January 1, 1180
"All right, first things first." Roderick picked up his stylus and scribbled something on the sheet in front of him. Or scribbled anything on the sheet in front of him, more like; even among the closest the man had to actual friends, it was all about appearances. "Where the hell is Octavius?"For all there couldn't have possibly been cause for worry, Severin had to be relieved that Octavius himself had not been here to hear that. "Still in Dovia, I would assume." What with his daughter's funeral and all.
"I knew that!" The king shot him a glare that he no doubt meant to be threatening. As with anything else Roderick did, the logical course of action was to ignore it. "I just figured he would have returned by now. It's been nearly a month now since she passed."
A month. Considering the time it had taken for the news to arrive, plus the time it took to travel to Dovia and back again, a month was barely any time at all. And while Severin himself didn't know--and never would, God willing--what it was to lose a child, it didn't sit well to hold that kind of a grief to a schedule. "He may be on his way back, for all we know. But I'll remind you that he never said when we might expect him back."
"Camaline said it would be some time this week," Lorn offered as a thinly-veiled compromise. It did seem to satisfy Roderick. Lorn might have had the makings of a diplomat, at least so far as Severin could tell, if only he could have learned in a country where competent rulers discussed things that actually mattered.Then again, that was the beauty of a small backwater country with lackluster resources and barely any influence to speak of. Internal affairs--barring the not-quite-odd-enough bizarre calamity of whatever sort--were rarely of a scale to require any higher authority than the direct lord. For all it was a pointless waste of time to discuss other people's travel plans, it wasn't as if there was a more pressing matter waiting. "There you have it, Roderick. The week's not out yet."
Roderick cleared his throat. "'There you have it, your majesty.'"
"Roderick, how many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?"
On the other bench, Lorn fought back a smirk. Roderick only glowered. "Moving on--you're probably wondering why I called this meeting."
Severin wasn't. An exchanged glance with Lorn said he wasn't other. A couple decades later and still the vast majority of Roderick's meetings were thrown for the sheer vanity of saying they'd met at all. Nevertheless, Severin had made a fairly solid career of knowing when to humor the man. "Do tell.""Well." A smug smile pressing against the edge of his beard, Roderick leaned back in his seat and adjusted his crown. "I believe congratulations are in order for us all. Today, gentlemen--this very day--marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of this kingdom."
Outside, a cricket chirped. "Well? Wouldn't you say this is cause for celebration? That's no small feat, keeping a kingdom afloat for a quarter of a century--just the three of us."
Lorn cringed--apparently having the same couple thoughts as Severin. "Actually, I haven't even been alive for a quarter of a century.""And you're forgetting about Octavius." Who does a hell of a lot more around here than you do. "And Dalston." Who probably does too, for all he's been dead a decade and a half. "And all our ladies, past and present. And the workers, for all you can never seem to remember their existence."
Roderick waved back one hand, swatting away those details as he might have some airborne pest. "The point stands."
"Hardly." What were twenty-five years in the scheme of all history? Barely a blink, if even. Looking back, Severin's own past twenty-five didn't seem much longer. "Twenty-five years isn't such an impressive age for a kingdom, and this one practically runs itself." Somehow.
"Well, I'm impressed." Of course he was. "And I'm the king, damn it; if I'm impressed, then you ought to be as well. Now, how do you think we ought to commemorate the occasion?"
Lorn shrugged. The gesture more or less summed up the past few minutes of Severin's life, a precious few minutes he would never see again. "I think we ought to end this meeting early."NEXT CHAPTER:
12 comments:
It's been one of those days, and therefore Severin's mood is approximately mine. But Naroni has a packed few years ahead of it, so best get the fluff posts out of the way as quickly as possible.
*runs off to post palm readings*
And the palm readings are up!
Oooh, a link!
Great post Van! I was hoping for a Roderick appearance for the first post of 1180 so that made my day.
Thanks, Joseph :)
It's true that we haven't seen much of Roderick lately, and this was a fitting time for him to reappear.
Except for posts that are pure comic relief, I think the less we see of Roderick, the better. ;)
And I must say, for all you found this a fluff post, I found it to be vastly amusing. Severin's head is a very fun place to be. Especially his thoughts about Dalston -- dead for fifteen years, and still more useful than Roderick!
... Although I have to say, Roderick could have framed this in a way that might have actually served to impress Lorn and Severin. That the country has been around twenty-five years isn't that impressive. But that Roderick is still king of it? In the Middle Ages? And being as incompetent as he is generally? That IS impressive!
Still, even if Severin and Lorn don't much care, I would like to bid a happy 25th anniversary to Naroni! May you see many, many more!
Glad it could amuse :)
Haha XD That is true--what is impressive is the fact that Roderick managed to go twenty-five years without being assassinated or having to flee after a coup. But I doubt Roderick has the humility or the sheer smarts to see it that way XD
Naroni still has at least a few years ahead of it. Eventually, there will come a time when it has to end for whatever reason, but I have no intention of discontinuing it any time soon :)
I rather enjoy that he is so incompetent that he tried to make plans on the day and not, you know, in advance - like normal people.
I guess he was thinking some kind of month-long festivities. Still would have required much more notice, though XD
And by "commemorate the occasion", I presume Roderick meant "commemorate me, King Roderick the Amazing, the Perpetual Wonder-Monarch and Eternal Defender of the Status Quo."
Doofus Rex aside, long live Naroni!
Haha! If this story was set in the present, Roderick would so have that as a bumper sticker. That after a spectacular failure of a campaign to fit it on a license plate :P
Oh, how I had forgotten the extent to which Roderick is dumber than a kumquat. Still, it's kind of nice to watch the current crop of lords running circles around him like they did when they were all much younger.
:< I miss Dalston though. He knew how to keep Roderick chasing his own tail, though Lorn's doing very well at that anyhow.
You know, the fact that the random supernatural occurrences haven't managed to destabilize Naroni to some extent (and that no one's managed to off Roderick or secede or anything,) is probably to some extent because Roderick is so incompetent and easily led. Why bother replacing him when you can just trick him?
Not much has changed in the past quarter-century on that particular front. XD
Lorn is doing a good job of filling his father's shoes without outright becoming his father... but yeah, it would have been nice to have all the originals here. :(
Haha! Good point there. It's not like manipulating Roderick takes much effort; it would probably be less convenient to off him.
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