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[kingforboth]

It's the day after your fourteenth birthday. You're absolutely freezing, bundled up in a robe, sitting down on a fur rug by the fireplace, trying to warm up. The warmth of the robe and the fire feels lovely. You also happen to be absolutely starving, but no one will let you eat. No one being Morgan and anyone else in the castle but you know better than to ask for breakfast. You rub your hands in front of the fireplace, the room slightly chill. Being November, there's only so much one can do.

"Hmmm, this feels good," You say, rubbing your hands together in front of the fire and smoothing short bedridden hair. "What's next?"

The older blonde man, Morgan, pokes and the fire, setting it more ablaze. "First of all, your bath. They should be about ready for you. And I'll send your wardrobers in to help you dress as soon as they arrive."

You stop abruptly, hating what was about to happen, what had to happen and what it meant. You always knew you were going to be king. One day. You just didn't think it would be so soon. And to have all those people....fussing over you. It was positively distasteful. And there was absolutely no escaping it. Or was there? All the maturity you'd displayed over the last few weeks disintegrated in one last act as a prince. As just a boy. With no one elses responsibility resting on your shoulders but your own.

"Devil take it, I can dress myself!" You try hopefully. It doesn't work. Morgan laughs, taking you by the arm and pulling you to your feet.

"A king must have dressers on his coronation day. It's tradition. Besides, you aren't meant to clutter up your mind with the mechanics of putting on strange robes when you should be contemplating the responsibilities of kingship." He propels you toward the dressing room where undoubtedly a gaggle of servants and a tub full of hot water await. Not just that. The first step.

You pause, a boyish playfulness playing about, and you eye the other man. "Oh I'm meant to have dressers, eh? How many?"

"Oh, six or so I should imagine." The man raises and eyebrow, playing innocent.

"SIX!" You cry out considering the high number. " Morgan, I don't need six dressers!"

"Is this a rebellion?" The other man grins, playing along good naturedly.

You start through the door and then turn in a look of complete mock indignation and playfulness. Just the thing someone wants in a king, right? " I still think that you planned all this deliberately." You hate personal servants after all.

"I've been planning deliberately to make you a king. Now, get in there!" The other man's playfulness and patience wore a little thin. It was a special day after all and you were kind of being a pain, especially considering just how mature you'd been up until now. He made a motion as if to chase you through the door and you duck through it, but not before poking your head back out a final time.

And sticking your tongue out. All maturity completely and utterly gone. One last romp before the inevitable.

Comments

[kingforboth]

Excuse me?

[doubled_speed]

Nothing man, never mind. If you ever wanna hang, I guess we can do that.

[kingforboth]

Hang?

I'm going to assume that means 'spend time', and that you did not just threaten to hang me.

[doubled_speed]

Dude, not lynching. Like 'hang out'. Spend time together.

[kingforboth]

Apologies. That is not a term of phrase where I am from.

[....and considering the amount of people Kelson has hung....]

Yes, I would like to get to know you better. In person.

[doubled_speed]

[Kelson, you have NO idea how badly Tommy wants to say 'that's what she said'. At all. It's SO needed.]

Turns of phrase change, so yeah, it's cool. I mean, it's okay. Understandable. All that.

[kingforboth]

[Kelson smiled as he heard the man try and explain what he was meaning, terms which otherwise would have meant something completely different to him.]

Thank you for your assistance in ....deciphering that. You shall have to teach me some more of your terminology.

[doubled_speed]

Slang is not easy to pick up, but I can try. Already had to teach my uncool twin things.

[kingforboth]

[ From the recent use of 'cool' Kelson's only translation that he tried to teach slang to people who were....not alright? No, that didn't seem right.]

Yes, I can see that. I'm not entirely sure what you meant with your twins.

[doubled_speed]

My twin is sort of a nerd. There is no fixing that.

[kingforboth]

Oh! You have a twin! But what's a nerd? Is it some sort of condition he suffers from?

[doubled_speed]

Yes, that is a condition he suffers from. I'm afraid it's terminal.

[Billy shall one day, hundreds or thousands of years in the future, die from it. Terminal nerdiness. Wow. He loves this idea.]

You have people where you're from who get sorta really stupid deep into stuff? Wait, do you even have stuff like novels where people write stories about fake things for the purposes of entertainment?

[kingforboth]

Fake things? We have ballads and stories, but most aren't written down. More histories, philosophies and other texts are written. People write about things that didn't happen?

[What a world could be opened up to Kelson if only he knew!]

[doubled_speed]

It's called entertainment. Like plays. But in a book.

[kingforboth]

[Kelson tried to parse the word entertainment, but he only got a very different meaning. He wasn't sure hospitality had anything to do with it and figured that words had changed where ever he was from.]

Oh. And people do this. For what purpose?

[doubled_speed]

So they aren't bored? Because it's supposed to be fun? Why do you listen to people recite stories? It's the same, but portable.

[kingforboth]

I don't suppose you have any with you?

[You were befriending a giant geek. Kelson just doesn't know the definition of the word.]

[doubled_speed]

Nope. It's not my thing. I'm too cool to waste time on books like that. Sorry. But there might be people who do.

[kingforboth]

And just what is 'cool' again?

[Kelson was pretty sure he just used that as an insult, and wasn't entirely amused.]

You don't like reading?

[doubled_speed]

Cool is... Man, cool is just a state of being. When people like you and want to be around you and want to be like you. You set trends. People look to you as an example of what to be.

Reading is sorta slow. And it's not real.

[kingforboth]

And reading, as you put it, isn't cool?

Why are you lying to me?

[doubled_speed]

[Well now Tommy sounds offended. Which is genuine. Because he doesn’t like being called a liar.]

Who said any fucking thing about lying?

[kingforboth]

[He can sound offended all he wants, Kelson's offended he lied to him. Offended, but not surprised.]

I can tell when a person is lying to me. You were lying.

[doubled_speed]

[Shit, man! People lie all the time!]

Life has to suck for you, man. The sky is purple.

[kingforboth]

Actually I find it quite useful to know when my subjects lie to me.

[If Kelson knew what an eyeroll was he would have done it. The sky was not purple and he didn't need to truth read him to know when someone was playing with him.]

Are you that uncomfortable that you were caught in a lie or can you really fail to see where it would be useful for a king to know whether his subjects are telling the truth or not?