Margaux

Margaux herself is always dressed very neatly.

This is part of the Chateau's way of doing things. She will tell you if you ask. The Chateau is the academy's fanciest neighborhood. Kids coming for a lesson should brush their hair. They should straighten their collars. They do this before they step inside. Margaux is gentle about this rule. She never scolds anyone. She just has a small mirror by the door. A small comb sits on a side table. Most kids get the idea when they first arrive. Margaux's own clothes set an example. She wears a navy-blue jacket. She wears a crisp white blouse. A small silver pin shines on her jacket. It is shaped like a fleur-de-lys. Her hair is always neat.

Margaux's first name is Marguerite. She grew up in a special house. Her family spoke two languages at home. They spoke the kingdom's main language. They also spoke an old French-sounding language. They spoke both at supper. Her family's part of the kingdom used to be French. That was a long, long time ago. The kingdom took over that land. But their old language still had many French words. It also sounded very French. Marguerite's mother, Madeleine, really wanted her children to speak both languages well. The kingdom's main language was for getting along in the world. The old French-sounding language was for honoring their family.

Marguerite became very, very careful about how words sounded. She was a teenager then. She could hear tiny differences in her own voice. She heard them in other people's voices too. Some words came from French. Others came from an older German language. Garage, she heard early, was a French word. But the kingdom's southern talk had changed it. It barely sounded French anymore. The French way was gar-AHZH. That sounded clearer. It sounded fancier. It was closer to how the word started. The southern way was GAR-ij. Marguerite thought that sounded a little sad.

She would never say this out loud. That would be rude. But she would softly say the French version. She hoped others would notice.

Most people didn't notice. Marguerite learned to live with that. She still says gar-AHZH. It's her little way of remembering where the word came from.

When Marguerite was nineteen, she walked into the QuillSpell academy. She asked if she could teach about French words. Lex interviewed her.

Lex asked: "Where did the word royal come from?"

Marguerite said: "It came from an old French word. That word was roial. It came from Latin regalis. That meant 'of the king.' Or 'kingly.' The Normans brought it to England. That was after they won a big battle. Before then, English people said kynelic. That also meant 'kingly.' But the fancy Normans used roial. So the English nobles started using it too. Royal became the important word. Kingly was just for everyday talk."

Lex asked: "Where did the word cuisine come from?"

Marguerite said: "It's a French word. Cuisine means 'kitchen' or 'cooking.' English people started using it much later. That was in the 1700s. French cooking was very popular then. We still say kwee-ZEEN. That sounds French. We keep the French sound for words about French food. But garage is an older word. Its sound changed more. Even though I still say gar-AHZH."

Lex set down her tea cup. She tried not to smile. She said: "You'll teach at the Chateau. Your new name is Margaux. It's from a French place. It honors your family's French past."

Marguerite, now Margaux, has been the Chateau's teacher for twenty-two years.