The training room hummed with the energy of a dozen girls, their eyes on the gnarled man in the middle of the group, looking them over individually. It was encouraging to see them all in their training robes, most of them having arrived in little more than rags stitched together with dirt crusted on their cheeks and beneath their fingernails. It still was a pitiful number for the army we needed, but it was a start. Mari had begun to regularly send girls back a few at a time, guiding them to the meeting stone then instructing them on how to arrive at the castle.

“We will rise and reach for a connection to the conduit of power from the very stone of the castle,” he said, tapping his oak cane on the stone beneath him. “The substance beneath your feet is the easiest to draw from, so that is where we will begin.”

The girls obediently scrambled to their feet, placing their feet a bit apart and looking towards the trainer with nervous eyes. I found myself reminiscing back to my own training days and remembering the serious lessons filled with warnings about all the things that could go wrong while drawing upon magic. There were more than just a few things that could overwhelm and consume you if you weren't just so careful. None of them were likely to be something as mundane as the power of an inanimate substance, but it was a healthy habit to be wary anyway. Magical auras, many too faint to recognize against the normal background magical energy, rose in power, and shone with their wavering, dull light. One of the girls that had come back with Mari on her first return had a wild, unruly magical aura that quickly grew, bumping into everyone else's and threatening to knock several girls out by consuming theirs entirely. With a quick grumble of recognition, the trainer hobbled over to the little blonde girl and gruffly barked for her to focus. Her face snapped into a serious expression and her expanding aura slowly stopped expanding and began to waver as she struggled to pull it back in. She had a lot of potential, I'd give her that, but without better control she would be of little use.

The other girls were straining to make any meaningful expansion of will, none of them were even close to reaching towards the stone and communing with its latent power. Their faces were screwed up into expressions of effort, sweat appearing on many of their brows. I could not remember if it had ever been quite so hard for me, but at least some of the girls' aura shivered and pressed outwards as a sign of some growth. I had hoped against odds that somehow we might have ended up with girls ready in a few months, but the current recruiting efforts were not so fruitful.

Leaning back against the doorway, I scanned over all the girls one by one, assessing each, until my eyes fell upon the real reason I had arisen early to watch. The once princess stood awkwardly, opening her scrunched up eyes to take peeks of the girls around her. Though she gave a great effort, nothing even approximating magical potential spilled from here. There was a void around her amongst the auras in the room, some even pushed into the space where hers should be and had no effect on the girl. Though she tried to keep her face even, the telltale signs of frustration were ingrained in her features.

Moving silently, I left my position at the entry and slithered through the girls, careful not to bump any of them, especially with my own potential. They were still in a dangerous stage of their development where coming up against too powerful a magical entity could forever imprint itself upon theml. None of the girls took any notice of me, their focus directly on their task, except the princess, who had nothing to focus on and therefore noticed my movement towards her long before I arrived. I greeted her with a half smile, then nodded to the trainer. He dismissed us with a wave of his hand, more than happy to be done with a student who had no potential. The girl looked up at at me, eyes wide as saucers, the kind of awe a child gets when they meet someone they admire and aspire to be. My half-smile widened at her reaction, thus far things had proceeded much as I had designed.

I lead the girl back to the dining hall, never turning back to ensure she followed or spoke, instead holding myself to the most regal and elegant stride I could muster. Once there, I took my seat at the head of the table and vaguely gestured towards another seat close enough to easily hold conversation. Adhering to my request princess Tiffany sat down and turned her attention to me. As soon as we both were seated, a servant brought out two steaming bowls of richly spiced porridge coated in honey and fruit, a much finer meal than the recruits were accustomed to. A look of relief passed over the princess' features, obviously she had been wanting for the royal meals of her past.

“So,” I said suddenly as the servant disappeared from sight, “how do you find your stay at the house Yser?”

Princess Tiffany looked up from her bowl and gave me a slightly wary glance. My presence seemed to cause some sort of conflict in her.

“It has been fine,” she lied.

She was not a very good liar, she was unable to keep her face from betraying her true feelings. However, such could be worked on and improved.

“Has it?” I said, sounding disinterested. I let the unsettled silence set in between us as I stirred my breakfast, all the while keeping my eyes on the girl. “I don't think I quite believe that.”

She looked up, countenance now very assuredly nervous.

“Could this be due to the fact that you are used to a finer lifestyle than the one you are afforded here?”

She nodded and a look of relief crossed her features. “Yes my queen, I did not know that I would be coming to live the life of a commoner.”

I allowed a soft, trilling laugh to escape my lips. “My dear, I do not think that you quite know what it is like to live as a commoner. I assure you that their lives are even less charmed than the one you currently find yourself in.”

“Less?” The girl looked horrified.

“Of course,” I explained, “I have been rather kind to you and given you opportunities that most commoners could only dream of. You are clean, warm, and fed regularly, that already is far beyond most commoners.”

She furrowed her brow and raised her chin up, looking me directly in the eyes. “I am the daughter of king whom was intended to become a queen, why should I be treated any lesser at all?”

I could not help the grin from spreading across my lips or the short, airy laugh. It truly was too easy.

“Why indeed?” I questioned with mirth. “Why were you going to be the child bride of an elderly man and accept that you were to be his child bearing slave? You would have been expected to be meek and quiet, accept his wishes without question. Really, were you going to better off being lesser simply because of your sex?”

The princess opened her mouth, but words failed to materialize.

“Oh, did you never really think about what being subservient to a king meant before? Surely you must have seen your mother bow her head and give in to your father over something she felt strongly about.”

Her jaw clamped tightly for a moment, it seemed I had hit a nerve.

“It would have been the same for you. Remember, the king you were to marry was my father. I assure you that he would not have cared one single bit about what you wanted, it would have been all about him and you would have had to sacrifice your wants, desires, and dignity daily.”

The princess lowered her chin once more and sat back in her chair, her eyes flitting away from me as her defiance vanished.

“If I were you, I think I would be very angry with your father. He knew exactly what your fate was to be and sent you anyway.”

“He did know,” she said quietly to herself. The food in front of her no longer seemed to appeal to her as she pushed it away, largely uneaten. “He really did know how old your father is?”

I nodded solemnly.

Anger flooded her features, tinting her cheeks a bright red.

“Now you understand,” I said gently, “you were used for political gain. Your father thought your life and well -being was expendable.”

She didn't say anything, but angry tears had begun to gather in the corners of her eyes.

“Perhaps, he is deserving of a bit of revenge.”

I let the statement hang in the air as I non-nonchalantly resumed eating my breakfast. I didn't need to look up at the princess to feel her mind mull over what I was suggesting.

“What kind of revenge?” she finally asked, voice quiet as if afraid someone may eavesdrop on our scheme.

“How would you like to rule your kingdom?” I asked.

“But I am not in line for the throne,” she replied with confusion, “there's no way I would be allowed.”

I let out another airy laugh and shook my head. “There is still much for you to learn. As women, sometimes we have to take what is rightfully ours.”

“I don't understand.”

“I'm sure you have noticed that I answer to no man.”

“Yes,” she said with a nod, “you have a... consort.” Her face flushed and her eyes darted away from me.

“A female consort, yes, I see you are not familiar with such arrangements.” I was greatly amused by her reaction. “However, why should women not enter into such unions more regularly? Men tend to want to dominate in every situation while women are more pragmatic and level-headed.”

“I- I don't know,” she stammered.

“Does not matter,” I said with a wave of my hand, “my choice of bed partners is just one example of how I have taken my own destiny into my hands. If you decide to take yours as well, you can make any choice you'd like.”

“But I am here in your kingdom, my destiny is currently guided by you.”

“Yes my child, for now, but one day you will be older and ready to lead,” I explained, “and when that day comes, I hope we are allies.”