Charlotte didn't show up to morning classes the next day.

  At lunch, I sat with Lady Beatrice, Gertrude, and the Savelli twins. They took me with them across the lunchroom, and I finally introduced myself to the girls of Class A.

  They were kind, but I kept looking around the lunchroom, anxious to see if Charlotte would arrive.

  She didn't.

  Charlotte didn't attend afternoon classes either.

  The day without her became two days. Two days became a week. A week without Charlotte became a month.

  Once, I managed to see Jerem near the training yards when I went there to see the knights practice swordplay. But when he saw me, he quickly picked up his things and left before I could approach close enough to speak to him. His face seemed apologetic, but after that he didn't come by the training yards again.

  And soon, an entire winter passed, and I saw neither Charlotte nor Jerem again.

  ---

  Lady Beatrice and I were giving our final dance presentation to Baroness Adler, having practiced our entire mock-ballroom set together for the last few days.

  Dancing with Lady Beatrice was... a battle. I had been called a bad follower, but Lady Beatrice was far worse in this regard. Although she had shown no difficulties dancing with Gertrude earlier in the season, the moment it became apparent that I was more proficient than her at learning new dances she became combative, and her attempts to overcome me instead resolved into being disruptive.

  Still, by this point, I had a handle on her, and leading her was no issue for me. When it came my turn to follow, I simply allowed her to lead me wherever she liked, and we managed to make it through with no mistakes despite our differences.

  After she finished her last song on the piano, the Baroness clapped her hands together, cheerfully.

  "Wonderful! You both demonstrate a masterful comprehension of the art of dance. I cannot wait to see you out on the social scene once you come of age... Do think of me when writing the invitations to your debut, yes Lady Printemps? Lady Dubois?"

  We curtseyed respectfully to her, and took our seats at the edge of the classroom.

  Lady Beatrice turned to me as Gertrude partnered with Annabelle for their presentation. "Well, Lady Sophia, that's our tea, socials, hosting, and now dancing lessons graded. It's a shame there wasn't time for us to learn an instrument, but I suppose we'll have to practice that at home."

  I bowed my head slightly in acknowledgement of her, noting to myself that I had not given her permission to speak to me and that this custom was one she had never obeyed despite months of lessons.

  I was used to this treatment by her; although she proudly claimed to be of a vassal house, this only seemed to come up when she felt the need to use it to direct my own actions. She might use her status to dig at me, such as by saying "It would embarrass the house of Dubois for me to perform better than one of the noble house of Printemps at such a simple thing as tea selection," but somehow whenever I needed assistance her status beneath me never seemed to come up.

  "Yes, well. After our last class together, I will look forward to hearing you play next time we meet."

  Lady Beatrice huffed. My remark had not been subtle in its implications, but to respond in kind would be a bit too much disrespect even for her while Baroness Adler might still be listening.

  We watched Lady Annabelle finish her dance with Gertrude before switching to dancing with her twin sister. Gertrude was panting a bit as she sat down beside Lady Beatrice, Annabelle having run her ragged by forcing her to match her longer strides without accommodating her.

  Lady Beatrice continued, "In any case, what do you think our last class will be, anyways? It seems like we've been graded on everything we've learned already."

  At this, I shrugged my head off to the side, rolling my shoulders back slightly in exasperation.

  "I have no clue. Maybe it will be some sort of speech? She's rather fond of them, after all."

  "Hmm."

  Gertrude waited patiently for her turn to speak, but I hadn't wanted this conversation to begin with, and Lady Beatrice refused to acknowledge her presence, so she never got it despite her eager expression.

  ---

  Lady Ayda smiled at me from across the desk, turning my graded slate back over to me. "This is excellent work, Lady Printemps. If only it were the case that your family had sent you to me earlier... Your skills are now on par with those who are starting at the academy."

  I looked up from my slate to look her in the eyes. She seemed vaguely concerned at what she saw looking back at her, and so she reached over to comfort me by squeezing my hand as she often did.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "I apologize. I know your circumstances aren't the best. You've done wonderfully with the hand you've been given, young Sophia."

  I cast my eyes back down to my slate. It was scratched from a season of use, and the edges were powdery with the accumulated detritus from a season of erased mistakes. The problem in front of me read, "A man has thirteen acres of land to allocate among his seven children. The first will inherit a three part share. The second will be given a two part share. The rest will be given a one part share. How many acres will the second child receive?"

  "It doesn't matter how good I am at math. Wives aren't regarded for their ability to solve equations."

  Lady Ayda was comfortable remaining in silence, and so she simply held my hand for as long as I liked. After a good, long while, I finally withdrew it from her to close my textbook and slide my materials back into a neat pile on the desk. As I did so, my eyes caught once more on my well worn slate.

  "Lady Ayda, have you ever made a mistake you couldn't take back?"

  Her hand reached out as if to give a comforting pat on my head, but after a moment she pulled her hand back to cover her eyes from my sight. She took a few deep breaths before answering.

  "More than a few, Sophia. Many more than I should have. Not as many as I could have. That's just a part of growing up. All we can do is understand what led us to make the mistake, and allow ourselves time to move on."

  After a few more moments of silence, she spoke again, "Would you like to talk about it?"

  "Yes."

  "No, Lady Ayda. That's alright."

  With that door closed, we resolved to sit in silence. But it was a warm silence, and it was nice while it lasted.

  ---

  That evening, as I walked back towards my room, I passed by the same moonlit corner where I had, months before, shared that moment with Charlotte.

  At some point, coming here after Lady Ayda's evening lessons had become a routine, and I had passed by this place many times.

  I didn't know what I expected to be here when I came. It was clear to me long before, as it was clear to me at that moment, that Charlotte was not coming back to this place.

  Although she was doomed to fail these remedial classes, her engagement with Jerem was too beneficial for the both of them for either to back out on such a basis. She was deviant in the eyes of regular society, but so long as they remained married to each other they would reap the benefits of their union.

  And so, abandoning these classes would not be the end for her, as it would have been for me. Perhaps she would hire private tutors later, as Jerem's family had money. Or perhaps she would simply withdraw from society, and I might never see her again.

  I reached out my hand to touch the wall, and closed my eyes to imagine the moment again.

  The refrain began to pound like a drum in the back of my mind, "I am a Printemps."

  But here, alone in this hallway, if only for a moment, I didn't have to listen to it. I remembered vividly, still, her hopeful gaze. The warmth in her eyes.

  I allowed myself to slowly slide down to my knees, tears falling to the ground in front of me.

  "Why did I push you away?" I whispered to myself.

  I pounded my fist on the wall, letting the throbbing feeling in my hand center me. I wished that I could go back and do something different. Anything at all. Make any other choice.

  But after a few more minutes to myself, time kept moving forwards, rather than backwards, and I was forced to stand back up. Forced to confront the fact that the only way forward was to continue on.

  The beat of the drum in the back of my head grew louder yet again, a dozen voices all reminding me of my duty.

  And I moved on, knowing that this would be the last time I visited this hallway.

  ---

  Lady Ayda was reading a book, waiting for the last grains of the hourglass on her desk to fall.

  I was well ahead of the others at this point, and looking at my parchment to double check my answers with the time I had remaining. "No trick questions this time, I hope..."

  There didn't seem to be any, at least. The test had been to take a provided mock budget and perform various calculations to audit or expand on it. Mine was a mock budget drawn up about some small, oddly named government committee. It was far easier than some of the practice work that Lady Ayda had been making me do in our evening sessions. In fact, it was miles less complex than the figuring that I had been doing just hours earlier in our session the previous night.

  After the hourglass was finally spent, we all placed our parchments in the provided envelopes, and Lady Ayda stood up and cleared her throat.

  "First, congratulations on passing my class. I have been assessing you throughout the season and have already entered your grades on the result of that assessment."

  The girls and I looked around at each other, confused.

  "And second, congratulations on completing the first stage of the civil servant certification evaluation."

  The Belles looked at each other and began whispering quietly, while Beatrice looked aghast. Gertrude didn't seem surprised. I didn't know what to think.

  "While you are all on your way to get married... that is never a guarantee. Some of you aren't even engaged, but the rest of you have many months before your household life begins"

  Lady Ayda picked up the envelopes, arranging them in a neat stack on her desk.

  "You never know what lies ahead in your future. I wanted to make sure you were all prepared to consider alternative options."

  Lady Ayda sat back down at her desk, looking suddenly very weary.

  "Certainly, I wish that someone had been there for me."

  Lady Beatrice was staring at the stack of envelopes on the desk in barely contained fury. I supposed that she didn't appreciate being tricked.

  "Don't worry Lady Dubois, I won't be turning these in for you without your consent. I just wanted you all to realize what you were now capable of, and know that there is a place for you here in Guldenfel. Merely send for me, and I will write you a letter of introduction that will guarantee you a seat at the full exam."

  With her final words said, she bid us all a fond farewell, and we left the classroom.