Steiner was easy to find and hypnotise again. Eiko had him under in seconds.

"Steiner, I want you to go to the door to the roof and wait for me."

The entranced knight nodded and walked off. Now she had to get the rest done. With Steiner and Zidane hypnotised into helping her with a story, she might be able to hide it all from other people without resorting to mass mind control. She made her way to Zidane's room and found the door unlocked. She knocked anyway and waited. S few moments later nothing happened. She was about to walk in when a voice surprised her.

"Eiko?" Zidane asked. He grinned as the startled girl leapt up in surprise.

"Zidane! Uh, I was looking for you..." She said.

"What for?"

"I uh... I wanted to show you the watch Mother and Father gave me for my birthday." Eiko said. She pulled it from her pocket.

She took a risk and started to swing it gently. Zidane's eyes tracked it, and before he knew it, Eiko was surprised to have him under as well. How had this got so easy? Not that she had any complaints.

"Come with me." She ordered the dazed fiancée of the petrified Queen. Zidane followed as ordered...

***

Steiner waited as Eiko arrived. Zidane in tow. She had the two hypnotised men listen to her instructions.

"Zidane, Steiner. You will both remember discussing with Garnet that she really needed a rest away from the castle, and she was really upset. So you two decided it was best for her she went straight away. She decided that since I was here and I'm in line to a throne, that she trusted me to try and cover for her. Zidane, you'll wait here until Steiner comes back, then come from here and find me in my room. Steiner, you'll help me and Vivi hide Garnet just now before returning here and waiting with Zidane. When you come back you and Zidane will both head to my room and tell me that Garnet wants me to act as queen for a little while."

As an afterthought, she decided to explain why they would be atop the roof.

"You'll think Garnet just snuck off with a flying Chocobo to explain why you were up here."

The two men murmured obedience. Steiner and Vivi then carefully lifted Garnet up, to Eiko's orders.

"Keep her straight and hold her there."

They did so, and once Garnet was help up, Eiko examined the damage. No part of her body was cracked, but the whole left side of her orange suit was wrecked. Her left boot was cracked and no doubt set to fall apart, and her shirt wasn't doing so well either. Eiko realised with embarrassment that Garnet was a few cracks away from being half-topless. She worried that when Garnet turned back, it could get awkward, but noticed on closer inspection Garnet had been wearing something underneath. She carefully picked off a shard of the shirt to look a little easier.

It looked like a sleeveless leotard, and seemed undamaged. When she turned back maybe that would spare potential blushes. Eiko realised with dismay that it meant she'd had a way out all along. Just convince Garnet to go down to the leotard after turning back and have her go for a swim before deciding she wanted the rest and tell others her "plan", b now Eiko felt it was safer to have Garnet somewhere she knew Eiko could keep an eye on her. After all, some thinking meant that she had got around to realising she had no idea where Garnet would go on a break.

She had Steiner and Vivi carefully move her down to the next level of the castle, finding a small, empty and more importantly unlocked room. It was lit by the moon shining in the single small window, the glow making the barren room quite well lit.  Steiner was sent to fetch the keys for it, after concealing the statue of the queen safely inside, lying on her undamaged side. Eiko had a feeling she missed something...

"Oh wait, the shards. Vivi, go clear them away from upstairs." Eiko instructed, leaving her alone with Garnet's petrified form.

"I'm really sorry, Garnet, but I hadn't planned it to go wrong like this. I just don't want to get in trouble." Eiko said to the statue.

'I figured that, but this is spiralling. Just for goodness sake don't let things go wrong though. Please.' Garnet pleaded mentally.

Eiko waited, growing impatient and worried. She paced back and forth, wondering where Vivi and Steiner were. Five minutes passed. Ten. she looked at her watch every few seconds. She whined with worry and sat down.

"Where are they?" She asked.

'And where exactly are you?!' Garnet fumed, now actually angry at Eiko for what she had sat on.

Eiko suddenly realised something. This room had been empty except for... She looked down in horror at her seat.

"Ohmygodi'msorryididn'tmeantositonyou!" She yelped, leaping up. She yelped again as the door opened and Steiner walked in with the key. It took her a few seconds to calm down. Vivi stood behind him, obvious from the glow of his eyes, and that had for a second freaked her out too, but that was merely from surprise.

"O-okay, Steiner, go back to Zidane now. Vivi, wait there. I'll lock the room." She panted, her panic leaving her short of breath.

Steiner nodded and clanked off. Eiko went out, and paused.

"I'm really, really sorry." Eiko said.

She was feeling guilt now, worried about what she was doing for the first time. She vanished into the shadows, and the door clicked shut and locked behind her.

Alone not by choice, Garnet wondered how she was going to handle this. She figured she had a while to think for herself, at least. And maybe just a while to try and relax?

'Hm... I guess that this might be an okay kind of break after all... As long as she does turn me back.'

***

Eiko raced to her room after telling Vivi to head to his, go to sleep, and forget the whole night so far. He'd be given the story Zidane and Steiner would help spread. She meanwhile fumbled to be dressed for bed and in it pretending to sleep before they came knocking to tell her the "news".

As it turned out, she was just in time. Faking a sleepy voice on the second round of knocking, she spoke up, faking it in case anyone else was there.

"Who is it?"

"Me, Eiko. Me and Steiner. We've got something to talk to you about..." Zidane said. Eiko climbed from her bed and opened the door...

***

The next morning, Eiko had woken up, and learned the overnight messenger had returned with a reply. Cid and Hilda were happy to let Eiko perform this service for Garnet, she was told. Zidane, Steiner, and Beatrix came to speak with her after she had gotten dressed in the morning and the conversation was quick to get to the point, Beatrix having only learned of the situation (as faked by Eiko) earlier on that same morning.

"I had no idea she was under such strain." Beatrix sighed.

"I knew she was stressed out by it, but I didn't think she was this stressed. Still, Eiko's willing to help out so the nobles won't go too crazy she went so quickly, I guess." Zidane said.

Beatrix nodded agreement, while Eiko was puzzled.

"The nobles?" She asked.

"The Alexandrian nobility are... distrustful of Zidane. Tthey might not be happy if he was given the role you have been." Beatrix explained.

"Is it because he used to be a thief?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Zidane lied, not wanting Eiko to learn the truth of all this. Or, for that matter, wanting to have to spend the whole day explaining it...

"Oh, okay. Wait, will they not like me?" Eiko worried.

"Why?" Beatrix asked.

Steiner spoke up to explain.

"When the Princess lived with her Moogles in Madain Sari, she sometimes had to steal food from the Dwarves. Though I point out that none of the nobles actually know of this. And in her case, they would likely have sympathy." Steiner noted.

Eiko wondered why he sounded a little annoyed at that, but dismissed it.

"I really hope you're up to this, Eiko. It's a tough job..." Zidane said, interrupted as a soldier entered.

"Your Highness, General, Captain, Sir Tribal. Sir Faust is here to see the Princess." She announced.

Zidane groaned.

"...and you're starting right at the deep end. Sorry, Eiko." Zidane finished his earlier sentence

Eiko felt a chill run up her spine.

***

The rising sun wasn't facing the window, but the light flooded in anyway. Garnet lay there still, for she had little real choice.

'I wonder how Eiko's going to handle all that work...' She pondered.

She knew there wasn't really any way for her to get out of her predicament, so she was just trying to make use of this time away from reports and requests. It was while she envisioned Eiko simply throwing most of the letters in the fire, that a sparrow flew out of the window. Not in, but out, to the surprise of The Queen.

And judging by the faint chirping she heard, the nest was actually inside the room somewhere, possibly in the rafters.

'How long has it been since anyone was in this room? And what was it used for?'

Had she asked out loud and the sparrows been able to reply, even they wouldn't know.

***

Eiko didn't object when she found out she wasn't going to actually sit in the Monarch's throne in the audience room, but in a newer chair that had been brought in. The reason she didn't object was the throne dated back to the year 1400, something recalled from a history lesson. It wasn't out of any concern for the antique: Lindblum's throne was even older, rumoured to be over a thousand years old, and she would happily sit in that.

However, people had not invented cushions by the year 1400 it seemed, and Alexandria was a stickler for tradition and ceremony, leaving things unchanged come hell or high water. Where the Lindblum throne had cushions installed to the comfort of bony-bottomed Regents and even Regentesses over the years, Alexandria's throne was just bare wood.

Garnet herself rarely used it if she could avoid it, and official audiences were one such time where she had to endure it. Despite being the most important chair in the country, it was also the most uncomfortable outside of a torture chamber and had been the bane of monarchs for centuries. Eiko was unaware that Garnet's attempt to put a cushion on it and even her attempt to use a more comfortable chair had caused a mini-scandal.

Luckily, since she wasn't The Queen and merely acting in her stead as Her Majesty took a rest, Eiko was meant to sit in a separate seat for official audiences anyway. She wondered how annoying it would be to have to sit in that other throne... And wondered why Garnet hadn't just ordered them to shut up and let her put a cushion on it.  

Eiko had no idea that Garnet had often wished she could tell the man she was about to meet to shut up, but had been forced by protocol and manners to hold her tongue.

Sir Faust was a man who had received a knighthood for his services to Queen Brahne, a small but thin man who threw his nearly non-existent weight around and used his previous role as a lawyer to exploit and manipulate every possible loophole in the laws. He spent much time of late serving as a spokesman for a number of other noble men and women, his close relationship to Brahne having meant he was well installed in the Royal circle. Eiko knew nothing of him, but even she felt distrust when she saw the thin grey-haired man stride in, announced by a solider. Eiko had been forewarned she was expected to greet him first.

"My greetings, sir Faust." She said, reciting the words Steiner had told her even though she thought it was too formal.

"Greetings, Princess Eiko. My thanks to you for seeing me and for allowing our much-loved Queen some well-deserved rest." Faust said, bowing.

Eiko then learned what it really meant to be Queen, as over the next hour, Faust droned on and on, saying little but to occasionally praise the queen's decision to take a rest, saying he had heard much about Eiko and that he believed she would be as calm and level-headed as the Queen (clearly he had listened to the wrong people) and Eiko could do nothing but sit, smile, and reply. She was bored witless, but she'd been in a castle being taught the ways of royalty for nearly three years now and so, no matter how much she wanted to, Eiko could only be polite. At least while he was present.

Her cry of relief when he was away and well out of earshot was merely her joining another tradition of Monarchs, Alexandrian or Lindblumian, over the ages. Most of them however had been old enough to know (but not always use) more offensive language than "boring old foghorn". Garnet, for instance, had startled some soldiers to display just how much of Zidane's vocabulary she had picked up.  

***  

Eiko was back in her room. The reports and requests had been sorted from Garnet's desk for her to check, and it was claimed the nobles would pause with delivering their letters for now if only to allow Eiko to catch up a little.

"Ghaa. How can he talk for so long but not say anything?" Eiko whined.

"He was a lawyer once and he is a Knight of the Realm now. While Military knights like Steiner use a sword and shield, Faust uses a pen and his mouth. Unfortunately, while a good swordsman has pride in speed and precision, a spokesman has the opposite qualities." Beatrix explained.

"So... They"re all like that? All the nobles?"

"To someone in power, yes. Right now the nobles are no doubt sizing you up. They gave you what passes for a polite welcome through Faust, and will no doubt give you requests soon enough to see what you do with them." Steiner answered.

"What do I do?"

"decide for yourself. They give you the letters and their requests and think you'll say yes to get them on your side. It's what they're supposed to try with every new monarch, or so Garnet says." Zidane interjected.

Eiko was quick to figure out why that would still be no use.

"But the ones who got there first, surely they might have requests that other people later won't like? Like a... a Doctor or something walks in and wants to ban dogs because they spread disease and then a dog breeder walks in and wants to not ban them. I can't say yes to them both."

"That's the entire problem. You can't say yes to everyone, so if you start off trying to be nice, it won't last. The nobles try to take control themselves, and if they can get to a new Queen or King early then they can basically do what they like. That's why Faust doesn't like Garnet much, or me. Garnet makes her own choices based on what's best for the people, not to keep the guy she's talking to happy. On top of that he seems to think I influenced her."

Eiko grinned

"Well, you did. Before she met you she was meant to be all naïve and sheltered." She noted.

"Princess Eiko's got a point there, Zidane." Beatrix grinned also

Just then, a knock came at the door. Steiner opened it. To his dismay, a soldier stood with a bundle of letters.

"A lesson in the actions of the Alexandrian nobility, Princess. They are mostly liars." He grumbled as the letters were handed over and put to the bottom of the group. Eiko saw for the first time how many there were.

"I have to sign all these letters?"

"And read them too. You also need to be sure that letters on a similar subject are read together. They're usually sorted into the same groups when first examined but if they get this far they need a Royal signature."

It then occurred to Eiko what these letters actually were as she read the first envelope she picked up. It was actually a pair of letters on the same subject. The first was a request that more rat poison be bought and laid down this year to avoid the rise in rodent numbers that occurred each summer. The one right below it requested that less poison be laid and more traps be laid as well as a bounty given for each dead rat. Poison sounded simple and cheap, and the letter supporting that move said that hunters and traps would cost more and detract labour from rebuilding. The pro-trap and hunting letter said the poison would be eaten by more than just rats: Cats, Dogs, Birds, and possibly even children.

"How am I meant to figure it out?" She asked.

"We cannot really say. We can only advise you, and the choice you take must be what you feel is the best, I'm afraid." Steiner said. Eiko pondered for a moment.

"Well, the poison could cause problems, and the rat hunters wouldn't have to be builders would they? Maybe they could let kids hunt the rats as well so the adults could do the building work." Eiko concluded. Steiner was impressed.

"It seems a logical choice."

It also, as it happened, would mean that a large number of Alexandrians would be better off. Eiko had also not known the rat poison could cost more than just laying it. After all, the dead rats themselves would need cleared otherwise they would simply attract more vermin, needing more poison to be laid, and start a vicious cycle. The pro-poison letter ignored that fact, because its author owned a company making poison. Had Garnet read it, she'd have read slowly and clearly, rereading it, looking up further information and then considered the ramifications of either choice. It would have taken her up to twenty minutes on one issue. Eiko had done it in five.

Of course, this was because Garnet was of the view all matters were of equal importance, something schooled to her. Eiko's own education was influenced by Lindblum's more flexible society combined with her own general impatience into simply going with what she had at the time.

***

Through the day, Garnet did all she could. Which, as nothing but an inanimate and sentient stone statue, was to lay there and think. Her stone eyes were locked staring forward, and she was glad she had kept them open.

She had actually found it all relaxing. Though most other times of involuntary petrification she had undergone were short-lasting and terrifying because they had been inflicted by monsters in mid-battle, here she was away from her stress. The Sparrows fluttered in and out every so often, passing her line of vision each time. She knew this was about the time of year birds made nests, or repaired old ones, so seeing them carry twigs wasn't a surprise.

What was a surprise was that as far as she could recall, the nearest place they would be able to get the materials they needed at this side of the castle was a long distance even if you could fly. They seemed to be taking far too much effort when there were simpler solutions to their goal. But then again, maybe they had been here for some time and did this only because they always had done, and their parents had done so before them, and their parents before them.

Even as a possible explanation she was giving to the mentality of birds, it sounded familiar.

***

The next day, some of those who had received replies were surprised to do so. Eiko had in fact reached down the pile to answer some letters a day early. Unfortunately, her speed wasn't pleasing to some, as she of course, dismissed their request in favour of another. Worse for them, when there was little information or only one perspective given on a subject, Eiko had not read up on the subjects as Garnet would, but had instead simply asked someone about it or had asked who could possibly answer. Sometimes, no one could, so she resolved to instead just check with whoever wrote the letter.

It meant a number of nobles wanting an explanation in person. Eiko dealt with them all, at least glad that when annoyed, they didn't drone on. But boredom at other times and guilt about how she had gotten into her role were always on her mind.

And so, she checked in on Garnet. Carefully opening the door. Garnet's eyes were not in line of sight to it, and Eiko was sure she wasn't being noticed as she peeked in and made sure she was okay. Well, as okay as a statue could be.

This repeated for a few more days. Garnet had lain hidden and petrified for five days when Eiko overheard two nobles complaining. They were loud speakers, and had forgotten she was short and stealthy, or more likely, had just not known.  

"Princess Eiko has turned out to be as bad as Her Majesty. She's always quick to make her own choices. " One raged.

The other spoke up.

"Eiko is, if anything, worse. She's faster to seek answers. Maybe it's a Lindblum education or just the fact she is naturally inquisitive, but where Garnet would strive to do the work herself Eiko finds ways to speed herself up."

The first responded.

"That's why The Queen picked her of course. If it had been Zidane, what would he do? Wither ignore us totally or try and curry favour by becoming a yes-man. Once again we underestimate our Queen."

Eiko heard this and felt both pride and guilt. Pride that she seemed to be doing a good job, guilt at the fact people thought Garnet had a trust in her that she had clearly betrayed.

"I'm gonna have to fix this..." She sighed. She would wait until nightfall and go restore Garnet... but for now, she snuck away from her eavesdropping.

***

Garnet realised during this time that the door was occasionally opening, and assumed Eiko was checking in on her. She also knew that if she lay here any longer she would inevitably black out. It had happened when she had hidden as a statue in a gallery once, a few years ago. She later found it was well documented. Even though you didn't feel tired, being stone after all, when petrified your mind still sought out rest after time.

And almost suddenly, it would take rest. The petrified individual only realised they were dreaming or blacked out if there were changes in what they could see. A dream was easy to see the differences, but for Garnet now, it wouldn't be so simple if she simply blacked out.

It would be much simpler than if she had closed her eyes though, she mused. She'd managed to find this forced period of doing nothing relaxing, but knew that had she been left without even her limited sight, that relaxation would have been gone. Instead of a degree of awareness and security, she would have had paranoia. With only the ability to hear, and that ability nowhere near as reliable as when not petrified, she had a feeling she would have mistaken the sounds of the Sparrows for something more sinister.

True, it was her castle, and she was now an adult, but the old fairy tales she had read in her youth had made their mark. Haunted castles, monster dungeons, and the lairs of Dragons had that sort of effect on a child actually living in a castle, something no bedtime storyteller had ever really considered. Especially the one where the giant in the old castle had gobbled up all the Princesses he married when they didn't cook very well. And they had wondered why her reluctance to learn to cook when she was eight had vanished almost overnight...

She resolved she would try and find fairy tales that were less traumatising for any children she was to have. Or to edit them to paint castles in a better light

Still, nonetheless, she'd found herself relaxing and bird-watching with open eyes, rather than in paranoid blackness. Not much to do certainly, but better than too much to worry about by far. She was certain she now had a puzzle at hand: How could she thank Eiko for the help as well as make sure she knew that the methods she had used were not as appreciated as the outcome?

'A hungry giant is perhaps a little too much... Besides, Eiko can cook.' She mused, looking to her traumatic bedtime stories for some inspiration.

***

She stood outside the door, six days after she'd done it and two since she last looked in, but now she was going to turn her back. And now she thought about it, she had no way of knowing if Garnet had really been hypnotised. She put the key in the lock....

She felt nervous. Really nervous. No. Scared.

She removed it and walked away, terrified and feeling guilty again.

***

She'd come back the next night. She put the key in the lock and turned. Her hands shook...

...so much that she dropped the Soft. She fled, using it as an excuse to herself. Garnet only heard a small tinkling noise as the soft smashed.

***

The next night after that, Eiko came back, and actually entered the room where Garnet's petrified form had been hidden. There wasn't much moonlight this night, meaning Eiko was quickly aware of how dark this room was.
At that point, it seemed her entry had woken one of the sparrows. Eiko fled after she heard the confused chirp, not realising what it was. Self-preservation kept her from screaming in fright as she dashed away.

***

She'd decided to come back later that night, this time with a lantern. She searched the room with the glow of it, and found nothing. She sighed. the noise was all in her head. In fact, the Sparrows had simply ignored her.

Very real though, was Garnet. Still petrified, blank eyes glaring forward. Eiko thought they were looking at her accusingly. She turned to leave again, but halted.  

"You have to turn her back Eiko. even if the hypnosis didn't work on her it's not fair to leave her here." She told herself aloud.

She closed her eyes, turned, and cast Stona.

The glow of the spell spread over Garnet, and the grey marble faded to pink flesh and the orange suit. Garnet stood, stiffly. The cracked petrified clothing became evenly torn.

Garnet then stared at her. It hadn't worked! Eiko willed herself to turn and run, but she was stuck! Why wouldn't she move? She was terrified now, why wasn't she running?

Then she realised it. she had undone literal petrification only to find herself petrified with fear. Terror overrode irony as Garnet advanced on her, Eiko staring wide eyed. She managed to wince, closing her eyes with a squeak as Garnet...

...Hugged her? This was confusing.

"B-but, I thought you'd be mad..." Eiko mumbled.

"I am." Garnet said, and Eiko tensed again.

"W-well, why are you hugging me?" Eiko fretted, not liking this at all.

Was Garnet messing with her mind before she got revenge? That didn't seem like her but after what Eiko had done Garnet might have been ready to do anything.

"Because you gave me some time away from those letters. But I'd really rather have done it on my own terms, Eiko"

Eiko felt relief replace worry and fear.

"So... Am I in trouble?"

Garnet looked Eiko in the eye and smiled. Not a pleasant smile, but a more sinister grin. Eiko got the message. The relief went away, replaced with uncertainty.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Don't be worried Eiko. I've had a little while to think of a good punishment... A very fitting punishment, in fact."

Worry was back.

***

She was now waiting outside Zidane's room. Inside, Garnet was explaining to Zidane the real events of the last week.

The first part about it that worried her was it involved telling Zidane precisely what had happened. This was bad because thought she was mostly over her little crush on Zidane, she still had a lot of respect for both him and Garnet, and knew that he'd be angry to learn how she'd not honoured that respect.

The second part was that she had no idea what it would be when she was punished. She had visions of running away and hiding rather than waiting outside the room as Garnet explained it, but she knew she'd be caught and that Garnet would probably make the punishment worse if she ran. She had a feeling her parents would be told and they would be left to make the response. Extra tutoring. Not being allowed to leave the castle at all for a year.

As Eiko imagined her fate, Garnet opened the door.

"Eiko, come in."

She nervously obeyed. She saw Zidane looked really mad, and reflexively she found her shoes and the floor to be very interesting. Garnet spoke anyway.

"Eiko, we know you didn't really mean any harm from what you did, and no harm really came from it... But we can't let it go unpunished. We will have to tell Regent Cid..."

Eiko stiffened. She was in it deep now!

"...how helpful you had been." The Queen of Alexandria finished.

"Huh?" Eiko said, confused.

She looked at the two in front of her and noted they both had a similar glint in their eyes that made her feel really nervous. Really nervous. The last time friends had made her this nervous was when Quina started saying that it began to think that cute things tasted better than ugly things, and had been staring at her the whole time.

"In fact, We're going to ask him to let you come back for another visit in a month or so. Meanwhile, I'm going to be carrying out Garnet's duties for her while she continues her rest. She's very insistent about that, and the nobles are being told in no uncertain terms Garnet just wants things done simply and without needless fuss."

"Uh... Okay..." Eiko said, really bewildered now.

"And how I'm going to rest is, by going to Lindblum while you stay here."  Garnet spoke again.

"But... You said I'd come back in a month. I don't get it..."

Garnet smiled and then demonstrated for Eiko. With her white magic, Garnet cast a spell on herself. She shrank down, and her appearance changed. In a few seconds, Garnet had changed into a perfect copy of Eiko, her clothing shrinking slightly with her (for Eiko's own wardrobe was largely lying unpacked elsewhere when it wasn't on Vivi's head). Even when she spoke, she sounded the same, though she avoided mimicking Eiko's style of speech for now since it could have somewhat lessened the impact of her words.

"I'm going as you. And as for what you'll be doing, I think the main hall of the castle looks a little bare... it could use a decoration. For instance there was that statue in Treno I liked... The Angel, was it? Maybe something similar to that..." Garnet mused.

"And while we're at it, a shorter chain on that watch of yours... Make it harder to swing it like a pendulum." Zidane noted.

Eiko didn't really like either of those ideas. She had no choice in the matter though.

***  

Garnet felt it only fitting that it was Eiko she had to thank for all of this. It was Eiko who had caused events to get to this stage, and Eiko who had experimented around with magic enough so that Garnet knew the trick she needed. And if Eiko hadn't decided to temporarily take her role, she would never have had her excuse or her plan to take a rest.

Becoming Eiko physically was child's play, and sometimes acting like Eiko was to take the phrase literally. Upon "return" to Lindblum she acted like Eiko would almost to a T, knowing full well that while Eiko had become more polite and proper, she was still Eiko and could probably be classed as a natural disaster if she was ever loosed on the city unwatched.

She played pranks in spare time, wandered the castle, generally ignored advice she hadn't sought when she could, and acted bored during studies. Garnet's only mistake was she was a little too good at being Eiko in one area, because compared to her usual tasks, this work she had was simple and almost fun, but she was sure that her bored act was doing enough to fool the tutors. Besides, she couldn't have been doing that much better than Eiko normally did...

"Improving? Well, that's good isn't it?" Hilda asked.

"Well, yes. But she seems as bored as usual. Her tutors are quite puzzled." Cid replied.

"Perhaps her trip to Alexandria had an effect. Seeing what she might have to face when she's older, and no doubt Garnet probably gave her some advice about her studies..."

The Regent nodded.

"Possible. It does seem a likely explanation for it."

Luckily, no one was any the wiser in either castle except those who knew the secret.

***

Meanwhile, back in the hall of Alexandria castle, one statue of an angelic figure in a dress looked down over the empty space from where it had just been installed in the centre of the hallway, with one single thought about her situation. In summary, the familiar-looking granite angel felt it was...

Boring.

But boring with nothing really to do was preferable to the kind of boring caused by all that work a Queen really had to do. She hoped Garnet enjoyed being Princess Eiko for a while, because as soon as she was done being... whatever statue she was meant to be this time... Eiko was going to enjoy being herself to the full, because she was kind of soured to the idea of being Queen.

Well, for the moment at least.