Maleficia did not looked pleased.
"So these...mages...believe my great-grandchild is some sort of savior, just because she survived a spell no one else has?"
"From what I understand, the agreed consensus is that her mother cast some sort of ward that allowed her to survive. According to them, she is being raised by her maternal family until she's old enough to attend their mages school in Scotland," said Lilia.
While he was no longer exiled, it would still take time for him to come to terms with things. Besides, they still had to do some...spring cleaning...of the old council. The queen was very unhappy over what had been happening behind her back. While she had caught a few things, far too many had slipped through the cracks.
She refused to let her grandson inherit such a mess, as such Malleus and Melanie were living in the summer palace for the foreseeable future. Once Malleus ascended to the throne, it would become part of Melanie's inheritance.
"When does this schooling begin?"
"From what I understand, they have a letter sent when they turn eleven. They also happen to accept applications," said Lilia pointedly.
Maleficia smirked.
"Which means that they should permit Silver and Sebek as potential students," said Maleficia.
"Fortunately I did inquire as to what would be required to apply as new students from abroad. I have two applications here for them," said Lilia. "There is the matter of the local currency, but I was assured they do have a bank that can convert for us. There is however a slight snag."
"What sort of snag?" asked Malleus.
"They're run by goblin clans. Damned if I know why the mages have forced the lesser fae into acting as bankers of all things, much less them. However I do believe the dwarven clans also have the ability to convert into local currency, but at a slightly higher rate," explained Lilia.
Goblins were a nuisance race in the Valley of Thorns and would never have been allowed to swell to such numbers as Lilia saw. He had been shocked to see the mages treat the goblins with barely veiled disrespect or that the goblins had actual weapons in their hands. It was clear there was open resentment between the two and he couldn't think of a single reason for the situation to be like that.
Maleficia didn't even glance at the price of tuition. By all accounts this Hogwarts was more of a secondary education to prepare the children for their future apprenticeships.
"Tell me more about this...Hogwarts," said Maleficia.
"Well what information I have is limited, but fairly consistent..." said Lilia.
What little he imparted did not leave the queen or Malleus impressed. From the sound of things they had done away with a lot of core classes, the teachers were vastly overworked, and the defense class was highly inconsistent at best. And the less said about the fact it didn't have any classes to impart basic skills like math, etiquette, or even how to properly prepare potion ingredients.
That was before Lilia explained what he had uncovered regarding the potions class. From the sound of things this...Severus Snape...had no business being around children, much less those who have yet to be given any instruction on proper brewing methods!
"Explain to me in detail why we should allow Melanie to attend this...school."
"Under normal circumstances, I would argue against the school," said Lilia sighing. "However after further inquiry, it was made clear to me that she must attend one of only a set handful of schools in order to claim her full inheritance, and there are certain family magics that can only be obtained after she passes the exams. The other schools are slightly better, but not by much. Durmstrang for instance is steeped in dark magics and is very much set against it's rare female students. Beauxbaton is slightly better, but not by much."
"I see."
"Furthermore, these goblin clans will not relinquish her previous family's inheritance unless she passes the initial exams and spends at least five years at one of these schools."
They didn't need the money, or anything from the potential inheritance Melanie had due to her by her birth family. It was just the principle of the thing.
"She just has to attend five years, correct?" asked Malleus.
"Five years, and that's it."
Left unsaid was the fact that if they went through this plan, Melanie and the boys would be given a crash course during the summer so their other studies did not fall behind.
Maleficia frowned.
"What books are required, and what equipment would she be using?"
Lilia provided a list. Aside from the defense books, the lists had remained unchanged more or less for the past fifty years. Maleficia frowned at the inclusion of a pewter cauldron, and a wand of all things.
"What are these...wands...made of?" asked Malleus.
Lilia winced.
"Well one of the common cores to provide stability is dragon heart string," he replied.
He braced himself for the inevitable explosion.
"Dragon heart string?" hissed Maleficia.
"As well as phoenix tail feathers and unicorn tail," said Lilia. "The wood varies, but the common three cores are dragon, phoenix and unicorns parts."
Maleficia was breathing smoke now.
"And where exactly do they get these...cores?"
"From what I understand, unicorn is collected from shed tail hairs, I have no idea where they get the phoenix feathers, and as for the dragon cores...they apparently have full 'sanctuaries' for dragons where they are culled on a regular basis. Dragon steak is considered a premium delicacy, as is dragon hide," said Lilia.
Oh boy, both of them were beyond annoyed by that. Sure, they were probably lesser species but the fact that the mages believed it to be acceptable to treat dragons as uncommon livestock pissed them off.
If Melanie and the boys were to attend this...school...then it was clear some strict ground rules would need to be put in place.
~*~*~*~
Sebek and Silver had a very nervous look on their face, as Lilia and Baul explained in clear detail about the betrothal contract between them and Princess Melanie, and how it was entirely possible she could end up with either one or both of them depending how things went.
"So we're expected to marry her once we're of age?" said Sebek.
"It's preferred, but not required," explained Lilia. "This is mostly Malleus insuring she ends up with someone she finds tolerable, as most royalty would be considered lucky to marry for love, instead of duty. You're not expected to marry her the day you reach majority."
That seemed to calm Sebek down.
"Does Mel know about this?" asked Silver concerned.
"Queen Maleficia is explaining it to her now," said Baul.
"I thought princesses had to marry nobility?" asked Silver.
"It's expected, but not the rule," explained Lilia patiently. "While noble or even royal blood is preferred, it's not unheard of for the relatives of loyal high ranked soldiers to marry into the family."
"Especially since we were part of Princess Meleanor's personal retinue and are still highly ranked in court," said Baul. "Allowing you two to potentially marry the Princess would be considered a reward for long years of service."
"It doesn't hurt that you already have a good relationship with her as a friend. This is mostly a formality to insure no unsavory characters attempt to attach themselves to the princess while she's at that school," explained Lilia.
"What if we find someone we like better?" asked Sebek.
"The way the betrothal is set, the princess could end with one or both of you. However if you become firmly attached to another, then your name would be removed and the princess would simply marry the other one," explained Baul.
As they lay in the guest room, where they usually spent the night when visiting the princess for a sleepover, Sebek turned to Silver.
"What do you think of all this?"
Silver was silent for a moment, thinking.
"I'm not against the idea," said Silver. He wasn't sure about the whole marriage thing, but he did like Melanie as a friend.
Sebek was quiet for a moment.
"I really like the princess," he admitted.
"As something more than a friend?" asked Silver.
"I don't know. I like spending time with her. She doesn't make fun of me for being loud, or for being 'old fashioned' like the other children do."
Silver knew what Sebek meant. Melanie accepted their weird quirks without question, and had never made fun of the fact he fell asleep at random, or that he wanted to be a proper knight. Sebek was exceptionally vocal about his loyalty towards her father Malleus, but Melanie had never commented on it. Instead she showed him little places where he could observe her father in peace rather than disturb him while he was working.
If they had to be tied to a female, they were okay with it being Melanie. As for the fact they might have to share her, well, they were used to having the other around by this point. The idea of trying to convince her to chose one of them over the other was too foreign for them to consider.
Lilia had also explained why they were the first choice Prince Malleus had for Melanie. Since she wasn't a full faerie like Malleus or the queen, her lifespan was much, much shorter than theirs.
Malleus refused to allow her to marry any of the usual nobles, because they would outlive his daughter and he did not want her to go through that. However Silver and Sebek were mostly human. Their lifespan was much closer to what Melanie would have.
He would rather she live a happy life with a partner or partners that she could relate to, then be miserable with those who might look down on her for human origins.
Sebek lay in the bed thinking. He honestly didn't mind being married to the princess. Silver had been okay with it after Lilia explained things to them, and that they would be permitted to have an 'out' so to speak with no consequences if they fell for someone else.
Silver by this point had fallen sound asleep, but this was normal. And after half an hour he fell asleep too.
Melanie approached the two shyly at breakfast the next morning.
"They told you too?" she asked. Silver nodded. "I had no idea Papa was planning this."
"What do you want to do?" asked Silver.
She was quiet for a moment.
"Do you want to continue on as before?" she asked hopeful. Marriage was too strange for her to consider right now.
Sebek perked up at that idea.
By lunch, things had settled back into normal for the children. Their majority was still far away in their eyes, so why worry about a betrothal the adults set up?
Some time later...
In order for Melanie to attend Hogwarts, the Queen came up with a set of strict rules.
She was not allowed to tell anyone her true identity as "Melanie Draconia" and was to attend as a 'first generation' mage by the name of Melanie Evans in honor of her birth mother. She would have gone by her dead name "Melody Potter", except all of Lilia's research proved that it would have defeated the purpose entirely.
Queen Maleficia wanted her grandchild to experience class disparity properly, so that she could empathize better with others. As this Hogwarts seemed to have an unusual emphasis on "blood purity", this would give Melanie a more personal point of reference that could serve her well in life. Something she wouldn't get if it were known she was a literal princess or their so-called "savior".
Especially since this could be her only chance to experience what life was like as a "normal" child.
Maleficia acknowledged that keeping such a secret could be difficult, so Melanie was permitted to tell select people the truth if she deemed them trustworthy enough after three years.
Melanie was also to attend a summer crash course so that her mundane and magical studies did not fall behind. This was on top of the course books the queen would be sending the children regularly. While she was permitted to relax some of her etiquette lessons, she was still expected to behave as a proper Royal.
Regardless of what 'house' Melanie and the boys were sorted into, they were expected to stick together. After all, this was their first real test as royal guardsmen and future 'mates' to the princess. If they couldn't keep her safe in a relatively enclosed area, then how could they protect her in a less secure environment?
Melanie had no issue with this set of rules, and was somewhat eager to experience what a 'normal' school life would be like.