Spirit Speaker

The carriage ground to a halt. 

"Yes?" One of the Royal Sentinels approached, his silver breastplate gleaming brightly in the early morning sunlight. 

"Instructor Lukas is here to answer the king's summons." Rowan handed the decree to the waiting guard, who inspected it critically and nodded. 

"Very well. Welcome to you and your master." 

"Thank you." 

The carriage resumed its advance, and for the first time on my journey, I opened the window. 

The palace gardens were as breathtaking as ever, with every flower carefully selected and placed in the perfect spot for maximum effect. 

I watched as a dozen gardeners tended to it, each of them sweating in the morning sun. 

Today was going to be a scorcher. 

A lump formed in my throat as we approached ever closer to the palace steps. I studied it carefully, my eyes straying to a balcony on the third floor, on the far left. 

My room for the next thirty years. I smiled ruefully. The first time around, I had no idea I was going to be living in the palace. 

I was essentially a prisoner for the first few months I lived there, restricted to the palace gardens. 

The king knew I didn't want to be there, and so he did everything he could, barring actually locking me up to keep me. 

Things will be different this time around. I thought to myself and stretched out, feeling my muscles expand and contract under my skin. 

I wasn't much of a fighter, but I tried to keep in shape; a sick body resulted in a sick mind. 

The carriage ground to a halt for a second time.

"Master, we're here," Rowan said, opening the door to the carriage. 

"I gathered, lad," I replied. "Thank you for bringing me."

Rowan nodded and stepped aside, letting me get out. 

"How do I look, Rowan?" I asked, pushing down the nerves. 

He furrowed his brow, looking me up and down. 

"Fine, sir. Presentable, at least. I wish you'd've worn the jacket."

I waved my hand dismissively. "In this heat? No, no, this will be fine."

"At least I won't lose face in front of the other servants." I heard him mutter under his breath as he closed the door behind me. 

"That good, huh?" I said, laughing. 

Rowan grinned for a second and then cleared his throat. "Sorry, sir, it just slipped out."

So you only meant to think it?

"No worries, lad, we've been through too much together to be anything less than open with each other."

"As you say, sir." My servant looked at me curiously. 

I didn't blame the lad. Before my royal appointment, I had been a puffed-up, arrogant little pop-in-jay who'd let his success get to his head. Rank and titles were all that mattered to me. 

Rowan did well to hide his confusion, but we'd been friends for almost twenty years, over fifty in the previous life. I knew him well. 

He grabbed my luggage. "I'll use the servant's entrance, sir." And with a bow, he was gone. 

He's a good man. I mused to myself, absently walking up the stairs to the palace entrance, ignoring the guide who tried to catch my attention.

I didn't need a guide. It was a walk I had made countless times, and my casual, almost dismissive attitude to one of the most awe-inspiring buildings in the known world must have been confusing to him.

"Have you been here before, sir?" He asked, catching up to me. 

"Why?" I asked, my mind preoccupied with my impending meeting with Lady Anna. 

"You seem to know exactly where you're going." 

We had entered the palace, and I was automatically heading to the king's office. 

"Beginner's luck?" I said weakly. 

"As you say, sir." The guide shrugged. He'd heard rumours of Academy instructors. 

"Anyway, as you seem to have guessed, the king will be seeing you in his office."

Determined to do his job properly, the servant stepped ahead of me and led me down a maze of passages until we stopped outside a simple, nondescript door. 

There was a loud argument on the other side.

I tried not to listen. It had been the same the last time. 

The princess was just as unhappy about my appointment as I had been the first time around, and she was making her opinion known very loudly. 

"But I don't need another tutor." She said petulantly. 

"Anna." The king sounded tired. "You do. Miss Rita says that you've learned everything you can from her. She also says that you've been skipping classes to play with the servant kids. 

"So? If I've learned all there is to learn, why do I need another tutor?"

"This one is special." The king said calmly. He was a patient man, and he loved his daughter. 

"I don't care how special he is. I don't want another tutor." 

And with that, the door to the office swung open, and a red-faced, fourteen-year-old girl came storming out. 

She saw me waiting and glared at me, her eyes full of venom. "Don't get comfortable." She hissed and marched off down the passage towards her rooms. 

The servant knocked politely and stepped inside the room. "Sire, Instructor Lukas has arrived."

"Thank you, Sean. Let him in."

The servant bowed and then waved his hand at me, indicating that it was time for me to enter. 

I stepped into the office. 

It was magnificent in its simplicity, with a large glass window behind a dark wooden desk. Bookshelves and cabinets lined the sides of the room, with a dark red carpet spread across the floor. 

In the centre of the room was a sitting area, with white cushioned chairs surrounding another dark-stained coffee table. 

The king sat at his desk. He was an older man with a hint of grey showing in his closely cropped beard and eyebrows. He was dressed simply and comfortably in dark silk clothing. 

I bowed as I entered. "Sire." 

"Instructor Lukas, come in, come in." The king got up from behind his desk and ushered me to the chairs in the centre of the room. "I would like to apologise on my daughter's behalf. She's quite attached to her current teacher."

"No, sire, I completely understand," I replied, sitting down on one of the chairs.

The king raised an eyebrow, a hint of confusion in his eye. 

He must have read my file. I thought, Just how arrogant was I?

"I appreciate your understanding." The king said. "I know that this isn't what you imagined when you were appointed to your current position in the Academy, but Headmaster Pyrab personally recommended you."

"I appreciate the commendation, sire; rest assured I will meet my responsibilities fully."

"I'll hold you to that." The king said with a smile. "In time, you may come to regret those words. My Anna has too much of her mother in her." 

"I'm up to the challenge."

"Have you taught many children?" The king asked, looking at me critically. 

"Not many, sire, just the occasional prodigy as they passed through the Academy, but from what I've heard of Lady Anna, she will be able to pick up on my lessons quickly."

The king nodded, satisfied. "Very well. When would you like to begin?"

"This afternoon if at all possible. There is much to discuss with the Lady before we begin properly."

"I'm sure there is. And what will you be teaching her? The Headmaster was vague on that point."

"That depends on what she's learned so far." I replied, "But I intend to make sure that Lady Anna is ready to take the throne once you're gone."

The king laughed. "You do know that that statement is tantamount to treason." He said, his eyes sparkling. "I must say, it's been refreshing to meet you, Instructor Lukas. You don't quite hold up to the rumours that have been circling."

"I would imagine not, lord," I replied carefully. I knew the king. I had served him for 5 years before Lady Anna took the throne. He hated formality when speaking in private.

I would often accompany him as he travelled the city undercover. There was a favourite bar of his at the docks where he was known simply as Mister Shipley. 

"Well, then, I won't hold you any longer." The king stood, and I followed suit. He extended his hand. I took it firmly. 

"I look forward to working with you, Instructor Lukas."

"And I, you, lord." 

He released his grip and turned back to his desk. 

I understood that I was dismissed and left the office, shutting the door behind me. 

"Shall I show you to your rooms, Instructor?" The guide asked, falling into step beside me. 

"That would be nice. Would you please inform Lady Anna that I will meet her in the gardens in exactly three hours?" 

"As you say, sir."