"S-so, I wanna make some changes to my schedule!" you blurt out to your tutor, the guy who arranges your lessons.
Bal's eyebrow's rise up until they disappear under his hair. He has very impressive eyebrows, so very bushy and thick; you learned not to touch them quickly enough. "Changes? But Kali, I thought we sorted that out years ago. Your father doesn't approve of your interest in swords, and this is the compromise we came to. You know what a compromise is, don't you? We discussed it-"
"T-this isn't a-about having more time for swords!" you stamp your feet. "I mean, the captain said that I wouldn't really get any better… so I thought I could spend the time training for other things instead…"
"Oh?" Bal turns away from his desk. "Are you saying that you are willing to give up time with your blades?"
"Yes! Come on, keep up, Babal! I thought you were smart!"
"I am. It's just that this is unexpected, coming from you of all people." Bal strokes his beard. "So, what did you have in mind? Sewing? Dancing?"
"Nothing stupid like that," you say. "I wanna be more confident!"
Bal stares at you for a moment. You become very aware of the feeling of the cold air on your back.
"What? Everyone says that's important! Your scrolls on leading say that's important!"
Bal sighs. "Princess, you are already confident enough. Some might even say too confident. Still, if that is your wish, I must comply. But you must have something else in mind too; your fencing lessons take up over two-thirds of your free time."
"Talking to people. I can barely understand you half the time when you start using those idioms of yours."
He scribbles down something on a piece of parchment. "Anything else?"
"Well…" you look at the portrait behind Bal, adjust your dress. Bal taps his quill on the table. "I… I also wanted you to see if there were any competitions… Sword competitions!"
"Sword competitions?" Bal's eyebrows rise again.
"Yeah! Not looking at sword competitions though, the kind where people fight each other, but don't kill each other!"
"A tournament? Do you wish to watch one? I can-"
"No!" you stomp on Bal's feet. "I wanna fight too!"
"You wish to fight?!" The eyebrows shoot up out of sight again. "Princess, do the spars with the guards not satisfy you?"
"Exactly! You are smart, Babal!" At last, he understands you! "So you can do it, Babal, right?"
"Princess, I… You…" He sighs. "I'll try to persuade your father, but I cannot guarantee anything. Is…" He sighs again. "Is there anything else?"
"Yep. I want to learn some acrobatics."
"Training for the competition?"
"Yep!"
You sit down as Bal starts to sort through his papers - writing something down, sighing to himself before scratching something else and kneading his head. Your gaze wanders over his room.
It's a bit smaller than yours, but still pretty big compared to some of the servant quarters. His bed is tucked in the corner, a contraption of wood and other things. Bal's always modifying it. There's not a lot of furniture except for a cabinet filled with candles and another closet of clothes. Despite its size, there's actually only three kinds clothes in there - court clothes, his usual clothes and those thick clothes when he's working in his laboratory outside the castle. Only his court clothes has variety in color and what; the rest are simple, undyed and identical.
He also keeps his drugs in there. You know, since you managed to get the servants living near his room "High", as Bal put it, when you set his clothes on fire.
Aside from that, there's a desk and two chairs - one for him and one for you - and a series of containers for his scrolls and books.
"Princess," Bal suddenly says. "I have reviewed what you have requested of me, and we need to have a discussion."
Uh. Oh, oh no. 'Having a discussion.' That means-
"Meva!" He calls out. "Please make sure that the princess does not escape from my room until I give her permission to do so." There's no response outside, but you know that the guardswoman has heard him.
"W-what's it about?" you squeak.
He strokes his beard. "We will discuss how you shall go about your stated goals of 'Becoming more confident' and 'Being better at talking'."
Oh, by the dragons. This is the rest of your day gone.
….
In the end, you agreed to:
[] One-on-one lessons with a teacher of rhetoric.
[] Actually going out and talking to people good at talking. Namely, the various aristocrats and nobles.
[] Your father has nobles that work for him. And those officials have children. You could… mingle with them, people that don't have an interest in swords.
[] Write in.