352 Teachers and Students

The streets of Rosengate were bustling with people. The little park near the tea house gate was alive with laughter. At a table just outside the gates, the royals sat drinking tea. Kyera and clovis side by side while the Shadow Veil Emperor and his prince sat across from them. Empress Evelyn was back at the Palace for some much needed rest while Raina sat by her parents watching the children play.

The kids were no older than her as they raced back and forth. A few children sat on a chair that swung back and forth on ropes. A few were pushed by their parents, but a little girl in a sky blue dress seemed to be propelling herself by something Raina was slowly trying to puzzle out. Kyera watched her expression with a bright smile.

"Raina, if your curious go introduce yourself." Mordrin suggested seeing the child's inquisitive expression.

"Mordrin is right, that's the best way to learn. You may be a Princess my dear, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't take the time to play with other children." Mordakai offered his own support granted it was for a different reason. He wished to see if Raina could blend in with the children here. There was so much restraint and pressure at her young age. It was time to see if she still had a chance to be a kid.

"Mother?" Raina asked turning to Kyera rather than her father. Clovis honestly was a little nervous  and that sensation didn't really boost Raina's confidence. Kyera poured the tea for the four elders thinking carefully for a moment. Then, once she set the teapot carefully down, she turned to face Raina.

"No matter the birth everything with a breath is a teacher." Kyera stated rather matter a factly. Her words were firm enough to sound as though they were delicately carved in stone.

"I see…" Raina thought about this for a moment and Kyera smiles.

"And by the same turn everything with breath is a student as well. Now go learn something new and perhaps they will benefit also. If anything goes wrong come back to me and your father." Kyera reminded her gently, though it seemed to be more for Clovis' peace in mind. She smiled brightly at Raina as she was sent off to play.

"She will do well." Mordakai offered as he sipped the tea she had poured for them and Clovis smiled nodding.

"She is intelligent, even though she is less learned than her cousins." Clovis agreed sighing heavily. He could strangle himself for letting those tudors see to her education without oversite. He had been so busy with affairs of state, but now his little girl's quiet and tolerant nature has been taken advantage of for the last time.

"There are only 12 weeks till it begins. I do not know if she will have time to catch up. Not that it matters. Without the Empress Dowager my ability to compete will be significantly less." Clovis replied, a heavy sad sigh escaping him. In truth, he didn't truly believe Himself or Raina would ever return to the land of her birth. Not after everything that had transpired.

"You mean her support no longer matters because he stripped her crown?" Mordakai asked,  his voice still cold and sharp as steal. Clovis nodded sipping the soothing tea to calm his flipping stomach, granted it did very little good.