"SINCE THE beginning, the queen plays a huge role in ruling the Kingdom of Mowsland. Our founding queen, Queen Selena helped our first king, King Aston to establish our country. Since then the king and the queen are hand in hand in ruling Mowsland," the royal advisor said.
Everyone listens intently. Some are even nodding. They obviously know what he was talking about already. It was probably part of their lessons with their expensive tutors.
Temari, on the other hand, was getting anxious. The only 'formal' education she had was when she was in the orphanage. Even then, she didn't really listen to most of the classes she finds boring. History was one of those classes. And now they have to do an examination?
The royal advisor continued his speech, "It might be different from other countries but in ours, a queen is not just an accessory to accompany the king. Nor is her only purpose to produce heirs to the throne. The queen has a say in important decisions. Just like the queens before her, she will rule Mowsland alongside the king. She will be delegated to face and communicate with the royal families of our neighboring countries, among other responsibilities. Because of this, if you want to be the queen, you should know our country's history well. This is why we prepared this first activity for this event."
The princesses and the ladies murmured their approval. Temari was clenching her fists on her lap.
"Now ladies, get the paper and quill in front of you. I will be asking questions about the history of Mowsland and you shall write your answers on your paper. The ones who will have the most correct answers will have a chance to eat lunch with the crown prince."
The women in the library let out a happy and excited giggles. Of course they will want to have lunch with the crown prince. The reason why they are here being him and the possibility of becoming a queen.
[Which are not my goals when I entered the castle. Okay, I don't care if I don't get the right answers.]
Temari was about to relax when the royal advisor added, "It might be unfortunate, but for those who will have the least correct answers will have to leave the castle tonight."
The tension went back to Temari. Cold sweat trickle down from her nape and down to her spine and the middle of her chest. No one seemed to notice her nerves which was just fine.
The royal advisor cleared his throat and after a while he began asking questions. Temari's hand was shaking as she dips her quill in the ink and scribble answers on the paper. She didn't know if what she was writing are correct or not. The first set of questions requires dates and names as answers. She went by instinct, writing dates randomly. But at least she knew some famous names of kings and princes. Not because she remembered her lessons in the orphanage but because of the stories she heard from old regulars in Blackgrove Tavern.
The second sets of questions were more interesting because it was about Queen Selena and King Aston. Even during the lessons in the orphanage, Temari was more interested in the early days of the Kingdom of Mowsland than the rest of its history. Even then, she has a fascination for the Fairy Queen.
"Now for the last question," the royal advisor said. He cleared his throat and continued, "According to our historians, Queen Selena left something to her children when her husband died. What are those things according to the history books?"
Temari sat straighter and her ears perked up when she heard that question. The women around her murmured restlessly, probably because they don't know the answer. Temari didn't know either. She only knew that the Fairy Queen left something before she disappeared and that's that. But now, a realization hit her.
The royal heirloom she was trying to find is probably that thing Queen Selena left behind. If that item is indeed written in the history books, then if she tries hard enough, she will know what the heirloom looks like. That way, it will be easier for Temari to find it and steal it.
Her heart was beating fast as she scribbles an answer on the paper. She didn't care if her answer is wrong because her mind was already busy plotting her next move.
After a few seconds, the butler collected the papers. The royal advisor asked everyone that they have free time now while they check the answers and figure out who will have the chance to eat lunch with the crown prince.
Temari stood quickly and her lady's maid approached her. "How was it, my lady? Did you get a lot of correct answers?"
"Maybe. It doesn't matter. They said we have free time right now. Does that mean we can look around this library? Is it allowed for us to flip through the books?"
Emma stared at her with awe. "Oh, my lady. You love books? That's great. Of course you can look around. Tell me what kind of books you love to read and I will accompany you."
Temari smiled at her lady's maid. "I would like to see these history books the royal advisor talked about. Which way should I go?"
The lady's maid excused herself for a moment to approach the butler. Then she went back to Temari's side and pointed to the left. "The history books are there."
"Great let's go. I am curious about the last question. I want to know what Queen Selena left her children when King Aston died. Can you help me search the books to find out, Emma?"
"Of course, my lady. I will help you."
Temari smiled at her. "Thank you."
Off they went to the part of the library where the books about Mowsland are located. Emma chose to check the books in one shelf while Temari walked deeper down the narrow aisle between two tall bookshelves. The books in this part still look new. Temari thought that the books that probably have the information she needed are in older books. The older, the better. So she walked farther down the aisle.
Temari's heart beats faster when she noticed that the books in the shelves are starting to look older. Her gaze is focused on the books even when she reached the end of the shelves and she turned to get to the other side.
She gasped when she bumped into a hard but familiar body. Her hands automatically tried to find something to hold on to. Her one hand grabbed the edge of the shelf while her other hand went to a strong and muscular arm. At the same time, his free arm snaked around her waist, probably to prevent her from falling.
Temari's heart felt like it dropped on the ground though. Especially when his dry and masculine voice whispered just above her head, "If this happens again, I will assume that you are bumping into me on purpose."
Temari looked up. Just as she feared, her gaze met a pair of forest green eyes. She was face to face with the crown prince again.