7

In principle, your move to Archambault is for you to discover more about yourself. According to the prospectus, the Academy specializes in teaching "the leaders of the future," and that is what you are. You may be the middle royal child—your sister Josiane is the crown princess—but your responsibilities will only grow as you get older. This is where you are to brush up your skills of leadership, and take your place amongst the highest echelons of society.

In practice, the royal family has been under greater scrutiny lately, in the wake of heated discussions in the papers about the governance of Westerlin. Many say that the royals are out of touch with the life of Westerlind citizens, and that sentiment has begun to bleed into parliamentary debates as well. And so, your mother decided to send you to Archambault to round out your studies, rather than continuing your tuition at home.

You'll be the first member of the royal family to attend a school like this for two generations. Now, sitting by the lake on this crisp evening, it's odd to imagine that only this morning you were in the palace, saying your farewells to your family.