Time:
Late Morning
Age: Elira – 6 years, Kael – 3
years
The Eastern Study Hall had always existed beyond
Elira's reach.
Until today.
Sunlight filtered through tall lattice windows,
illuminating polished floors and long wooden desks arranged with deliberate
symmetry. Elira walked in silently, her steps measured, her hands folded just
as she had been taught by watching others from afar.
This was not her first lesson.
It was her first official one.
"Second Princess Elira," Lady Mereth announced
calmly. "You will sit here."
The seat was neither central nor distant. It was
placed where every movement could be observed without granting prominence.
Elira bowed. "Yes, my lady."
She sat without hesitation.
That alone drew attention.
The noble children present glanced at her—some
curious, some doubtful. She felt their questions without hearing them. Why now? Why her? Elira did not answer with
words. She answered with stillness.
Lady Mereth began the lesson with court conduct. Elira mirrored every
instruction precisely—not ahead, not behind. She did not seek approval. She
sought accuracy.
Accuracy invited fewer corrections.
Halfway through the lesson, the doors opened.
Everyone stood at once.
The Eldest
Princess entered, dressed in imperial blue, her presence practiced and
unchallenged. She smiled politely at Lady Mereth.
"I will observe," she said. "Please continue."
She took a seat near the windows.
Elira stood and bowed at the same time as the
others—no faster, no slower.
When the lesson resumed, the air changed.
Elira felt it immediately.
The Eldest Princess watched her—not with
hostility, but with interest. Elira responded by lowering her gaze slightly,
softening her posture, making herself smaller without appearing uncertain.
It was a deliberate choice.
When asked to recite a passage on imperial
etiquette, Elira spoke evenly. Her voice did not tremble. She did not
embellish.
"Well memorized," Lady Mereth said. "But
cautious."
"I wished to be correct," Elira replied quietly.
The Eldest Princess's eyes lingered on her a
moment longer than before.
After the lesson, as the children dispersed,
the Eldest Princess approached.
"Second Princess," she said gently.
Elira turned and bowed. "Elder Sister."
"You learn quickly," her sister said. "I
expected you to struggle."
Elira paused—not long enough to seem hesitant.
"I watched," she said simply.
The Eldest Princess smiled, though something
unreadable passed behind her eyes. "Then we may learn together."
"If permitted," Elira replied.
The answer was neither acceptance nor refusal.
Later, in the outer courtyard, Kael waited
beneath a tree, wooden practice sword resting beside him.
"They noticed you," he said immediately.
"Yes," Elira replied, sitting beside him.
"They measured me."
Kael frowned. "That means they will compare."
"I know," she said calmly.
Kael studied her face. "You didn't push back."
"No," Elira said. "Power isn't used by
resisting every time."
Kael's eyes sharpened. "Then when?"
"When they believe they already understand me," Elira replied.
She looked toward the palace halls—toward the place she had never belonged
to, yet could no longer avoid.
For the first time, Elira understood something clearly:
Being seen was dangerous.
But being misunderstood—
That could be useful.
And so, at six years old, Elira learned her first true lesson of power:
Not how to stand above others—
But how to stand exactly where they expected her to be.