"No doubt!" Ky agreed, still so perplexed by this man. Why was he pretending to be an average person? It was unsettling. She and Tadaaki followed him to the stables. Was it more or less scary to be in another stable with him, now that they knew who he was? It was hard to say. "Was it an overall easy journey at least?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Overall, yes, though as I said I had a bit of trouble with spiders early in the journey. Nothing to write home about." He removed the tackle from his mount even as a groom tried to take over. The groom obviously recognized him immediately, referring to him with no small amount of shock as "my liege" and bowing deeply. "Oh, don't worry about it, old fellow, I'm perfectly capable of caring for my own horse," Harold insisted, and went on tending to it.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
'My liege' -- is that how Tadaaki was supposed to refer to him? He filed the knowledge away. 'Harry' indeed. What a way to mislead them.
"That's good at least," Ky said, watching the interaction as she decided she wasn't going to be able to reconcile what she'd imagined a king would be like with what this man acted like. "Although I'm sure it was taxing all the same."
Should she go inside and warn them that the king was here? She didn't want Tomhas to have the same utter shock at the king's randomly turning up as she did.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Oh, certainly." After a little time he finished with the horse and strode out of the stable. "Now, shall we go shock Lord Loquitur with my sudden appearance?"
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Yes, sir," Ky said with a smile. There wasn't much that could be done about it at this point. She just hoped they wouldn't be in the midst of something that would be embarrassing to have the king walk into the middle of. Hopefully Ash was playing nice with everyone.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Harold strode toward the doors of the Keep, then paused and looked to Ky. "You ought to lead the way, I think," he said. "Seems rude of me to barge in on a place that's not my home."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
"Uh, yes, sir." She nodded and quickly strode forward. It seemed even ruder to pretend like she was in charge of the king. But she wasn't going to argue, if this was the way he wanted it.
Tadaaki rushed even faster, getting to the door in time to hold it open for both of them.
"I imagine they'll be in one of the sitting rooms, though I don't know for sure. We could perhaps check there first?"
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"A sound suggestion," Harold said with a nod. "Lead on, Ky!" He tugged off his gloves and blew on his hands. "Whew, it's warm in here, thank the gods!"
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“It’s even warmer in the sitting and bed rooms. It’s quite nice,” Ky agreed with a smile. She was frozen straight through from how long they’d been outside. She strode towards the sitting room from the day before, hoping she wasn’t leading the king around in circles.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Oh, I remember that from my last trip here. I quite look forward to whatever bedroom Lord Loquitur puts me in this time." He grinned. "It's awful quiet down here, you know. Not common for the Loquitur household for it to be quiet anywhere, in my experience."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
… he did have a point. Did that mean she’d guessed wrong? Oh no.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Harold looked around; the hall was empty. "Hm, peculiar. You'd think the little ones would be running from place to place, at least. Or servants would be around. Although it is a big Keep."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“Perhaps they’re off somewhere making preparations?” Ky offered. “Ms Ana said something about making pies with Lord Ash. I don’t know if they might be up to that.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"Shall we check, then?" Harold asked. "Still seems like the place shouldn't grind to a standstill just for Lord Ash to make some pies with Lady Anneke's aunt."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
“True,” she agreed. More choices. Is this something she’d have to keep doing as a Lord’s daughter? She didn’t like this part. “The sitting room is right here. If they’re not here, then, uh…”
She didn’t finish her statement. She didn’t even know how she was going to. Instead, she pushed open the door.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
