When Your Feathers Flutter Down to Me

Chapter One: The Princess And Exile

"N-No... miss," the attendant meekly replied. This marked the seventh time she had been slapped since being hired.

"Tch," Elisia clicked her tongue as she began walking away. "What a useless commoner. You might as well be one of those things out in the slums with how stupid you are."

After insulting her attendant, Elisia made her way inside the palace. "Now, let's see..." she murmured to herself. "Perhaps I should check on the progress of my new bill." This was something of a hobby for Elisia. She enjoyed coming up with new bills and laws for the kingdom. Of course, they did little to benefit the citizens. In fact, all of the bills Elisia came up with solely benefited either her or the royal family. While the paperwork necessary was a bit of a pain, it was always worth it in the end if Elisia got what she wanted.

This time, she had come up with quite the scheme. The logistics were a bit complicated, but that was by design. It needed to be complex so not even an educated commoner could see through it, and maybe not even nobles. Why did the princess's plan need to be so elaborate? The answer was simple. What she was doing was for no one except herself.

In essence, the law she was proposing was a new tax. It was called a "well-being" tax, which would tell the citizens to pay 10 percent of their current income directly to the treasury. This seemed like a ludicrous idea at first, considering how many taxes the citizens were already paying, but Elisia had planned for the potential backlash. The idea was that they'd pay the treasury, then the treasury would turn around and invest that money in all sorts of things that were beneficial for the citizens. That included anything from widely-used establishments such as bathhouses to a citizen who just needed a little bit of financial help. When Elisia had given that explanation to the lawmakers, it had only taken them a second to decide it was a wonderful idea.

But, what most of the lawmakers didn't know was that it was all a lie. Yes, the citizens would be paying the treasury, but the treasury would then be giving that money straight to Elisia. Then, she would take that money and use it to build her own new lavish personal wing to the palace, set with every amenity she could think of. The thought of such a haven filled her with bliss.

Entering the chambers of the lawmakers, Elisia paraded in and marched straight toward one man in particular. Each step she took clacked loudly along the marbled floor, drawing the attention of all the other lawmakers she passed by. "Look, it's the first princess," one of them murmured. "Is she here to make us pass something else?" another wondered.

Once Elisia arrived at the desk in the back, she stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Hello Aren," she said to the man sitting in front of her.

"H-Hello, Princess Elisia," the man named Aren said, his voice trembling. This was the man in charge of enacting law and order upon the kingdom. He held great power and sway, and none could match his knowledge of legal systems. However, despite his reputation and position, the man himself was something of a coward. His hunched-over posture and small spectacles helped to contribute to his small personality, along with a receding hairline due to the stress of having to deal with royalty on a near-daily basis.

"So, what can I do for you today?" Aren asked.

"I need you to pass that tax we discussed the other day," Elisia commanded.

"O-Oh... right. Well, as I told you then Princess Elisia, w-we can't really do that... it's practically robbery of the people. I-If they ever found out what the tax was really for... oh, the thought alone threatens to give me an ulcer..." Aren, being the one in charge and as smart as he was, was the only one who knew what Elisia was really doing.

"Hmph. Lowly as always Aren," Elisia scoffed.

In the Kingdom of Endrelta, there were two ways laws could be passed. The first was by