In the mind of the human being, sometimes only a thought and a feeling are necessary to change something in people.

  .

  .

  .

  Leva walked calmly, with a rhythmic clatter. Her back was straight and her gaze was raised, always looking ahead and never to the sides nor to the floor.

  Whenever she encountered other maids heading toward one of their duties, they bowed and greeted her, and she replied with a slight inclination of her head, accompanied by a smile.

  All who looked at her did so with admiration, observing the most capable — and even elegant — maid in the kingdom.

  Everyone in the castle knew that, and Leva herself was aware of that observation, and she felt proud of it.

  But when she stopped walking, an involuntary sigh of exhaustion escaped her. It was because she had arrived at the place she needed to go — she was standing in front of the door to Prince Ketsual’s chamber.

  And if Leva had to say where her skills as a servant weakened, it would be when she had to serve Ketsual, and that was nothing unusual.

  Ketsual is a cheerful child who does not like studying and simply wants to play all day with his dragon Popuro. And Leva has to look after him and serve him, even if he does not want it.

  Leva let out another sigh, this time a deeper one, before putting on a professional expression. She took the doorknob, turning it and pushing the door.

  She entered with a “Good morning, Prince, it is time to—” but she stopped her words and steps when she saw that Ketsual was already awake in the chamber, dressed in his clothes for the day and tying the laces of his shoes.

  Ketsual took his gaze off his shoes and looked at Leva.

  “Oh, good morning, Miss Leva.”

  Silence reigned in the room, serving as a prelude to what followed.

  “Prince Ketsual?! Why are you awake and dressed? Is something wrong? Fever? Hallucinations?” Leva asked with great concern, approaching Ketsual, grabbing his head and examining him with her eyes moving quickly.

  “Hm? No, I don’t have anything, I’m just excited to study,” Ketsual said in a reassuring voice.

  “Hm? You said you’re excited to study?” Leva asked, doubting what she had heard.

  “That’s right, I said I’m excited to study.”

  “…This is serious! The prince wants to study! I’ll call the doctors.”

  And with that, Leva left the room, leaving Ketsual tilting his head, processing what had just happened.

  .

  .

  .

  Once again in the corridors, we see Leva walking, her steps out of rhythm, and her gaze, once held high, now fixed on the floor, hiding her cheeks, which were scarlet red.

  At her side was Ketsual, who tried not to look at the current state of his servant out of respect.

  They continued like that until they reached the classroom door, but while Ketsual stopped, Leva kept walking, passing right by the door.

  “Um, Leva, we’re here.”

  At Ketsual’s words, Leva looked back in confusion, realizing he was right.

  She lowered her head even more, hurried toward the door, knocked before opening it, all with the same haste.

  “Good morning, Mr. Milto, here is Ketsual, goodbye.” And with that said, she stepped back and left the doorway, walking in a way that almost looked like she was trotting because of her speed.

  Ketsual could only watch her until she disappeared from sight, then he entered to the classroom.

  There was Milto, looking at the door and at Ketsual in confusion.

  “What happened to Leva? Is she feeling unwell?”

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  “Well, yes… something like that.”

  "I see. Well then, come in and let’s begin the class. Today will be about the tax system," Milto said as he turned toward the blackboard.

  "Yes… excuse me, Professor Milto, could we… change the topic, at least for today?"

  Milto turned around again, his mouth slightly open and his head tilted. "What? Why do you want to change the topic? Do you have something you wish to study?"

  Ketsual lowered his head slightly before continuing. "Yes, I would like to learn about… the achitla ilhui tlama and navigation." (achitla ilhui tlama= astronomy, those three words mean "something, sky and study" in nathual, but i shortened the words )

  "About the achitla ilhui tlama and navigation? But that is not necessary for you. For that, there are achitla ilhui tlama scholars and navigators. For you, as a prince, it is not something fundamental in your education."

  Ketsual remained silent for a few seconds and lowered his gaze before raising it again. "You are right, professor Milto, but I am truly interested in that."

  Milto scratched his head. "Well, even if you say that, I still think it is not nec—"

  "Please, Mr. Milto, teach me about that, and I will study seriously from now on," Ketsual said with a firm gaze.

  While Milto's eyes widened at Ketsual's declaration, he had never seen him so committed to his studies when he took Ketsual on as his student, which brought a smile to his face.

  "Very well, if I teach you about the universe and navigation, and you begin to study diligently, then I think that's fine."

  At Milto's words, a bright smile appeared on Ketsual's face. "Thank you very much, I'll do my best."

  "I hope so, and well, to begin the lesson, we'll start with the basics." With that, Milto went to one of the few pieces of furniture and took out several rolled-up sheets of paper, as well as a long, silver artifact.

  He returned to his desk and gestured for Ketsual to approach, which he did. At that moment, he unrolled one of the papers on the desk.

  Ketsual was excited about what he was going to see, only to be disappointed to see a sheet with several white spots.

  "Uh, teacher, what is this?" Ketsual asked uncertainly.

  "Well, this is the most ‘complete’ map of the universe recorded so far."

  Ketsual looked at the sheet in surprise, observing those spots. "I see… and what are these white spots?"

  "Those ‘spots’ are clusters of planets and stars."

  "A cluster of planets and stars?"

  "That’s right. Here, with this you will be able to see better what I mean." After saying that, Milto handed Ketsual a piece of metal. It was a cylindrical figure, narrower on one end and wider on the other, and on that end there were three metal legs.

  "Place the wider end on the map and look through the narrower end."

  Ketsual did so, placing it over one of the spots, and then looked through the narrow end. And there he could make out points, several points separated by only a small space.

  "Wow, I didn’t know each planet and star was so close, separated by only a small space," Ketsual said in surprise.

  Milto made a slight grimace. "Actually, no. This would be the representation of one solar system separated from another. If you look carefully, you will find other planets that are very close — that would be the more ‘accurate’ representation of each planet and star."

  Ketsual searched for those planets, confirming that it was true. “Then, is this the map used to study the universe and navigate it?” Ketsual said, a tremor running through his hands, his eyes—his whole body.

  Milto could not bear that expression and let out a small laugh. “No, you wouldn’t use that for it.” Then he spread out another sheet, this one filled with separated points rather than spots. “For navigation between systems, these types of maps are used, which are on a smaller scale. In this case, it shows our kingdom and some planets from neighboring realms and barbarian worlds.”

  “Wow, even so, it’s still very large. And with this map, you can travel between worlds?”

  “Yes and no. It would be more like a global reference. To help you understand more easily, this map would be like a representation of the surface of a planet. It gives a general idea, but it cannot be used to locate yourself precisely or to travel the roads of a specific region. For that, there is this.”

  Milto unrolled another sheet. This time, the points were larger, showing solar systems and their planets in detail. On each planet, a bit of information had been added, such as the planet’s name, whether it was habitable or not, and its main function. Around the map, there were several points representing stars.

  “Wow, this map is incredible,” Ketsual said, his eyes shining.

  Milto smiled slightly. “I think so too. Now then, we will truly begin the lesson. Do you recognize any planet?”

  Ketsual looked at the map before answering. “Yes, I recognize this planet. It is the planet Xoxoktik, it is the closest one from here.”

  (Xoxoktik= green)

  “That is correct, Prince, and if you look at the edge of the map, we can see the stars that would be visually close to it. This will give us a reference for an approximate position.”

  “Wow… and with this, can one already travel?” he asked with doubt.

  Milto laughed again. “No, one cannot determine the position of a planet with only this. The position of planets is determined through several calculations — the position of the world from which it is observed, the time at which the observation is made, the angle of the stars, among other things. All of this is simplified with the ilhui moza tlano tables that exist on every planet, sheets with calculations made and studied for years and that continue to be studied to this day, in order to make this navigation a bit easier. Understood?”

  (ilhuicatla, Mozanpiquia, tlanonotza= information, planets)

  “Uh, I think so. With a lot of information and maps, one could travel?”

  “…although your words are very vague, I suppose we can summarize it like that. Now then, ready to go deeper into this?” Milto said with a gleam in his eyes.

  *Those eyes!* Ketsual thought, trembling as he looked at his teacher’s eyes, wondering if he had chosen poorly in asking him to teach about the universe and navigation.

  .

  .

  .

  God, what is wrong with me today? I grabbed the wrong water and used the dirty water to clean the hallway; even after trying several times, I couldn’t properly make the prince’s and Her Highness Maya’s beds, and I had to ask another maid for help; on top of that, the clothes I hung to dry kept falling, getting dirty again.

  I’m not like this, no — I am an admirable maid. I just had a problem, yes, it was only a problem because of the prince. He always brings out the worst in me, and today was no different.

  With those words, a sense of confidence made her keep her back straighter, and a smile adorned her face — but it quickly disappeared.

  What am I doing? Am I blaming the prince? But he didn’t do anything wrong. He just got ready and wanted to study… no, he did do something wrong — why would he change his attitude from one day to the next? Could it have something to do with the accident from a few days ago? Or maybe it was what I told him yesterday?

  These thoughts made me reflect, flooding my mind with— agh!

  I felt a pain on my forehead, and when I looked ahead, I saw a door, marking the end of the hallway.

  Eh? How could the corridor have ended? I was supposed to go to Ketsual’s classroom, and that’s halfway down the corridor. Once again, the prince was making me lose my composure.

  I retraced my steps and began walking quickly until I stopped at Ketsual’s classroom.

  I let out a small sigh, imagining the usual scene — a tired Ketsual staring at the board with empty eyes.

  I opened the door. “Good afternoon, Prince, I came to inform you that lunch is—” I stopped mid-sentence when I saw the scene.

  Ketsual was sitting there with his back to me, but he was leaning forward, clearly writing something. I think he didn’t even hear me.

  “Oh, hello, Leva. Is it already lunchtime?” Mr. Milto said with a cheerful smile — somewhat unusual, since his smiles were normally more polite than anything else.

  And when Mr. Milto turned toward me, Ketsual looked back, and in his eyes there was no fatigue, but a bright gleam of joy. “Oh, hello, Miss Leva. Is it lunchtime already?”

  “Uh, yes, it is, Prince.” I stumbled over my words.

  “Well then, Prince, we’ll finish the lesson for today, and let me say that I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you very much, Professor, although I would have liked to study more,” Ketsual said in a somewhat disappointed tone — disappointed!

  Ketsual stood up from his seat and headed toward the door, but as if a memory had come to mind, he turned back toward Mr. Milto.

  "Excuse me, Professor Milto, but could you teach me another topic that I want to study tomorrow?"

  "Another topic?" Milto repeated, resting a hand on his chin. "Well, it’s not ideal, but you studied so well today that I’ll grant you that privilege."

  "Thank you very much, Professor Milto," Ketsual said with a radiant smile, and behind him, there I was, not knowing what expression I was making, but I knew it was one that clearly reflected the impact of what was happening — without imagining what would occur in the days that followed.