The Tearmoon Princess in the Kingdom of Remno (with some illustrations)

Chapter 28 "A Good Path"

Noticing the time and regaining a bit of her princessly composure, Mia thanked her hosts, "Michelle, Sir Bernardo, our visit here has been a delight! But, I think it is time for us to head back."
"Awwww!" Five little girls groaned in unison.  "Can't the Lady Anne stay a little longer?"
Anne blushed at the mention of her newfound title.
"Oh, the Princess and the Lady Anne have been so gracious in spending as much time as they have," chided Michelle. " But perhaps you can visit the Princess next time."
"Really!" and with that, five little faces lit up as if stars were shining in their eyes."
"Well, it's up to the Princess, of course, but maybe."
Mia saw the excitement in the little girls eyes, Okay Michelle, now you are just playing dirty.
Mia kneeled down and spoke to the smallest child,
"Oh, Tearmoon is very far away.  I am not so sure that your father is ready to see you go so far away.
"She's right Sadie, you are much too young for such a long trip."
Sadie made a scowling face at Mia that put Prince Gain's  Death Glare to shame, "Mia-meanie!"
And, unlike Gain, Sadie's aim was spot-on.
Ouch! Such a face coming from such cute little girl.
That one hurt!
While it seemed that Michelle had a chuckle at Mia's expense. Michelle walked up to the
Princess and whispered one last word in Mia's ear,
"Please."
This was not a playful tease. It was a parent's plea for her daughter—and it twisted at Mia's heart.
This wasn't supposed to happen again. Mia remembered tearful parents begging for food for their starving children. "Please my child needs food." But, there was no food to give. The feeling of helplessness—watching the pain of others and just being unable to help, began to eat at Mia again.
But this time she knew it was within her power to do something—Michelle just wanted to get her child to the freedom of Tearmoon. She probably could find a way to sneak her out, but at what cost? It could destroy Michelle and Bernardo's marriage and possibly Tearmoon's relations with Remno. Not to mention that Bernardo was essentially Remno's version of Dion—being the person responsible for essentially taking away his daughter might very well be signing her own death sentence.
But Mia knew that she had to do something—she just wasn't sure what something was yet.
While Mia was contemplating how to answer Michelle's request, Bernardo had brought the horses around to the front of the house.
"I will escort Your Highness and the Lady Anne back. Michelle still has things she needs to tend to on the farm."
    So, the two said their goodbyes and began their journey back to Castle Lycos.
    The intended purpose of the whole Remno trip was to inquire about the Kingdom's preparation for the famine and to get to know Abel's family. Visiting the Virgil farm was supposed to be a tiny diversion —Mia had arrived with absolutely no intention on investigating the status of women in the Kingdom, and she certainly did not come with the intention of essentially stealing away the eldest daughter of the Adamantine Spear out of Remno. But Michelle's bizarre request had turned all of Mia's intentions upside down.
So, Mia decided to do what she always did when things were turned upside down—she began to ask questions—lots of questions.
"Sir Bernardo, I am surprised how recently Michelle started on the Council, were you surprised that Princess Clarissa chose her?"
"Ha! Yes, it's funny, I didn't even know Remno had a princess until Michelle was appointed to the council."
"You didn't know that Remno had a Princess? But, you are one of the King's most trusted advisors. Certainly, you must have known he had a daughter?"
"Oh, we don't really have that sort of relationship. He probably doesn't know that I have children either."
"But, you knew about the Princes..."
"Yes, but they are men. Everyone knows when a Prince is born."
Bernardo's tone was so matter-of-fact that it momentarily caught Mia off guard.
"Are you saying that women are invisible in Remno?"
Realizing what he had just said, and to whom he has just said it to, Bernardo tried to explain.
"It's just the way it's always been in Remno."
"So, you think it's right? Is this what you want for your daughters?"
"What I want is irrelevant—it is the way things are—and things are getting better, Michelle is on the Council—they are making changes...
"And, how long ago did these changes start?"
"About three weeks ago."
Michelle is not crazy—everything that she said was true!
    Now, Mia was a very forgiving person, this was evidenced by the fact that many of her dearest friends in her current timeline had been responsible for death at the guillotine in the now discarded timeline. But Mia did not subscribe to the philosophy of 'forgive and forget.' She had never forgotten how her current friends knowingly watched as she cluelessly followed down the metaphorical 'wrong path' without saying so much as one word—while self-righteously executing her when she reached her doomed path's terminus.   No, Mia forgave and remembered, and just as she didn't not want to repeat he feeling of old pains, she also didn't want to inflict old pains on others.  This is probably one of the reasons why folks confused her for a saint and a sage— because learning from mistakes is what made people smarter and wiser, and it was one thing to learn from from the mistakes of the selfish, foolish princess that was Mia of the previous timeline, but to learn from the mistakes of a real genius like Sion, or a real saint like Rafina— that was a cheat of sorts.
So, Mia had already decided that she was going to help Eleanore, even if it meant that she was going to smuggle her out herself and face Bernardo's wrath. But, before she would do that, she was going to give Bernardo his chance at finding a "good path." She would have him look at the direction he was currently heading, and have him decide if he wanted to change.
"Is the Remno of three weeks ago a place you want your girls to grow up in?"
"They have a good life on the farm."
"They can't live on the farm forever."
   He paused, a pained look took over his face before he even started his reply, "I know that."
"I have a school."
"What?" Bernardo was confused by the sudden change in conversation topic.
"I have a school in the Empire —anyone can attend, it is close to rivaling Saint Noel in quality—in some ways it is better."
"That's nice, but why are you telling me about your school?"
"The school has an open policy towards attendance, boys and girls, rich and poor, all races and religions. While it's not as fancy as Saint Noel, it's also less expensive."
     "It sounds admirable."
    Mia paused for a moment, and angled her vision a little higher into the horizon as she spoke,
     "But, I think that we need to have more countries represented. Right now we have students only from Tearmoon and Perujin. I think that having more countries represented would boost the school's reputation and add to educational experience."
    "That makes sense."
    Mia shifted her gaze towards Bernardo, "I was hoping to offer a scholarship to a child from Remno."
Bernardo never imagined his girls receiving an education at an actual school, much less a place that could rival Saint Noel. Even if he and Michelle could afford the hefty tuition, Bernardo was a knight, but not a noble—which was a disqualification in itself, besides, the Remno nobles would never allow for a girl to take a spot that should be going to a boy. But, there were no Remno nobles at Mia's academy...
"The school is for boys and girls?"
"Yes."
"What age does the school start at?"
"Well, most start at age twelve, but I think that some of our brighter students start at age ten."
Bernardo's voice turned hopeful,  "Well, Eleanore just turned twelve, and Lucy is  just ten, but she is very bright."
"Lucy?"
"Yes, she is all about plants! She works with Michelle on working on rye strains and maintaining the stocks."
"Really, that's fascinating!"
"Is there any chance that you would have room for two students from Remno?
"Two?" Mia hesitated, "But, I only have one scholarship."
Of course the Remno scholarship was a made-up thing. The students that paid full tuition helped pay for the scholarship students, but the balance was made up with donations and help from the Church. Saint Noel's costs were low, but they weren't non-existent.
"Well, I would have to talk to Michelle about it, but we will find the money for Lucy—she really needs to go to school somewhere."
A paying student! Mia, ever the penny-pincher, was giddy at the prospect, "Well, I guess—if Michelle says yes."
Of course, Mia knew Michelle would say yes.
That was easy!
Mia beamed with self-satisfaction, and she really earned it— she had solved Michelle's problem without destroying her marriage, or Mia losing her head. Two girls from Remno would be attending Mia's school—and one of them would be paying  full tuition and would be bringing her knowledge of rye crops to the academy! 
But, as Mia traveled down the path back to Castile Lycos, her self-satisfaction dwindled. She saw young girls working the fields, hanging laundry, and carrying large bundles on their backs.
     What about them? Those girls didn't even have the relative privilege of Michelle and Bernardo's farm. Most would grow up in families where they were considered a nuisance, or a burden, eventually being sold off into a marriage in which they would be nothing more than property. Mia had saved two, but she could only think about the thousands that she could not save, and then the old familiar pain once again began to twist at her heart.
Anne, who had silently listened to the whole conversation between Bernardo and Mia, noticed the the sudden sadness taking over Mia's heart. She could see it in her countenance, her whole body really—even the way she road her horse seemed sad. Anne pulled her horse closer to Mia's and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You aren't just helping two girls—you are planting two seeds. I am sure they will grow into something wonderful, and they will plant good seeds of their own."
Receiving her friend's affirmation, Mia's pain began to fade, "Thank you Anne."
With Mia's burden significantly lightened, she was able to shift the conversation to other important topics.
"I wonder what's for dinner tonight—I hope there's cake!"
Anne laughed and the two friends continued to meander down the good path side by side.