Page 3 of Petals for Vicious Secrets

“All of this is important to understand how our society works, Lenna,” Leo said the third time she rolled her eyes with boredom in the last session. The green eyes under his wrinkled and now-frowned forehead contrasted with his gray hair.

“No way. Really?”

“Really. And if you could concentrate a bit more and pay attention, maybe you would see why all these people you say you don’t care about shaped your world today.”

“I’m paying more attention than I should. I cannot seriously understand why knowing that Carl-whatever went to bed with Johanna-whatever over two centuries ago has any relevance.”

“It is relevant because she was a nobody, and Carl Heinf was a House Ruler. They went against the Thyrian Laws, and that ended in both being discarded and the East House having no heir, as Carl did not have any successors. So, the Thyrian magical system was unstable until the Organ Mandor decided who to assign as the East Ruler.”

“And as the daughter of a Ruler and his extremely lucky successor, I must make sure to have some kids sooner rather than later for the sake of the whole of Thyria. Fantastic. I’m thrilled knowing that they cannot fix their beloved island without the help of a twenty-four-year-old’s uterus. Lesson learned. Can we finish this now?” she did not enjoy talking rudely to Leo, who only taught her what the Curriculum included as per her father’s instructions. But this topic made her blood boil.

“There is no rush. Your father will live for many more years, but it’s good to understand how the magic dynamics work. I think it’s better if we continue the lesson another day.”

“I can’t wait.” Lenna quickly packed her blank notepad and quilts into her bag, stood up and went to the door, doing her very best to calm herself enough and not slam it.

The rage had been with her until supper, and her dear sister Ayla asking questions to dear father about the dear politics of their dear House didn’t help her mood. Why was Ayla always so interested to know every single detail about it? Her twin was always so annoyingly pleasant to her father and mother it was unnerving.

“And then Clement explained how bravely our ancestors fought for our House, and it made me realize how lucky we are to have mother and you defend us,” Ayla said with awe in her face as she looked at their parents.

Of course she did.

Lenna did her best to concentrate on her plate and finish quickly so she could leave before starting an argument. The best way to avoid an argument these days was to keep her mouth shut.

“It’s our honor to do so, Ayla. The North is an important part of Thyria, and we are proud to represent it,” mother said. “After the Fifth Ceremony when you turn twenty-five next week, you’ll understand the repercussions in the world of what happens here.”

“The repercussions like ruling over people that are our slaves, and pretending they are not?” Lenna asked sharply. The rage from the session with Leo apparently made her temper even shorter than usual. She usually could keep quiet for longer while they talked about “sensitive topics”, as her parents liked to call them.

“Not again, Lenna.” Father put his fork down and staring at her.

“You know they are not slaves, Lenna. They serve us because they want. Because they are grateful,” her mother said.

Lenna snorted, also putting down her fork. “Like hell they are. They are slaves because they know if they don’t obey your stupid Laws they will be discarded.”

“Enough, Lenna,” father insisted. “Leave this room now.”

“My fucking pleasure,” Lenna grinned with a fake bow.

She was by the door when she heard her father mutter, “So much for the heir of this House.”

That had been the summary of her day. Two rows for the price of one. That was more than average, and even the floating sparks in her room didn’t seem to be enough to make her feel less shit.

It had not been the best day, and her not sleeping wouldn’t make things easier for her the following one. Not as the first thing she had in the morning was training with Theon.

She decided she would apologize to Leo as soon as she saw him in the afternoon for their daily lesson. Leo was kind and patient with her and did not deserve to be the person she blamed for how shitty things were in this place. As Lenna closed her hand, the golden sparks stopped, and she closed her eyes. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long before she fell asleep.

Theon had no mercy.

In case the dark areas under her eyes were not proof enough that she hadn’t slept one-bit last night, she told him.

“Could we have an easy session today, Theon?” Lenna yawned.

“You didn’t say the magic word,” the muscled brown-haired man said with an honest grin.

“Please.” She said rolled her eyes but with a small smile.

“Please what?” Theon went on. Lenna tried to never complain about the tough trainings they did, and he was clearly enjoying this too much.

“Clever Theon that I admire so much: since you are so kind and generous, could we have an easy session today, please?” Lenna gave her best attempt at an innocent smile.

---