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fandomhigh2008-06-17 11:49 pm
notyourpawn.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2008-06-17 11:49 pm
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Mad Kings and Queens [Wednesday, June 18th, 2nd Period]
The first thing the class would probably notice this week was that it was not Lady Ghanima in front of them. Lady Ghanima was seated in the back of the class, observing, while one of her two TAs was standing in her customary spot.
Alice laced her fingers together behind her back and willed herself not to fidget as the class filed in. When everyone was seated, she began to speak.
"This is a story of four queens," she said. "All very dissimilar in temperament and logic. The four ruled, together, over one land, until the day they warred among themselves for power. Choosing a side was not a simple issue, for the populace."
Alice stopped to walk over to the chalkboard. On it, she drew four boxes, and inside the first box, she drew the symbol of a heart.
"The Queen of Hearts," she said, turning around and fiddling idly with the chalk. "Known by all, feared by many. Her Majesty had a rather vicious temper, and was fond of making cutting personal remarks. Disagreeing with Her Majesty meant one thing: off with her head. One would be imprisoned immediately and held for execution. This would be dire indeed if Her Majesty had any power at all." Alice couldn't help but smirk at that. "For, you see, the King of Hearts did not share her cruelty, nor her delight in vicious pastimes; he was a meek, quiet sort. Every night, he would wait until Her Majesty was distracted, and pardon every person whose death she had ordered."
She moved to the next box, placing a capital W inside. "The White Queen. Very kind, very gracious, very likely to leave her own head behind were it not fixed so firmly upon her neck. Her Majesty was forgetful, disheveled, and quite easily distracted. She had the best of intentions; unfortunately, very little was accomplished. Her Majesty was far too disorganized to be effective."
The third box received a R. "The Red Queen. Cunning, cruel, and manipulative. Her Majesty the Red Queen believed life was a game, and power doubly so. She could be charming, when she chose; she befriended many of her presumed enemies, perhaps to learn their weaknesses, or perhaps to disarm them at an opportune moment. All of Her Majesty's conversations eventually turned to how her experiences were grander than one's own. If one had seen hills, then she had seen mountains. If one should sprout wings and fly, then she had spent just last weekend as a hawk. It would be unwise to mistake her ego for foolishness, for Her Majesty was never a fool."
"The last Queen was the young Queen Alice." Box four therefore received an A. "Kind, if naive. Resourceful and clever, though ill -prepared for the infighting and politicking that being Queen was to entail. Queen Alice was beloved by the populace, though she had much to learn about power and how to properly wield it."
She nodded to the chalkboard again. "Four Queens. It was a precarious balance, at best, and then it tipped."
Alice erased the fourth box, finding a strange sort of vicious pleasure in it. "Queen Alice fell mad," she explained. "A fire took most of her loved ones, and she had never been terribly stable to start. She was taken to an asylum. This was how it began."
Next to go was the heart. "The Red Queen decided that she wished to rule alone," she explained. "She would not stand for dissent. The Queen of Hearts discovered quickly that the Red Queen was not to be trifled with, that she could be ruthless in pursuit of her goal. She fell in line with a minimal of fuss. She retained her title, but it was well-known that she was little more than a puppet. Her Card Guards served the Red Queen first and foremost."
And last, the box marked W. "The White Queen was brave. She stood against the Red Queen's tyranny. She refused to compromise, for the Red Queen was a cruel leader who was oppressive towards the citizens, and the White Queen had a keen mind for justice. The White Queen was captured and executed."
The eraser was set down again, having served its purpose. "The Red Queen ruled all, for many years. Some were forced into slavery. Others curried favor and received positions of honor in her realm. This continued until Queen Alice awoke from her madness, and fought a bloody war against the Red Queen."
She was nearly finished, now. "The populace then had to choose: a ruthless leader, but one who had kept the land safe and functional for many years, or a young revolutionary, who may fall prey to the same madness that had destroyed her once before. How does one choose?"
Alice laced her fingers together behind her back and willed herself not to fidget as the class filed in. When everyone was seated, she began to speak.
"This is a story of four queens," she said. "All very dissimilar in temperament and logic. The four ruled, together, over one land, until the day they warred among themselves for power. Choosing a side was not a simple issue, for the populace."
Alice stopped to walk over to the chalkboard. On it, she drew four boxes, and inside the first box, she drew the symbol of a heart.
"The Queen of Hearts," she said, turning around and fiddling idly with the chalk. "Known by all, feared by many. Her Majesty had a rather vicious temper, and was fond of making cutting personal remarks. Disagreeing with Her Majesty meant one thing: off with her head. One would be imprisoned immediately and held for execution. This would be dire indeed if Her Majesty had any power at all." Alice couldn't help but smirk at that. "For, you see, the King of Hearts did not share her cruelty, nor her delight in vicious pastimes; he was a meek, quiet sort. Every night, he would wait until Her Majesty was distracted, and pardon every person whose death she had ordered."
She moved to the next box, placing a capital W inside. "The White Queen. Very kind, very gracious, very likely to leave her own head behind were it not fixed so firmly upon her neck. Her Majesty was forgetful, disheveled, and quite easily distracted. She had the best of intentions; unfortunately, very little was accomplished. Her Majesty was far too disorganized to be effective."
The third box received a R. "The Red Queen. Cunning, cruel, and manipulative. Her Majesty the Red Queen believed life was a game, and power doubly so. She could be charming, when she chose; she befriended many of her presumed enemies, perhaps to learn their weaknesses, or perhaps to disarm them at an opportune moment. All of Her Majesty's conversations eventually turned to how her experiences were grander than one's own. If one had seen hills, then she had seen mountains. If one should sprout wings and fly, then she had spent just last weekend as a hawk. It would be unwise to mistake her ego for foolishness, for Her Majesty was never a fool."
"The last Queen was the young Queen Alice." Box four therefore received an A. "Kind, if naive. Resourceful and clever, though ill -prepared for the infighting and politicking that being Queen was to entail. Queen Alice was beloved by the populace, though she had much to learn about power and how to properly wield it."
She nodded to the chalkboard again. "Four Queens. It was a precarious balance, at best, and then it tipped."
Alice erased the fourth box, finding a strange sort of vicious pleasure in it. "Queen Alice fell mad," she explained. "A fire took most of her loved ones, and she had never been terribly stable to start. She was taken to an asylum. This was how it began."
Next to go was the heart. "The Red Queen decided that she wished to rule alone," she explained. "She would not stand for dissent. The Queen of Hearts discovered quickly that the Red Queen was not to be trifled with, that she could be ruthless in pursuit of her goal. She fell in line with a minimal of fuss. She retained her title, but it was well-known that she was little more than a puppet. Her Card Guards served the Red Queen first and foremost."
And last, the box marked W. "The White Queen was brave. She stood against the Red Queen's tyranny. She refused to compromise, for the Red Queen was a cruel leader who was oppressive towards the citizens, and the White Queen had a keen mind for justice. The White Queen was captured and executed."
The eraser was set down again, having served its purpose. "The Red Queen ruled all, for many years. Some were forced into slavery. Others curried favor and received positions of honor in her realm. This continued until Queen Alice awoke from her madness, and fought a bloody war against the Red Queen."
She was nearly finished, now. "The populace then had to choose: a ruthless leader, but one who had kept the land safe and functional for many years, or a young revolutionary, who may fall prey to the same madness that had destroyed her once before. How does one choose?"
Re: Class Discussion
She lifted a shoulder lightly, and then offered the other girl a faint smile, somehow relieved that she wasn't ... staring in horror, perhaps. Her story sometimes had that effect on others.
Re: Class Discussion
The curse had given her a rather extreme view on the value of freedom.
Re: Class Discussion
Or the living hell of the asylum, more precisely.
Re: Class Discussion
Re: Class Discussion
And then off to Virginia for school. Maybe a happy beginning was a better phrase.