fandomhigh | Mad Kings & Queens, Week XIIII [Monday, Period 4]

Today, instead of Ghanima at the front of the class, the students would see three children waiting for them. Alexander sat behind his mother's desk, still impeccably dressed in his suit as the tapped away at his PDA. Elaine sat on the edge of the desk, leaning over to watch him work, as Noree waited patiently beside her. Ghanima was seated near the back of the classroom, watching with amusement.

On the chalkboard, the following had been written in a neat block-printing that looked nothing like Ghanima's looping scrawl:

There are roads which must not be followed,
armies which must be not attacked, towns which must
be besieged, positions which must not be contested,
commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.

Once everyone had gotten settled, all of the children looked up, three matching pairs of blue-on-blue glowing eyes watching the students seriously.

"You were supposed to cover the Swan King today," Noree lisped, the formal tone seeming at-odds with the three-year-old's chubby features. "But we decided that was boring, and Mama said that if we didn't like it, we should teach it ourselveses."

"What separates madness from necessary ruthlessness?" Elaine asked. "Those of you who have taken Mother's previous class on tactics should recognize the quote on the board. When you have received a command that is madness, how do you cope with it? Do you obey or disobey? What makes you think you can possibly know the reasons behind the actions of a divinely ordained sovereign?"

"What one person sees as madness," Alexander continued, "another sees as necessity. You might think I was insane if I decided to expand a company's holdings during a recession. I might see it as a chance to invest in a strategic asset that would not normally be available to me. The shareholders might try to oust me as CEO for what they perceive as insanity, but that doesn't mean I'm not right."

Elaine nodded. "Every move a ruler makes is a gamble," she said clearly. "Regardless of their mental state."

"Which is why today we are going to play a game involving calculated risk and insanity," Noree pipped up. "Truths or Dares!"

Alexander grinned evilly. "It's up to you to decide if the commands of the sovereign should be obeyed," he stated, "but beware the consequences! If you choose to ignore your orders, your classmates pick the punishment!"

[OCD is up! Students, feel free to bring your children and any of their siblings along to class.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Yes, Ghanima IS letting the Terrible Trio teach today. Take notes, pass notes, chat, but beware the tiny Atreides.

If Tahiri looked extra tired today, she was -- you try using the Force to suggest a hyperactive little boy should go to sleep, when he's Force-sensitive and very, very smart. He'd called her on it every time, and she hadn't gotten more than a few minutes here and there since Friday night.

She was doing her best to keep a hold of King, but he kept trying to squirm away and go explore and there were other kids to play with!

Savannah looked exhausted. The sleepover idea with seven kids probably had not been the best idea on a Sunday night before class.

She was holding Storm on her lap and so far, the little girl hadn't grown bored with the lecture or tried to get away.

"You look kinda dead," Eve whispered. "Everything go okay last night?"

"They didn't want to sleep. Mairin was afraid LJ was going to disappear in the middle of the night and Storm got the idea that Kristofer would disappear..."

"That's... kinda sweet, but kinda sad."

"Yeah. I'm not looking forward to them having to say goodbye."

Aravis had a very serious little girl sitting with her today, who kept staring around the room at the other children with an alarmingly good bitchface for someone who was only five.

Ino had Isae and Ken with her today, and she was terribly glad that, out of the four of her kids, she had the two responsible ones.

Isae was reading quietly while Ken sat and listened to the lesson.

For her part, Ino was mildly bemused by the number of people who looked exhausted.

Jaina had twins with her today, and was trying to divide her attention between listening and wrangling Jordin and Jaryd, mostly trying to get them to shush.

Lion-o was looking around and wondering if he was the only one who didn't have kids show up.

Really, he was fine with it. He had no idea what he would do with a kid.

Ben was sitting in the room pretending like two of the kids in there with him weren't his.

It...wasn't working well.

Mad Kings & Queens, Week XIIII [Monday, Period 4]

During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture