Chapter Text
Samah stood gazing out over the desert landscape from a palace balcony, letting herself think.
Not long ago, her and her whole family had been completely caught up trying to defend the kingdom against witch attacks the best they could. Now she was back in her own part of the kingdom, gentle breezes of peace rustling through her braids.
All this extra time on her hands, and a newfound peace of mind, left her with more mental room to think about other things.
She felt herself sigh, relieving tension as her amber eyes wandered the landscape. To the west, the treacherous Desolate Slopes, where her piece of the spell was once hidden. Now the dangerous rocky landscape didn’t guard her secret anymore, the spell pieces had been destroyed by her father a while ago.
To the northeast, the Harbor of the Wise, her kingdom’s most important trade hub besides the tunnel connecting them to the underground kingdom.
To the north… the academy.
Her gaze narrowed. A thorn in her side, and probably her least favorite place in her part of the kingdom. It had bothered her for years now, and now that she finally had more time on her hands, perhaps now the time had really come to do something about that place.
It bothered her. Nothing about the way that place was run sat right with her. The secrecy, the way she was barely let in on what happened behind those doors, the way they knowingly and covertly broke her father’s national ban on magic, the one she upheld here.
But all of that didn’t even come close to the way they wholly and completely did not allow women to study there, even with their position as the only major academy in all of the former Five Kingdoms. That was not right, in no way at all could she let that stand.
Samah sighed. She had wanted to do something about it long ago, felt responsible for every second that this oppressive nonsense was allowed to stand, but… since coming to power at the age of ten years old, heavily assisted by her grandfather at that time, she had had her hands full ruling this desert kingdom mostly alone. And there was always the fear at the back of her mind when dealing with this, that being the young female ruler that she was, the institution would simply not take her seriously, and snake their way around her attempts to govern it, self-sufficient as it had been since a long time now.
And after that, between the Prince without a Name and all seven Grey Witches, there really hadn’t been time or resources to revisit it.
Samah scoffed softly. The former had actually been a recognized sponsor of that starsforsaken institution. Fitting, that he would have no problem with the way it was run.
Now with the extra time on her hands, and newfound peace of mind, she could finally do something about the issue. Permanently.
She admitted that she would rather spend these new peaceful times at the baths, in the garden, or taking care of Amira, but letting this go on was unacceptable. She was going to do something about this sooner rather than later.
Her parents would come visit her soon, traveling through the kingdoms. Perhaps she could ask them for guidance on this issue. It would save time to do it all on her own, but she was unsure if that was wise.
She stood up from the balcony, straightening her back. First things first, she would ask grandpa for his input, she thought, walking away at her usual calm but decided pace, ankle jewelry making little sounds as she walked.
She found him sitting on one of the comfortable cushions scattered around the palace, taking in the gentle breeze from a balcony on the other side of the palace.
‘Samah,’ he turned around calmly to greet her, having already noticed her presence. Her jewelry had announced it.
‘Grandpa,’ she smiled, walking over to sit down next to him.
‘Something’s bothering you, isn’t there? You seem a little tense on this beautiful day.’
Samah sighed softly. ‘You noted correctly. It’s the academy.’
Her grandfather frowned. ‘Making life harder for you again?’
‘They haven’t done anything of note. Everything is the same as usual, as far as my knowledge goes. But that is precisely the problem.’
Grandpa Amar hummed. ‘You want to do something about the way it is run. A wise idea. It has been a long time coming.’
‘Exactly. In fact, I feel bad about the fact that I haven’t been able to do anything sooner.’
‘Don’t blame yourself. You were young, and had your hands full. The time wasn’t yet ripe.’
‘Do you think it is ripe now?’, Samah asked carefully, prodding her grandpa’s keen intuition about fate and the future. He looked over, a faint hint of surprise in his eyes.
‘You’re still in doubt, then?’ His granddaughter had looked rather determined, if not a bit tense. But he knew Samah often wanted to think long and hard before proceeding, to make sure everything was in order. Her father had that same habit.
‘Well, there is no doubt in my mind that it has to happen soon. But I’m unsure whether it would be best to act on my own right away, or wait for my parents to arrive a few days later and confront it together,’ Samah explained.
‘Ah, I see. Speed of action measured against the power of numbers.’
‘Which do you think weighs heavier?’, she asked him.
‘There is no doubt in my mind that you are very capable on your own, as you have shown for many years now. But don’t forget that working together or asking to lean on someone else for help every once in a while does not mean that you can’t do it alone. It simply means that you are wise enough to seek council and companionship, to make for even better results,’ her grandpa told her, a smile on his face.
Samah smiled. She would remember that. Her grandpa always had a way of seeing things more clearly.
‘And, a few days’ time is not a lot in this context. No significant losses are made as long as this is made to happen within a month, or even a year. That is enough,’ he reassured her.
Samah relaxed. ‘Thank you. I’ll wait for my parents to arrive, then tackle this issue as soon as possible.’
They shared a glance of understanding, happy with this outcome. Then, Samah stood up, off to the baths.