Fíriel’s mentor, Nólë, tapped his finger on her table, irritated again by her short attention span.

‘Fíriel, do you want to be a great queen or not?’ he growled.

‘Hm?’ she murmured, gazing out the window. ‘Yes, of course, Nólë. Whatever you say.’

Nólë threw up his arms in disgust, stalking out of the classroom. ‘That’s it, I quit!’ he shrieked at the king’s secretary.

‘What did Fíriel do this time?’ the secretary asked, sounding somewhat resigned.

‘That’s not the problem! It’s what she doesn’t do! Fíriel doesn’t respond to anything I do! I could drive a horde of rampaging orcs through that room and she wouldn’t notice!’

Fíriel smiled at her position at the keyhole in the door. She turned and high-fived Kalómë, her best friend, as he slid into the room through the window. ‘Fifth one this month!’ she cheered.

‘Soon no one will want to teach you!’ Kalómë gloated. ‘We are awesome!’

‘Of course we are,” said Fíriel. ‘How could we help it?’

Kalómë glanced up and quickly darted to hide behind the fake tapestry Fíriel had had put up.

Fíriel looked up as her father entered. He did not look pleased. ‘Hi Daddy,” she squeaked, and moved to hug him.

King Khamul quickly stepped to the side to avoid her touch. ‘Fíriel, I’m very disappointed in you. I -‘

‘Ooh, is that a new ring?’ Fíriel interrupted.

‘Yes, it is, a gift from -‘ her father began, then glared at Fíriel. ‘None of your business!’ he barked. ‘You are hereby banned from the stables!’

‘You can’t do that, Daddy! What will I do? I’ll go mad from boredom!’ Fíriel interjected, then gulped as her father’s frown deepened.

‘In fact, you are confined to the palace until I release you. And if you disobey, you will be disinherited,’ the king said. He turned and stalked away, ignoring his daughter’s shocked gasp.

‘Ooh, bad luck,’ Kalómë said, stepping out from behind the tapestry. ‘Well, see ya.’

‘You can’t go!’ Fíriel wailed. ‘Who will I talk to?’

‘You should have thought of that before you were so naughty,’ Kalómë said superiorly. ‘Goodbye.’

Fíriel hid her head in her hands. Her father never used to be so mean. She knew he couldn’t mean what he’d said about the disinheriting – who would rule? Then she had a thought. Maybe that new friend of her father’s, Sauron, had something to do with this.

Fíriel grinned as she thought of a new, evil plan. If her father got really mad at Sauron, then she would be his favorite again. Fíriel quietly slipped out of her classroom, ready to resume her position as her father’s favorite.