View Flat HTML
View Metadata
Search Post
Cymbeline doesn't really like boats, but they're the only way to get anywhere in a reasonable period of time, especially when "anywhere" isn't on the mainland. Today he is sailing to Vectis, to oversee the change of governorship; his father the king is needed for courtly matters back home and his mother the queen, despite being the source of his royal blood, declines to involve herself in affairs of state when she can avoid it. Zoyah takes more after Ranae than after Charles in this department. So, it falls to Cymbeline.
Walking on a boat is even more difficult than walking on land, and Cymbeline is no great shakes at the latter to begin with. Unfortunately, neither he nor Kerem, the court magician and Cymbeline's confidante, have been able to figure out how to apply the principles of practicable magic to alleviating princely clumsiness. So Cymbeline is clinging to the railing of the boat, watching the waves, trying to avoid having to walk anywhere.
+ Show First Post
aetheling
treasuresuntold
It's hard to get comfortable up here. She didn't know she'd miss the water so much. But she manages it eventually, and drifts off to sleep.
She wakes up early the next morning; even an hour before dawn, it's brighter in her room than it ever gets in the depths. For lack of anything better to do, she makes her way to the study (she's starting to get the hang of this walking thing) and sits down with the book of sign, refreshing her memory of everything she learned yesterday.
She wakes up early the next morning; even an hour before dawn, it's brighter in her room than it ever gets in the depths. For lack of anything better to do, she makes her way to the study (she's starting to get the hang of this walking thing) and sits down with the book of sign, refreshing her memory of everything she learned yesterday.
aetheling
Cymbeline is up around dawn, and when he finds her room vacated he tries the study next. "Good morning. You can read in the dark?" he inquires.
aetheling
"The sun goes down, it's dark, we sleep, the sun comes up, it's light, we can see," says Cymbeline.
aetheling
"So you live deep enough -" He grabs the drawing paper, draws a deep scoop of ocean, illustrates shallow, deep, deeper, shallower - "So deep that there's no sunlight, so you can see in the dark."
aetheling
"Reviewing stuff from yesterday. Good, it accomplishes nothing if I don't know the signs you use... All right." He sits down next to her, and on they go.
treasuresuntold
And on and on!
She's a little less driven today, but still clearly interested. In both Cymbeline and what they're learning together.
She's a little less driven today, but still clearly interested. In both Cymbeline and what they're learning together.
aetheling
Eventually, when there is a hope she might understand him, he says:
"If you ever want, I can take your legs, hold them in a jar, and give them back later. If you want to swim."
"If you ever want, I can take your legs, hold them in a jar, and give them back later. If you want to swim."
aetheling
Fair enough; any more detailed report will probably have to wait until they have more vocabulary between them. He shrugs, moves on. They're going to run out of signs from this book soon, although review will of course be available, and then she can learn to fingerspell and read Loegrian to fill in other words. Or maybe Kerem will find another book of signs, though Cymbeline's not even sure why they had this one.
treasuresuntold
At least by the time she starts properly learning to read Loegrian, she's going to understand it pretty well. She's hardly ever giving him the look today.
aetheling
That is good!
However, Cymbeline has other obligations today. First of all, breakfast is called for - he has this brought into the study, for both of them, but it distracts from lessons nonetheless. And then:
"I have lessons too," he says. "After lunch, I can teach you more. Do you want to read what you've learned so far again until then?"
However, Cymbeline has other obligations today. First of all, breakfast is called for - he has this brought into the study, for both of them, but it distracts from lessons nonetheless. And then:
"I have lessons too," he says. "After lunch, I can teach you more. Do you want to read what you've learned so far again until then?"
aetheling
"Okay," he says, because he's not sure what else she'd do, and off he goes to learn the finer points of Iberiola, and poke at magic with Kerem, and help Zoyah through her protocol lessons, which he finished a year ago but which she struggles with. "I'll be back later."