The Scroll Keeper's Secret

Chapter 2

"Your Majesty," Athena gasped, rising to her feet and hastily wiping her tears away. She smoothed out her dress and tried to compose herself. It suddenly occurred to her that she could very well be trespassing on private property. The thought made her blush with embarrassment.

By running late, talking back to the head of the staff, and trespassing, Athena had not made a very good impression on the king.

King Edward looked up at the endless rows of scrolls. "Miss Cladwell... So you finally found it."

"There isn't a dragon in here, is there?" blurted Athena.

"What?" King Edward lost his composure, taken by surprise.

"Sorry, never mind."

He stared at her for moment, before bursting into laughter. "A dragon! Goodness! Why on earth should there be a dragon in the Scroll Room?"

Athena crossed her arms, eyes downcast, and mumbled, "Well, you never really know..."

"You were the girl who was running late? You have a lot of wit speaking to Margarethe like that, little one."

"Um, I'm sorry, how old are you?"

Athena's sudden question astounded King Edward. Never had he been addressed in such a direct manner. "I am... I am twenty two."

"Wonderful, I am twenty one. Exactly what makes you think you can call me 'little one'?" Athena fumed. "We have but a year's difference between us!" Having been rejected by schools all her life, Athena found it extremely irritating when people spoke to her as an inferior, even if they were the king.

"I could have you beheaded for speaking to me in such a manner," King Edward said coldly. "You have no right to speak to your king like so."

Rather than begging for her life and apologizing for all of her sins, Athena smiled to herself, taking a step closer. "That would be a very big mistake, Your Majesty."

"Tell me why so. Tell me why I should spare your life."

"You would be beheading the most intelligent mind in your kingdom. What a waste."

King Edward looked at her in an unimpressed manner. "It is clear you aren't. If you were that intelligent, you would not be seeking a position as a member of my castle staff. You would be studying at the most brilliant of the land's institutions and academies-,"

"If only it was that simple, Your Majesty!" Athena burst out. "I am a girl. According to everyone else, if I were that intelligent, I should be looking for a husband, starting a family, and beginning to settle down. I have no problem with a woman doing so, but not when that choice is made for her! I have the right to make my own decisions, to forge my own path! If that's not what I want, I shouldn't have to! I have passed every institution and academy's exams. They rig it, yet I still pass! This world... it is so... judgemental."

Silence fell on them, like a blanket dropping to cover a bed. King Edward's eyes studied Athena intently. Although they maintained their hard exterior, something within him softened.

Finally, finally, he spoke. "Why did you come here looking for a job?"

Athena bowed her head. "My family needs the money. My parents have no sons, and I am the only child they have. If my intelligence has failed them, then I will ensure my hard work does not. I love them. They will not suffer because of me. Never. I won't let that happen."