Don’t tell the stars

The return of Maester Luwen brought Remesis great relief. She felt as if a mountain had been lifted from her shoulders. Now the girl would not have to cope with all her duties alone. After all, even for an adult, a full work schedule with no days off was a hell of a lot. And she was a kid. How do you not get overworked?

Anyway, this event was just in time.

Every day, the maester would come in early in the morning and pick up about half the bookkeeping that had accumulated. He'd take it all to his office. They couldn't work together in the same room because of a certain circumstance. It's not hard to guess what… The princess continued to be capricious, and even after Luven's candidacy as her tutor was canceled, she still disliked the old man. The girl refused to study if the maester was in the same room with them.

Remesis felt terribly uncomfortable in front of Maester Leeuwen for this.

At first, she had tried not to indulge the princess's whims, to let her know that not everything would always be the way she wanted it, and she would have to reckon with other people's opinions as well. But it turned out to be akin to throwing peas at a wall. Even though Asil had obeyed Remesis in other things, this time she was like a bull. Remesis had to give in and deal with it.

After all, her grand plan to bring the two of them closer together had begun to fail from the start.

— Her Highness doesn't seem to like me very much,» Luwen said modestly when they managed to be alone together. It was only on days when Asil was away hunting.

— You're not imagining things,» the princess objected, «It's just that… Her Highness is wary of strangers. It takes her some time to get used to them.

— Really? — But I haven't noticed that she's afraid of me… It's more like she wants to kill me.

Remesis laughed innocently.

— No,» she smiled, «Of course she doesn't. If Her Highness really wanted to do that, she would have done it long ago…

When Remesis told the Maester about what Asil had gone through in the Imperial Palace, he became more sympathetic to the situation. Though at first he, like everyone else, was concerned about why the princess was acting like a beast off the chain. But, as it turned out, it was because no one had ever treated her humanely before.

It would take a little more time for her to learn how to behave in human society.

Luwen Iter sighed.

— Speaking of which… Your Highness, yesterday you never answered me what you thought,' he reminded her.

Remesis pressed her lips together.

— I'm busy right now,» she mumbled, rummaging through her papers.

— So… You're just going to ignore the summons from the palace? — The old man asked disbelievingly.

When the maester reminded her of that, Remesis felt nothing but annoyance. The official summons from the Imperial Chancellery had arrived with the rest of the correspondence last night. When she read it, however, the girl only spat defiantly and barely resisted the urge to crumple the paper and throw it in the trash.

The summons read:

«To Her Highness Asil Nara Asheloth, Princess of the North.

At the command of the Imperial Majesty, Chancellor Gregory Ardelio has the honor to notify you of your invitation to attend the Small Council on the twenty-fifth of November, 374 Imperial.

In the event that you are unable to be present at the meeting, please notify the Ceremonial Department of the Imperial Palace Office immediately.

Respectfully, Office.»

When Remesis first read this, she chuckled caustically. Especially over the last lines.

Refuse? Do they really have that right?

— Do you really think anything depends on my answer? — The girl smirked, «It seems that everything is already decided.

Although Remesis found this invitation somewhat dubious, and even suspicious, she couldn't simply refuse or ignore it. Otherwise, it could be seen as showing disrespect to the emperor. And right now, having problems with the imperial court was extremely disadvantageous for them. Alexis was probably just waiting for the right opportunity to legally get rid of his daughter.

The girl bit her lip.

She had little interest in politics before, but even she had heard of the Small Council. The most powerful people in the empire gathered in the palace to decide on pressing matters of state. From international politics to the problems of education of the population. Therefore, given the significance of the event, it was even more risky to leave it unattended.

Remesis, who already had her own concerns, had no desire to drop everything and go to the capital. Especially when it could very well turn out to be a trap. The girl did not believe: that a princess left for dead in the north could really be invited to the council in all seriousness. True, it was still too early to know what the catch was.

However, since the summons had already come, there wasn't much choice. Someone had to go with the princess and represent the north. And here was the dilemma. Remesis couldn't even mentally imagine letting Asil go to the Imperial Palace alone.

When Remesis brought it up, Luwen was the first to volunteer to help.

— I can accompany Her Highness,» he offered.

The girl gratefully accepted the maester's willingness to help, but shook her head.

— I am grateful for your kindness. But I don't think you can handle her…

The old man smiled wryly, for it was hard to argue with that statement. Given the hostility that Asil showed towards him even in the castle, it was hard to imagine what could happen outside without prying eyes. Therefore, for the sake of everyone's well-being, the idea should have been abandoned.

Remesis didn't hesitate for long. Even if she didn't want to leave the castle and leave it unattended, since this was the case, she couldn't stay away. After all, Remesis was first and foremost a princess of the north and should be responsible for her lands.

— It's all right,» the girl voiced her final decision, «I'll go with Her Highness.

Although Remesis said it easily, in reality there was still much to be done.

The next step was to break the news to Asil. The girl was a bit worried before doing so. She found the right moment and chose her expressions carefully, expecting that the princess' reaction might be unpredictable. However, to her surprise, it didn't cause any problems. The princess took the statement that she would soon have to return to the Imperial Palace completely neutrally.

— Alright.

Without asking any other questions, the girl once again leaned over the desk and continued to solve the tasks. Remesis, somewhat confused, spoke up:

— Uh… We'll be hitting the road in a couple weeks. You'd better start packing ahead of time so you don't forget anything.

— Uh-huh.

«…»

Remesis stared at his wife, who was as serene as a sea surface in calm weather.

Asil had many negative memories associated with the Imperial Palace. If not, all of them. For years, she had lived in her own family's house worse than a yard dog. It was fine if she never wanted to go back there again. Right now, however, the look on her face hadn't changed a bit, as if Remesis was asking if she was going hunting next week.

Remesis was confused by this reaction. Especially considering her usual character.

After a few moments of silence, the girl awkwardly coughed. She gave the princess a short list of essentials she would need to take with her to the capital, and the princess only nodded silently. Remesis, once again struck by her indifference, sighed.

Well, if Asil really didn't care about it, then it wasn't worth emphasizing.

— Okay… Let's get back to class then,» she gave up.

Remesis looked over the results of Asil's last test and nodded satisfied. Despite the fact that the princess had never picked up a dictionary before, she had managed to master the elementary level educational program quite quickly. It could be said that her knowledge level was now at the level of a seven-year-old child.

— You have memorized enough words and learned basic grammar. I think you'll be able to write something now.

The princess looked at her silently.

— Write an essay about yourself,» Remesis suggested the simplest task, «Can you do that?

Asil blinked and nodded her head.

— Well, good. I'll be back soon, then. Call me if anything is unclear.

Though the girl doubted that such help would actually be needed. Asil never asked her anything, grasping everything the first time. One could say she was lucky to have such a capable student.

Remesis gathered some papers to take to the maester's office. She was gone for no more than ten minutes. But when she returned, Asil was gone. The maid cleaning the office said that the princess had finished everything and had run off to dinner. There was a note on the table in her place.

As it turned out, it was a finished essay. Remesis was surprised that the princess had time to finish it so quickly.

«My name is Asil. I like roasted meat. I also like to sleep…»

The girl giggled involuntarily as she ran her eyes over these childish entries. The sentences were short and simple, built on the pattern Remesis had taught her. They all had the same structure and differed only in meaning.

The essay consisted of two small paragraphs and, as it turned out, did not contain a single mistake. The girl was about to give a grade of «satisfactory», and praise the princess for a job well done, but then her gaze lingered on the last lines.

«I have a wife. I like her very much. She is the only one in this world who treats me well. Although I don't know what the future holds, I hope she will be by my side forever.»

Remesis hesitated involuntarily. «Have… Have we been through this kind of sentence construction before?»