by Daris Howard
Chapter 19
An Experiment in Kindness and Courtesy
After the first few days getting used to each other, the time raced by. They would spend a couple of the afternoons in the gardens each week. He found that some days it seemed to revive her spirits, and some days it made her listless and unhappy.
He learned how much he liked to eat food right off of the plants. He had never done it before, and the same food he had eaten for years was almost totally different when it was fresh. He would be totally enthralled in the experience of tasting something, only to realize she was watching him and smiling. She seemed to enjoy his pleasure in it, but it always embarrassed him.
Because of the multitude of things he found himself learning, he started hating being called her tutor. Sometimes he thought she was tutoring him. That was especially true in the gardens. He started referring to it as "learning together".
They had been learning together for about four weeks, and, as he watched her practice her defensive moves, he decided it was time to move to the next level.
"I think you have this down very well, Your Highness."
Marie paused to catch her breath. "I would hope so, after a month of blocking and dodging. Are we ready to go to swords now?
"Actually, a month is a very short time, and you have learned fast. And no, we aren't ready to go to swords, yet. The next thing you have to master is watching your feet. Then we have to start all over and teach you to strike without your opponent being able to read your movements."
Marie groaned. "We'll never get to swords."
"Oh, we'll get there all right, but I don't want you learning any bad habits. It is harder to break a habit than to learn it right the first time."
Marie seemed reluctant, but resigned to the sensibility of it. Jacob positioned himself in front of her so she could watch him. "I know I am going to regret teaching you this, but let's start with your foot movement. In all the times you've tried, you've only been able to kick me once, and do you know why?"
Marie smirked. "Because you're lucky?"
"No, because that one time you did something different, and because I had my guard down to shake hands with you. Can you think of what you did differently?"
Marie thought a moment and then shook her head. Jacob pointed at his own feet. "It was in your stance."
"My stance?"
Jacob demonstrated as he talked. "Yes. Usually you are standing square stance so that, in order to kick me, you first have to move your leg back before you can move it forward. That extra time it takes is just enough to allow me to jump out of the road."
Marie told him she didn't understand, so he started over. He had her stand in a square stance, feet across from each other. Then he had her slowly bring her foot back naturally, like she did when she tried to kick him. He nodded as she did it. "What do you see your shoulders doing?"
Marie thought about it, trying it a couple more times, but finally answered. "As my foot goes back, my shoulders naturally lean forward."
"That's right. That's your body's motion trying to keep you balanced. Now, do it again and tell me what you see your arms doing?"
Marie tried to move as naturally as possible and watch what her body was doing. Jacob could see the concentration in her eyes and she spoke quietly, as if speaking to herself. "My right arm goes back as my right leg goes back and my left arm is going forward."
"That's right. So I know exactly which foot is going to strike. You never see a good sword fighter stand in square stance, but he will always have one foot back. In competition, a man would never use his feet; however, if you are truly defending yourself, I want you to be able to."
Marie sputtered arrogantly. "Like I will need to."
"Don't discount it," Jacob said.
Jacob then had her change her stance. He had her put one foot back slightly, her feet still apart. He showed her, and then helped her get her feet just right, and had her relax by rocking back and forth on them. He nodded his approval. "That is how a sword fighter stands. And if I ever needed to kick at my opponent, my leg would already be back in position."
He swung his back foot forward quickly to demonstrate. He did this a couple of times, and showed her again the difference if he stood the other way and had to take his leg back first.
He then turned back to her. "Now, you try it." Then he thought about that a minute and backed away. "You try it after I'm out of range."
Marie practiced getting into position and then kicking. She was awkward at first, but soon seemed to do it almost naturally. Jacob smiled his approval. "Good. Now let's try something else. Set your feet in what we'll call sword fighter stance." He stood comfortably with his one leg back, and she did likewise. "Put your weight now on your back foot and kick with your front. What your body is forced to do naturally is pivot. This foot is used to trip your opponent, if need be, as long as he is in the right position."
Jacob showed her by doing quick pivots on his back foot. Marie tried pivots, as well, but she was slow and awkward. Jacob told her to stand more on her toes on her back foot. That would give her more speed and also help her balance. She did, and immediately improved. She was still practicing this, and Jacob was voicing his approval of her efforts, when Esmeralda, a servant girl, came in with their mid-morning tea.
"Here's your tea, Your Highness."
Marie kept practicing and didn't even look up from watching her feet as she answered harshly. "We're busy."
Jacob turned to Esmeralda and smiled. "Thank you, Esmeralda. And the princess thanks you, too."
Marie looked at him and scowled. "I do not."
Jacob ignored Marie and bowed slightly to Esmeralda. "She truly does; she just doesn't know it yet."
"I do not!" Marie yelled, kicking at him. Jacob quickly moved and caught her foot, lifting it waist-high so she was hopping on one leg. He shook his head. "It doesn't look like you learned anything I just taught you." He backed her up to a chair, with her hopping all the way. "May I offer you a chair, Your Highness?"
With that, he shoved her into the chair and dropped her leg. She instantly leaped to her feet, and Esmeralda left, giggling as she went. Marie's face flushed with embarrassment and anger. "You... You... I hate you!"
"Yes, I know." Jacob said quietly, determined to stay calm. Calmness in the face of an enemy can be more disarming than almost anything a person can do. He just smiled and pointed at the tea. "Tea?"
Marie acted like she was just about to kick him. He prepared himself to move or grab her foot. Then she stopped and smiled, disarmingly and motioned to the tea and nodded. Jacob stepped up to the tea, and she lashed out with her back foot, catching him hard in the shins.
"Ow!" Jacob dropped down to rub his shin.
Marie smirked as she dropped into a chair. "I'm a fast learner."
She pointed at the tea. "You may pour the tea now."
Jacob stood and poured a cup full of tea. He smiled at her and started to hand it to her. Just as she was reaching out for it, he poured it in her lap. Marie flew out of her chair, jumping up and down and yelling at him, screaming that he had burned her.
Jacob continued to smile calmly. "Not much. You don't have them bring your tea very hot."
Marie was livid. "How dare you pour tea on me!"
"You didn't say please," he said.
"Please! Why should I say please to a servant?"
"My father taught me that the higher the office you hold, the more people you are a servant to," Jacob replied. "I may be a servant to the queen and her court, but you are a servant to your people."
Marie was indignant. "I am not!"
"Oh, yes, you are. Your court may serve your needs, but if you truly are going to be a princess and a queen, you've got to learn that you are a servant to your people, and not the other way around."
She stared at him, but he could see in her eyes that she was thinking hard about this. When she spoke, her voice had a thoughtful quality to it, even if the anger and arrogance was still ther
e. "So you would have me say thank you and please to every servant and peasant that does something for me?"
"Yes," he replied. "And further, it wouldn't hurt to know their names, too."
Marie glared at him defiantly. "Why should I?"
Jacob motioned to a chair. "If you will sit, we can discuss it over tea."
She continued to glare at him for a moment, but she finally sat and dried her pants with a towel. He, then, picked up the tea pot. "Would you like some tea, Your Highness?"
Her voice was still angry as she spoke. "Yes!"
He paused, holding the tea pot and raising his eyebrows. She got the message, whether she liked it or not, and finally said it. "Please!"
Jacob poured her a cup of tea and then poured one for himself. He sat down and took a sip, then looked up at her. "Your Highness has been to the stables many times, have you not?"
She looked at him suspiciously and narrowed her eyes, as if wondering what he was getting at, so he continued. "I know you have, because I have seen you there, and I know you like to ride."
Marie's voice still betrayed her anger. "What has that got to do with this?"
"Please bear with me," he replied.
"All right, yes I have."
Jacob nodded and continued. "Have you seen the battle stallions trained?"
"Yes."
"Do we whip them?"
"No."
"Strike them?"
"No."
"Yell at them?"
Marie's voice quivered with impatience and frustration. "No. But what does this have to do with anything?"
"Let me tell you how we train them. We train them with gentleness and reward so that they grow to love their trainers and, thus, their human masters. This kindness engenders that love and loyalty needed in the horses so that if their master falls off in battle, the horses will risk their lives for them. If that love and loyalty were not there, the horses would leave their masters to die in the thick of things."
There was a short pause as they both sipped their tea, and what Jacob was saying seemed to be sinking in with Marie. He continued. "If there is anyone who needs the love and loyalty of those who serve her, it is the queen."
Marie sat quietly, sipping her tea for a long time. When she finally spoke, her voice was much subdued. "But won't it make me seem less royal?"
Jacob shook his head. "Not at all. To your servants and your people, it will make you far more royal than you can ever imagine. To have your people love you is a noble thing."
Marie spoke slowly and quietly. "I don't know."
Jacob could sense the internal struggle she seemed to be having with this concept. He smiled at her to assure her. "Then do as my father taught me. He taught me that if I ever doubted something, to try it as an experiment. So let's just do an experiment for a week, and you tell me what you think. If you don't feel it makes life better, I will never bring it up again. Is it a deal?"
Marie paused for a moment, then answered cautiously. "Maybe."
Jacob spoke encouragingly. "You try to say please and thank you for everything someone does for you, and you start calling even the house cleaning maids by their names."
"How would I learn their names?" Marie asked.
"I can help you."
"You know all of their names?" Marie asked.
"Most of them. There is no more beautiful sound to a person's ears than their own name. The ones you don't know, ask."
"Won't that bother them?"
Jacob shook his head. "No one is offended when you show an interest in them."
Marie looked away. "I don't know."
Jacob pressed on. "Just one week?"
Marie paused, then slowly nodded. "All right. Just one week."
Chapter 20
Seeing A Change And Understanding
Captain Richins had been tutoring Marie for over a month and a half, and Louise had some concerns. She was impatiently pacing back and forth in the throne room. She had to know whether what she was hearing was true or not. It seemed like forever to her until Lord High Chamberlain entered and bowed.
"You sent for me, Your Majesty?"
She signaled him to rise, and she took her seat. "Matthew, I just received a report from the royal physician, and he is concerned about the princess."
Matthew looked troubled. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"He says the princess is acting very peculiar."
"Did he say in what way?"
"He said she was..."
Louise paused. Suddenly what she was about to say sounded really stupid, even to herself.
Matthew looked right at her. "Yes, Your Majesty?"
Louise threw up her hands and continued. "He said she was saying please and thank you to everyone, including the servants."
Lord High Chamberlain smiled. "And this is a problem?"
Louise spoke hesitantly. "Well, no. But he also says she is calling them by name, too."
"And the court physician does not like this?"
Louise let out an exasperated sigh. "It's not that. It's just the staff is not used to it, and they are wondering if something is wrong. Frankly, they are a bit unnerved by it."
Matthew started to laugh. "I can assure you, Your Majesty, that nothing is wrong. I was perplexed by it at first, and I talked to the young captain, who explained that he is having the princess practice an experiment of kindness and courtesy."
Louise breathed a sigh of relief and excitement. "How utterly amazing!"
"I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?"
"It's just that I have tried to teach her some of these things all of her life, and she has rebelled against it." Louise let down all royal demeanor and just became friendly. "And you know what else, Matthew?"
"What, Your Majesty?"
"We will be discussing something, and she will pop off with some off-the-wall quote - many I have never heard of."
"Like what?"
Louise furled her brow. "For example, we were sitting at dinner the other night with my old Aunt Eldna, the Duchess of Sedville. She was talking about her ailments again, and she can be, what is the word I'm looking for?"
"May I suggest 'boring', Your Majesty?"
Louise smiled. "That wasn't quite the word I was looking for, but it will do. Anyway, she was going on and on, and suddenly, Marie blurted out, 'Homer said, it is tedious to tell again tales already plainly told.' Why, I thought Aunt Eldna was going to die right there on the spot."
Matthew laughed. "The princess does have a tendency to speak her mind."
Louise shook her head. "But a quote like that, and from Homer!"
"The young captain loves those kinds of things."
Louise became very quiet and almost preoccupied in her thoughts, and spoke as if to herself. "It is unbelievable that his words and feelings could penetrate her heart in this short time when none of ours could in years." She then turned to Matthew. "How does he do it?"
"I will have to admit that his teaching methods are somewhat unorthodox. Sometimes he treats her more like one of his men than a princess, but the funny thing is, she seems to respond to it. And he is the first tutor that has stuck it out more than a month."
Louise seemed absorbed in her thoughts for some time. Finally, she looked back up at Matthew. "Have you noticed any kind of, how shall I say, affection between them?"
Matthew shook his head. "If you are referring to any romantic inclinations, I cannot say I have. However, she throws books at him less often than she did at first, and she doesn't kick at him quite as much, though, due to some of his training, I think that when she does, she finds her mark more. To be honest, their feelings toward each other are hard to figure out. If they have any at all, they seem to keep them to themselves, or perhaps, there are none. I can not tell. In some ways, it is almost as if the captain sees her more like a man."
"With the way she dresses, it is no wonder. Matthew, has the captain ever broached with Marie the subject of her wearing a dress?"
"Not that I know of, Your M
ajesty."
"Do you think we should talk to him about that?
Matthew stood quietly for a moment, pondering. When he spoke, he seemed to be considering things carefully. "Your Majesty, when I trained for the military, we were taught to pick our battles carefully. One never attacks an enemy at their strongest point if it can be avoided. Perhaps the young captain sees no need to attack this front, as we have, for that is one place where the princess seems to have her strongest defenses."
"Then what should we do?" the queen asked. "Time is growing short."
"Sometimes when the perimeters around the strongest defenses fall, the major stronghold simply becomes less important, and, eventually, is surrendered. I would suggest we leave it in his hands. He has made more progress already than I ever imagined possible."
Louise, too, had to admit that was true. She leaned back and looked at the ceiling, contemplating what to do. She was desperate to know if there were any feelings between them. She turned back to him. "Matthew, I would have a word with my daughter, alone. Would you have her sent in?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Matthew left to summon the princess. Louise took this moment to figure out what she could say. For so many years now they had seemed at odds. No matter what she said, Marie seemed to take it in the worst light possible. Their conversations had almost inevitably turned into anger and shouting. She hoped and prayed, somehow, there could be a respite from the torturous feelings they seemed to put each other through. She carefully considered her words.
After a short time, Marie entered and bowed. "You wanted to see me, Mother?"
Marie's voice was soft and kind, and almost took Louise by surprise. Before, she had come in so full of anger and spite - defensive. Louise smiled at the pleasantness of Marie's behavior. "Yes, Marie. Please have a seat." Marie plopped down on the steps in a very unladylike manner as Louise continued. "Marie, sometimes, as I have raised you, I have not always made the best decisions. It has been hard to be both a queen and a mother. We have not always seen eye to eye on everything, but I have always had your welfare in mind. As you know, over a month ago, I asked the captain of the guard to tutor you."