The Great Hero is a Schoolteacher

The princess took me to a small office of the second floor. The office was probably not hers, given its small size and lack of decoration. The walls were simply painted light green, and the window had a view over the flower garden and the brick façade of the Royal Sword Academy. She nodded at a servant who closed the door behind us.

“You will not kill Kossi!”

“I won’t kill Kossi!”

Both of us had talked at the same time. We stared at each other for a moment, puzzled at our synchronicity, and then we giggled. Princess Nigella’s face now looked less distressed. She glanced at the window, then she showed me the desk and chairs.

“It feels good to understand I have an ally in this council. Sit down, Al, and first of all, let me explain why Saegorg believes he should be king of Brealia.”

Good. I was wondering about that.

I took a seat. Unlike me, Princess Nigella just leaned on the wall next to the window, her crown reflecting the light from outside. She looked into the distance while she talked.

“The story begins generations ago. You may have heard of King Lexas, my great-grandfather.”

“Indeed. I heard the name, and I had a stroll through Lexas Gardens, too.”

She smiled. “His grandfather’s name was Esthar, just like my father. For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to this king of old as Old Esthar. Are you all right with it?”

I nodded. “No problem. In my world, too, royals are often named after their ancestors.”

She looked at me and sighed.

“Old Esthar, like many kings, had a mistress. He even had several of them over the years. But I will only focus on one of them: Maitura, Maitura Ordonbadet. She was a remarkably clever woman who gained considerable influence, becoming some kind of power behind the throne.”

Princess Nigella could have talked of that woman with admiration in her voice. Instead, she looked and sounded uncomfortable. She even shifted her position against the wall.

I frowned. “Isn’t that a good position?”

“Not good enough for her. Old Esthar’s wife, Queen Rothilde, was of lower birth than she was, and she began to think that she, Maitura, should have been queen consort in her place. That feeling became an obsession when she found out she was expecting.”

Oh, now it gets interesting.

“The king’s child?” I asked.

“We will never know, but it was quite probable.” Nigella shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. “So Maitura tried to poison Queen Rothilde. She paid a cook to add arsenic to her food, but the cook denounced her.”

“After accepting her money?”

“What do you think?”

We both smiled. Of course, they’d taken the money first and blown the whistle later. I looked around us, at the beautiful light green paint on the walls. Speaking of arsenic…

“At her trial,” Nigella added, “Maitura Ordonbadet claimed that she was within her rights. She was only securing a position she deserved, and the king would have married her after his wife’s death.”

Ouch! This story sounds like a true crime podcast with a criminal who committed murder out of delusion. But how does it connect to the current situation?

The princess waited for me to stop cringing before she went on.

“Of course, Maitura’s arguments did not convince anyone. However, her pregnancy saved her life. Although she was convicted of high treason, she was only banished and brought to the north border, up in the mountains.”

“Let me guess: she settled in Inabar, married the local lord, or became the local ruler herself, and fed her offspring the delusion that they should have ruled Brealia.”

“Exactly. She had a fortress built in Malo, overlooking a high cliff, and she ruled over Inabar for the rest of her life. The family has had claims over the Brealian kingdom ever since. Maitura’s child was older than Queen Rothilde’s eldest, so every once in a while, an Inabarian lord claims their due.”

“Did they ever declare war?”

Princess Nigella shook her head.

“Never. Apart from the occasional threat, ever since Maitura Ordonbadet became ruler of Inabar, there was no concrete action against Brealia, until today. Kossi’s revelations and ultimatum took us all by surprise.”

I bet they did! And Nigella remains exceptionally calm, for someone who’s threatened with a forced marriage. She may look shy, but she’s really strong, once you scratch the surface.

Princess Nigella moved away from the wall and put a hand on the back of a chair.

“That was my story, Al. Now you know why Lord Saegorg of Inabar believes he should be on my father’s throne. How he subdued Kossi, however, is a mystery.”

I nodded.

“But we both refuse to kill Kossi, as your father would have me.”

“He deserves none of this! We must devise a way to save him!”

Now there was panic in her eyes. She keeps cool when facing forced marriage, but murdering her dragon uncle is too much for her. My shoes are uncomfortable enough right now, but I still wouldn’t like to be in hers.

I straightened on my chair.

“You know Kossi better than I do, Princess. Do you have a plan, an idea, anything?”

“Not yet. Do you?”

“As a matter of fact, I might. May I have something to write on?”

Bold hope brightened the princess’s face. She leaned before the desk, opened a drawer, and handed me a sheet of paper, ink, and a dip pen.

My memory of the pattern on Kossi’s neck was a true miracle. I could remember every detail of it, and it didn’t take me long to reproduce it with ink. Then I pushed the paper to the other side of the desk, where a curious Nigella stared at it. She squinted. She turned it to the side. Then she looked up at me.

“What is it?”

I pointed at my own nape.

“Kossi had this on the back of his neck. It was slightly glowing and he kept touching it, either because it felt unpleasant or because he wanted someone to notice it.”

“And you did.” Her cheeks turned pink with excitement. “I did see he often put a hand behind his neck, but I failed to notice the symbol, so I assumed he was simply feeling uncomfortable.” She took another look at the paper. “Are you sure it looked exactly like this?”

I nodded. An angel granted me a miracle.

“I used a little personal trick to remember it with precision, so I can assure you it’s the exact same pattern as the one on his neck. Do you know what it is?”

She put the paper on the desk and took another long look at it.

“I am afraid not, Al. It looks like a magic glyph, but I cannot tell if it really is one, let alone what kind of magic it contains. An enchantment of sorts, I suppose.”

“I trust you, Princess. My knowledge of magic is terribly limited.”

I’d feel less ignorant if spells worked the same as in D&D, but now that I know they don’t, my student years are no use to me here.

Princess Nigella pursed her lips. “It is odd. A wizard strong enough to subdue a dragon should be able to cast a spell that does not leave a visible mark.”

“I suggest we worry about it later. What matters is that we have a lead now. What should we do next? Should we ask the Senior Magi about the symbol?”

Nigella waved her hand over the desk.

“No, no! They are involved in the military operation and they could tell my father about our plan. There was a vote and, by custom, we should not be going against it.”

“Isn’t King Esthar an absolute monarch?”

She glared at me.

“My father respects his council and knows what it costs to go against custom. This is too important. He will abide by the vote.”

Of course. He may have power, and he may be a stubborn king, but there are still rules.

“I understand, Princess Nigella. I’m sorry for doubting your father’s integrity. But what do you suggest?”

She folded the paper.

“Here are my orders as crown princess, Great Hero Al. I put up a brave face and I pretend to go along with King Esthar’s plan. In the meantime, you go to the University of Magic Arts, you search their library for the symbol you saw on Kossi’s neck, and you report to me tonight. Then we will devise a plan.”

She’s standing up to her dad. Good. It’s too early for her to do it in the open, but the more I know this girl, the more I like her.

“I will do as you ask, Princess. Only, I don’t know where to find the University. Can you give me directions?”

She sighed. “The best way for you to get there would be to go with an escort. Who were you with when you visited Lexas Gardens?”

“A cadet from the Royal Sword Academy, named Chess.”

It’s a small lie, but it’ll do.

“Chess…” she repeated. Her blue gaze became distant, some elusive sorrow wiping all traces of smile away from her face. “They were a friend of Sorosiel’s. The two of them were very close, they would spend hours practicing their sword skills, and then chatting about all kinds of subjects. Chess was left to themself after the accident.”

“A little bit like you?”

She shook her head. “I was never truly alone. My brother’s death brought new responsibilities upon me and canceled my engagement to Prince Rory of Niras, but I was always surrounded with teachers and advisors and courtiers trying to get my favors. Chess, on the other hand, lost their friend and protector, with no one to take over from there. I heard they are a good student, however, and if they can be as loyal to you as they were to Sorosiel, they might become your best ally.”

“Should I go to the Academy and ask for them, then?”

Princess Nigella stood up.

“We will act more subtly. We will tell my father you accept to participate in the operation, but you need someone to protect you, and I will suggest Chess’s name. Besides, we still do not know whether you have magical abilities. If you have to be the one who defeats the dragon, for the sake us all, you should take tests as soon as possible. The best place for it is the University of Magic Arts. So we will get Chess to bring you there this afternoon. What do you think, Al?”

Wow. She devised it all on the fly. She really is good.

I smiled. “To be honest, Princess, I wish I’d have come up with it myself.”

As I stood up to follow her, she blushed a little.

“This is nothing, really. I know my father. You, on the other hand, have been among us for under two days. You have everything to learn and hardly any time to do so. I wish your summoning had been a better time for us all.”

Princess Nigella took a step towards the door, and then stopped.

“Before we leave, I forgot to ask you if you have anything to add.”

“No, I mean, yes.”

I pointed at the light green walls around us.

“If you allow me one totally unrelated digression, your mention of arsenic poisoning brought it to my mind. Do you know, by chance, what this beautiful green paint is made of?”

“I do not. Is there a problem?”

“There may be one, if it’s what I know as Paris green. That pigment was banned in my world because it contained a lot of arsenic. We have reports of houses that made their inhabitants sick, or even killed them.”

She ran a hand down her face.

“Al, Great Hero Al, today is not the day to worry about this…”

“I know! I just noticed it today and I need to mention it before I forget. This paint’s been here for a while. It can stay a little longer, but please, don’t ignore it.”

Princess Nigella squinted in disbelief. “Can people even get killed by paint?”

“Or by wallpaper. Do you remember, yesterday, when you mentioned wisdom from my world? This is it. We learned the hard way that arsenic is toxic even if you only breathe it. Please let your people benefit from our experience, Princess. Don’t let them get sick or die if you can help it.”

She looked at the green walls with a thoughtful face, then she nodded.

“Thank you for your words, Al. Once the situation is solved and Inabar no longer threatens Brealia, I will take your comment into account.”

And that was it. We now had a plan of our own: find out what the symbol was, understand how to counter the spell that forced Kossi to obey Lord Saegorg, and give him back his free will before he came back to Carastra.

I followed Princess Nigella down the stairs, ready to meet her father again, trying not to stress out too much at the thought that we had under ten days to succeed.