Court of Snakes: This Desert Cage

Fairytales - The Palace | March of the First Year

"Now, recite to me the Embassy constitution preamble."

Parisa inhaled deeply and set her tea down onto the table, replying, "The Embassy is one and united under the almighty and all-powerful ruler, the Sovereign. It is true that the Sovereign's one and only intention is to rule the people justly and strictly. It is against the people and the Embassy constitution to perform any sort of treachery or crimes against the members of the Embassy, for the Embassy is all of us. United we stand, united we fall."

"Good," Master Esmond affirmed and sipped his tea. "In terms of responsibility in the Embassy, what does the Embassy constitution mean to you?"

"Well, Papa is the Sovereign now, so I suppose I have to help him uphold the constitution and support him in any way that I can. Try to make the Embassy Council a better and more effective unit."

"Yes, and when you become the Sovereign, you'll have to uphold the same. Your primary objective will be to rule over our society; they'd be lost without you. A great and ancient leader and writer, Machiavelli, said that you will only be successful as a ruler if you utilize the strength of your ministers. If the men and women at your side fear and respect you, they will not rebel against you."

"That sounds... mean."

"People abuse empathy, Lady Parisa."

"You all are the ones who do the heavy lifting," Parisa argued. "You and the other district leaders. The Sovereign, even though they have the final say, doesn't really do anything."

"But, without the Sovereign's guidance, we'd have no authority. The Sovereign presides over all of us and guides our decisions. As the ancient leaders dictated, your father has the final say in the matter. Ultimate control."

"I guess I don't think it's fair that all of us up top, just a small, select group, get to make the decisions of the people below without their input."

"Well, Lady Parisa, that is something that you may consider changing when you become the Sovereign. You could also suggest it to your father."

"As if he would listen to me."

"He might."

"He won't. I know he won't."

"Doesn't hurt you to try, but I won't argue with you. You're done with lessons for today."

"Really?" Parisa grinned and set Theophilia up onto the table. The day had flown by and she could hardly believe it was already over.

"Yes. You're learning. Your articulation and speech are improving, and you'll soon be through your etiquette course. Tomorrow we will work on handwriting and music. We'll prove to your father that you're quite the academic yet."

The light from the setting sun filtered in through a small window tinted a soft yellow, an unusual color for the Embassy, and sunlight hit the floor of Esmond's room the color of autumn gold. Parisa did not prefer to study in her own quarters, and Master Esmond's study and living space, which took up an entire floor of the Embassy Palace, was a much more comfortable work environment. Something about the blue and white came off as cold and calculated, and the warmth of the golden rays and Esmond's smile made it easier for Parisa to focus.

He filled every space he could with candles that smelled of sage and the warm yellow light of their tiny flames welcomed Parisa like stars. Her father thought it foolish that he kept candles when they had perfectly good electricity, but she knew Esmond burned them for the calm. His study was organized and clean, books on shelves, and though it was a small room, Esmond crammed a desk for Parisa into the space regardless.

On the wall hung a large map of the Dza'ya district, over which Esmond presided, and pins and strings connected points of interest with trade routes. Scraps of parchment with chicken-scratch notes scrawled on the surface drooped next to the map, tacked on the wall. As the leader of the Dza'ya district, Esmond's job consisted primarily of ensuring that his district thrived and that all functioned as it should. How his district interacted with other districts also fell under Esmond's jurisdiction.