Chapter 16 – Different Perspectives Part 1 of 2

First Year at Mary and Magnus' Tower - A Middle School Novel.

(Excerpts from a non-fiction novel written from the perspective of a Talosian headmistress in which she provides short portraits of some of her more famous students. Written pseudonymously and providing an insight into the upbringing of Zeinab of Thamud.)

Mary and Magnus' Tower was built not [two miles] from one of the most dramatic promontories on the Talosian coast. Once the seat of hermetic philosophers and alchemists, it has been rebuilt and enlarged over the centuries to its present form. Scholars from every corner of the continent still reside in various cathedrals of learning on the outskirts of the Tower, but the greater part of the school has, for the past few years, been devoted to the education of the female children of the nobility of this great land.

Elsa Holmberg had been the headmistress of this estimable institution since its inception; placed there by Queen Sabine of Talos herself in deference to her great learning and position in the nobility of the Empire. She was already well known as a student of the languages and literature of the three great states of the continent, but she was even more renowned for her skills in administration which she amply demonstrated following the siege of Holmberg,

The girls of Mary and Magnus hail not only from the three great kingdoms of Talos, Albion, and Thamud, but also the far flung barbarian kingdoms to the north–this being part of the civilizing mission set out in its charter.

The students were put up in luxurious dormitories but were denied any access to footmen or ladies-in-waiting. While the laundry was handled by vendors from the nearby village, they were expected to keep their rooms tidy by themselves. No luxuries were allowed on site and each and every student was expected to attain the highest merit while conforming to the utmost standards of Talosian society.

In various lectures halls, they enjoyed not only lessons in languages, literature, history, and the arts; but also physical fitness and, at the request of the Queen herself, self-defense. Most important of all was the development of a sense of [Noblesse oblige], something which, all expectations to the contrary, had to be bred into these young women who were destined to form the upper crust of society.

Zeinab of Thamud seemed like any of the first year entrants. She was an average-sized girl of mixed heritage–her father being Thamudian and her mother being Qin. She was certainly pretty as is the case with many children of mixed breeding and seemed to have the usual pleasant demeanor of a girl her age; but it was clear to Elsa Holmberg that the demeanor of her mother and the wilderness of Thamud had penetrated deeply into her being.

There was nothing about her which suggested any of the finer graces of the young ladies of Talos. She had no way with conversation and seemed to have the bearing and manners of a servant girl. Zeinab was, in a word, sullen. But who could blame her? She was one of the few brown-skinned girls in the first form and was the immediate target of curious onlookers and unfiltered comments.

Some were simply curious about her thick black eyebrows and her large eyes–she seemed every bit like one of the exotic dolls crafted by the toy makers of Novus Augusta.

Zeinab ignored the gawkers but tired her best to make friends with the girls assigned to sit beside her in class. The fact that she was well ahead of the other girls as far as her studies were concerned made her popular in various study groups which started appearing a few weeks into the term; even more so closer to the time of assessment.

With her growing popularity as the walking encyclopedia of the first form, it was inevitable that Zeinab would soon become the target of verbal attacks, many of them straight to her face.

She was, not unexpectedly, called a “Raghead” or “Towelhead” ; something derived from the habit of the womenfolk of her country to cover their heads in cloth to keep at bay the unrelenting rays of the desert sun. They would use nicknames like [kebab] to greet her or call her a sand [gook] because of her half-Qin ancestry.

She ignored all of this and restricted her attentions only to those who chose to treat with a modicum of respect. But anyone will tell you that if bullies do not succeed in their verbal aggression, they will inevitably turn towards more physical means–first with pranks and later with physical confrontation.

When Zeinab was confronted with three girls from the second form at the recess area, she simply side-stepped them and pushed them away using their own momentum. She repeated this three times before they pulled themselves up from off the floor for the last time and gave up trying to assault her.

When a larger girl tried to beat her physically with a blunt weapon used in fencing practice, she skillfully knocked the clubs out of her opponent's gloved hand with enough strength that her adversary could not pick up the weapon again for the rest of the session. Other challengers were swatted painfully on the back or buttocks if they decided to engage more forcefully with her at practice.

These were the kinds of painful lessons Zeinab had to endure from a young age at the hands of her mother who had instituted a regime of strength training and physical hardening since an unreasonably young age.

The one time she did come to the attention of the powers that be was when she struck down one of the daughters of Gaius who had deigned to call her mother “a bitch.” To which Zeinab replied, “That's better than your cunt of a mother, are you sure she didn't spread her legs for one of the stable boys?”

To hear such vulgar words coming from this doe-eyed girl was clearly a shock for everyone present at the altercation. And those words obviously produced the desired result since Priscilla immediately saw red and swung her fist wildly at Zeinab. The effort was so feeble that Zeinab simply blocked it with one arm while landing a first on the girl's chin with the other. The next moment, Zeinab was standing over the half-conscious girl and stating firmly that, “My mother may be a bitch but she's my fucking bitch!”

The Thamudian girl had not aimed to disfigure poor Priscilla according to witness reports but had only stuck her full on the chin so that she would be rendered unconscious. She even caught the half-conscious girl's trailing arm as she flailed from side to side before falling on her back, ensuring that she did not hit head on the way down. The only visible damage that could be detected the next morning was a light contusion on her left chin which faded after one or two weeks.

As for Priscilla's bruised ego, Zeinab apologized without being forced to and even provided copies of her notes to the girl who had to miss her classes having been laid up in the infirmary for a few days. She clearly regretted her loss of self-control and perhaps feared the consequences if her parents learned of the incident. Her mother in particular would be absolutely livid with her if she even caught a whiff of this–Qin women have a reputation for being quite demanding with their children.

There is little doubt that Zeinab's life in the dormitories of Mary and Magnus' Tower was more relaxed and forgiving than back in the palace of Thamud. Her weekends would no longer be spent with lessons at dance, embroidery or stringed instruments but at tea with her small clique of like-minded friends–some bookworms like herself; others attained through conflict like Priscilla; and yet others outsiders in need of her protection.

They would have Talosian tea and and some vegetable filling between pieces of bread. [Scribe's note: I presume these are Ki-style cucumber sandwiches]-the kind of concoction which passes for finger food in the impoverished lands of Thamud. At other times, they congregated at one of the quaint Qin diners which had cropped up near the school serving small snacks colloquially known as “dim sum.” Many have been suspected of using horse meat or worse rat meat in their concoctions–all of it covered up by dark sauces or red coloring.

When the weather permitted, they would have luncheons on the lawn with a fine spread engineered by Zeinab's own hands and those of her classmates interested in aspects of catering (hardly the kind of past time encouraged among the true nobility). Further, they would enjoy swimming at the small pond not far from the dormitory grounds bringing with them at times the dormitory mascot-a large mastiff called George.

It took a full two years at the Tower for the kinks to be ironed out of the young Princess.

When she arrived at the school, her innate savagery was clearly evident to all but nowhere more so than on the foot-ball field, and the five-a-side tournaments held between classes and forms on a regular basis. Zeinab was a foot-ball roughneck with a penchant for shoulder charging and hard tackles, sweeping the balls from under her opponents without a care for their safety. When opponents attempted to kick her off her feet, she would simply jump and trample upon their hapless sliding bodies. It was clear that there was no sense of delicacy about her. She was even feared by girls who were slightly larger than her and might have been a match for the boys of our brother institution situated not so many miles away.

Zeinab was feral just like her mother. If she resented her mother in any way, as it seems clear, it was because they were so similar in nature.

Certainly no good thing could possibly spring from the loins of the Queen of Thamud-Zeinab's notorious mother, Zhou Yu; the one-time harlot of Albion who has aided and abetted in the murder of thousands of Talosian citizens over the years; and who has not as yet been brought to justice I should add. It has been said that she has killed many a man with her own bare hands and turned the once peaceful nation of Thamud into the aggressive state of these past few years.

The headmistress of Mary and Magnus herself had intimate knowledge of this. Elsa was born in the fortress town of Holmberg, the pearl of West Talos and a city which still remains one of the great entrepots on the Talosian-Thamud border; this despite experiencing first hand the worst incendiary attacks of the Talosian War of Resistance (against the Thalmudi pestilence).

Here a short history will suffice in explaining the origins of the esteemed college.

When her fellow countrymen and her father, Lord Holmberg, would not yield to the Thamudians, their trading city was subjected to the most inhumane attacks ever witnessed in the last century. Thousands died in their beds during nighttime terror bombings of the ancient town. It is written that this was one of the first times that cannon were used against traditional fortifications. Any attempts at engaging the besieging forces and siege machines directly was repulsed. In short, the forces of Holmberg were decimated.

The siege was finally lifted with Queen Sabine’s intervention, driving back the forces of Thamud, and taking full control of Holmberg.

One should disregard the many conspiracy theorists who suggest that it was the Queen herself who instigated the Thamudians to attack Holmberg. Firstly, Sabine’s position as successor was never in question and, secondly, Lord Holmberg would have willingly opened the gates of his fortress to the Queen if she had simply asked at any point. The Holmberg family has ever been loyal to the throne of Talos. Elsa Holmberg, in particular, was a staunch supporter of the crown princess Anthea who was destined to rule over unified Talos and Thamud in years to come.

Mary and Magnus was set up in the first year of the reign of Queen Sabine in the hopes of mending the rifts between the mighty nations of the continent; but mostly between the nobles of Great Talos, Thamud and Albion. From a position of strength, Queen Sabine crafted a lasting peace with our belligerent smaller neighbors which finally led to the arrival of Princess Zeinab to the Tower to be educated in the ways of civilized men and women.

It was up to Elsa Holmberg to iron out the kinks in Zeinab’s spirit and make her a more acceptable bride in any marital alliance that she should be called upon to undertake.

Of course, not everyone in Zeinab's circle was so hostile to her race or her despicable mother. In fact, the greater part of Zeinab's class (including Elsa) accepted the Queen of Thamud's invitation to reside in the palace grounds of Thamud for two weeks during the summer; though some may have been seduced by their desire to visit that strange land of snow and sand.

Zhou Yu was by now a matron of some thirty years and five and looking much advanced in years. Most would say that she looked every bit the hag she is known as throughout the continent.

(insert image 16ZhouYu04.png, center stand alone)

The Queen of Thamud greeted her daughter with the kind of unseemly affection usually reserved for the lower classes.

“My darling baby, I'm so glad you're home!” Zhou Yu exclaimed before proceeding to smother her daughter with hugs and kisses which seemed to exasperate the girl.

“Please stop, mother,” she said, “I've barely left for 6 months, it's embarrassing.”

“There's nothing embarrassing about a mother hugging her only daughter. Are you well? Have you had enough to eat, Zaya?”

She proceeded pinch and prod at her daughter's waistline which caused the girl to push her mother's hands away.

“You have to tell me everything about what happened at Mary and Magnus. “

Then turning to the brown-haired girl in Zeinab's retinue

“Is this Priscilla? I used to work for your father some years back though I'm sure he has told you all about that, hasn't he? Those were...interesting times.”

The touching Priscilla's chin, she commented, “I see that you've fully recovered from that episode of fisticuffs. No side effects I presume? We must make it up to you.”

The color drained from Priscilla's face the moment she realized that the Queen knew everything about her fight with Zeinab including her comparison of the personage in front of her to a female dog. She immediately looked at Zeinab accusingly, sensing that her misdemeanors had been transmitted through the most obvious route. Zeinab, standing behind her mother, simply glared back at her and shook her head indicating she had nothing to do with this. It was hardly in Zeinab's interest to have her violent actions at school revealed to her dam.

“Stop shaking your head that way, Zeinab” the Queen said without turning back. “I would have thought that all these months with Lady Elsa would have taught you better. We are all ladies here, if you have something to say, then do so with your mouth.”

Then speaking softly in Qin she said, “你怎么会以为我不会发现呢?”

One can only imagine what it must have been like to grow up with a mother like Queen Zhou; to have your entire life under a microscope; to have that darkness hanging over your head and every action.

One particular dark-haired second year girl called, Trisha, held no such qualms. This particular filly had been sired on one of the concubines of the chancellor to the Zeshen Emperor. Unlike Priscilla, she was positively enamored of the Witch of Thamud and her progeny.

Even Zhou Yu was taken aback by the girl's forwardness. Trisha would take every opportunity to walk beside the Queen and would even take her arm if allowed to saying how she wanted to be like her when she grew up and have even “bigger muscles.” Elsa noted that the Queen seemed to turn bilious on hearing this.

Trisha would spend hours gazing at Zhou; taking tea with her at every opportunity, and watching her at practice with her Qin straight sword and her bow. The Queen was so flustered by the girl’s constant presence that she felt compelled to give her some pointers on fencing and to initiate her into the use of the bow. At one point, Zhou presented the young girl with one of her own jeweled hairpins that she might hold up her hair neatly while at practice. This she wore for the rest of her time at Mary and Magnus.

But it didn't end there. During the ball held in honor of the students some three days into the excursion, Trisha could be seen pointing excitedly at the Queen's feet which elicited an audible groan from Zeinab who was standing beside her. Zeinab immediately made to push down her companion's outstretched hand saying, “Stop encouraging her.”

“Are these the [stiletto] heels being sold at the Qin boutiques in Talos?” Trisha asked excitedly.

“They're something new I've had the master cobblers produce based on my specifications. What do you think?” replied the Queen. With that the Queen lifted the edge of her evening gown to show a stockinged foot and calf as well as the high heels which adorned her feet.

“Amazing!” Trisha exclaimed, “Do they make them in my size?”

“You're too young to wear heels, and when you do become old enough, you are not to wear them on a daily basis,” the Queen admonished

“Were you the one who invented them?” Trisha asked

“I didn't invent them. I simply brought them to the attention of the women of the continent; and probably condemned some unfortunates a to a future with bunions.” The Queen chuckled as she said this, then added, “I wear them sparingly. The King likes it when I wear them, men generally do.”

It is common knowledge that only a slut displays her calves as willingly as this so-called Queen of Thamud. More to the point, this particular form of footwear has become popular among the harlots and courtesans of Talos.

As Elsa was seated at the head table, she was privy to many seemingly private conversations.

It appeared that the Princess Anthea was soon leaving for Talos after a sojourn of many months in Thamud. Her marriage to Safin, the Crown Prince of Thamud, was much anticipated, though he was not present that night–the banquet being solely reserved for the womenfolk.

The Queen presented Princess Anthea a parting gift, a rectangular object wrapped in the fine Qin silk, which she opened promptly at the table.

Elsa caught a glimpse at the sketch book. It seemed largely harmless at first glance consisting of no more than clear line drawings of figures. There were pages and pages of these and not all by the same hand; mostly consisting of depictions of exotic female clothing. The headmistress assumed that it was some eccentric find from the libraries of the Qin.

It soon became clear, however, that all was not as it seemed. Elsa saw the eyes of Zeinab and those of her blonde-haired cousin, the Princess Alma, grow wide in shock. [see Chapter 10]

“Inanna preserve us,” Zeinab exclaimed, “What kind of gift is this! Mother, are you expecting Anthea to wear these on her wedding night!”

Then turning to Trisha who was standing so as to get a better look at the sketchbook, Zeinab pointed at the book saying, “This is what happens when you encourage my mother.”

Princess Alma, a former student of the dignified head mistress of Mary and Magnus, nodded her head vigorously in agreement with Zeinab. From this, Elsa Holmberg surmised that the sketchbook included depictions of intimate wear. She could barely control her disgust.

“My dear Zaya, your brother is not to be married for at least another two years so it is your own lewd mind which imagines such things.” The Queen clicked her tongue in remonstration as she said this. “What Anthea does with the drawings is up to her, my dear. I would like to add that some of the designs are my own,” the Queen seemed to beam proudly as she said this, quite unaware of how this made her look.

The Queen's interactions with the headmistress of the Tower were otherwise civil. She of course knew who Elsa Holmberg was–a daughter of that fortress which she once helped incinerate. Needless to say, she never once mentioned her actions and was courteous like the smiling tiger she was.

Every interaction Elsa Holmberg had with the Queen of Thamud convinced her that whatever faults she detected in Zeinab were entirely the fault of her mother.

The girl was being made to study calculus and higher algebra; subjects which had no place in the life of a royal prince much less a royal princess. There were not enough hours in a day as is for a young woman to cultivate her mind properly and master her lessons in art, poetry and music. For a girl to waste her time on these trifles was a terrible mistake.

These were things which even her elder brother, Safin, was not subject to, but Zeinab brushed this away with a wave of her hand saying, “I get bored easily, so I'm doing this to amuse myself until I find something better.”

It was all too clear that the Queen who seemed a light touch when it came to her more normal son, was altogether more demanding when it came to her daughter. One assumes that the boy had been taken under the wing of his father and was spared the harsh influence of his mother.

The headmistress felt nothing but pity for this poor Thamudian princess who had been subject to years of abuse. It was a wonder that her mind had not been irreparably harmed. Elsa advised her young charge that the only serious study a young woman of her status should consider (outside the arts) would be that of history and politics that she might better engage in conversation with her future spouse, or if one was unusually endowed, even to offer gentle advice when he was receptive.

Zeinab let out a loud sigh and said that her mother had already made her read the Talosian classics on war and had given her a Qin book called the Thirty-Six Stratagems as “toilet reading.” She seemed more enthused about the first primer her mother gave her about politics called The Prince, written in an unknown tongue but translated by the scribes of Qin for their libraries. It appeared to be a birthday present which her mother had presented to her when she came of age– a specially commissioned copy transcribed by the Qin librarians with an inscription on the inside cover and closed with the seal of Pingyang, the Third Princess of Qim. Elsa saw the rather slim book in Zeinab's bedside library and assumed, considering its size, that it contained the usual pleasant aphorisms about good governance extolled by all the great philosophers of Talos.

It was only after considering all of this that Elsa Holmberg realized that Zeinab was not a bad girl, she had merely been brought up poorly. But all was not lost for she had two years to regain all that she had been senselessly deprived of as a young girl in Thamud. Only at Mary and Magnus would Zeinab achieve that noble bearing that all girls of her lineage naturally acquired from a young age; she would be instilled with a sense of decorum befitting a girl who had graduated from Talos' finest academy for young women.

When Zeinab left the Tower after two years, she left behind a small gift for her headmistress thanking her for her kind attention and for showing her what it meant to be a lady of substance.