by Aya Ling
Someone knocked on her door. Elaine was still wrestling with numbers and barely heard. The knock came again, much louder this time.
With a sigh, Elaine hopped out of her seat and went to the door. "Mrs. Wesley, I told you I won't–"
It was Bran, carrying a stack of notebooks under his arm.
"Bran! Oh, I'm so glad to see you! You're fully recovered now?"
"Sound as a bell." He grinned. "Just got the news that you plan to take the entrance exam. I didn't believe it at first, but Winifred never lies. Say, are you really serious about entering the prison camp?"
Elaine nodded. She told him how she sneaked into the University in disguise. "It was amazing, the professor didn't get mad when I asked questions, and I learned so much about our world! I want to go to the University, I really do."
Bran roared with laughter when she described how she disguised herself. "I hunted down the notes I made before I took the exam. How are you faring, cousin?"
Elaine groaned. "Awfully. I can't spell all those obscure words–why are we supposed to learn those vocabulary when no one knows about them? Oh, and the math problems are so difficult. Each problem takes more time than the last. I like math, but there's so much stuff I never knew before. My brain is completely clogged up now."
"Well, you are at a disadvantage," Bran conceded. "None of your governesses really knew much about math; they encouraged you in other areas. But it's your fault that you never studied hard for your reading, writing and history lessons."
"It could have been worse. Valeria and Ralph made me study before." When Elaine was around seven and Valeria first arrived from Amaranta, she had helped Ralph supervise Elaine's studies–by using desserts as a reward. However, now that both Ralph and Valeria were too busy and Elaine had outgrown her love for sweets, she had reverted to her old ways–avoiding studying whenever possible.
Elaine sat down and banged her forehead against the desk. If only she had paid more attention then.
"Don't worry," Bran said, seeing the dark circles under her eyes. "You can always try next year."
"I don't know if they'd let me try again. And I don't want to spend the remaining year with another governess," Elaine grumbled. "I want to succeed on first try."
Winifred entered, bearing a pot of steaming tea with Effie following behind.
"Here, little princess," Winifred said. "Refreshments for your studies."
Elaine smiled. "Thank you, Winnie! You're the best."
Bran raised an eyebrow. "You're supporting her?"
"Of course, Master Bran," Winifred said. "Anything that can get the princess out of this room. Still, I pity whatever place that ends up taking her in, the Academy or the University."
"I agree. My full sympathy for whatever institute that takes her," Bran said, grinning. Elaine made a face at him, but he just patted her head affectionately. "Best of luck, cousin. See you in the University."
Elaine buried herself in books with an intensity that surprised everyone around her, including herself. Perhaps it was the scathing comment from Sir Greenwood about her worthless brain that touched her soul. Or perhaps she was simply eager to get to the University and take classes that actually interested her.
So busy she was that she almost forgot to see James. Effie told her that the younger prince proposed to Princess Arianna, right after she received her shield, and she had accepted. Elaine was disappointed that she hadn't a chance to eavesdrop when James proposed. She had witnessed Ralph propose to Valeria, right in the middle of an enormous ballroom with hundreds of guests around. It had been such fun, especially witnessing the shocked expressions on the ladies who criticized Valeria.
Anyway, Effie had also mentioned both James and Ari would be leaving Riviera soon, and Elaine wanted to say goodbye before they left. It was so seldom that she could see her second brother. Ralph was a good brother, but she was chums with James, who shared her penchant for mischief and disregard for societal norms.
However, James came to her first. Elaine was struggling with the spelling of several obscure words and didn't even hear him enter.
"Dear god." James whistled. "You're studying. Without anyone to watch over you. The world must be coming to an end."
"James!" Elaine leaped off her chair and ran to him. He was standing hand-in-hand with Princess Arianna, both of them radiant and smiling.
"Congratulations!" She hugged him, then jumped up and placed a kiss on Ari's cheek. "Finally, Ari. I'm so glad you are going to marry James! Now he'll stop complaining how desolate he is."
Princess Arianna smiled. She was dressed splendidly in a brocaded gown of crimson and gold. Jewels gleamed on her throat and wrists. Particularly a large ruby on her finger–it must be the wedding ring. She looked just the same as any fashionable court lady, save for a long sword strapped to her waist. For Ari was a rare woman who insisted on maintaining a flawless appearance while also possessing deadly fighting skills.
"Thank you, my dear. As a matter of fact," she slipped a hand under James' arm, "James and I have come to ask you to witness our wedding."
"I don't understand. Of course I'll be at the wedding."
"We're eloping." James' eyes gleamed. "Terribly romantic, isn't it?"
Elaine's eyes bulged. "Tonight?"
"Not really!" Ari quickly said, with a frown at him. "Just an early wedding, small and private, at the chapel."
"I still think an elopement sounds better," James grinned. "You see, Ari has been called to Makani. It is besieged by sea monsters and they need more assistance. I've been researching the habits of sea monsters and will go as well. But we don't know how long it'll take."
"So he wants to get married right away," Ari said, with an exasperated look at her fiancé. "I told him we can wait until we get back, but he's too impatient."
"I've been waiting for three years, sweetheart," James said indignantly, putting on a wounded expression. "You know that a proper wedding will take ages to prepare. Surely you cannot expect me to remain unattached for so long? Elaine, tell her that a bunch of ladies have been waiting to snap me up if Ari refuses me."
Ari rolled her eyes.
So did Elaine. "Does Ralph know you're...er... eloping?"
"Of course. He's fine with it as long as we have a proper wedding later."
Valeria had really changed him, Elaine thought. Years ago, she couldn't have imagined her prim and proper elder brother agreeing to an early, private marriage.
"When do you want me at the chapel?"
"Tonight, at nine. Just a few close friends will attend."
Elaine nodded. "I'll be there."
"Will it be alright?" Ari said anxiously. "I mean, for Elaine, nine seems a bit late--"
"I'll be fine," Elaine said. She knew all the secret tunnels and passageways in the palace.
"Is everything going well with you, pumpkin?" James glanced at her desk, which looked in danger of collapsing from the collective weight of big fat textbooks. "You look tired. You're not getting too worked up with the exam?"
"Bran gave me his notes. But it's still tough, James. I don't know if I can pass. Thane looks like he doesn't want me in. I feel I've wasted plenty of time when I neglected my studies."
"You might have missed out in previous years, but I am sure you are qualified." James squatted down and placed both hands on her shoulders. "I am not the best judge of intellectual abilities, but you are smart. Smarter than I, and that's saying something. (more eye-rolling from Ari) Everyone sees you have Mother's looks, but I see that you have Grandfather's brain."
"Grandpapa?" Elaine had no recollection of the late king, Archibald Leventhorpe. He died when she was only three months old.
"He is said to be the cleverest inventor in Riviera. Remember the mechanical clock in the bell tower? It was his design, with help from Leo, the former head of the Royal Society of Engineers."
"But I haven't invented anything, I only know how to pick locks."
"And re-design cosmetics boxes," James grinned. H
e tapped her left temple. "Trust me, pumpkin, you are talented. Your former governesses haven't been able to nurture and cultivate your ability, but I'm sure the University will. Of course, you have to work hard as well–if you had been more attentive to your lessons in the past, Thane wouldn't have such a poor opinion of you. But I honestly believe that if you put your best foot forward, you will become as accomplished as Grandfather."
His words sounded impossible. Elaine was not aware of how huge an impact her grandfather had on the world of engineering, but she always heard the mechanical clock striking every day. It was amazing; she marveled how the hands of the clock would move with precision, and how the bell never failed to chime every hour. She couldn't imagine herself designing what seemed to be pure magic to her. Yet... staring into her brother's eyes, she could see that he was a hundred percent serious. And when James decided to be serious, he was almost always right.
"The only thing I am worried about is the environment. You may encounter hostility from your fellow classmates."
"I'm not going to worry." Elaine folded her arms.. "As long as I can do the coursework, I don't care what the others think. They are the ones who should be afraid of me."
"It will certainly be a novelty," Ari said, frowning. "She's too pretty to be taken seriously."
Greenwood's words about the ineptness of the female brain echoed in Elaine's mind. Well, she'd show everyone that she did have a brain. She trusted James.
"Hadn't you better go and prepare yourself for the wedding?" she said. "Even if it's a small, select ceremony, you can't go in your wrinkled clothes."
"She's right." Ari took hold of James' arm. "We're off to see Lance now. I refuse to marry this man if he isn't properly groomed."
"I cannot believe you just said that," James said, pretending to look shocked. "My stunning good looks can make any outfit look handsome."
Both Elaine and Ari groaned.
"All right, we'd better be leave," James quickly said, as though fearing that Ari might change her mind about marrying him. "Remember to write, pumpkin! I'll look forward to seeing you at the University next time we return!"
When James and Ari left, Elaine sank in her chair and played with her pencil, balancing it between her lip and nose. Numbers and equations danced before her; she still had a long way to go.
CHAPTER SIX
On the day of the exam, Elaine was pale and nervous. She barely touched her breakfast, despite Effie's efforts to force her finish a glass of milk. Even though Bran's notes were copious and detailed, she simply did not have enough time to digest them all; a process made more difficult because she had no teacher to explain how certain theories worked. James told her she had her grandfather's brains, but she doubted it was much use. Even the smartest person must struggle with material that he had never encountered before.
One of her storybooks told of a tale in which the protagonist was forced by pirates to walk a plank. Sharks swam in the sea below, hungry for fresh meat. Right now, as she slowly mounted a flight of winding stairs towards a tower room to where she was supposed to take the exam, she felt exactly like the protagonist.
At the door of the tower room, two burly men guarded the entrance. Elaine almost smiled–she recognized the two of them. Jayden and Kayden, who were twins, used to guard the palace gates. On several occasions when Elaine attempted to sneak out of the palace, either Jayden or Kayden had caught her and brought her back, ignoring her whines and pleas and begging.
"We're told to lock you in," Jayden said gruffly.
"You have exactly three hours." Kayden added.
Nervous as she was upon hearing such aggravating rules, the rebellious streak in Elaine stirred.
"What if the ink runs out? What if I need more paper? Or use the bathroom?"
Jayden and Kayden crossed their arms and looked surly.
"The supplies are enough."
"There is a bathroom adjacent to the room."
Elaine knew there was a bathroom–she had explored the tower room when she was younger–but she couldn't resist teasing them. Was it Thane, or was it Sir Greenwood, who ordered for the guards to be stationed outside? Apparently she wasn't to be trusted.
"We'll be here the entire time," Jayden added.
"If there is a problem, you will let us know," Kayden said in a menacing voice. More like: "I'm here to keep an eye on you and make sure you don't try anything funny."
"Certainly." Elaine tried to look obedient and respectful, but inwardly she was annoyed. All right, given her past record of rule-breaking since she was old enough to walk, perhaps it was necessary that they take precautions, but still, two palace guards watching over her? One might think they were guarding an ogre.
The princess entered the room. The door creaked behind her when she closed it. Then came the click of a brass key–she was locked in.
Elaine rolled her eyes and went to the desk. Three neat scrolls were laid across the surface. Literature, history, math. An inkstand, inkpot and a bunch of pencils. Yes, everything was provided. Just...the lack of windows. No doubt they wanted to prevent her escape through the window. She wondered if she should be insulted or flattered.
Elaine sat down and unrolled the scrolls, one by one.
Her gaze ran over the exam sheet. Her heart sank to her feet.
She'd be lucky if she could get three out of ten questions right.
When the three hours were up, Elaine stumbled out of the tower room, her head spinning and her eyes bleary. She didn't even bother to say anything to the twin guards; she merely gave them a weary glance and started down the stairs. On her way back to her room, she ran into Bran.
"How did it go?"
Elaine pantomimed being taken to the hangman.
"Do you know they wanted me to write out every single date of the colonial treaties made between Riviera and the Archipelago kingdoms, all twenty-two of them? And they didn't stop with the year, they wanted me to fill in the month and day as well. Why didn't they just tell me to write out the minute and second the treaty was signed and be done with it?"
Bran shook his head. He wasn't good at history either.
"I think I did a little better with literature," Elaine went on. "I'm glad Valeria made me spell out the vocabulary used in Diplomacy and Commerce. I can still remember those. But the essays were so hard–debate the advantages of lower taxes and higher pay. I think I only got out two paragraphs, I didn't even have time to write the ending."
"Oh. I suppose that's pretty awful." Bran couldn't find words of comfort, since essay-writing typically required more than five paragraphs, so he turned to the last subject. "But how about math? At least you're good with numbers."
"Noooooo!" Elaine clenched her fists and paced the corridor, her feet thudding on the floor. "You cannot believe it. They tested me on stuff I was never taught before. Like how to calculate the volume of a cube. Finding the lowest denominator for two numbers. What is a denominator anyway?"
"Lady Wesley–none of your former governesses–taught you?"
"Never."
"Well." Bran shook his head. "Looks like you're not ready for the University yet. I hate to say this, cousin, but it's probably best that you wait until next year. Even if they let you in, you will have a hell of time trying to catch up. There is way too much stuff that you haven't learned yet."
Which was practically the last thing she wanted to hear.
For the two days that followed, Elaine shut herself in her room and wouldn't talk to anyone. Winifred and Effie had to bring her meal trays. The king and queen visited her briefly, but no matter how they tried to comfort her, the little princess remained in low spirits. When the queen suggested that she try taking up princess lessons again, Elaine promptly pulled up the blankets over her head and refused to speak anymore. Ralph was not pleased ("There are worse things in life, and you cannot even get over an exam failure?"), but Valeria persuaded him to leave her alone. James had left Riviera shortly after his 'elopement' and was now hundreds of miles away
.
Once, when Effie brought up a lunch tray, she called Winifred.
"Winnie! The princess has escaped again! We have to find where she is!"
Winifred peeked in the room, a fresh load of laundry in her arms.
"Don't fret, she isn't gone."
"But she has run away again! What if she has left the palace already? What if she escaped to the city? What if some evil trafficker finds her and decides to kidnap her?"
"Then I'd pity the trafficker," Winifred said. She walked to the bed and flung the blankets away. There, curled up like a shrimp, lay Elaine, still in her pink flannel nightgown. She promptly wrapped herself up again and turned her back on them.
Effie's jaw fell. "But...but the rope! It's still by the window."
"She didn't bother to take it down," Winifred said. "Princess, it's noon. Will you please get up and eat something?"
No response.
"You barely ate any dinner last night," Effie put in. "Your cheeks will get hollow, your skin will be sallow, you'll spoil your looks!"
No response.
"Elaine."
Princess Valeria stood in the doorway. Her face, as round as the full moon, was filled with concern. Behind her, another servant carried a tray with a silver soup pot sitting on top of it.
"Let me talk to her," Valeria said gently.
Winifred tugged on Effie's arm, and the two of them left the room.
Valeria sat on the bed; her ampleness caused the corner of the bedspread to sink.
"Elaine, dear." Valeria laid a hand on the little princess's back. "Won't you sit up and have something to eat? I supervised the cook and made sure to prepare something you'd love."
"Did I fail?" A muffled voice came beneath the blankets.
Valeria's hand stilled. "I'm afraid...the results are not satisfactory."
Of course. There was no way, absolutely no way, that she could have passed. Even in math, her best subject, she could only finish a third of the problems.
Slowly, Elaine pulled down the blankets, revealing her face. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
