nautical

[aetheling]

Cymbeline doesn't really like boats, but they're the only way to get anywhere in a reasonable period of time, especially when "anywhere" isn't on the mainland. Today he is sailing to Vectis, to oversee the change of governorship; his father the king is needed for courtly matters back home and his mother the queen, despite being the source of his royal blood, declines to involve herself in affairs of state when she can avoid it. Zoyah takes more after Ranae than after Charles in this department. So, it falls to Cymbeline.

Walking on a boat is even more difficult than walking on land, and Cymbeline is no great shakes at the latter to begin with. Unfortunately, neither he nor Kerem, the court magician and Cymbeline's confidante, have been able to figure out how to apply the principles of practicable magic to alleviating princely clumsiness. So Cymbeline is clinging to the railing of the boat, watching the waves, trying to avoid having to walk anywhere.

Comments

[aetheling]

He peers at her.

"Twelve? Really? I'm - I'm twenty-one," he says. "You don't look twelve to me."

[treasuresuntold]

She gives him a disbelieving look.

Twenty-one? You look like twelve.

[aetheling]

"Maybe that's a merfolk thing?" he suggests. "Zoyah is eighteen."

[treasuresuntold]

Zoyah looks like ten.

[aetheling]

"You look twenty or twenty-one to me," Cymbeline says. "If you were a human."

[treasuresuntold]

I am not a human.

[aetheling]

"Yes," he says, "I know. So merfolk grow differently than humans. How did your father get to be so very old? Do all merfolk get that old?"

[treasuresuntold]

She shakes her head.

My father is king.

[aetheling]

"...So you're a princess," says Cymbeline. "Like Zoyah."

[treasuresuntold]

She shrugs; she nods.

[aetheling]

"...Interesting."

It may be possible to derive information about the way in which this is interesting from his tone.

[treasuresuntold]

What?

[aetheling]

"...Ah. Politics," shrugs Cymbeline. He hasn't actually taught her this word yet. He's not sure how to sum it up.

[treasuresuntold]

Jade thinks she has an angle!

Do you like me?

[aetheling]

He taught her the word in reference to things like favorite foods, so he doesn't think he's overstating the case to say, "Yes."

[treasuresuntold]

She grins at him. Rather as though he is a favourite food.

[aetheling]

Cymbeline chuckles and shakes his head. She's astonishingly expressive with her one bookful of signs, but he's not going to start talking about working something out between Loegria and a kingdom of merfolk until he's had a conversation with her at least relatively unimpeded by vocabulary.

Speaking of which.

"Why did you want legs?"

[treasuresuntold]

I want to be up here.

[aetheling]

"Why's that?"

[treasuresuntold]

She considers this, then says, I don't like my father.

[aetheling]

"Oh," he muses. "That sounds unpleasant." Pause. "Well. Not sounds."

[treasuresuntold]

Jade laughs her silent laugh.

[aetheling]

"You had such a pretty voice and you traded it for cursed legs," he sighs.

[treasuresuntold]

Pretty? she signs, smiiiiiling.

[aetheling]

"And charmed. I was asleep," (he has not covered the fine points of "unconsciousness") "and I still heard you."