Mathieu (White Flame Trilogy) by Paula Flumerfelt

neither he nor Avian seemed to be about to stop.
     
    Everything that the Professor asked or said, she had a quip to accompany it and she never touched the paper that was at her disposal. She had a fast mind and devoured the information, demanding more while maintaining a steady whine about how much she didn’t wish to learn.
     
    Avian and her teacher bantered between verbal sparring sessions and the atmosphere in the room lightened to a comfortable companionship. Mathieu looked absently at the books on the wall, not interested in the slightest about how languages evolved or anything of the sort. Avian drifted towards him over time, and was eventually leaning against him as she took an oral quiz, more often than not predicting the question and answering it.
     
    “I hate this…” She whispered lowly to him, feet dangling off of his
     
    Smiling, he shifted so her weight was resting most comfortably against his side. “What comes after this?” He murmured back.
     
    Avian sat up with a stretch. “Political Theory.”
     
    “…Er.”
     
    “We talk about how Unith and Korinth have grown as countries. ‘Know thy enemy’ and all that crap…” She yawned. The Professor was making notes in a thin ledger while they talked, his pen moving swiftly.
     
    Mathieu bobbed his head in understanding and glazed back out, thinking back onto the dream he’d had last night. It still bothered him. The realness of it startled him and if he hadn’t woken up still beside Avian with a pain in his knee where it had pressed into the chair while he was sleeping, he’d have genuinely believed that he had been somewhere else. Dreams can seem real like that, right? He asked himself, chewing the inside of his cheek.
     
    “So,” The Professor said, “ today , we are learning about Korinth. What should we focus on?”
     
    Avian considered the ceiling for a moment, humming to herself, “Let’s learn about their main government structure, shall we?”
     
    “Very well.” The Professor leaned against the window sill. “Tell me what you know so I can continue from there.” He said, arms folded and eyes closed. The veins under his eyelids stood out predominantly.
     
    “They’re lead by a woman named Elise, that I know for sure. I’ve even met her.” She stretched and popped her neck. “She has someone like my ‘Kin’ beside her at all times, a woman named Mina, and I know that they aren’t ruled by a throne like we are.”
     
    The Professor smiled at her. “It is not quite that simple, but it is a start. Korinth is divided into four districts: Western, Eastern, Central and Southern. Each district has its own ruler that makes the decisions for their territory; however, Elise maintains the right to overturn the decisions of the other if she has a suitable reason and can get the two remaining leaders to agree. It must be a three-to-one majority to overturn a law.
     
    “Now, each district has a different ruler, landscape, and type of people. Something that must be kept in mind is that Korinth is not actually a country, or a principality. It is a city. The whole place is walled in and because it is so large, it is divided for the benefit of all.
     
    “In the Southern District, Elise rules over the main collection of people. They call it the capital, but it really is not because a capital is a city unto itself. Elise tends to hold many congregations to hear what the people think and what they feel are true issues. She is a good ruler. Most leaders would do well to follow her example.”
     
    “Elise is always so polite.” Avian added, nodding to what he said.
     
    The Professor smiled. “Now, the Central District is run by a man named Nathan. I have never met him, but from what I have heard, he is a militant leader. He is fair to his people and allows them audience if they have need for his help. However, he requires that all males go through some level of military training to ensure combat readiness and that his people are