"Welcome back Lady Dyne." Lady Tiffaney Curtsied with all the others of main castle, welcoming the lord of the house back. There was no reason for the child to know she returned and even less to explain what happened.
Most importantly why had her lead servant told the heir when she was returning. She hoped to coast a few days and work on improving her slingshot before she started educating the heir.
"Please don't let us bother you, any of my matters can wait a few days." With that the girl stepped back and let Sir Octave manage things. Really why did this child keep doing strange things?
"Ill rest tonight and see you in the afternoon, I think its time to start formal training for being the next heir."
There were also several things to discuss with the girl concerning her rescued friend and maybe the fall of her family's house. Those were things to come for now the lady decided to clean up and rest. Catch up for what she missed while out could wait until the morning.
"Take care kiddo." Waving the lady walked down the main hall before she left sight. Clambering up a statue and then a trap door, the lady snuck into her own private baths. Modeled after a real volcano, the baths soft orange water looked terribly out of place. It was however just plain water with special lighting and fog mixers that made it appear like a bubbling slag pool.
Relaxing she let her thoughts wonder to what to teach the tyke. Part of the agreement with past kings was to not interfere with maters of the kingdom, and long range presession strikes were considered interference. Her gathering of the destitute and the appointment of an heir from the kingdoms nobility probably counted as well.
There was no matter for her to worry, she hadn't done anything she felt that she might regret in the fullness of time.
In the afternoon the two met in the main castle library, and the lady was not happy to see the trike parked in front of the room.
It was a simple set of gears and guarded chain, with three large wheels. It had lightweight alloy frame and soft griped handlebars to steer. The whole thing was painted in dark blue, with big reflectors so it was visible to others.
Neither Lady Aroura nor Sir Bandersnatch would let her get away with modifications. It took everything she had to argue for the reflectors and bike bell. No gas-powered motors, no solid-state rocket boasters, no artillery (water balloon or hard cordite), no wings or flight capabilities either.
It didn't even transform into a mech!
Concealing her dour mood, the lady came in to find the noble already reading. Other than her ill-fated escape attempt Tiffaney was adjusting well. None of the reports she received indicated that she was planning to escape again or that she didn't apply herself.
"Its good to see you applying yourself." It was true, most days the old lady just dragged herself through each task she had to do but didn't want to.
"Lady Dyne!" Moving to stand, the noble fumbled after being startled by Miss Dyne.
"What did I say about formality, just call me Ishmael…No wait, don't" Moving to the head spot after positioning the chalk board, the noble watched with interest.
"We last covered history but honestly there isn't much beyond what I told you that you should care about." Her noble upbring covered enough general history and geography that the lord felt it wasn't worth doing. Heir Dyne did not desire to stay in this castle forever, so it would make sense to focus more on other things.
"I have decided that the first piece of your education will be trade oriented. If you are serious about not staying here and inheriting the place, those skills will let you live peacefully in Dyne territory, or should allow you to at least figure out what to do outside them if you so choose." Looking into the nobles' eyes, they were brackish green, hazel the proper term for it. To a blue-eyed noble family that was untenable.
"The second is, since you decided to stay and assist me, I will teach you anything you want to know. No matter what is. Want to build death traps? I can instruct you. Wish to learn how to launch a guy fifty kilometers, that too. Make the greatest pizza slice? Only place in the world can you find that gem of wisdom."
Pauses were common in the two dialogues. Each had their own way of doing things, and her overall flair tended to overwhelm others around her. Gently waiting the lady stood to get books and let the noble process what she had said.
When she returned the noble looked like she was ready to say something.
"Can you teach me how the storms work?" For a moment Lady Dyne sat and let the warm feeling wash over her. No one ever asked about that, it was one of the greatest works of the Dyne family, yet everyone assumed it was just supposed to be there.
"Of course, since I will need time to prepare projects for you to do, we can start today with that lesson."
Moving through a door bearing the legend 'Atmospheric Phenomena' the lady came back with two picture books.
"Start by reading these, this will cover the general information." For a moment the noble looked at the bright cover and the words, 'All about clouds!' With a colorful dog looking up at the sky, Tiffaney was hesitant. Learning had always been about thick books and wordy phrases.
They weren't long and in just ten short minuets the child closed them both.
"How cute." She muttered after finishing. They were fun, the dogs tail kept forming the various cloud shapes. The other book which talked about precipitation was also adorable though it featured a small group of hamsters that would ride the various rains and snows.
"What are three common forms of water?" Looking up from the books, Lady Dyne posed the question.
"Ice, vapor and…water?" Unsure if water was the right form of the answer the noble hesitated.
"What about three things that fall from the sky?"
"Rain, Snow and Hail."
"Three cloud types?"
"Cirrus, Cumulus, and…mamma?" She was hesitant on this, there were many different clouds that had been listed.
"What about how their named."
"Oh, based on where they are found in the sky!" Excited that she remembered that part the lady didn't say more, just absorbed the sight of her heir glowing brilliantly.
"Cloud types are all local names, the rest of the world will have different names, but you can generally tell some facts about them based on appearance. Frankly these are all named as we worked on building the thunderstorm, so most of these terms won't appear elsewhere."
Gauging the reaction, the noble did show a bit of pause when she realized that no one else would know what she is talking about if she started spouting off cloud names. Why are we talking about this than if it won't help her?
"You will find that a lot of terms used in this castle may or may not be used in the wider world. Most of them are chosen and are meant to refer to something very specific, or an exact definition not what people may call it commonly. It's a way to improve communication so everyone knows exactly what you might be discussing at the time. Most of these are found in the community, so there isn't too much worry if you stay in the territory."
Appeased the noble nodded while listening thoughtful. Rose must be happy with a student that pays so much attention.
"Read 'All About Clouds' again, this time read it aloud to me." Taken aback, the noble was clearly not on board with such a suggestion.
"We all learn differently, but what is common is that the more ways we engage material, the better we learn and remember so reading aloud can help you understand more." Still hesitant the noble wasn't sold yet.
"Ill be working on putting together some of the facts for how storms work so I won't listen just read aloud to yourself." That was sufficient to coax the chided into action, softly mumbling the words. She clearly paused before muttering softly.
"Manna was a feature not a type!" Smiling as the child noticed her mistakes the two spent a pleasant afternoon lesson together talking all about clouds.
Back in rear castle the noble got off her tricycle when Sir Octave appeared. Crisply dressed, Tiffaney wondered when he had time to make his clothes so neat and perfect. She didn't jump and scream this time, but she was started by his sudden appearance.
"The lady of the house wished me to inform you that she will be attending your classroom session tomorrow. She felt that the experiments she has created will help the children as well." Considering for a moment, the lady responded better to bright sweet flavors. Choosing sugar plum he produced one into the nobles mouth before she could respond as usual.
"Thank you." She always remembered to thank him, some of the other servants could learn from her.
"I will check to make sure that nothing brought is explosive caustic or lethal." Speaking before the shadow walked away, the head servant left very worried noble child behind.