Once we get back to the castle, Casimir hands me a beautifully wrapped box. He then kisses my hand and tells me that he's excited to meet with me tomorrow.

And I smiled, no blushed at that!

Somehow in the short amount of time I spent alone with him in the zinnia/butterfly garden, I'd begun liking him so much that even his annoying charming side made me happy. I'm not even sure if it's fake or not, just that I hope it's not.

Now, I'm switching between staring at the box he gave me and the hand he kissed. Vin, likely reading my very confused mood, hasn't said a word since I returned to his watchful gaze. He's just glances at me every so often.

We stop by my room first to drop off my present, then make our way towards the Grand Dining Hall for my manners lessons. I'm so happy at the moment that I don't even care about the fact that the previous rulers think I'm so inept that I don't have the manners to be at the castle. There is a way of thinking of the situation that makes it seem as if the previous king and queen have at least one collective heart, but I doubt that's the reality. Still, I can barely be upset when I have a present from Casimir to look forward to.

When did I become the type to feel so much affection so quickly?

I always thought that when I began to feel this way towards someone, I'd be more like Vin and Inaria who took six months to even think of calling it love and another three months before actually saying it to one another. Instead, I'm more like my parents who both said it on day one. Clearly I'm not exactly like that, but it's only the second day I've known Casimir and I already know that what I'm feeling now will become love soon if I don't stop it.

Vin and the other guard, who's name I should learn, wait outside of the Grand Dining Hall when we arrive. Vin opens the door for me, a smirk on his face as if he wants to remind me that I should be upset with my current situation.

I smile at him since we're in the presence of a human guard who therefore doesn't know of our relationship to one another, but I give him a slight glare for just a second. I'm sure he sees it.

I don't pay attention to my teacher during the lesson. I already know everything I need to know anyways, so I allow my mind to wander elsewhere. Instead, I think about the box Casimir gave me, the possibility of me actually being chosen as the future queen, and how everything will realistically turn out after it's all over.

By the time my next class begins, all of those thoughts are replaced by planning out my next meeting with Casimir. I promised I would plan it, so I will have to think of something. Tomorrow I will be meeting with Casimir immediately following breakfast. I am suddenly struck by an idea, so I turn to my language instructor and ask, "What's a language that King Casimir knows that nobody else in the castle knows? Or the fewest number of people, at least?"

The instructor, whose name I did not catch, looks at me with a confused expression. "What?"

"You taught the king, correct?" I ask. "So is there a language that he speaks - that you taught him - that isn't spoken much in the kingdom. Maybe only the royal family knows it or it's a language that's not spoken because times have changed?"

He mumbles to himself as he thinks. "Well, he knows ancient Avian -"

"Avian?" I'm more surprised that they care enough to learn the language. I've always thought they hate everything about us, so I don't understand why learn a language that even we don't speak anymore? It's morphed into something closer to the languages that surround us, though some of the original language still persists and some of us still learn it. The royal family, for example, continues to learn it. As do those in higher positions. It's also offered as a language in schools, but I don't know how many actually choose to learn it.

"As a precaution... in case the Avians... try to use their language to, uh, exchange information without us knowing... it's a common language to learn."

The instructor barely fumbles over his words, but it's enough for me to notice. He's clearly hiding something. His eyes break away from mine twice while he's explaining and his hand twitches, though he stops himself from moving it to fiddle with anything around his face.

"Oh, that makes sense. I'll keep it secret, so they don't know about it," I say with a smile. I'm not sure what the secrecy is all about, but clearly he either wasn't supposed to teach Casimir that language or he wasn't supposed to let it slip that he taught Casimir that language.

The instructor relaxes ever so slightly as he continues. "The languages I teach are languages that should be learned by all who are even associated with royalty. If I taught it to Casimir or will teach it to you, then it's a language that the other ladies, the King Father and Queen Mother, and possibly some of the guards and other workers know as well depending on their station before they came to work in the castle."

I nod slowly. His facial expression shows that he suspects that I might be trying to speak to Casimir without anyone else being able to understand it. He even raises his eyebrow at me, so I smile back at him.

When the lesson is over, he gives me a knowing smile. I realize that, like Ezra, he hasn't looked at me as if I shouldn't be here even once. As I pass by him to go to the door, he fixes his glasses and I notice the slight discoloration in his eyes. They're golden - which my mother told us is a natural human eye color just as it is Avian, just like mine - but his eyes have a purple rim around the iris, which is not natural for humans, though it is for Avians. With his glasses on, you can't see it even when close to him, but without them, it's visible.

I say nothing, though. I doubt if most people would even believe it's purple when they see it. I'm sure they instead assume it's brown and that they simply didn't see what they thought they saw. However, I've seen gold and brown and I've seen gold and purple. His eyes have purple.

Inaria and another guard whose name I haven't learned are waiting outside the door when I leave. They lead me to the Grand Dining Hall immediately. My other lessons were over quickly because I answered the questions before they were asked and asked no questions of my own. I was, for the most part, not distracted and if I was, I still managed to show that I was beyond the lessons they were teaching. However for this language lesson, I was very distracted by everything I needed to get done and by the instructor as well. Besides, I actually asked questions, ones that led to more questions.

Ezra meets me when I get to the Grand Dining Hall and opens the door for me. He once again bows and waits for me to pass before joining me in the room and leading me to my chair. Before sitting, I turn to him and whisper, "Can I ask you a question?"

He looks surprised, and while I have ideas of why he might feel that way, it's hard to determine the exact reason. "Of course," he responds after a moment.

"If I wished to cook during my free time, could I?"

"Of course. Everything is open to you."

"Perfect! Thank you, Ezra!" I almost hug him, but I stop myself. I think everyone in the room would give me weird looks if that happens.

"Should I... have the cooks and servants prepare anything for you?" he asks.

"Oh, no! They should rest when they're done. I'll find everything on my own and I'll be sure to clean up after myself."

"But, my lady-"

"Really, it won't be a problem. And tell them that if I cause them trouble by leaving a mess, they can feel free to ban me from the kitchen afterwards. I would understand."

I smile brightly at him and he simply nods in response, as if after the few meetings with me that he's had he already knows that arguing with me is futile.

I take my seat and Ezra takes his leave.  Giada smiles brightly at me as she takes her seat next to me.  "You're name is Zinnia, isn't it?" she asks.

"Yes," I answer a bit hesitantly.  I mostly wonder why she remembers my name.  I remember hers because she seemed like the nicest of the bunch.  Maybe she remembers mine because I'm the outsider?

"I thought so.  You're the only one I didn't see at the Presentation Ceremony," she says sadly.  "Why didn't you come. I'd have loved to formally meet you and to meet your father. And you missed out on meeting with the King Father and Queen Mother! They help choose the bride and future queen.  Making a good first impression would've been really good for you.  I mean, I think it was for me at least."

My previously good mood suddenly sours.  There was no mention of a Presentation Ceremony on my schedule.  My schedule was simply filled with unnecessary lessons that make me want to fly home, tell everyone it was an impossible mission, and destroy this entire kingdom and rebuild it into something less annoying.    I won't act on that impulse but the fact that it's there shows how much they actually are getting to me.

Obviously I couldn't have my father come to the Presentation Ceremony for various reasons, the most clear one being that he's the king of their enemy kingdom.  However, I should have had all the opportunities that the other ladies had.  From now on, I will.

"Giada, do you have your schedule with you?" I ask.

"Of course! I keep it with me always. I'm always forgetting things so I like to have it so I am sure I'm in the correct place."

She pulls out her schedule and shows it to me.  I immediately see the difference.  My day 2 is filled with more lessons, one meeting with Casimir, and meals.  It's not much different from today's schedule.  Giada's, however, looked very different.

Day 2
7:30 - Breakfast in the Grand Dining Hall
9:00 - Tour of the Western Towers
10:00 - Rest
11:00 - Meet with Eligible Nobles in the Ballroom
12:00 - Lunch in the Grand Dining Hall
13:00 - Discussion with the King Father in the Study
14:00 - Hair and Nail Treatment in the Spa
15:00 - Tea with the Queen Mother in Tea Parlor
16:00 - Practice with Chosen Pasttime in the Ballroom
17:00 - Rest
18:00 - Dinner in the Grand Dining Hall
19:00 - Free Time

I try to ignore the fact that while I am told when to be in bed, it's assumed that Giada, and likely the other ladies, know when to do this naturally.  What, exactly, does the Queen Mother think of her common people anyway?

"Giada, was everything today done with the other ladies?" I ask.

"Of course! We're forming bonds between each other since whoever is chosen will have to interact with the others often as all of us are... I mean, most of us are nobility." Giada corrects herself, but she didn't need to. I know she's not being malicious as I'm sure some other ladies would be.

"Well, I'm truly sorry that I didn't attend the functions today.  However, I assure you I will be present tomorrow."

I mean every word.  I will be sure to keep my schedule with Casimir, but otherwise, my schedule will change drastically.