard for her."
Scout swallowed hard. "I'm sorry. It's just that all the things I learned about today have never really interested me."
"I know some things can seem a bit strenuous but surely you will happen across a lesson you enjoy tomorrow," Kineta offered.
"You look nice at any rate," Sean went on. "That flower in your hair isn't Araluen or Hibernian, is it?"
Scout shook her head. "No. It was Mama's. Emperor Shigeru gave it to her when she was in Nihon-Ja."
"Have you ever been to Nihon-Ja, Scout?"
"No. I've never been anywhere but Hibernia and Araluen."
Kineta tucked stray red curl behind her ear. "Never? Your parents travel so often though."
"They say that their travels are too dangerous for us. They bring Caitlyn and me presents when they can but we're never allowed to accompany them."
"Well, as princess you will get to travel a bit more. Does that interest you?"
Scout smiled a little. "Yes." The answer was honest this time. She'd always wanted to see the foreign places her family talked about.
Kineta smiled comfortingly. "How do you like Hibernia overall so far?"
"It's just her first day, love, and she didn't leave the castle," Sean laughed. "Give it time."
Scout was glad Sean intervened. So far being a princess repulsed her. It was a life that seemed to fit someone else. Rosalina, maybe, but not Scout. Also, Scout reminded herself, not Caitlyn.
"Very well. I shall ask again at the end of the week," Kineta promised. Scout smiled back. She liked her cousins despite their subjecting her to the princess training. They'd yet to give her a direct reason to feel negative towards them.
The next few weeks continued on about the same. Scout rose just before the sun came up to be dressed, always by Lady Gwen and Kelly. She learned her apartment had seven bedrooms. In one she slept, two were for guests, one for Lady Gwen, one for Lady Melissa, one for her personal guards, and one for the maids. Kelly followed Scout everywhere but she learned there were four others to keep up the apartment and run errands when Kelly could not. One was an older woman with dark auburn hair and the other three ranged from ages nine to twelve. The youngest, Kelly told her, was an orphan. The ten year old girl's parents both worked in the castle, her mother as a scullery maid and her father as the Head of Staff in Sean and Kineta's quarters. The twelve year old worked to help provide for her sick father and three younger siblings. Scout slipped that one a coin Horace and Cassandra had given her. It was Araluen-marked gold but gold nonetheless. The girl had been more than thankful.
Luckily the only daily lessons were etiquette and protocol. Scout rotated through languages, art, music, ceremonies, presentation, mathematics, geography, history, cultures, horsemanship, archery, fencing, general self-defense, foreign customs, and, something she was almost certain her mother had talked Kineta into adding to the curriculum, tessonjitsu. Scout found she enjoyed the fencing and self-defense. She was already fair with blades and swinging the sabre around was great stress relief. Self-defense had surprised her. She and Lady Gwen had been instructed to dress in leggings and tunics, the most comfortable clothing Scout had worn in days, and were met by a woman called Ming, something Scout hadn't been expecting. She knew women could fight. Her mother and the other ladies of the Charmed Battalion proved that but strong women outside that realm were rare.
Scout also like horsemanship and archery. It reminded her of home. Tessonjitsu made her feel close to her mother. The tessens she'd been given were far more elaborate than Lina's but were every bit as lethal. History wasn't too bad. She'd go sit by a fire twice a week with a mug of hot cocoa that didn't stand a prayer against her mother's and listen to an old retired soldier read the records of events to her. He had a deep voice that commanded attention and would often get side-tracked when reciting details. Often he ended up telling her what had happened as though it were a story rather than a lesson…like her Daideo Halt did. Only, Sir Greg didn't use as many colorful words as her grandfather used. Cultures weren't too bad. In music she began learning to play the mandola, an instrument she knew her Uncle Will played. As she learned the simple strings she wondered if, when she returned to Araluen, she and her uncle could play together sometime.
She took to wearing the necklace the Araluen princes gave her so long ago every day. She filled the vial with gooseberry wine. The small amount was barely enough to taste the sweetness of the wine. Often she saw the royal chef serving gooseberry wine to those her age. She simply liked the color it turned the glass. She also wore a tiny pendant her parents had given her shortly after Caitlyn was born. Her sister received a similar one once she was old enough to keep up with it.
One day, Sean and Kineta came in with a boy her age and her music tutor during her fencing lesson. They stood on a wall after dismissing all the servants. Once she finished the fencing tutor left and her music tutor revealed a violin.
"We have decided it is time for you to learn how to dance," Sean told her. Scout grimaced.
"Come now," Kineta laughed. "It is very similar to fencing. You just have to follow the lead of your partner. This is Nathan. He's a battle school apprentice and graciously volunteered to be your partner for the day. He's wonderful at waltzing."
Scout surveyed Nathan. He was taller than her and had blond hair and striking blue eyes. Everything about him, from his broad build to his official uniform, screamed future knight. Scout didn't like him.
Nathan bowed to her. Kineta instructed her to curtsy so she did. Nathan put one hand on her waist and with his other held hers. She nervously put her free hand on his shoulder but Sean moved it down to his forearm. "One, two, three, one, two, three," Nathan counted softly as he began moving around.
"Let him lead," Kineta corrected. Scout tried but found herself too distrustful of him.
"Act like you're fighting him and you've got to mirror his moves," Sean attempted. Kineta just shook her head. Scout became jumpy once she tried that and moved out of pattern. Sean leaned over to his wife. "She's a better fighter than Nathan," he whispered to her.
"It's a good thing we brought him to be her waltz partner rather than her sparring partner. This isn't going to work."
"I thought you said girls her age could be inspired to do better at things they don't enjoy if you put a good looking boy their age in front of them."
"Yes, well, she's not attracted to him." Kineta clapped her hands so that the music tutor would stop playing and the awkward couple would stop their poor attempt at a proper waltz. "Nathan, thank you but you're no longer needed."
Nathan bowed, obviously relieved to be released from the torturous waltz. "Good day," he told them before fleeing the room. Sean motioned for the tutor to resume the violin and walked over to Scout.
"This is one of the things you really need to learn. We don't think you're going to be a princess known for dancing but this is expected. You have to be able to waltz. Both your parents were good at this."
"Both your parents are good fighters. Lina was good at dancing but Liam could only dance well if it was with Lina," Kineta put in. "Still, he learned how to do it adequately once he rose in rank and had no choice but to learn."
Sean began slowing leading Scout through the steps. Scout found it easier with her cousin. He committed to each step while Nathan just pushed her into them with uncertainty. It was like an experienced warrior versus a novice one. Soon Sean had her spinning around and picked up the pace so that Scout could barely remember where her feet were going.
"Fair enough," Sean told her after a while. "Next time you'll need to do that with your partner, alright?"
Scout nodded. Now that she knew it was possible for her to do an adequate job she was determined to learn. Lady Gwen and Kelly came back in to whisk her away to the next lesson: Gaelic.
Weeks turned to months. Scout applied herself the best she could to the lessons. Some she hated but others she loved. She had dinner every night with both Sean and Kineta, though occasionally they were joined by a guest. She always looked forward to dinner. It was one thing she could count on to be pleasant each day. Sean reminded her a little of her mother and grandfather in his mannerisms and Kineta was like her father. She learned Kineta had been close to him when they were younger. Scout felt more and more competent every day but still didn't feel like a princess. She learned to avoid Lady Melissa at all costs. Lady Gwen she learned to see through. That particular staff member wasn't as bitter as she'd originally believed. Lady Gwen had simply been appointed to a life she didn't choose but nonetheless loved. She wanted to be perfect because dismissal would doom her to a life of hard work far away from Dun Kilty. Scout could tell Gwen wasn't accustomed to manual work even though she did work hard at her job.
Kelly became a confidant and friend. If Kelly were dismissed her life wouldn't change much. She'd simply find employment somewhere else doing something similar. She became relaxed around Scout and if they were up late Kelly would simply sleep with Scout in the ridiculously large bed. Scout liked having a friend. Kineta warned her against trusting too many servants. They liked to gossip as they worked but Kelly proved herself an outcast among the staff. Scout needed someone to trust anyway. Sean and Kineta were great but she rarely saw them other than at dinner.