January 17, 1198
"Good Lord! The Queen of Dovia herself, dropping in on my humble self on her first day back!" Severin joked as he hugged and then released Celina. Nora had returned home that morning, so naturally Celina would have been back in Naroni as well, but he'd figured she'd spend the rest of the day recovering from the journey; Nora, at least, had been napping for a good few hours now."Oh, you and your nonsense! Nothing has changed."
"Except for your title, of course."
"As if you were ever one for titles! You've had yours for over forty years and you still cringe when people call you by it!" Celina folded her hands, one of her wedding bands obvious on her finger. If it was Oswald's she wore, she'd made a point not to let it feel alien or overwhelming; it was a part of her attire, but far from her whole extraordinary self. "I take it Nora's sleeping? She and Renata were both fairly drained by the end. I'll have to have them over for dinner some time this week, to thank them for coming along as my witnesses.""Yes, she's asleep--but I'll be sure to mention it if she doesn't wake while you're still here." Dovia wasn't so far away as it had seemed in the early days of Naroni, but physical miles could stretch to emotional leagues. Celina, perhaps, had fared better on the journey than her companions, true to her new role as political bridge-builder.
"Thank you. The least I can do is let Nora have her nap, knowing that poor Renata is now playing host to her grandson."
"Oh?" Severin's brow twitched. Given how few visiting Dovian nobles they had each year, it was a surprise to have the first so soon. "Which grandson? She does have rather a lot of them.""You're one to talk! But that would be Arkon--Riona's son, the Baron of Rexus. He said he had something to attend to before his classes resumed, though he never said exactly what. Nice enough young man, though, and I suppose it's not any of our business."
Severin smirked. "You're a queen now, Celina; anything can be your business if you only say it is."
"You really did learn everything you know about royalty from Roderick, didn't you?" More queenly than she must have realized, Celina crossed her arms with a stern smile. "But if you insist on making more of this than there actually is, than Her Majesty demands that you fill her in on the recent events around here."NEXT CHAPTER:
3 comments:
Tonight's preview pic hosted at Imgur due to some necessary but poorly-timed maintenance at Photobucket. I tend to use Imgur for most pictures these days, but it's easier to use Photobucket for story pictures since they allow for sub-folders.
Anyway! So... February is going to be a bit of a mess for me, and I don't anticipate having much usable downtime. I'll post when I can, but I can't promise to keep up with the usual every second day routine. Things should be back to normal come March.
Thanks for your understanding.
Hopefully, February won't be too cruel to you. But goodness knows if there's anyone who deserves some posting slack, it's you. And there's PLENTY to re-read if necessary! XD
I can imagine Severin twitching every time he hears 'your lordship'. I know I can't remember him ever invoking it except to put some jerk in their place - which, if you're going to have a title, is one of the best uses. Celina's new role is another of the best uses. She'll be the perfect ambassador between the two kingdoms.
So, Naroni now has three resident queens - Dea, Jeda, and Celina. Any kingdom in any time would be hard-pressed to do better.
Eh... it'll be a good kind of crazy, but crazy nonetheless. XD
I think someone once mused that the greatest insult Severin can give is "That's Lord Severin to you". That person was dead on.
Celina will do well as the ambassador since the best interests of both countries are so near and dear to her heart, and she commands great love and respect in both.
Naroni does have a fairly high queens-per-capita rate! Luckily, those queens have very distinct roles and are in no way in any political competition with each other. And when they have to work together? Oh, they'll do so splendidly. :)
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