milliways_bar | (no subject)

Entry tags:

(no subject)

It's been almost four months, in Ambergeldar, since Amy came into the bar. Four rather tiring months, really, spent criss-crossing the country so she could be introduced to a populace. But that all ended last week, in early October, almost two months early, and she's back, looking about for her friends.

The slight curve to her stomach could be the result of the fashion of her dress, or even a trick of the light. But given the way she's smiling . . . it's probably not.

Amy is back. And she has News.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Exactly.

"Do you think I would be there if she were trying to marry me off?" asks Cimorene with a grin. "Dragons don't really care about such things, luckily."

"Well, no. But I'm just making sure."

Because these things have to be checked on.

They do. That's what friends are for.

"Well, you needn't be worried on my account," says Cimorene laughing. "We treat our princesses very well in the Mountains of Morning. Even the silly ones."

"Good. Because I'm sure most of them are at least a little silly. And I'm glad to not have to worry on your account."

"Most of them," Cimorene agrees, "To varying degrees. But they're usually nice girls."

Usually.

"They get rescued the day they want to, and not before, though I must confess, I'm usually the only one with that particular complaint. And with Mendanbar's sword lessons, perhaps I won't have to deal with it much more after all."

"Yes, well, I'm sure Mendanbar will do everything he can to keep you from marrying a stuffy humorless prince."

So teasing.

"Yes, well. I'm sure he would," she says with a small smile.

Amy grin goes all kinds of smug.

But all she says is, "As it should be."

Cimorene notes the smugness, and usually Cimorene would make a witty or offhand comment to dispel said smugness. But this time? Cimorene's got nothing.

"He's been a very good friend," is what she says.

"Also as it should be," says Amy, with a much more serious (and perhaps even Wise) smile. Then a grin. "Seeing as you're a house guest and all. It's much more awkward if you don't like each other."

"Oh yes, I can see it now," she says solemnly, "Scowling at each other over toast at breakfast each morning. How charming that would be. You're right. I think I much prefer it this way." Where there is no scowling at all.

"Oh, Perry and I always try to start the day with scowling," says Amy, ever-so-seriously. "It gets it out of the way."

Any parallels this draws between the nature of Amy's relationship with Perry and Cimorene's with Mendanbar are purely coincidental.

"Careful, dear. It will give you wrinkles, you know," says Cimorene, channeling her mother and doing a remarkably good job of keeping a straight face.

Coincidental. Right.

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," says Amy. "Well, we mustn't have a queen with wrinkles. I suppose we shall have to stop."

"No, we couldn't have that," Cimorene agrees. "What would the Councillors say?"

At at that, she finally dissolves into giggles.

"They could debate which was less appropriate, the wrinkles or the freckles."

Of course, that smile means that her nose is now displaying both.

Poor Councillors.

"Oh, and that debate could take weeks. It's of vital importance to the future of Ambergeldar, after all."

Cimorene spent a great deal of her childhood thinking up ways to upset her father's councillors. This is just as fun.

"Well, yes, given the possibility of the children inheriting the freckles . . . horrors! No one would ever marry a princess with freckles."

"What a catastrophy that would be!" cries Cimorene in mock alarm. "Someone should let Perry know. I'm sure he's frightfully concerned about the whole thing."

"My dear Cimorene, surely you are not implying that the Council of Ambergeldar has not already drawn up a report on the subject and formally presented it at a meeting that took fully four hours, are you?"

Because truthfully? They have.

"You're not kidding, are you." Says Cimorene sympathetically, "That must have been dreadful."

Cimorene is about as close to a politician as one can get in her world, and even she can't stand to listen to that much nonsense for four hours straight.

"I wonder that you and Perry were able to keep from laughing at them."

"Perry hasn't talked me into going to Council meetings yet. Or insisted that I do. I just read the report later and laughed a lot.

"Perry, I understand, gets though that sort of meeting by playing tic-tac-toe with himself on scraps of blotting paper."

"That sounds utterly thrilling," Cimorene deadpans.

"I never thought I'd be quite so grateful that the dragons have almost no head for beaurocracy."

"I think it's on the list of things to scandalize them by changing later. Everyone just got so used to running things for Perry when he was little that they haven't quite figured out that he's grown up in the last fourteen years. And when they do, well, I think I'm going to wind up in the meetings, but I think they're going to be much shorter.

"How do dragons manage things?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only