Strategies and Dramas

“Why are you sweating?” the prince greatly wonders as he sees Gabriel’s return.

“The great flight of stairs, your Highness,” he replies.

“Oh really?” the prince’s curiosity piques on. “It is the first time you are sweating rocks. Something must have happened.”

“It is nothing at all, your Highness,” Gabriel answers in haste. “I believe we should go see the adviser now,” he pivots the topic.

“Yes,” the prince surreptitiously and silently smiles. “I believe we should go.”

Shortly after their small conversation, Gabriel and Prince Julien arrive at the Grand Library for the prince’s lessons. Inside, a sage with a great beard sits at the center of the grand array of large shelves filled with all sorts of texts, manuscripts, books, and scrolls. The old man sits with a sophisticated posture. He studies a large map which shows the great continent of Euranis.

“Esteemed adviser and strategist,” the prince bows. “I have come for my lessons.” He sits down in front of him, and Gabriel positions himself at the side. He stands directly to the left of the prince, before a large shelf nine steps away.

“You go out to hunt, one fine morning,” the old man starts narrating. “You find two hares, but as they see you, they quickly flee. One runs to your left, while the other runs to your right. If you focus on one, you will lose the other. What will you do to capture both?”

“I will pursue the first one and use my sword to prevent its escape. While I shall use my crossbow to shoot the other,” the prince replies.

Gabriel nods in satisfaction to the prince’s response. He is confident that the strategist would be pleased with his reply.

“Foolishness,” the old man’s voice resonates throughout the inaudible library.

“What,” Gabriel shouts and clears his throat afterward.

Prince Julien, meanwhile, is unfazed by the negative response. He is still no match for the greatest mind in Gallia, and perhaps he is still a hundred years too early to give the most appropriate response.

“My prince,” the strategist says with a stern voice while holding figurines of people. He puts them across the map laid before him, “This is the kingdom of Gallia, to its left is Allemagna, and to its right, Essenia.”

“Suppose that we are at war with these two nations,” he continues. “However, we already defeated both of their armies. Their remaining forces are marching back to their homeland. If you attack the Allemagnan army you will be unable to attack the Essenians, and vice versa. Thus, you must focus only on one army and one army alone,” he slams the table where the map lays. The pieces of the armies all fall. “If you focus on both, you end having little to no chance to decimate even one.”

“My prince,” he calms down, “if you run after two hares, you will catch neither. You must only focus on things at once.”

Gabriel’s satisfaction with the strategist’s response soars. A moment of enlightenment illuminates his mind. The prince smiles as he looks at the strategist.

“Here is another riddle,” the strategist speaks. “You have to pick between two things a sword and a shield. The sword could cut anything in this world. While the shield could defend against any weapon in the world. Which will you pick?”

The riddle greatly puzzles Gabriel who listens from the sidelines. How could a sword cut anything in this world if a shield can defend against it? And how could a shield defend against anything if a sword could cut anything?

The prince remains silent and thinks for a while. His thoughts reach far and wide in search of an answer. Finally, he thinks of one.

“I choose nothing between the two,” the prince replies. The strategist stays quiet maintaining eye contact with the prince. “The two signifies a contradiction. If there are contradictions, then there are lies. If so, then one or both weapons are lies. This riddle is not a matter of choosing the right weapon, but by thinking outside the box and from another angle.”

“Splendid!” the strategist nods in agreement. “That was to test your judgment. You have fine judgment, my prince.”

The lessons continue until high noon. The three then take their lunch. They all ask for their leave, going their separate ways. Gabriel and the prince heads to the Royal Dining Hall, where the servants and maids arrange the dishes and meals for lunch.

As the prince enters the Royal Dining Hall, he sees the second prince and the first princess talking across the table. The king and the queen are still absent. The maids, butlers, and servants are busy preparing the table.

“Lord Brother,” the 15-year-old blonde-haired first princess says to him. “I hear you picked up a stray cat as your new butler.”

“Stray cat?” the prince laughs at the thought. “If you continue to disrespect people like that, no one will like you anymore, Camille. That ‘stray cat’ will become dearer to me than you will ever be if you continue to be mean. Maybe I’ll even treat you like garbage and throw you from the palace when I become king.”

“How mean,” the first princess whines in a high-pitched note.

“Silence, Camille,” the second princess intervenes. “Lord Brother, please be more lenient to her as she is but a child.” The 18-year-old prince is as just and righteous as his brother says. He looks up to Julien. They have the same features. Too similar that sometimes, when Prince Louis imitates his brother’s hairstyle, they are mistaken to be the other prince.

“Louis, please,” Prince Julien pats his shoulder, “Royals who do not know the true value of their subjects are not worthy of their title.”

Prince Julien always has a great sense of justice and uplifts the sake of his people more than his royal lineage. But for some reason, he has this special feeling that makes him feel playful towards Gianni.

“I am well aware of Camille’s shortcomings,” Prince Louis replies. “But I am quite certain that she will learn her ways, so please be lenient to her at the present.”

“The more I allow her to be disrespectful, the more she will grow to be disrespectful,” Prince Julien answers. “A small fire, with the opportunity of growing into a blaze result in an inferno.”

Princess Camille scoffs. She purposely drops a porcelain teacup from the dining table, breaking it into pieces.

“Do I seem all right to you? Idiot,” she screams at the top of her lungs. “Clean up this mess now.”

“My, my,” the door flings open revealing the queen’s attendants. Inside comes the queen, wearing a red ball gown. All over the dress, golden carnation embroideries are numerous. She wears a golden crown shining brilliantly as the stars of the night sky. Her posture is perfect. Her poise is immaculate. She walks slowly to the seat beside the first princess and across the first prince.

As the queen approaches, the other royals stand up on their chairs and watch as she walks. They do not sit until she sits.

“Your Majesty,” the princes and the princess bow as she sits down.

“What is all the commotion about?” the queen speaks in a manner that radiates grace.

“Mother,” the first princess holds her arm, “Lord Brother bullied me.”

“Really?” the queen answers. “What did he tell you?”

“He said that the stray cat he took in is dearer to him than I am.”

“Oh,” the queen laughs graciously, “that is normal. As you may know, the duchess is my sister, yet you are dearer to me than she is. In the same way, your brother will have someone dearer to him in the future than we will ever be. At that moment, all we can do is support him.”

The queen is wise, clever, and beautiful. Their subjects and other royals of the continent refer to her as the perfect queen. Beautiful, smart, kind, and just.

“Spare us from the drama dear,” the queen laughs but the two princes knew what their father would say if he heard of this. The king favors the first princess more than the two princes. Like how a father dotes on his daughter. The wickedness of the first princess is said to be from the king’s great temper and impatience. Although, the king possesses a great sense of justice and wisdom, which Camille does not have.

The maids and servants finish preparing the table. The royals wait for the king to arrive. Then, a butler comes telling them that he has an important appointment with the Essenian ambassador, so he must skip lunch.

Upon hearing this, the princess whines even more than before. Her annoying voice fills the dining hall, and every person there even the princes and queen covers their ears. She continues whining until the queen consoles her.

“Now that everything is taken care of, shall we eat lunch?” the queen says as a butler places the appetizer on her plate. The other royals do not start eating until their mother started as a way of showing respect to the authority of the queen.

They make their way through every course. When they finish eating the main dish, Prince Julien remembers Gianni. He calls Gabriel and instructs him to wake the former to eat. And so, Gabriel leaves the dining hall going straight to their room, where a naked Gianni soundly slumbers.