Her Rightful Place

27: The Reply

To Her Royal Highness the Princess Mireille of Vyrunia, may she be happy, healthy, and prosperous,

I hope that you are doing well and even thriving despite the strain that your lessons must place on you, and that your parents and household are also in good health and good humor. From what I can tell from your letter, you have gained much from your lessons in Vyrunian and calligraphy, for there is nothing I can teach you of grammar and as for your hand, you have only to see mine to know that your own is far superior.

I must admit that your formal style of writing caught me off-guard at first and, while I certainly understand if you must use our correspondence to practice for your lessons, I would much prefer that henceforward we write in a more informal style, provided that you would not take offense at such a thing. I think we are rather more acquainted than formal written language suggests and ought to remedy that discrepancy.

Things are going as well as they can be in Mordalce under my mother's rule. The Duke and I do indeed spend much of our time freeing servants she has wrongfully imprisoned or sentenced to torture. He spends far more time in such endeavors than I do, however, for I have duties to meet with the Royal Advisers regularly and handle all of the business of governing that is too dull or difficult for Her Majesty. I do not mind this much, for I am always grateful for a chance to prepare to rule my people, as is my right and my dearest desire. But I will not write of such things now, for there is nothing to be done at present about the unfortunate situation in which my kingdom currently wallows.

As for your questions about pranks to play on your tutors, it will please you to know that I was quite the troublemaker when lessons were my chief occupation. My tutors were also unbearably dull and I took great delight in setting pins in their chairs, writing my essays entirely backwards or in other languages than that which was assigned, and replacing their ink-water with vodka or other strong drink. I know not what other of my pranks would be helpful for you, as my lessons differed quite a bit from yours. As you know, there is no religious instruction in Mordalce whatsoever, and my riding lessons took place outside the walls of the palace compound, so I would frequently get myself, my instructor, and whoever else came along lost in the Great Woods just beyond our castle to the north, on the way to the Great Northern Waste. But I suspect that, as a Princess, you are confined to the palace grounds, which is most unfortunate. Explore whenever you can, for indeed that was my favorite respite. Your roof sounds lovely, and I do hope that on some occasion you will have the opportunity to show it to me.

Likewise, I hope to have the opportunity to show you all of my favorite places in this palace, which also abounds with secret passages and hidden rooms. I suspect that my mother does not know of most of them, else she would have remodeled them with her usual lack of taste and refinement. The hidden parts of our palace are the most beautiful, which I suspect is quite different from your home, from what I have seen of it.

But I digress. An opportunity for you to come here has arisen in the form of the resurrection of our Midsummer's Eve Ball, which I dearly hope you will be able to attend. It will occur roughly two months hence here at Cloiche Fuar. The official invitations should arrive the same day as this letter. You and your family are to be our guests of honor. Of course, our parents will have their hearts set on the treaty and betrothal they care so much about, but such pressures will not be for us. With any luck, we will be able to avoid most of the diplomatic matters, and I will prove to be a better dancing partner than those you have had for lessons.

Alas, the hour is late and I have had a long day of arguing with my mother over the usual business and the arrangements for the ball, so I must cut this letter short. I wish you all the best of luck in your lessons. I am certain that you tolerate them with great grace and only learn those things which you deem important. Do they permit you to practice your trade at all? I hardly see how you would have time, from the schedule you described, but I know how much it means to you. Tell Christelle that the Duke is displeased by her infidelity, though he would never admit as much himself. And I look forward to hearing of whatever antics the two of you no doubt been up to since your last letter.

Yours truly,

Xavier