"What did you do after that?" John asked.
"I told her that a person wasn't much of a princess if she didn't keep
her word, but she said it was her birthday, and I should give her the
afternoon off as a present."
"So you did?" Edward queried.
"I didn't mean to," Jacob replied. "I told her the only present I felt
like giving her was a good royal birthday paddling."
John and Edward looked at each other and gasped, shocked at his
nerve. John let out a long whistle. "I'll bet that went over well."
"She threw another book at me and high-tailed it out of there," Jacob
said. "Probably thought I meant it."
Edward still stood with his mouth wide open. "Did you?"
"I considered it."
Jacob told them he was tired and wanted to go lie down. The other
two grinned and headed back to their posts. As Jacob lay on his bed, he
thought about Marie. The day hadn't gone quite like he had planned,
although he wasn't sure what he had planned. He had been determined to
keep control of himself, but he hadn't done very well, spouting off that bit
about how a princess was more a princess in how she acted than how she
lived. But it was true. Prince Alexander had said something similar.
He was sure that, at that moment, the princess was in telling her
mother how horrible he was. He was sure she wouldn't even show up the
next day. He expected that, at any moment, someone would come and
summon him to the court. Well, if they did, they did, and that would be
that, and he would be done. But what if the queen was angry enough to
remove him from his position as captain?
That was a hard thought, and he pushed it from his mind. But in
working with the princess, he had hit her. It was in training, as he would
have one of his men, but he had hit her, nonetheless. He knew he had
probably hit her harder than he needed to, but he was so irritated at her.
But there were other events and feelings that bothered him. He
expected, as he was working with the princess, that she would run away.
Well, she did run away when it was time for him to teach her things other
than self-defense. But he had expected that the first time he hit her
shoulder, she would run off and pout, but she didn't. She was angry, but
she stayed. She had a lot of spunk, and he found that not only surprised
him, but it pleased him.
Something else nagged at him, but he couldn't quite put it into
words. He wasn't sure he even knew what it was. In some ways he
wondered if he was afraid to know. He decided it really didn't matter
anyway. He knew she wouldn't be there tomorrow, if he wasn't removed
from tutoring by then. He had to go, of course, if he wasn't released from it,
but he was sure the princess wouldn't show up. Oh, well. He had done his
job.
-------------------------
Marie scurried away quickly after throwing the last book at Captain
Richins. He had threatened to paddle her, and she wasn't sure he wouldn't.
She had never met anyone quite like him. No one else dared speak to her as
he had, and no one especially dared hit her, even if it was just on the
shoulder in training. No one even dared touch her - no one, not even her
ladies-in-waiting. Most princesses would have their ladies-in-waiting help
them in and out of their huge gowns, but she didn't even allow them to
touch her. She was her own person, and she dressed herself. Besides, she
didn't wear those big, obnoxious gowns, and she didn't need their help to
put on pants.
She still couldn't believe he had hit her. No one had hardly touched
her since... The memory stuck in her heart and wanted to come out in tears
from her eyes. Very few people had touched her since her father died, and
definitely, no man had. Her mother had tried to hug her now and then,
especially right after his death, and her grandmothers still hugged her at
times, but there was something she missed from a man's touch.
When her father had put his arms around her, there was a safety, a
surety that all would be right. She could feel her heart start to yearn and
burn, but she wanted no part of it, and pushed the memories from her mind.
But she still couldn't put the emotions she was feeling from the day's events
either from her mind, or from her heart.
Her mind said a soldier should not touch her, even in training, and
she should go straight to her mother and demand he be removed. But her
heart liked it, as if reaching for memories she had long buried with her
father.
She knew that if she told her mother the captain had hit her, she
could get him removed from being her tutor, but the funny thing was, she
didn't want to. In a way, she wanted to teach the arrogant captain a lesson,
yet, strangely, she wanted even more to learn what he had to teach her, and
not just in sword fighting.
The afternoon seemed long. She found herself longing for the next
morning. She anticipated the chance to hone her self-defense skills and
even more to try to understand the captain - to learn and feel those feelings
that were sparking something within her she couldn't quite understand -
memories she couldn't quite recall.
Chapter 18
Trying To Understanding The Princess
Jacob was so sure the princess wouldn't be there that he made no
effort to hurry. His stomach twisted in a big knot when he opened the door
and strode confidently into the library, only to find her waiting impatiently.
"You're late!"
Jacob was so taken aback that he couldn't even talk for a moment.
He knew he couldn't be more than a minute or two late at most, but here she
was, ready to learn. He bowed and took that moment to find his voice.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. It was just that, I, uh... Anyway, I'm sorry. It
won't happen again."
"See that it doesn't! If I'm going to be tutored, I don't want you
wasting my time."
Jacob nodded, and thought to himself that this day's beginning
surely could have gone better. He was so shocked to see her there that he
was having a hard time getting his thoughts together, so he had her practice
the things they had done from the day before. She remembered well. He
was amazed at how quickly she learned and, when he complimented her,
she smiled happily at him. She seemed to double her efforts after that. It
made him wonder how often she received compliments.
By the time they stopped for a break, he was again amazed at how
much she had learned. Their break wasn't quite as tense, though they still
didn't really have anything to talk about. He continued to wonder what a
soldier would talk to a princess about. She didn't say much, but seemed to
glance at him a lot, as if she was also wondering what he was thinking, just
as he was about her.
She slurped her tea and munched the rolls, smacking as she ate. He
tried not to stare, but it was quite unbelievable that a princess would lack
such manners. She caught his glance once and looked down at her rolls and
cup of tea, then back at him. He didn't say anything. He just continued to
eat his rolls and drink his tea as he normally did. But she continued to
watch him as he carefully, politely, ate and drank. Every man in the Royal
Guard had to take a course in etiquette and protocol at the academy. She
continued to watch him, making him very self-conscious. She was not
eating or drinking her tea, just watching him.
He tried to smile at her, but he was about to go crazy with her staring
at him. Uncharacteristically, she picked up her roll, took a bite, and chewed
politely. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Soon their break was over,
and they continued her defense lessons.
Just before lunch time he talked to her about the other things he
was supposed to tutor her in. He wondered if she would run away again,
but she didn't. She seemed reluctant, but she didn't run away. He
wondered where he should start, and decided to ask her. She seemed
surprised.
"Why are you asking me? You're the tutor."
"I'm sure it is obvious to you, Your Highness, that I did not request
this job. I have had no more experience being a tutor than you have being a
soldier, so I would appreciate knowing what kind of things interest you."
"No one has asked me what I want to learn before. They always had
their own ideas."
Jacob smiled. "I can understand that each tutor had ideas of what a
princess should learn. There are lots of thing every person should know.
But there still must be things that you uniquely have an interest in."
"Well," she said slowly, "I would kind of like to learn about other
countries, especially the New World."
Jacob was surprised, but pleased. "All right, Your Highness. I don't
know everything, but I can teach you what I learned at the Academy. I'm
not totally prepared today because I didn't know what you might have an
interest in, but I have some books, and I'm sure there are others in this
library. Is there any other thing you might have an interest in?"
"This may sound really stupid, but I have an interest in plants."
Jacob was slightly surprised, but he kept it to himself. "I don't think
there is anything wrong with that."
"You don't think it strange for a princess to like plants?"
"I think it is good to have interest in many things. I've got to admit
that gardening is not my expertise, but maybe we can learn some things
together."
She nodded vigorously. They looked through the library and found
geography books, but only one on plants and insects. Marie looked through
it and was disappointed to see that it had nothing on plants from the New
World.
Jacob recalled that Prince Alexander introduced lots of new plants to
the kingdom. "Didn't your father like to work with new plants?"
The princess slammed the book shut. "Let's talk about other
countries."
Jacob realized he had said something wrong. He could see
something in her eyes he had never seen before. It was a sadness that made
him hurt. Could she still be carrying the burden of her father's death, even
from five years ago? He couldn't imagine that could be the case, but her
reaction could be nothing else. Unless... He thought of one other thing.
Prince Alexander was so gentle and kind, and more than once he had heard
people say they wished she was more like her father. Could that have made
her hate hearing anything about him? What was going on in her heart and
mind? He wished he knew. It is so hard to teach someone when you don't
understand them.
He knew she still had a love for plants, but he was concerned he had
just ruined it. He would try again the next day, but he was going to avoid
any mention of Prince Alexander.
They found a modern map on the known world. He shared
everything he had learned at the academy. He talked about religion,
geography, their trade, and industry. They read everything they could find.
He found himself remembering information as they read it, and he could
hardly believe he had forgotten so much. He vowed he would try to read up
on some of those things later in the evening.
As they were finishing up for the day, he felt that he should try to
teach her a little bit of philosophy. She didn't run away, and she looked at
him as he talked to her, but he could see by the glazed look in her eyes that
her mind was far away. He had had a teacher once say, "You can tell
someone something over and over, but they will only learn it if they want to
learn it."
He and Marie had agreed tutoring would end at around 4:00 in the
afternoon, just before tea time. She was expected to share that with her
mother. As the time arrived, he gathered some books, but she didn't seem
too anxious to go. She walked out of the library with him, and they visited
briefly before she turned to leave.
She smiled. "See you tomorrow."
He bowed and returned the smile. "Yes, Your Highness."
He walked down the hall in a daze. He had not expected the day to
go as well as it had. It hadn't been a perfect day. She had kicked at him a
couple of times during the self-defense lessons, and he had had to block her
from hitting him more than once. But he was delighted at how well it did
go, especially the afternoon lessons.
As he arrived at the barracks, there was the regular teasing. The men
were all careful what they said, since he was still their commander and
could make life miserable for them, but he liked to keep some friendliness
in the ranks and allowed some fun. He just smiled and continued to his bed
to lie down. He knew it was hard to harass someone when they won't
answer, and he didn't plan to help them out.
He started rereading a book about the English and French colonies in
the New World and some in the book of plants, but he kept finding his mind
wandering back to the events of that day. There was no doubt that the
princess had acted differently. However, the biggest difference was in his
feelings about the assignment. He had rather enjoyed discussing things with
her. It wasn't much fun when she sat there, her eyes glazed, just listening to
him, but when she really was interested, it was fun. Perhaps the biggest
thing he realized was that he didn't dread it anymore. He wouldn't say he
relished it, but he would say he didn't dread it.
The next day went even better. Their defense practice went very
well in the morning. He started teaching her not only to block, but to strike
carefully. They would have to practice the hand movement for quite a
while, but she was a fast learner. She would still get frustrated when she
made a misstep, allowing him to hit her. He did it gently now - truly just a
tap - to help her watch her guard, and most of the time she could control her
temper. But once in a while she would get frustrated, kicking at him or
trying to hit him.