It's Rays soft voice that breaks through the clouds in my sleeping brain. "My Liege, wake up. You have to stand up now, your Highness."
I hear what he is saying but I can't really respond. My thoughts are as viscous as syrup and my body feels like it's bound to my bed. My head hurts like something is drilling into my skull and my throat is dry. It seems like I still stayed up to long. How long did I even sleep? I just remember laying in bed and reading one of the books Gideon gave me. But never actively going to sleep. It seems like I must have fallen asleep out of exhaustion. No wonder I feel so bad right now, my body could not get enough rest. As tired as I am I want to move my body to slowly stand up until I'm awake enough to respond to Rays words. But all I could manage, is to wiggle my body a little under the blankets.
I hear a soft sight. "Princess, you should have direktly gone to sleep, yesterday. But look at you now. You worked to much and sleept the rest of the night on a book. How are you planing to go through the day?" I can hear a slight bit of annoyance in his words. He's usually not a big talker and rather talks with body language than words. And now having to see such an irresponsible person like me irritates him. I can feel his warm hand brush on my face and feel him tugging on something. The feeling on something hard under my head, that I just realize I'm laying on, vanished. The same goes with my drilling headache, even my body feels lighter.
While I coordinate my body to sit up in bed, rings Ray the bell to order some tea. Coffee is nothing this kingdom can afford to import right now, so some green tea will do. It has to.
"What do you want to wear today? A comfortable dress or trousers and a shirt?" With half open eyes I look his way, blinking to adjust to the brightness. There he stands, in both hands said clothes. "Shirt and trousers. I haven't planned and I doubt it, that anyone of us will leave the study today." I respond with a hoarse voice. Ray puts the dress away and helps me dressing. It's more like we are back to my childhood times, me sitting still and he pulling the shirt over my head and the trousers over my feet. The rest I will do right after standing up. Finally dressed, the tea arrives, while I slowly sip on it sitting in front of the mirror of my dressing table, Ray brushes my hair with a comb. Skillful after years of learning it.
He was trained by my mother, while she was still alive and she always told, how she lost more hair because of him, than taking care of me, my father, the castle affairs and the royal bankets all together. But as kind as she was, she never lost her cool and fortunatly for her, Ray learned fast. I feel happy and sad at the same time, as I remember the old times. Even if Ray notices my mood he doesn't give anything away.
After putting on a pair of insulated shoes, we jog around the castle to have at least a little bit of sport if we have to sit all day long. The cold weather finally woke me up and we returned to the study, where Gideon waited for us already. It seems like I was the only one struggling to wake up, after all he greets me with a smile that shines so bright that he outruns the northern sun. "I see you read some books last night, Your Highness." He coments. Surprised I touch my face. Is the mark of the book still there? No, it's gone. "It seems like you still know all of my bad habbits, Duke? But yes, you're right. After all I want this paper hell gone, just as fast as you want. I'm ashamed to say it, but after I lost all this sleep I didn't got to read even half of it before falling asleep." If it wasn't Gideon in front of me, I would never had admitted it, after all reading books and memorizing it's context fast is one of my best skills. But being honest of my progress, even if I lose face is one thing I have to accept to for working together. Gideon was my teacher, he saw me fail at some times and never saw me as a failure like other nobels would. In a kingdom where most people think, women are worth less than men and can't do anything other than cooking and bearing children, he may be an odball but that is why he is one of the people I can always be honest to.
I see him thinking about my words, he always frowns a little when he has to decide his next step. "Then we should definitly postpone their papers to a later time. Breakfast will come next, while you eat I will summerize you the kingdoms current assets, weakpoints, politics, and so on. After that we should discuss the most urgent papers. While waiting I already found a few that should definitly be rejected. But I will tell you later. You have to know the overall situation of the kingdom first, before deciding anything." he turns around and starts rustling through the papers again.
That man really can't sit still for at least one minute even at his age. I really have nothing against him doing his job. But while waiting he planed the whole day already and he's even gone through the mountain of papers I want to burn on the spot as soon as I see it. In his stead I would use that little free time I have to read a book or train with the sword. That man is really a workaholic, how frightening.
After planting my butt in a random chair in the room one can only hear the rustling of paper, Ray joined the Duke and goes through the papers with him. Slower than the Duke but still at a crazy speed. These men must be all monsters. I can understand the Duke, he got this work for nearly all his lifetime, but Ray never touched a book in all the time he lived with me, I knew he can read but never asumed he could do it so fast. Maybe we will get this done faster than I think.
"So in other words this kingdom is fucked." I summerized Gideons words. All the information I got right know give me a headache. My old teacher clears his throat. "I know it's all bad news and it definitly doesn't look good but I wouldn't say it's that bad" For a short time I think he is an idiot, with these problems he still looks on it's bright side. But it is definitly better than giving up, I give him that. I bury my face in my hands and mumble "So we have monster attacks, weak security, nearly no money, we can't build houses and the food grows less and lesser. And that is not the end of this kingdom? Oh my, why do I have to go through this? I thought the paperwork was the worst you will do to me. Here is nothing going as it should. Why did I agree with this marriage again? I wont see my fiancee for the rest of my life if this goes on." At the end of my monologue I'm lying all over the table and just want to cry. Not even Rays hands strocking my back lifts my mood. Even the unemotional Fae shows now sympathy.
"In short is right, after all you left out the influence of the nobles on the Crown Prince, the protests against slavetrade, the rising crime rate as well as the coming blizzard time we have to pass savely."
In other words, if we don't find a solution this whole kingdom will die. The people can't escape this if they don't want to loose their life to the monsters but in a cold kingdom without food or housing they will die too. For the sake of the people we have to find a solution, before I get this solved I can't even think of marriage. Maybe we even have to delay it.
I look up and stare at the source of the bad information. If looks could kill he would drop dead right now.