[IC] The Making of a New Queen

[tsubasa]

Anastasia shook her head and leaned back against he chair, hugging herself, "No... I don't want to have to go out and pretend like everything is fine..."

She stared at her mother's chair, her jaw clenched, determined that she was going to be fine sitting there without the Queen. After a moment, she reached up and wiped away a tear that had escaped from her eye. She took a deep breath and looked at Samsul, "It's okay. Maybe... Maybe I'll talk to Gerald... If he's up for it... I can have a lesson. There must be a lot I still have to learn before my coronation... My writing still looks horrible... and... A good queen or king should have nice penmanship..." She took another deep breath, "And there's a lot more I still have to work on... maybe that would be best..."

[pyroman]

"I see.." He nodded to her slowly and understood her reasoning. She didn't want to put on a mask and seem like everything was okay when it clearly wasn't. His gaze moved down to the table as he thought about what he would be doing while she received a lesson from Gerald. He could always find Kala and ask for a spar. He knew that she would gladly oblige and face him and fight him whenever he wanted. "I think I'll.... I'll stay with you today, if that's okay with you. I don't have anything to attend to I would like to see how Gerald is taking the news.."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked at Samsul when he said that he was going to stay with her for the day. She nodded her head and gave him a small smile, "I don't mind at all."

She was slightly curious as to why he wanted to see how Gerald was taking the news. She wondered if he was maybe just saying that to allow himself to keep an eye on her, without her telling him to go elsewhere. However, in all, she didn't want to be alone right now. Sure, Gerald would be there and whoever Samsul put on to watch her. But it wouldn't be the same. Samsul always managed to calm her... She didn't understand how or why but he did. She reached out and grabbed his spoon and handed it to him, "We'll go find him once your done eating."

[pyroman]

Samsul took the spoon that was handed to him and nodded to the queen-to-be in thanks. He could have eaten earlier if she wanted to go and occupy her time with lessons from Gerald, but he assumed that watching him eat also killed time, but in a different fashion than learning how to properly rule a country. He ate his food at a slow and steady rate, but in time he had finished his bowl of porridge and pushed it away from him, leaving the spoon in the bowl. His gaze shifted from the bowl to Anastasia as he gave her a soft smile. "We can go now if you'd like, Anastasia."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked at Samsul and nodded, "Sounds good."

She stood and walked with him out of the dining hall. She didn't really know where to find Gerald, so she guessed poking her head into his office would be a good start. So, she did and the balding man looked toward the door as she walked. He gave her a sad smile before walking over to her and pulling her into a hug, "How are you doing, Princess?"

She sighed, "I've been better... I was hoping that you might have something to teach me... or that you were up to teaching me.... Distracting me from... everything."

Gerald nodded, "Yes, yes, of course, Princess."

He walked over to his desk and began to fuddle through pages, "Please, please, sit," Anastasia walked over to a seat and sat down, looking at her tutor. He pulled out the page he was looking for and handed it to Anastasia, "Lists of trades with the surrounding countries. I say, we start to go over it."

[pyroman]

Samsul followed Anastasia out of the dining hall and to to Gerald's office without anything to say. What could he say? There wasn't anything that came to mind that would be able to help her in the current situation, so he had decided to keep quiet and watch the events unfold around him. His eyes shifted to Gerald as he came into view, and traded a small glance with the man before looking elsewhere. The Lost Elf stayed near the door and watched as Gerald talked to her about the trades with the other countries. He nodded at the two of them and looked at Anastasia. "Keeping up trade routes and trading supplies is important. Maybe we should bring in a merchant to teach her now to properly trade with others and get the most with our resources."

[tsubasa]

Gerald looked at Samsul when he suggested bringing a merchant into speak with the Princess. He nodded, "Very wise, Samsul,"

He grabbed a piece of paper and quickly made note of the suggestion, "I doubt any merchant would deny an offer to come and teach the Princess..."

Anastasia looked at the paper, "Do you think we could get two?" She looked up at Gerald and met his confused look, "Someone who deals with other countries and someone who deals with those within the country. That way I learn what we are getting and what we already have... If it is a good year for wheat, we don't need to get more wheat..." She looked at the sheet again, "Some of these trades could probably be demolished in favor of better trades... For things we don't have an influx of. Also, by seeing what it is going for in our country... We can use that as a basis for a price point."

[pyroman]

Samsul smirked at the queen-to-be and glanced at Gerald for a split second. "Very smart of you Anastasia. Not even ten minutes with this lesson and you've already started making large scale decisions. After this war is fully over, trade will be important, as resources will be lower then usual. We'll need to be ahead of it all so that we aren't affected by the possible strain that will come with the low amounts of trade." He stood in thought for a minute and looked up at the ceiling. "I will have a guard go out and find two merchants shortly, Anastasia." Samsul spoke as he opened the door to the hallway and ordered for a guard to bring one local merchant and one that dealt with trades in other countries.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia blushed slightly when Samsul praised her for taking to the lesson so quickly. She looked up at Gerald while Samsul walked to the door, "The decision wasn't that big..."

Gerald chuckled, "On the contrary, your highness. Samsul is correct. When the war ends, we may be very dependent on what we get from trade or send out to trade. If we are trading things we do not have surplus of, that isn't going to do us well. Much like you said, why would be want wheat when we have wheat if we can get potatoes when we don't have them."

Anastasia bit her lip, she didn't know how she felt about this. Making decisions, sure she had made that one decision quite quickly but she wasn't even aware that that was what she was doing. She was merely asking to be taught by two people rather than one and gave reasons to support the inquiry. How was she going to handle making big decisions when she knew exactly what it was she was looking at. What if the decision wouldn't have a positive outcome... Could she do that? She started to panic slightly, decisions about trade were easy but what if it came to lives... decisions about war. Sure, she could ask Samsul and get his opinion but in the end, it would be her decision and she'd have to live with it. Gerald placed his hand on her shoulder, "Are you alright, Princess?"

"Hm... Oh yes.... I'm fine..."

[pyroman]

The guard quickly moved down the hall to find two successful merchants that were either near the castle or in the city. There were a lot of merchants out there in the world, but the guard was thinking like Samsul, and that the two that he picked would have to be very good at their jobs.

After the guard left, Samsul went back into the office and turned to look at Gerald with his hand on Anastasia's shoulder. He didn't know what he was doing, but the look on his face told him that he was worrying about her for some reason. The Lost Elf cleared his throat and looked at the two of them. "I sent a guard out to find the best merchants within the area. We want a successful merchant. Not some grubbing miser who thinks only of money."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked over her shoulder when Samsul entered the room. She nodded her head, "Good idea..."

She turned back around in her seat, hoping he couldn't tell how panicked she was. She looked up at Gerald, "While we wait... Why don't I try some writing... My penmanship is still horrid.... And if I'm going to be writing letters to people all the time, I'd best get better at it."

Gerald nodded and grabbed a piece of paper and pen. He patted his seat behind the desk, offering it to her. Anastasia smiled and took the seat before she began copying from a small book that Gerald had laid out of her. When she got into her writing, Gerald walked over to Samsul and invited him out into the hall. He looked at the younger man, "How is she doing?"

[pyroman]

Samsul was a little surprised to see that Gerald was planning on talking to her personally without Anastasia being there, but nonetheless, he followed the older man out into the hall and looked at him. Samsul closed the door behind him and sighed lightly at the question. "She's doing surprisingly well. She wished to do to the dining hall as well as receive lessons from you without any suggestions from myself. She did want to go into town as well, but after hearing that she couldn't speak about her mother to the public, she decided not to. She is trying to stay strong, and it's a wonder that she is considering that every one of these halls are filled with memories of queen Elana."

[tsubasa]

Gerald nodded as Samsul explained how the Princess was doing. When he finished, he sighed, "She does seem to be pretending to be strong.... But make sure she knows she doesn't have to be," He looked at Samsul, "It is rarely a good thing when someone takes the death of a loved one well."

He glanced at the door, "I think she may just be bottling it up. She has to become Queen after all and she doesn't feel like she is ready but she can't feel like she has to push aside her mother's death to get ready. It is good for a person to mourn... We'll continue our lesson but I think we won't work with the merchant till tomorrow..."

He turned around to open the door, "Ensure that she doesn't let this constant need to be dealing with the death well eat away at her."

[pyroman]

Samsul only nodded at her as he listened to Gerald. It seemed true that she was suppressing her emotions about her mother's death, and she was putting thing on front of her as an effort to escape it all. With the door now open, Samsul stepped through it and smiled calmly at Anastasia before walking to her side and seeing how she was doing. It wasn't healthy to hold back emotions, and it never turned out well when they were. It was a good idea of Gerald to hold back the rest of the trading lesson until the next day. "How are you doing so far, Anastasia?" Samsul asked her calmly as he looked over her paper and handwriting.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked over to the door as Gerald and Samsul left the room. It was strange, to be left completely and entirely alone. Even when bathing or getting dressed, Millie and Arabella were with her. She shook her head a little and turned back to the paper. She continued copying out of the book. Her writing was loopy, she had seen a few things her mother had wrote in a similar way. It always looked so elegant. You could just tell that a Queen wrote it. Her own looked like a small child was scribbling on a page but she kept on. She didn't look up when Samsul came back into the room. She was, however, a little surprised when he walked over to her and asked her how she was doing. She gave him a sad smile, "Depends on what you are asking about."

[pyroman]

"I was talking about your writing. I think it's still much to early to talk about her.." Samsul gave her a sad smile, much like the one that she had given him not moments before. From what he had seen before, her handwriting was improving decently, however it was still a long ways until she would be writing in a fancy and elegant way. "Me and Gerald have been talking though. We are going to keep your lessons at a slow and steady pace, just so that nothing can seem overwhelming. The merchants will be talking to you about trade tomorrow, as it will give them some time to prepare their teachings."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia shook her head when he clarified saying it was about her writing, "Then, horridly... My writing looks like it was written by a small royal child. I'm sure there is a seven year old Princess out there, laughing at my writing."

She looked up at him when he said that him and Gerald had decided to keep her lessons short and slow. She couldn't deal with slow and steady, if she got overwhelmed, at least she didn't have to think about what had happened. Her hand started to shake as she nodded her head, "That's fine..." She said as she started to write, her shaking causing her to make less than perfect lines.

[pyroman]

Samsul was sure that the scenario of a sever year old princess laughing at her handwriting was a bit exaggerated. He didn't believe that she saw everything like he did. Age didn't really mean anything here, and it was all about the amount of time taken to learn a skill. It seemed obvious that she didn't need to read and write while she lived with her original family, and he was okay with it. Because she was older then when royals were usually taught how to write, he believed that it gave her more space to improve. She would understand things on a better and somewhat deeper level, and would be able to write in her own style quicker than if she were a child. If she had been taught how to read and write a certain way when she was younger, then it would be harder for her to change her style into a better and more fitting one.

Samsul kept his eyes on her as she continued to write, and made a note about her shaking hand. He wasn't sure if she was gripping it too tightly and causing strain, or if she was stressed about something, but it did seem like she needed to be calmed down. he tried to think back to the previous times when he had calmed her down, and could only think of one thing. Contact. Whenever he had made physical contact with her when she was worried or stressed, it seemed to calm her down quite a bit. He hoped that it would apply at the current time as he placed his hand over the one that she was writing with and looked down at her. "Slowly and calmly. Do not place the pen fully on the paper, and do not hold it too tightly. Hold it how it feels most comfortable and drag it slowly and gracefully across the paper. Your writing will improve in time, so do not worry about it so much." He spoke to her in a calming tone as he attempted to help her out and calm her down all at once.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia's hand shaking, giving away her stress, stressed her out further, she didn't want Gerald or Samsul to think there was anything wrong. They had both known her mother longer than herself and she already felt horrible for breaking down that morning in Samsul's arms. She hadn't even asked him if he was okay. They knew the Queen, she had only just met her. Yet, the two of them were being far stronger than herself, as well as handling better, and they even were worried about her and trying to ensure she was okay. How could she do that to them. She felt Samsul's hand over her own and looked at him as he spoke calmly to her. She took a deep breath and nodded. When he removed his hand, she did her best to hide the shaking and slowly went about her writing.

Gerald laughed quietly to himself as he stood at the door. He felt as though, he had become the guard and Samsul the teacher. Well, he wouldn't to worry if something happened to him, the Princess would still want to learn and Samsul would find her the means.

[pyroman]

As Anastasia nodded to him, Samsul smiled softly at her and took his hand off of hers. His efforts to calm her down seemed to have worked for the time being, and he was glad that he could help her in any way that he could. He had to be strong for the queen's sake since she was the one who had put him up to the task in the first place. He was thankful for the chance to watch over the princess, and was glad that he was the one chosen for such a task. He stayed at his side as he watched her write, forgetting that he was the one who was supposed to be guarding the room while Gerald taught her. As he remembered that, he sighed with a small smile and glanced back to the older man, wondering what he was thinking of at the moment.