Manon's Ascension

Fire and Blame

Fire and Blame

The opening of the new school for girls in the middle tier was scheduled the day before the arrival of Queen Eleonore from Lloegyr and the day after the groundbreaking for the new hospital wing also being placed in the middle tier. Cy and Felicie had made so many friends by that point that there was going to be a wonderfully busy and excited welcoming party for the foreign queen majesty. And while she was here, she would be treated to a good time in the city around the work the three of them had to do. Which, all told, wasn't that much. Mostly, this meeting was just to build their relationship.

In other words, good things were happening.

Manon finished her training with Amorette that morning feeling optimistic. Not just because she was finally able to use her powers without needing to be physically squished or harmed, but because she had real hope for the first time in a long time.

The protests were getting smaller by the day. Because Manon was snarky and Jacques was petty, they had set up a booth outside the castle walls that offered fresh water and bread to those that were showing up to yell at them for being evil and for tearing the country apart. No charge, no poison. Just water and bread and soldiers manning it specifically instructed to be polite.

Righteous anger and fury were a high cost, energetically, and they met it with calm patience and a kind hand holding out free food. No one could resist free food.

Within a few days of the change, the crowds began to grow. Not from protesters, but from people just showing up for free water and bread. They were given the offerings the same as the protesters and their genuine gratitude and relief at having food began to counter the protesters anger. She even had reports of the two sides yelling at each other before the protesters stormed off.

They were mad and expecting anger and punishment and instead got charity and understanding. And they absolutely hated it.

Their dissatisfaction was worth the cost of the simple bread.

The economy was also improving. All the men returned from the war front were back to work and industry was up, infrastructure was improving, and morale was high, even despite the people that thought Manon was pure evil.

Manon was actually excited to show Queen Eleonore her city. She couldn't stop smiling as she was dressed after her training session. First, of course, was the opening of the new school. Manon couldn't miss that as it was her personal project. Jacques was coming with her as well, as a show of support of both her and women's schooling.

He had confessed to her that, like the female guard she had opened, he was afraid that no one was going to sign up. However, unlike the guard, there were plenty of young women that wanted to continue their education after primary school who didn't get the chance. Manon hadn't really expected much, if any, interest in the guard positions this early. However, she wasn't at all disappointed by the dozens of applications she got for her school.

The building was an old one. Bought and refurbished from what had once been a museum. The museum itself had outgrown the space, built a new building in the upper tier, and sold this one off to a family that nearly went into debt because they lost all three of their sons during the war. The mother and her two surviving daughters were honored to sell it to Manon in turn.

It only took a few weeks from there to get everything ready and today, finally, she was going to be there for the opening of the doors. There were no classes this morning. They were just giving the girls a chance to look around and get comfortable.

However, there would be classes this afternoon. Manon wasn't staying for those, but she planned on being there right up until the first lesson began.

Freshly dressed and excited for the day, she met with Jacques in the hall right off of the private palace docks. He was talking to Arnaud, finishing up some last minute tasks and instructions for the queen's arrival tomorrow. However, when he saw her, he immediately dropped the conversation and offered her his hand.