Chapter 21: Back to School
After aimlessly roaming the gardens, she eventually managed to find her way back into the castle once the crowd eased. Surprisingly, she got off scot-free as Frieda was far too busy with her socialising to scold her wayward daughter. Eric was also occupied with meaningful conversations with humans and dragons of the lower council about the newest sovereign. However, everything comes with a price. Irene missed an actual audience with the queen due to her misbehaviour and sulked all week because of it.
Alas, time cares not for the woes of a child and time trickled to the dawn of school. Irene wore her sky-blue uniform, topped with a hat over her blond head. The impending idea of school brightened her features as she was excited to meet her friend, Pauline, who she's neglected for a while now thanks to her gardening job with Everett, the coronation and her newly formed friendship with the red-headed beauty.
The little girl bounced off the carriage and stormed into her class with delight, ignoring the vexed mutterings of other noble girls.
The funny thing about hierarchy is the rigidness and its criteria. As young dragons had their own specialised schools, humans were pitted against each other here. Her father was the highest ranking human, so Irene sits at the top throne. She's expected to be the epitome of class, beauty and academic excellence, yet she...
Well, suffice it to say, she fulfils them all half-heartedly. If one were to rank her beauty, it would be like ranking the prettiest flower among a variegated bouquet of flowers. Each flower is beautiful in its own way, and each had its own flaws. On the other hand, whatever remaining class she had was taken over by her bruteness and straightforwardness. There was not a hint of aloofness, and arrogance came in the form of hot-headed bull-headedry. Her academics were all-rounded... in the form of actual zeroes on most of her papers.
She could speak, but she spent little time reading and writing, opting to run around and engage in sword practice instead. Frieda's blood pressure was as high as the sun over the tallest mountain peak, but Eric repeatedly doused her with a bucket of cold ice by reminding her that it was normal for Irene to mess around as a child. Being the little tyrant that she was, she immediately sided with her father and agreed that she will study when she was older.
Whether that time will come, no one knows. For now, Frieda has raised her hands in resignation.
X
"Pauli!" cried Irene. A pair of ivory arms twisted around an unsuspecting Pauline with the force of Zeus, causing the brunette to choke in response.
"Good day to you too, I've missed you so!"
With practised ease, Pauline reversed their positions so she could return the hug and heave a breath of air. "Irene, I've told you many times not to aim for my neck like that!" she chided.
Pouting, Irene buried her face into Pauline's neck and wailed, "No!"
"Quiet down!" admonished a fellow classmate, who had his nose in a book before Irene started their regular routine. His glare did little to dampen Irene's excitement as she tugged her friend to sit beside her. Her rosy lips were already moving at the speed of light.
"I saw the queen, full-on. Oh, she was beautiful, like everything you said. Her wings stretched so wide for her size, I think she could wrap me whole!" Irene gushed.
Pauline smiled good-naturedly at her friend's enthusiasm and held her tongue as Irene continued, "The raindrops, they were like rubies. A warm rain shower felt so cool. OH, she flew, thiiiiis high!" Irene suddenly got to her feet and pretended like her arms were wings. Her mary jane shoes clicked against her wooden chair as she twirled around. Her silver eyes were gazing at something that wasn't there as she relived the coronation, the night of the New Moon. In her starstruck eyes, the silhouette of the queen cupping the moon between her wings was something that she would worship daily if she could.
"Miss Wincott!" there was a loud crash following the scream by their horrified teacher, Madam Bernadette. Irene scrambled, very ungracefully, one might add, down to her seat as if nothing happened.
Luckily for her, Madam Bernadette decided her coffee wasn't enough to power through another lecture involving the infamous Miss Wincott at 8 in the morning, so she was off the hook. Right before their lesson started, Pauline leaned over towards Irene with their textbook in her hand covering her face.
"I was there too, I think the queen is really cool too," she whispered.
Irene's gratitude made the light in her eyes dazzle. It was enough to motivate her to behave for the rest of the class.
X
"We will stop here for today," said Madam Bernadette. She closed the book in her hands with a soft thud and readjusted her glasses. Irene stretched across the table like a lazy cat, seemingly oblivious to the strangeness around their teacher's statement. Meanwhile, Pauline, who remained in her prim and proper position, was quietly expressing her confusion with a pair of blinking eyes.
"I will be dismissing you soon, but before that, I need to inform you of a project. Yesterday, our new monarch, Her Majesty Queen All-Ayudia Azule, was crowned queen, I'm sure all of you were present during the coronation."
Naturally, that sparked a buzz of excitement among the children. Whispers intensified as they started chattering about it, and naturally, there were some whines from those who didn't get a clear view.
"Hush, settle down," said Madam Bernadette, whose hand was petting the air as if to physically calm their hyperactive discussions. "I want you all to create a piece, anything, to signify the importance of that event to you. A coronation is extremely rare for us to witness, for those of you who went and saw it, it is a piece of priceless history. As you are all aware, dragons live longer than humans, hence it is extremely lucky that we were able to take part in celebrating the rise of a new monarch. To add to that, Her Majesty is actually the youngest monarch to have ever sat on the throne."
Again, the children erupted with talks more animated than a flock of birds in the early morning.
"Teacher! I have a question!" said Pauline.
Madam Bernadette glanced over the crowd and gave Pauline permission to speak.
"What do you mean to create a piece? An essay, a physical thing, or something?"
"A very good question from Miss Kinstone," Madam Bernadette's face revealed a doting smile upon one of her most favourable students. "Yes, you are right. It can be anything, from an essay, or a drawing, to a physical object like a tiny carving of Daijaya's Imperial Crest. You may make use of our national anthem, our flag colours, anything, as long as the symbolism and meaning are there. You'll have to present your creation at the front of the class by next week."
Almost immediately after she finished her sentence, the school bell rang.
"And that is it for today, thank you class."
X
Within the castle, a young monarch sat listlessly by the balcony. Her scones and tea remained untouched, and her back was slouched unceremoniously across the table. Her sharp nails picked at the scone-like its very existence did something to irk her.
The servant watching felt a drop of sweat slithered down his back as the oppressive aura from the queen intensified with each passing minute. Megat sighed to himself and wondered why was it he again that got stuck with this job.
"... you think?" Mumbled the queen. The words earlier were too soft for Megat to hear, even with his dragon ears.
"Sorry, this servant couldn't hear just now-"
"I said, it's good weather today, isn't it?" The queen didn't so much as snap, instead, she drawled out her words. Her nails pierced into the scone, causing the crumbly bits to fall onto the plate.
"Yes," said Megat. For the first time since he started serving her, he smiled. "Perfect for swimming."
The queen cocked her head. "What do humans do, on a good day like this?"
Megat scratched his head and tried not to flounder on his answer. "They are at work, most likely." It was well-known that humans were always bustling about and were always busy.
"Even the young ones?" Asked the Queen.
"If they are old enough, they might be at school."
Silently, the queen stared at her rippling reflection in the honey-coloured tea. Her restlessness was getting the better of her, and she had been away far too long. "Inform whoever wants an audience with me later today that I am unavailable," she declared. The dragon left the table with a newly invigorated spirit that showed in the perkiness of her wings.
"And the scones, Your Majesty?" Megat dared to ask another question.
The queen measured a look at the goods and said, "You may give these to whoever wants them. And, if there's extra, pack me some for on-the-go. Oh, and make sure there's already jam in there."