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]

"...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."

[treasuresuntold]

She nods. Magic voice.

[aetheling]

"Charmed voice, for cursed legs. Bad trade," opines Cymbeline.

[treasuresuntold]

I want legs.

[aetheling]

"I wanted a particular horse -" He sketches a horse - "once, but the man who had it wanted too much gold for it, so I didn't buy it. - Buying is trading gold for a thing instead of trading a thing for a thing."

[treasuresuntold]

Jade nods thoughtfully.

I want legs. Only one legs under water. I have legs. Good.

[aetheling]

"I guess they would be hard to find," agrees Cymbeline. "But your voice? You couldn't give the magician something else?"

[treasuresuntold]

She shrugs.

[aetheling]

"I have a charm too," he says conversationally, shrugging and veering away from the subject of just how much of a cheat the witch was.

[treasuresuntold]

What is it?

[aetheling]

He taps his head. "Charmed mind." Hmm, how to explain 'mind'... Maybe she'll get it by the gesture alone.

[treasuresuntold]

What does it do?

[aetheling]

"If I can remember something, I remember it right..." He contemplates how to demonstrate "remember", grabs a sheet of paper, writes a sequence of digits on it, hands it to her so he can't see it, recites them aloud - "I remember those numbers. I don't have to look at them to say them. I won't say them backwards or miss one or put in one that isn't there. And," he continues, "if someone tries to do magic to my mind instead of to my body, it doesn't work well, and I can think faster than a lot of people."