Once again the time for political negotiation had come. Here in the capital city Norlov with the weakening Autumn sun hanging in the sky overhead. The wind was cold as it whistled through the many buildings of the city and swept debris up to swirl around in the air. There at Castle Korchock in the middle of the proud city the crown prince Turshok Ferenik waited for his chance to entreat with the goddess of the land. His aspirations were hidden from the world deep inside his heart, though he couldn't hide them from the goddess.
The prince was pacing back and forth in the middle of the meeting chamber, something I could tell from even far away due to my goddess zone map. Unlike his father who refused to actually worship me this young man did truly believe in me. Thus he appeared on my map as a worshiper and I could track his movements perfectly from wherever I was. His thoughts were thus available to me to a large degree and I carefully studied his intentions before appearing before him.
It seemed Turshok truly did want to talk to me for honorable reasons. Like his father he was arrogant and greedy, lusting for power over others so he could feel the pleasure of being in control. Unlike the father however the son wanted to lead the kingdom into a bright future, something that of course would help feed his own ego as well. Everyone wants to be loved. How much more so a would be king?
One of the young man's mistakes however was expecting his manipulation skills to work on a goddess like me. It seemed he was heavily inspired by his mother the queen to learn how control people through words and other non-physical like extortion. If only he knew I could look into his mind he wouldn't so foolishly believe he could manipulate me at all. Regardless how good his intentions were it just wasn't something I would stand for. Hopefully he'd learn that lesson with grace and the two of us can get along. He has great potential to be an actually good ruler.
The time had come for me to make my appearance and since he was a direct worshiper of mine I could appear directly in the room he was in with no problems. This is what I did. The magic circle appeared in the air and slid down over my body, teleporting me into the large room near the closed main doors. When I appeared I was leaning against the door with my arms crossed over my chest.
Turshok had taken a moment to even notice the portal appearing due to its lack of sound but when he did he became quite uneasy. Of course he was full of dread having to talk to the goddess one on one, though he was the one that initiated this idea. He had no one to blame for himself for the situation he was in now. It was just him and a goddess alone in a room. The nerves caused him to sweat and tremble as he watched me appear.
“G-Goddess Jenna!” He stuttered once the portal finished. “P-Please welcome to-” With a stumbled he moved to kneel before me. “Welcome to C-castle Korchock.”
I couldn't help but let a giggle escape me as he floundered around in front of me in order to bow. As the sound bounced around the room it tickled the ears of anyone who might have heard it. My left hand lifted up to my mouth and covered it as my body shook a little.
It seemed it was just me and him in the room for real however. The only other human in the immediate area was the guard standing outside the doors, likely one of the prince's trusted aides. It seemed he wanted to keep this conversation private. That worked for me as I wanted to speak to him without any interference.
“Well?” I asked rhetorically. “Are you ready to get this little chat started?”
Turshok stood to his feet and awkwardly straightened himself up, nearly fumbling himself over completely as he struggled to keep balance at first. He looked at me with fear in his eyes, not fear of death but fear of social ramifications. This was ultimately some kind of power play in his mind. He wanted to be on my good side and was terrified of being on my bad side.
“P-Please this way goddess” he said motioning to the table. “I've set up some refreshments for you.”
As he stood there waiting I walked over to the large table, my eyes on him for a few moments before they turned to the table itself. I went to the head of the table and sat myself down in the chair, lifting it up into the air slightly with vines that crawled up out between the stones of the floor.
There were indeed some things on it that seemed nice sitting here. Firstly there was a large pitcher of wine, its strong aroma wafting through the air signifying its high quality. Two goblets made of silver sat next to it currently empty.
Also on the table near the wine was a large platter with various vittles arranged on it. A pair of large juicy apples were settled next to thick slices of cheese of the cheddar variety. There was also some cuts of cooked pork that lay folded over on themselves, several types of vegetables sat around them.
I just let out a huff and lifted my legs up into the air, swinging my feet around to bring my boots down with a thunk onto the tabletop. Of course the bottoms of my boots were clean, that was something I actually had full control of. Not that I would've cared if they were dirty of course as this was a display of power more than anything.
The chair I was sitting on creaked a little as it wobbled back and forth. With me leaning back in it it had to be stabilized by the vines left it fall over. As I sat there I casually rested my arms over my chest and stomach while watching the prince.
“Thanks for the offer” I said nodding to the food. “But I'm not hungry at the moment. Help yourself though.”
Turshok was only nineteen years old but already was wise in the ways of noble society. His eyes were locked onto the little girl before him as he studied my every move. The fact I so brazenly made myself comfortable in such a way was something he expected. Also my refusal to eat food was a clear display of dominance, showing the other person you didn't need food and challenging them to show their human weakness. Of course he might have forgotten I literally didn't need food and drink.
He gulped quietly and then put on a smile to hide his ever increasing nerves. Now he knew that I knew the rules of the game and I wasn't to be taken lightly in the slightest. He moved to sit in the chair directly to the left of his guest, sitting down quickly and putting his hands up on the table. In order to keep up appearances he too refrained from the refreshments.
“Of course goddess” he said weakly smiling. “Thank you for coming to speak with me.”
I just nodded and looked at him with a gentle smile.
“Mhm!”
This nonchalant response only seemed to make him more uneasy. Though it was clear to him there was no hostility in my voice or pose. That seemed to actually calm him down and he took a deep breath before speaking again.
“As you know this was the day we agreed to speak together alone. I've taken precautions to ensure we do indeed remain undisturbed.” He glanced at the door then back at me. “It truly is an honor to speak to you great goddess. Thank you for the opportunity.”
While he gave his opening spiel I dropped my feet off the table and onto the floor. It actually wasn't as comfortable as I'd hoped, at least not with these sturdy wooden chairs. Instead I sat there with my arms resting on my stomach while I leaned back in the chair.
“You already know my name” he continued. “I am the crown prince Turshok Ferenik, son of the king Alphonse Ferenik. I've invited you here today to speak on some of the plans for the kingdom I've heard you had.” He paused to swallow. “That is if you'd like to goddess.”
I lifted the two apples up off the plate using telekinesis and spun them around each other like two orbiting planets, drawing the prince's gaze towards them as he looked on in surprise. After several moments I lowered the apples back to their resting place, the entire thing just a display of casual power.
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
I smiled as I leaned forward a bit in my chair.
“Yeah I'll talk to you about em. Whaddya wanna to know?”
My reaction seemed to catch Turshok off guard. He didn't seem to expect me to so readily divulge my supposed secrets. Someone like him was used to having to carefully tease the plans of his conversation partner out of them with careful mental tactics and verbal skill. He sat up straighter in his chair and thought the equivalent of “here goes nothing.”
“So erm” he started. “For starters I've heard you have extensive plans for 'public schools.' Places of learning to supposedly educate the peasantry. Is this true?”
“Yep!” I replied quickly.
Turshok was still off guard and followed up with another question.
“I see. Would you mind telling me how that works? You must have a good reason to such a seemingly silly thing.”
A slightly frustrated sigh escaped my chest as I leaned back further in the chair. One of my books appeared from the air and floated in front of me on its blue ribbon from my waist. It opened up and began displaying images as I spoke.
“Well funny you should mention that.” I said with an annoyed tint to my voice. “See educating the masses is actually a good thing for a nation.”
Various graphs appeared on the pages and a floating pen began pointing at things.
“The economic growth of a country, or in this case kingdom, is actually directly linked to the general intelligence of its population. As you see here the wealth of the average citizen is correlated with their IQ, or intelligence quotient, as smarter people can learn more skills and therefore earn more money.”
The page flipped and displayed a picture of a castle with a pile of gold coins next to it. There was also a small group of people seemingly offering up the gold to the castle.
“More money in the hands of the general population means more taxes for the government. That of course means a richer royal family. Do you follow me so far?”
Turshok looked at the images he was seeing with wide eyes, his poor little mind seemingly blown by the simple information he was receiving. He was understanding it though. Its not he could be blamed for being ignorant on these simple facts I suppose as most corrupt leaders don't care to think this deep into these things. This was the job of their advisors.
“This is financial advice” I said with a smile. “If you let me do my thing you're only going to get money of that sweet sweet gold.”
“S-So...” he started. He was still processing and had just finished collecting his thoughts. “What you say logically follows.” His right hand raised to his chin in thought. “It does seem to benefit everyone involved. My only concern is how it would affect the rule of the crown. Surely with more intelligence people would be less minded to submit to authority?”
I sat up a bit in the chair as the book floated back slightly, the images on it fading away. The were replaced by images of large crowds burning down a mansion, a rich looking person laying on the ground with their head removed. This made the prince gulp.
“Yeah revolutions are pretty common with smart populations” I replied with a shrug. “There's ways to avoid it of course, something I'd be aiming to do of course. Bloodshed of any kind means my worshipers get hurt and that's not something anyone wants is it?”
“Of course goddess...” Turshok said with a nervous gulp. “So erm... How would these schools of yours be implemented?
My book once again flipped its pages as it started displaying images that correlated to the various things I described. I leaned back in my chair again to keep comfortable as I began explaining.
“Public schools are places of learning for the general public, as you'd expect from the name. They're funded by the government actually, the various materials needed for education paid for using the taxes of local governances. Things like paper, pencils, pens, books, chairs, and stuff like that.”
I paused for a moment for the prince to process what I'd said before I continued.
“There will be buildings either built or converted to facilitate these schools all over the kingdom, one in every major city and town. I'm already having teachers being trained on various general subjects. Basic things like math, science, biology, and even history. We'll start with both adults and children at first but eventually the real plan is for these places to be mainly for children. The future is built by the children after all, so the better equipped they are the brighter the future of the kingdom.”
After I had finished Turshok sat back in his chair with a look of exhaustion on his face. He seemed overwhelmed and somewhat angry as well. This was the kind of education he himself had received as the son of nobility. The mere idea that everyone's children, both rich and poor, would receive that level of education almost more than he could accept. It seemed however that as his mind processed he began to see the benefit of this system.
“Yes...” he said ending his silence. “I can see how this would be a benefit for the kingdom goddess. More educated workers means complicated projects could be completed quicker. More architects and business owners. It would also mean those conscripted into the army would be easier to teach. This all sounds quite overwhelming I must admit. I apologize for not being close to your level goddess.”
Another little giggle came out of me as I put my feet back up on the table. I then leaned way back in the chair as the vines kept the chair from falling over. My book spun in a playful manner while floating closer to me.
“I'll forgive you little human” I replied with a grin. I was enjoying this greatly. “So if you have no problems with this then that saves me the trouble of ignoring you and doing it anyway. Are there any other major questions you have for me?”
Turshok wasn't wholly unaware of my capricious nature it seemed as I expressed my blatant intentions to ignore his decisions on the matter. He almost seem comforted by my attitude as he relaxed his shoulders and took another long breath. There was actually a small smile on his face as he got more comfortable in his chair.
“You'll hear no opposition from me goddess. I want what's best for the kingdom and its people. Its a great relief to me to know you care so much about them.”
“Of course I do” I replied with a snort. “They're my worshipers! And even outside of that they're people that deserve to live life to the fullest.” I leaned forward. “Let me tell you a little something about the place I came from. There everyone knew that all people deserved life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This freedom is what I plan to bring to this world as well, the growing pains something I seek to alleviate as much as possible.”
My tone got more serious as I sat up straight in my chair, my book floating calmly beside my head. I had a look of determination on my face as my hands moved to my hips.
“You can't stop me little prince and I'd advise you not to try.” I raised my left hand into the air in a grasping motion. “Instead you should join me and together we can bring freedom to the world!”
As if unfazed by my somewhat blatant threats at this point Turshok just smiled and reached for the wine flagon.
“Do you mind if I?”
When I lowered my hand and just shrugged he took it as the indifference it was. He then took a goblet and poured himself some wine. His body language was very relaxed now and his surface thoughts were filled with great relief. He was thinking about how great his rule would be with me as his ally. There was no reason to correct him as his rule would be great so long as he remained a good person.
Unaware of his goddess's intrusions into his mind the young prince took a sip of wine and let out a small sigh.
“You're unlike anything I've ever seen Goddess Jenna. I'm thankful to live at the same time as your appearance.” He looked down into his cup. “I have no intentions of getting in your way and in fact would be happy to help you with your plans. Once I'm king of course.”
I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes.
“I'm not killing your dad if that's what you're thinking.”
Turshok let out a small laugh and shook his head. He then looked at me with a genuine smile on his face.
“No no goddess! I wasn't thinking that at all! I'll let my father die whatever way it is he'll get himself killed.” He then sat back and got comfortable. “If you don't mind staying a bit longer I'd love to hear about some other rumored plans of yours. Things like your churches and something called a 'industrial revolution.' I'd love to hear about these topics.”
I just shrugged again.
“Sure. Why not?”
Thus and so our conversation continued for several more hours, the prince ending up eating some of that tasty food himself as the conversation went on. Of course I didn't need any being a goddess and all but I had a little just to be personable. That was something I never expected be to being with one of the royal family. Sure the prince was selfish, greedy, had inflated self worth, and all around stinky attitude. But he was also genuinely caring for the people of the kingdom, if not in his own better than thou sort of way.
As we discussed my churches I gave him all the information he could've wanted, the young prince taking keen interest in the separation of church and state idea. I'd avoid going into details about the potential for a major religion to become its own form of governance though. We also discussed the industrial revolution, something I kept the conversation brief on just because of the implications. I only gave general descriptions of the various machines and concept of a factory. Such things were dangerous in the hands of the rich and powerful.
By the time we were done it had been several hours and I dare say we both enjoyed the conversation. Honestly I was just happy to get to explain my plans in detail to someone that could actually help them be implemented in a real way. Maybe that was me being selfish myself. Either way it was clear both me and Turshok cared about the people of the kingdom. As I left I wondered that maybe he had enough potential to make protecting him a priority.