I and hundreds of other girls stood on the crystal floor in the main hall of the royal palace. The holiday of Autumn Pranks was in full swing. From minute to minute Lord Kalaiah himself, the governor of the See of Dreams, was to appear. On the ceiling of the hall sparkles of lamps sparkled, shadows danced on the walls. The ominous atmosphere was completed by the guards, who looked menacingly at us through their visors, relying on heavy two-handed halberds.

This morning they came to our home. Uncle Gortin sighed heavily as he opened the door, behind which stood the herald of the Lord. Aunt Dimis paled and dropped the dishes from her hands. The herald in the hands was a paper that I was elected. For the Holiday, the Lord chose girls from urban families, who were then taken to the palace. Nobody knew what was happening to them after that, but everyone said, mostly it concerned love joys and something else about the harem. And indeed, why should the Ruler select young pretty girls and take them to his quarters?

The terrible news took the father and mother by surprise. Herald gave us time until evening. I was seated on the sofa, my uncle pulled out a little strong, poured himself, aunt, and then waved his hand and splashed a drop on me.

- Docha, you just do not resist there, do whatever they tell you! - almost crying, aunt Dimis sobbed. They were like my mother and father to me, I lived all my life in their house.

“Tinney, I ...” Uncle Gortin looked at me helplessly and clenched his teeth, holding back a moan of horror.

I looked at their faces. It became terrible at the thought of what awaits me in the evening, when I enter the palace. Meanwhile, it was dark on the street, the clatter of the hoofs of horses rang out. The luxury carriage stopped next to our porch. From there, two guards slowly got out, clad in patches from head to toe, only a narrow slit in helmets with plumes allowed them to walk without stumbling. They crossed halberds with a distinct metallic ring, forming an arch - apparently it was a tacit invitation to get into the carriage.

I decided that it was better not to anger them, I went down from the porch and took a place on a bench against the far wall inside the vehicle. The horses snorted softly when both guards climbed into the crew, forcing the floor of the carriage to noticeably sag under the weight of armor and weapons. There was no coachman, one of the knights slammed the halberd shaft with a shaft on the bench - the horses snorted again, now louder, and the carriage moved off.

We drove not very long - about half an hour. The whole square in front of the palace was filled with carriages - the horses made a variety of sounds, but the carriage doors did not open, apparently waiting for some kind of signal. The carriages arrived again and again, I looked out the window, fearfully imagining what was waiting for me in the palace. I was wearing a short dress with a neckline - this outfit was chosen by my aunt, who obviously decided that it would be better for me to choose such a dress, and then there would be more chances that everything would go smoothly.

I did not have time to ask what exactly should go smoothly, because the guards arrived. Aunt wiped a tear from her eyes and gave me a strange look. And now, in the evening twilight, I looked out the window, feeling near the heavy breathing of two men, covered from head to toe. In the head continued to climb bad thoughts. Meanwhile, torches were lit on the street, which most likely was a signal. The doors of the carriages opened, my guards went outside and again formed an arch with their halberds, unequivocally indicating that I should leave the carriage.

And then an amazing thing happened. Over the whole way, none of the knights uttered a word, but now it seemed to me, or did one of them coughed encouragingly? I looked at their faces, completely covered with helmets, and suddenly I saw laughing boyish eyes in a thin slot.Yes, these guards are very young, perhaps the same age as me! From the heavily armed knights who threatened the threat, they suddenly in my imagination turned into handsome guards who only want the best for me!

However, such a magical transformation happened to them only in my thoughts. I left the carriage, passed through crossed halberds, and joined the crowd of girls who were waiting for the gates to open and we would get inside.

I must say, almost all the girls were about the same age as me and they were dressed as lightly as possible - most frank outfits for the majority were supplemented with cute braids and high-heeled shoes. Aunt and I wanted to braid my hair, but I insisted and they remained loose, freely falling on my bare shoulders with curly waves.

The crowd was buzzing - some of the girls giggled nervously, expecting, obviously, that today we will be ... hmm ... train? Others blushed and turned pale, nervously fiddling with the hem of their dress - they were far from being so confident. I belonged to the middle category - it was a bit scary, the eyes of the guards who did not laugh clearly raised my spirits and even cheered me up.

Here the old gates with a creak opened and we were led inside. The clatter of girl's heels was interspersed with the roar and metallic clank of the armors of the court knights. We were built in the Crystal Hall and the loud voice of the steward of the royal chambers told us to wait for the appearance of the Steward - Lord Callay.

In the center of the room on the dais stood the throne, it was not at all dazzlingly sparkling as I imagined it - there were not so many decorations, the throne looked more like a comfortable piece of furniture than a fitting place for royal priests.

Soon, pleasant music was heard and the Vicar himself appeared from the depths - a bearded old man in yellow-green robes. He took his place on the throne and uttered several phrases that were not heard to us. The courtiers immediately surrounded the throne, catching every sound, but we still could not make out anything. After that, the official part was completed, we were divided into groups and held in the lower chambers.

To say that the girls were nervous means to say nothing. Some almost fainted, others walked with doomed melancholy in their eyes as if they were slaughtered.

The first group was brought into the room behind a thick oak door, because of which there was not a sound.

- This is so we did not hear their screams! - groaned red-haired girl in a dress with ruffles.

However, the first batch was held for a long time. When the door opened, we were horrified to see that the girls literally run out from there. Some wept, covering their faces with their hands, others with wide-open eyes looked at us, lost the gift of speech. The guards quickly defended the first batch and carried it further along the corridor. Our turn has come.

We went into a spacious room with three rows of special tables with a slope (I later learned that they are called "desks"). The wall closest to us was occupied by a large brown panel, at the bottom of which chalk lay in a special hollow. This panel was Lord Kalaia himself. And next to it was a table on which a narrow ribbed oblong object rested. With undisguised disgust, I threw him a look.

Some girls also noticed this interior detail and were stunned with horror. “Are they really going to ...?” Read the dumb question in their eyes filled with tears.

We were ordered to take seats. Lord Kalaiah stepped forward and began to speak. As his words for many girls, the horror in his eyes was replaced by disgust and hatred. Some began to sob in a voice.

- I greet you in the Temple of Science! Unfortunately, in your world, patriarchal traditions are very great, teaching girls to read and read and other sciences is strictly prohibited. Schools are open only for boys, women play the role of domestic workers, disenfranchised and languageless. In the world where I came from, everything is completely different - women have equal rights with men, they are free to receive education and demonstrate the same average performance as men.Therefore, I made a decision to gather in the Palace of the most capable young representatives of the fair sex - and conduct lessons with them. In my school you will study rhetoric, choreography, history, math and spelling.

A rumble rose. The lord took a ribbed, elongated object from the table (later we learned its name - “pointer”) and clicked on some hidden mechanism. A white canvas with signs embroidered on it fell from the ceiling.

- This is the alphabet of the Northern Kingdom. Today we will study the first letter ...

At this moment there was a crash - the redhead from the first school fainted from fear.