Edwina Knight (2)

Edwina latched onto the opportunity the Baron had given her. She met with him daily and in a month she was able to read the fairy tales all on her own. Now she could escape to these distant worlds without the help of the Baron, and she took every opportunity.

The baron had a chair prepared for her in the library. Instead of idling away her time in the kitchens, Edwina now spent most of her days curled up in her generously large red velvet armchair.

The servants were so impressed. A commoner who was able to read was fairly rare. They were happy at the many opportunities that were now open to Edwina, who all of them had come to cherish.

The Baron didn’t stop by just teaching her how to read. He taught her math, history, and philosophy as well. He taught her about military strategy and politics. He taught her about science and agriculture. He taught her everything a young noble should know, and she soaked it up like a sponge.

Her mother encouraged her studies. She would thank the Baron every time she saw him, taking extra care of his meals and clothing. If the Baron needed anything, it had to be checked by Edwina’s mom who wouldn’t allow anything less than perfect to slip past her examinations.

One day, when Edwina was about ten years old, he asked her a question, “Are you interested in continuing your education? There’s only so much I can teach you.”

Edwina contemplated his question. She had already learned more than anyone else in her station. To want to learn more would just be selfish.

But she already knew she was a selfish person, “I would love that, but how would that be possible?”

The Baron looked at her and huffed, “Leave it to me.”

She never knew what strings the Baron had pulled to get her into the academy. He never adopted her, but the recommendation letter must have been very inspiring and she had a suspicion money exchanged hands.

When the Baron talked about continuing her education, she assumed there was some commoner boarding school somewhere she would be going to. She never thought she would be considered for admittance into the Royal Academy.

The Royal Academy was only for the most prestigious Noble families. Lower Nobility could only attend if they passed a test. The Baron’s children had gone through such a test and had performed remarkably well at school. Both were already considered to be some of the best minds of the generation.

The Baron helped her prepare for the test diligently. She moved into the servant’s dormitory and began to work part-time at the Manor. She spent the next two years following the same routine. She would wake up at 4 am and help clean and prepare the Manor for the day. After lunch, she would spend her afternoons studying with the Baron. During the evenings she would study in the library until she fell asleep. Many nights she never made it back to her room.

A week before the test, Edwina and her mother traveled to the Capital. The Baron paid for everything.

Edwina had never once traveled outside the Schloss barony. Her view of the world completely changed that day. She had always assumed the capital was big, but she was unprepared for the unwieldy size of the capital. People were crammed together in certain parts of the city and spread out in others. Instead of feeling awed, Edwina came away very disappointed with the city planners who had designed the capital. She spent the evenings redesigning the capital in her notebooks, while curled up next to the inn’s roaring fire.

They stayed at a decent inn, the Ramshackle Rabbit. She had a feeling the Baron had chosen the inn because of the alliterative name. A small joke for Edwina to enjoy. The innkeeper was a hardy woman, who served the best pot pie Edwina had ever tasted.

The test was an odious experience.

She was not allowed to take the test with the other potential students. Since she was the first commoner to ever take the test, she needed to be “monitored” to ensure a lack of duplicity. She sat alone at a desk in a small windowless room surrounded by five guards. A Procter would come in for each section of the test and leave immediately after. The room was stuffy, and the rattle of the guards’ armor almost drove Edwina crazy. She was hot, sweaty, and very distracted.

When she returned to the Ramshackle Rabbit that night, she cried. She had never cried in her life, not when she fell in the garden, got sick, or even when her father died. She was inconsolable. Her mother didn’t know what to do. When she finally roused herself out of her fit and opened the door, she found a warm pot pie and cocoa waiting for her.

Even after she started at the Royal Academy, she would visit the Ramshackle Rabbit on occasion to enjoy that pot pie and she did get into the academy. She got a perfect score on the entrance exam, a feat never seen before.

The Baron was ecstatic, he even received a letter of praise from the King. Edwina also got a letter congratulating her on her achievement. She was very surprised. The crown prince had also taken the test. His score was fairly high, but Edwina had bested him. She thought maybe the King would be upset.

But the King would prove to be a man of impeccable character. He procured a home for her and her mother in the capital and granted Edwina a stipend, so nothing could hinder her education.

Her first weeks at the Royal Academy were a lot tougher than she expected. The nobles sneered at her with disdain, her books were torn and shredded, and the other students took great pleasure in torturing her any in way possible. Sometimes they would just exchange insults, other times she would find herself cornered by several individuals and attacked.

This continued until after the first semester when tests results were released. Despite the lack of textbooks and her hindered study time (due to trips to the infirmary) Edwina still placed first.

She remembered the day the results were posted vividly. That was the same day she met Crown Prince Thackery and the soon-to-be Duchess Lovelace.

The students crowded around the results the murmurs loud enough that Edwina could hear every word. “She cheated!” “How could this be?” “She’s a commoner!” “This is a disgrace!” “What’s the prince going to do?”

Edwina turned about to return to her dorm when the cacophony of whispers quieted and the crowd parted.

At fourteen the prince was exceptionally large for his age. He towered over the students both his age and older. He wasn’t gangly either, his muscles were already filling out. He hunched forward, his hands in his pockets as he slinked through the crowd looking every inch a brutish thug.

Edwina gulped as he approached her, sure that he had violence on his mind. He loomed over her, his brown eyes flashing with anger. He pulled out his hand from his pocket and Edwina flinched.

Thackeray’s glare turned sharper and he lurched toward her. She scrambled backward her back hitting against the results.

“Good lord, Thack!” A voice exclaimed, “Are you trying to scare the daylights out of her!”

Thackeray ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair, “I wasn’t trying to! But she frightens so easily! She’s like a little squirrel!”

A small figure stepped around Thackery. She was a dainty figure compared to the massive prince. Her luscious dark hair falling to her waist and an already elegant face even in the midst of puberty. She looked like a miniature moon goddess brought to life.

“Good afternoon,” she curtsied, “My name is Lily Lovelace, heir to the Duchess of Lovelace.” She gestured to the prince and continued, “My companion is Crown Prince Thackery Wingate.”

The prince nodded his head toward Edwina, who still cowered against the wall. Lily looked at her patiently and gave her a kind smile.

Remembering her manners, Edwina scrambled and mimicked Lily’s curtsy with all the grace of an elephant, “Edwina Knight, it’s my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness, and Miss Lily.”

“Please no need for such for formalities,” Lily laughed, “Please call me Lily and feel free to call this brute, Thack.”

“Oh-no! I couldn’t!”

“I insist, just like I insist that you get lunch with us, Edwina,” Lily stepped forward and linked arms with Edwina, “We simply must discuss the test!”

Dazed, Edwina followed as Lily pulled her through the hallway. Lily chattered away praising Edwina.

“I can’t believe you are two years younger than us and you’re performing so well!”

“It’s nothing,” Edwina whispered.

“Nothing my ass,” Thackery growled, “I didn’t sleep for two weeks before that test. I studied like a madman and still you beat me.”

“What do you expect, Thackeray,” Lily laughed, “You’re too much a bully to be good at your studies.” She winked at Edwina.

“Don’t be intimidated, Edwina! Thackeray is more bark than bite!”

“I don’t even bark that much,” he muttered.

Edwina just nodded too overwhelmed by the amount of royalty in front of her to form coherent sentences. Lily and Thackeray continued to banter all through their lunch, and when the bell ran to return to class, they made Edwina promise to eat lunch with them tomorrow as well.

Lily gave her a quick hug before darting off to class. Thackeray merely growled, “I won’t lose next time,” and skulked off to his classes as well.

Edwina ate lunch with them every day, and before she knew it her days at the academy became peaceful and fun. Lily was filled with great wit and humor and Thackery’s straightforward and laidback nature made Edwina almost forget they were royalty.

As the years went by, she formed a true and unbreakable friendship between the two. A friendship that withstood the debacle that was Edwina’s relationship with Johannes.

Edwina graduated at the top of her class and with the help of Thackeray she found herself a position in the palace, eventually catching the eye of the King and becoming his Royal Historian.