You don't need to accept me

Professor Heidi completed grading the Princesses' competency tests while waiting for them at the reception hall.

She thought, "Hmm... it's almost time to meet up with the four Princesses. I do wonder, all the Princesses show up?"

*IN THE MEANWHILE, IN THE PALACE FLOWER ARCH*

Leonora was sitting on a swing that hung against the flower arch. She thought, "That little runt of a mentor must he all done with her interviews by now. Well, after we all give her a proper snub, she will be shipped out like all the others."

*BACK INTO THE RECEPTION HALL*

As the clock was ticking, Heidi thought, "Three minutes left." A few moments later, there was a knock at the door.

Brunia came running out and bowed in front of Professor Heidi saying, "Mistress! I'm terribly sorry for arriving late!"

Professor Heidi answered, "There's no need to be sorry, Princess. It's still not yet four o'clock.

Brunia responded, "No! I assumed that it was fundamental to be at least ten minutes early for my mistress's very first lesson!"

Professor Heidi countered, "As we discussed earlier, please stop calling me mistress. Especially in front of your sisters, it's embarrassing!"

Brunia again bowed in front of the Professor and promised, "F-Forgive my blunder! Mistress... I mean, Professor! I will be sure to call you Professor, henceforth."

Suddenly, Licha entered the room greeting playfully, "Yoo-ho! Heidi darling!"

Brunia screamed in disbelief, "Wait! Heidi darling!?"

She approached the Professor and spoke, "Thanks for entertaining my boyfriends earlier. They say hi!"

Brunia yelled, "Excuse me!? Why are you talking so impolitely to Mis... I mean, the Professor?!"

Licha responded in a calm voice, "Aw, who cares? You're so rigid, Brunie."

Brunia held Licha's shoulders tightly and continued yelling, "You will respect Mis... I mean the Professor! Even if Mis... the Professor doesn't chide you for it!"

She sidled over to the Professor's side while extending her arm across the Professor's shoulders, speaking, "But you love pet names, right? For instance, Heidi darling! It's your favorite one of all! YAY!"

Professor Heidi swatted away Licha's hand without a word, whereas Brunia shrieked, "You know what you are? You're rude!"

Professor Heidi said with expressing any emotion, "Princess Brunia, I do not mind if you speak to me informally. You are all of a much higher station than myself. But Princess Licha, would you please kindly stop putting your arm around me? I'd like to build a bond of trust with you, as merely a teacher and her students. With that said... you must not invade my personal space."

Licha responded gloomily, "Wait... why are you so cold to me?!"

Brunia scoffed, "There's no one to blame but yourself!"

Licha turned around and yelled, "What a surprise! Brunie's complaining!"

Brunia screamed back, "If I'm complaining, it's only because your indecency goes too far! Every day you bring strange people into our mother's palace. God knows what repugnant essence you guys converse about!"

Licha argued, "Well... at least I have a love life! Unlike you, you nerd!"

Kaira silently entered the room and comforted the Professor, who had nothing to say to settle the argument between the two sisters, by saying, "Don't worry Professor, I'm here now." Professor Heidi spoke, "Welcome, Princess." Kaira nodded as she approached the two sisters.

She walked between the two of them, took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her voice, "STOP THIS AT ONCE!!!!!!!!"

Brunia apologized as she bowed, "My apologies, Kaira, I lost my temper."

Licha replied with her hand scratching her head, "Me, too. Sorry, Kainie."

The clock struck four, and Heidi thought, "All the Princesses are present and accounted for, except Princess Leonora." Licha proposed, "Since it's time, should we go ahead and get started without Leo? Professor Heidi answered, "No, our first lesson is a group endeavor. Since we are short on one Princess, we must put the exercise on hold for now. Brunia screamed while running towards the door, "NO! WE CAN'T! I WILL FIND LEONORA AT ONCE!"

Brunia opened the door to find Leonora listening to the entire conversation from the other end! Leonora stood up and yelled, "Don't misunderstand! I'm only here to see the look of defeat on your face! Besides, it's not like Licha and Kaira showed u--"

Leonora stopped speaking as she saw Licha and Kaira by the Professor's side, to her surprise. Licha said, "Hi, Leo! Get in here, Leo, you're late!" Leonora screamed, "Wait! Can someone explain to me why all of you look so chummy!? Weren't you two against the imperial mentor!?"

Licha replied, "Nah... my boyfriends really love having the Professor around here!"

Leonora shouted, "Damn it, Licha! And what about you, Kaira!?"

Kaira replied, "The Professor is cute... soft... and cuddly too."

Professor Heidi continued, "Now that Princess Leonora has joined us, let's begin. In the future, I will be conducting individual sessions tailored to your unique needs. First, I will be returning your competency tests."

Leonora screamed with fear, "No thanks! I didn't come here to be humiliated! Bye!"

Licha held her hand, pulled her back, and chirped, "Now, now! What's the harm? You took the test, you might as well see how you did. Let's find out which one of us got a better score! YAY!"

Leonora yelled, "Let me go, you idiot!"

Professor Heidi expressionlessly continued, ignoring what was happening in the background, "Princess Brunia, you're first; 100 points." Next is Princess Kaira; 87 points. Princess Licha; 60 points. And, Princess Leonora; 1 point."

The room was suddenly filled with silence. It was as if the entire city lost electricity.

Brunia countered angrily, "Sister! That's impossible! Let me examine it!"

Brunia proposed, "Perhaps, she was emotionally distracted and was unable to concentrate." Licha again countered, "But she's been in a great mood!" Leonora's eloquence darkened further than it already was. She buried her face in her hands with despair and had nothing to say on the subject.

Brunia asked, "How is this possible? She answered every question on the exam, and every single one is wrong! What's more, his one point is a pity point for spelling her name right!"

Leonora screamed with tears in her eyes, "This is why I didn' take the test! "This humiliation is your fault! You forcefully made me take that test! I knew it! Teachers are the enemy!"

She immediately sprinted away from the reception hall like a cheetah!

Brunia apologized on behalf of her sister, but the Professor said that she was to blame as well, as she was unaware of why Leonora would run away from her lessons and what made her hate studying so much.

Brunia answered, "It's not strictly to reading, it's the teachers she hates the most. Leonora's first mentor was exceedingly strict; a stern man with no patience. Studying was always more difficult for Leonora, so the mentor singled her out. It wounded her heart. After that, she began to instinctively hate all teachers and see them as enemies. Mistress, you must understand that my sister's feelings aren't personal to you."

Professor Heidi took a deep breath and replied, "Then I will teach her. A teacher's task is to nurture hope, not wound the heart. I am her imperial mentor. I will show her that teachers are not the enemy." Professor Heidi said the last statement while walking towards an open window with the cold dusk mistrals rushing in the room.

Licha asked in fear, "Professor, we're on the 3rd floor!!" Professor Heidi plainly ignored and plunged outside the shutter flying in thin air.

*IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOREST*

Leonora was riding her horse when suddenly, a voice called out from behind, "Princess Leonora!"

It was none other than Professor Heidi, who was standing on top of the horse and riding it with the strap in her hand! Leonora screamed in horror, "Aaaah! Are you out of your mind!? That's not how you ride a horse!!!!!"

Professor Heidi shouted, "Would you kindly stop your horse? If you are not going to stop, you leave me no choice!"

She plunged from her horse and pushed Leonora out of hers! Both of them fell from their horses, and the two animals merely disappeared into the forest.

Leonora groaned from her head stuck in the bushes, "You caught me! No teacher has ever done that before. AND RIDING LIKE A MANIAC TOO! What are you?!"

Professor Heidi replied in a severe tone, "That I will not say. However, there was a straightforward reason why I was able to catch you. You see... I am not the other kind of mentors you have had before. I am a different sort of instructor. I do not intend to blame you whatsoever for your poor marks. It may be horrendous, but it's a teacher's job to change that. My lessons will not stop at general education. Each of your studies will complement your distinctive character, to develop your unique talents in preparation for the throne. You have several skills yourself like riding, hunting, track, and field, etc. And your qualities don't stop there. I believe that you also have a keen awareness of your own weaknesses. Those who recognize their vulnerability can grow to be stout-hearted people who are kind and sensitive to the pain of others. I meant to tell you not to be disheartened by today's test, but you fled before I could."

Leonora responded in realization, "I had no idea. But still, I am an inadequate learner, and I doubt whether anyone could teach me patiently without hitting me with a belt or their pointer."

Professor Heidi stated, "Yes, I am now aware of what made you hate studying so much. When a student struggles with their studies, a professional educator adjusts his or her teaching methods instead of using violence. If I could turn back in time, I genuinely wish I could have rescued you from that mentor."

Leonora's eyes filled with tears as she recollected all those horrible memories with her previous mentors. She thought, "If we really had met back then, would my impression of teachers have been different? Can I trust her?"

Professor Heidi continued, "Your Highness, running away from your adversities won't make them disappear, and I believe you already know that. You needn't except me as your imperial mentor now."

Professor Heidi extended her hand to Leonora and proceeded, "But if you can find the courage to stop running away from your problems, then take my hand and then little by little we can fix it together." She extended her hand to Heidi and fully clasped onto it; gripping it firmly and gave a weak smile.

She looked up at the sky while wiping her tears, and asked, "The sun's going down. Where are we?"

Professor Heidi replied, "Your Highness, we are several hours away from the palace gates. It would be difficult to return without horses."

*A FEW MOMENTS LATER*

While Professor Heidi was picking out berries from the bushes, Leonora groaned, "UGH! Why do I, a Princess, have to sleep outside!?"

Professor Heidi naturally answered, "This is because you fled quite far from the palace."

Leonora countered, "Well, you shouldn't have lost the horses!"

Professor Heidi replied, "You make a decent point. Aha! I found wild berries, they're sweet and ripe. Won't you pick them with me, Your Highness?"

Leonora yelled as she rolled back and forth on the ground, "Berries are for birds! I refuse to eat them! I want a sachertorte!"

Soon enough, the royal carriage arrived, and the guards eventually found the Princess and her imperial mentor.

As Leonora and Professor Heidi stepped in, they were astonished to see Princess Brunia.

Professor Heidi politely said, "Princess Brunia, you didn't need to take the trouble of searching for us."

Brunia replied, "Mistress, I couldn't sleep knowing that you and Leonora could be in danger, right?"

Leonora, without a word, pulled Brunia into such a tight embrace that she couldn't breathe, evidently touched that her elder sister was worried about her.

While the carriage was heading towards the palace, Leonora passed out on Brunia's shoulder, exhausted after an eventful day. Brunia whispered to herself, "तुम क्या सच में मुझे अपनी बडी बहन मानती हो? कभी कभी तोह ऐसा लगता है कि मैं तुम्हारी सम्मान की योग्य नही हूँ!"

Professor Heidi heard and asked with her eyes widened, "Princess, you do know that I can listen and comprehend what you're saying? What's the matter, Princess?"

Brunia was so afraid that her voice got stuck in her throat. She failed to look at the Professor in the eye. The entire carriage ride was spent in silence as Heidi decided to respect her privacy.

*THE NEXT MORNING*

As Professor Heidi walked to the reception hall to meet up with Princess Leonora for her first individual session.

As she entered, suddenly, a voice called out to her, "Good morning, you're late, Heidi!"

Professor Heidi's eyes widened with bewilderment, and she said, "Princess Leonora? Good morning to you too!"

Leonora responded, "Come, it's time for our lesson, Heidi."

Professor Heidi answered, "Understood. By the way, I must admit, I didn't expect you to be here before me."

Leonora clarified, "Hey, just so we're clear, I still hate studying, and there's no way that I will accept you as my imperial mentor. But I did promise that I'll give it a shot; so I will."

And so the rest of the day continued uneventfully, and Leonora commenced to give studying her best effort.