24 Ashan 703
“Why not?” the blonde girl demanded, her voice a whine born of impatience and frustration, as she trawled a hand through her hair, sending it into disarray.
“Valeria, don’t do that with your hair! I’ve told you a thousand times that-“
“Why can’t I do that? Why do you-”
“Don’t interrupt me when I’m speaking either! I’ve told you before, it’s rude.”
The child covered her face with her hands and screamed, the pitch of it making her tutor cringe, momentarily stunned.
“Why are you always telling me do this, do that? The boys don’t have to do this curtsey stuff or worry about their hair or nothing so why do I?” she snapped, stamping her foot.
“Now, that behaviour is unbecoming for-”
“Don’t care! I’m sick of all th-this silli-”
With alarming suddenness, the woman stepped up to her and grabbed her shoulders, shaking the child violently. Valeria’s mouth fell open, but no sound came out as all protests lodged in her throat. The shaking stopped as abruptly as it had begun, the shock of it subsiding enough that the child’s lip began to tremble, and she let loose whimpering sounds. Meanwhile, Ulyna straightened herself to her full height, smoothing her clothes, and eyeing the girl with outward calm.
The half-Biqaj girl’s eyes moved from an aggressive, red-tinted brown to bright blue to mournful grey in a matter of trills. Her tutor couldn’t have missed the rapid shifts in her emotions, but she didn’t deem it necessary to mention them. Instead, Ulyna crossed her arms over her chest and stared at Valeria, obviously waiting t see if the girl had been cowed. Sure enough, the budding young noblewoman had grown quiet and guilty looking, but mainly she seemed scared. That was something that sufficiently appeased Ulyna it seemed, the woman taking some obvious pleasure in seeing the girl so frightened.
"Now we're going to try this again and to answer your question, the boys don't have to do this because they're boys and you're a girl. You're a young lady and they're young men; men bow and women curtsey, that's all there is to it. Now, bow your head," the woman ordered, the girl complying without hesitation or complaint this time around. The blonde pinched each side of her skirt between her fingers and pulled it out, ready to attempt the part with the footwork again, especially given that her balance and her posture seemed to be an issue.
"Thumb and two fingers, Valeria, and pinkies out! Also don't pull your skirt so much. You look like you're trying to pull it apart!" Ulyna interjected, earning an eyeroll from the youth but nothing more. Ordinarily, she would have been inclined to mockingly mimic the woman but for now, she was sufficiently cowed. She went to put her right foot forward and her left foot back.
"No! What have I told you?"
The blonde frowned at her feet for a moment and then carefully switched the arrangement, placing her right foot a few inches behind her left. "Like this?" she asked cautiously, not wanting to be snapped at again. The woman approached, nudging the back of her right foot with her own.
"Up! No, not onto your toes, onto the ball of your foot. The ball! The front part of your foot!" she commanded, nudging the girl again so that she did it more quickly. She shifted her weight onto her forward, left foot. With that done, she began to bend her knees. Much to her horror, her tutor picked up a ruler and began to slap at her with it as she started lowering herself. She was naturally inclined to bend her knees forward and this earned her a few whacks from the piece of wood so that they bend outwards to the side instead. Then a slap came on her behind and the child let out a yelp, jerking up straight again and almost toppling forward in her haste.
"Chunta! That hurt, Ulyna!" she whined, earning another slap on her fingers, albeit far more playful this time.
"Good! Maybe it will teach you some manners! Now, again from the top, noch!"