Something Peculiar

19

After I had changed, Lisa directed me to a sitting room on the second floor, down the hill from my room. The vaulted ceiling had a mural, all clouds and unicorns and angels. Despite that, the furniture looked modern and normal, unlike the expensive antiques that filled most of the house. Lisa explained that this had once been Wooseok playroom. When he'd outgrown it, they had turned it into a room for him, but he rarely used it. Lying on my back on the couch, I stared up the ceiling Lisa sat in an overstuffed chair across from me with a book splayed open on her lap. Stacks of texts sat on the floor next to her, and she tried to give me a crash course on Trylle history.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that we were some type of mythical creatures, Trylle history wasn't any more exciting than human history had been.

"What are the roles of the Markis and Marksinna?" Lisa quizzed me.

"I don't know. Nothing," I replied glibly.

"Jennie, you need to learn this." Lisa sighed. "There will be conversations at the ball, and you need to appear knowledgeable. You can't just sit back without saying anything anymore."

"I'm a Princess. I should be able to do whatever I want," I grumbled. My legs were draped over the arm of the couch, and I swung my feet back and forth.

"What are the roles of the Markis and Marksinna?" Lisa repeated.

"In other provinces, where the King and Queen don't live, the Markis and Marksinna are the leaders. They're like governors or something." I shrugged. "In times when the Kind or Queen can't fulfill their duties, a Markis can step up and take their place. In place like Förening, their title is mostly just a way of saying that they're better than everyone else, but they don't really have any power."

"That is true, but you can't say that last past," Lisa said, then flipped a page in the book. "What is the role of the Chancellor?"

"The Chancellor is an elected official, much like the prime minister in England," I answered tiredly. "The monarchy has the final word and wields the most power, but the Chancellor serves as their adviser and helps give the Trylle commoners a voice in the way the government is run.

"But I don't get it," I said, looking at her. "We live in America, and this isn't a separate country. Don't we have to follow their laws?"

"Theoretically, yes, and for the most part Trylle laws coincide with American laws, except that we have more of them. However, we live in separate pockets unto ourselves. using our resources-namely, cash and persuasion-we can get government officials to look the other way, and we conduct our business in private."

"Hmm." I twirled a lock of hair on my finger and thought over what she was saying. "Do you know everything about Trylle society? When you were talking with Zo In-sung and Hye-kyo, it was like there was nothing you didn't know."

I'm sure she would've easily won the Kroners over if she had tried. instead she had assumed it was her role to hide in the background when they were around, so she'd kept her mouth shut. But everything about her was more refined than me. Cool, collected, intelligent, charming, and very very beautiful, she seemed much more like a leader than I did.

"A foolish man thinks he knows everything. A wise man knows he doesn't," Lisa replied absently, still looking down at the book.

"That's such a fortune-cookie answer," I said with a laugh, and even she smirked at me. "But seriously, Lisa. This doesn't make any sense. You should be a ruler, not me. I don't know anything, but you're all set to go."

"I'll never be a ruler." Lisa shook her head. "And you are right for the job. You just haven't had the training that I've had."

"That's stupid," I grumbled. "it should be based on your abilities, not lineage."