"Not tonight. Read your books if you want more."

Siiiigh. "Can I have more books?"

"You know where the library is."

Grumble. "Will I have more homework tomorrow?"

"No, I will resume our lessons then."

"Early?"

"By nine."

Nod! (That should be enough time for her to reread the books a little. The interesting parts, at least. And read her notes.)

"Well then. Be off with you."

...She reluctantly steps back, then heads to her room with a few glances over her shoulder before she leaves the Demon Queen's presence. (And, once in her room, she has a few spinning attempts to sort out her thoughts before instead just reading until she falls asleep.)

Meanwhile...

Eldarra has a meeting scheduled with her lieutenant.

Who is as delighted to see her Majesty as always. "How goes training the new recruit?" she asks, once initial greetings are out of the way. 

"Hm. More... challenging than I'd anticipated. She's clever, but- fragile in some ways."

"Do you think she is a poor candidate after all?"

"No, she does have the potential. I'm not ready to give up just yet. There's still ten years to develop her."

"And those with the potential have proven rare," she says, somewhat self-deprecatingly. "In what ways is she fragile?"

Quick kiss.

"Psychologically, more than physically- vulnerable to approval."

Kiss! "Perhaps difficult to navigate, but I'm sure you can be a harsh enough taskmistress when teaching. And it's a weakness she could hate you for exploiting."

"She also has a tendency to close herself off. Bury emotions."

"More difficult to control her, then- though not insurmountable for the ritual, if you think you can make her hate you again no matter what's under the surface."

Sigh. "It was much easier with the older girls."

" - Are you - having trouble?"

"All my instincts are backwards when she's this small," Eldarra complains.

"I can hurt her on your command," she says with a shrug. "That would be enough for most."