Chương 41: Chapter Thirty-Eight

Eating dinner with Trevor had become my normal over the past week. Breakfast, lunch, everything before was me and my friends. But dinner? The prince and I at a table by ourselves with the noble kids of the school eating around us. Their own cliques, their own tables. I could almost feel Auntie Lai's hand in it. But, I can't complain. Things have been going well. Mostly. Grammar was still a pain, and I was sitting across from Prince Trevor... or well, Trevor.

His friends were sitting with Beth and Stella nearby as we ate dinner to get to know each other. The conversation was going okay... I guess. I played with a noodle on my plate, twirling it around my fork only for it to escape and make a different shape in the remaining red sauce.

"Does it really matter, though?" He asked, taking a bite out of the pieces of chicken that had so far managed to dodge their fate.

"King, queen, or clan leader. You're still leading a people." I had argued, quite persuasively!, that I wasn't a princess. But he hadn't let it go like Beth and Stella had.

"I'm sure there are lots of differences." I said, putting my silverware down and picking up my glass of purply-red juice. It's tart with a sweet aftertaste. Narith had kept it refilled, while one of Trevor's friends did the same for his light yellow drink.

"We don't have subjects. We do have employees. And there's nothing making people listen to Dad."

"There's nothing making people listen to my Dad either." Trevor bristled, and I stared at him deadpan before raising my closed fist.

"Army, guards, tax collectors—how many ministries are there? And did I mention tax collectors?" I lifted a finger each time I said something, and Trevor had the decency to be embarrassed by his statement.

"We don't collect taxes." I shrugged. We'd been over the topic before and I was ready to go back to my room. Or at least talk about something else.

"But your Dad talks to mine all the time. And I know he talked to Queen Larissa of the elves after the events in Tenoth."

"That's more because my Dad doesn't move very fast." Trevor laughed, choking on his food.

"What?" He choked out, taking a sip from his glass before loudly clearing his Prethroat. I nodded, looking to the plate that still had a small pastry for dessert. I was waiting until Trevor was ready to eat his before indulging. Which was polite. Which is what Mom taught me to do. I didn't think those lessons could possibly be more annoying AFTER they had been taught than they were during. I just want to.... Right. Trevor asked a question.

"When we got into the city, your parents summoned Dad." Trevor nodded along.

"He gave it to Neera and ran."

"What?!" Trevor's exclamation caused everyone nearby to look at us. Not just our friends, but the nobles surrounding us. I tried not to hunch. If Narith saw me hunch, she would force me to have correct posture even in my room. I shuddered.

"He gave it to Neera and ran. She quickly tracked him down and gave it back." I tilted my head thinking, my left ear swiveling as someone dropped some silverware.

"I think she hit him on the head, too." Trevor was looking at me strangely.

"You make it sound like your Dad didn't want to talk to my parents," he stated, having paused his eating. I was never going to get to eat my dessert. I shrugged.

"I'm sure talking is fine. But that's just more work. And it's not like he gets paid for it."

"My pa...."

"Taxes." I stopped him from claiming his parents don't get paid. It seemed like a knee-jerk reaction. He looked grumpy and stuffed a sliver of chicken in his mouth. Swallowing, he looked at me questioningly.

"So you..." I quickly shook my enough.

"No, Boyan. I can run faster than him." He blinked at me.

"Your baby brother? The literal baby." He said monotonously. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes. My legs are longer."

"For now." My eyes narrowed at him as I stopped twirling my cup, looking over the rim at him.

"What was that?" A real smile blossomed on his face, a smile I recognized as his 'I'm starting trouble and I don't care' face.

"Lyra, are your feet even touching the ground right now?" My eyes narrowed further, enough that I was having trouble seeing him.

"You're implying something..."

"Lyra. You're short. Boyan is going to be able to trounce you when he grows up." Trevor said happily, taking the last bite on his plate. Finally!

"I hate being short. I wasn't short before my becoming. I was normal-sized."

"And now you're pint-sized." Trevor nodded, reaching for his dessert. I already had mine in front of me.

"You can always learn a spell to help speed you up some." I was nodding, the dessert having changed my mood drastically. Who cares that he called me short when I have that tantalizing combination of fruit and iced sugar. For now at least. I have to prioritize these things.

"You can always look for a spell to make yourself faster. How are your classes going?" Trevor asked between bites of his own dessert—some type of chocolate cake with a coconut-based frosting.

"Grammar is not going well." He chuckled.

"Grammar doesn't go well for anyone." He took another bite, actually closing his eyes as he chewed. Yup, that's my next dessert. It's been decided.

"I always found it strange with how intent-based magic is that grammar was so strict. It's like someone made up some rules and decided he was going to force his own intent on the world." I had stopped chewing, my eyes growing large. That makes perfect sense! That would mean...

"Miss, are you done with that?" Narith asked, having approached the table as my mind frantically worked over what Trevor had said and its implications. I quickly pulled the plate to my chest and closed my mouth, which had fallen open. Swallowing the bit of food that was there, I shook my head.

"No, no. I'm not quite done with it." I said quickly, guarding my food from my too-efficient maid.

"Very well, miss." Narith said, becoming part of the background again. Trevor was smirking as he finished his dessert.

"It's always fun watching you think about magic. You make the most entertaining faces." He commented. Priorities. I reminded myself. Dessert.

"It's late. Why did you want us here?" Beth asked as the door to my room closed and I quickly moved towards my desk in the back.

"Something Trevor said. About magic. About how grammar is weird because magic is all about intent. Except grammar. Grammar is exact. And confusing." I started rambling as I started looking through the small pile of books on my desk. I knew it was in here somewhere. Probably the spell casting...

"So? That's just the way it is." Stella commented sitting in one of the rooms comfortable chairs with a sigh.

"I'm glad that's done. The noble floor at the eatery is always so stuffy." Beth giggled saying something I pretended not to hear.

"Yes!" I said with the open book. Beth and Stella looked over. Narith was busy doing Narith things. Probably getting things ready for bed, and preparing to kick these two out. But, we still had a little over an hour before they would have to leave for curfew and Narith could just suck on a pampaw fruit until then. I held the book open triumphantly before reading a passage from the introduction out loud.

"Magic is intent. It is imagination. Can't, won't, doesn't, must. All these words have no meaning to magic. Their only meaning is to limit a student potential to that of the master, whom had found his own limits. So dream... bhla bhla. Do you know what this means?" I asked brightly looking at my two friends, both of whom were glancing at each each other nervously.

"I would rather you tell us. Because is sounds like you're going to try something that will..." Beth kicked Stella who stopped talking with an owww. I looked at the two before dismissing whatever they were doing.

"Trevor was right. Magic cares about intent. Not grammar. If I can learn how to cast with just intent, grammar won't matter! I can skip the class!" I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from deep inside as I sat the book down and moved over to one of the group of chairs Beth and Stella and claimed.

"Okay. How should I go about doing this..." I murmured to myself chewing my lip.

"Nothing that explodes."

"Or burns."

"Or smells." Beth and Stella rattled off a long list of effects they didn't want me to attempt as I stared at them deadpan.

"I'll try faerie fire." I stated blandly. I figure if Mom started teaching me magic there, it was perfectly fine to experiment with it a bit. Stella disagreeed, and her groan turned my eyes to her.

"We're going to be blind." I threw one of the frilly coasters sitting on the table between us at her. She only chuckled and tossed it back on the table.

"Just be careful." Beth said. I nodded and started thinking. Okay, now how am I going to make this work... I collected my mana like normal, but didn't draw any runes. Instead I picked up the same mana I would use to draw the runes and tried to push my intent into the mana. I felt like I was making a ridiculous face, only confirmed by giggles from Beth and Stella. The mana collapsed into itself and disipated.

"So does that mean..." Stella started but stopped when I gathered more mana and tried again. And again. The hour passed and I didn't get any closer to success. My frustrations were mounting as Beth and Stella sipped a soothing tea blend that Narith brought them as I continued to work. Do this already! I demanded as I pushed my intent into the ball and I felt something shift. Mana Integration Level Increased: 1 → 2 I cyan glowing faerie floated in front of me giving off a steady light.

But it wasn't the blocky faerie like shape that it was before. It looked like... Mom. With wings. And glowing. My eyes grew wide as I reached out to touch it only for it to dance away as though it were alive, it's cloths, another new addition! fluttered as it moved. Stella and Beth had gone quiet. Their conversation having been forgotten.

"I should have known..." Beth was nodding in agreement to whatever Stella was saying but I jumped up, to excited to care.

"Yes! It works! I won't have to learn grammar!"

"Uhm... Lyra...." Stella began to mumble but Beth provided a killing blow.

"If you don't know grammar, how are you going to understand the intent behind spells other people created?" She asked bluntly. My legs collapsed.

"But... but..."

"Lyra. You have to learn grammar." Beth stated as Stella nodded.