Say nothing for now

Adella has always been able to speak to her mother about nearly everything, and perhaps she would talk with her about this inner turmoil, but she senses this is not the appropriate time. Besides, a knock on the door tells them that it is time for dinner.

The Mirantian ladies are greeted at the door by Princess Shasta.

“Your Majesty, Your Highness, allow me to introduce my sister, the Princess Shilette.”

Shilette is a slightly younger version of Shasta. Like her older sister, she has long, jet black hair and an athletic, well-toned build. Gone is the ornate armor that Shasta wore when they last saw her; instead, she and her sister are both dressed in beautiful, flowing formal gowns. They each wear a simple tiara — Shasta’s is gold, and Shilette’s is silver.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, and it is so good of you to escort us to dinner,” says the Queen.

“I trust you had a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon,” says Shasta. Addressing Adella, she says, “I was surprised to see you had dismissed Cedric and Franco so quickly; were they not to your liking?”

“They were most satisfactory,” says Adella, feeling her face growing warm again. “I was most in need of rest, however. I hope I did not offend them.”

Shilette laughs. “Offend them? You give our men more credit than you should, Your Highness. For one to be offended, one has to have sufficient understanding of one’s circumstances. When a man is freed from tending to woman, the only thing he concerns himself with is filling his belly. You need not concern yourself with anything as trivial as their feelings!” Shilette laughs, missing out on the shocked look on Adella’s face. She opens her mouth to speak, but the Queen discretely touches her arm to silence her.

Shasta, perhaps noticing the reaction, says, “I apologize for my sister’s bluntness, my friends. She has the unfortunate habit of speaking before thinking, at times.” She gives her sister a reproving glance.

Caroline says, “It is quite alright, Your Highnesses. I am a mother of three children, myself, and I find it refreshing and a sign of your respect for us that you feel free to speak without pretense. Princess Shilette, you remind me much of my youngest son, Duncan; I used to fear what he might say or do at official gatherings, but I have long since learned to value the way he sees the world; I suspect you share his sense of humor.”

Adella smiles at the skill with which her mother defused a potentially difficult and awkward situation.

“You are most kind, Your Majesty,” says Shilette. “It sounds as if you are an extremely gifted mother, as well as a skilled diplomat. And I certainly mean no disrespect with my overly-broad assessment of men. No doubt Mirantian men have certain skills and giftedness our Obscurian stock have yet to develop. I’m sure your sons, in particular, are models of self-discipline and chastity.”

Adella bursts out in laughter, and only at the last minute manages to disguise it as a fit of coughing. Her mother stops to gently pat her daughter on her back. The look of motherly concern on her face skillfully disguises her own urges to laugh.

Changing the subject, the Queen asks, “Will we meet the rest of your family this evening?”

Shasta answers. “Our brother, Praamo, is with our mother in the dining hall.”

“And your father?” asks the Queen?

“What of him?” asks Shasta, quizzically.

“Will he be joining us as well?”

Shasta looks at the Queen, in confusion for a moment before breaking out in a wide smile. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty! I’m not accustomed to Mirantian humor; I thought for a moment you were being serious!”

She and her sister laugh, and the Queen smiles and forces a small laugh as well. She meets the questioning look of her daughter and gives a small shake of the head.

At last they arrive at the dining hall. It is splendidly decorated, and the focus of the room is a large, ornate carved mahogany dining table, set with gold dishes and utensils. Queen Imperia greets them at the door. Standing behind her is a young man of Adella’s age.

“Queen Caroline and Princess Adella, may I present my son, Praamo?”

Prince Praamo is dark haired. He is not as muscular as the male attendants they have seen thus far, but he is fit. He stands a little under six feet in height. Adella is struck by his handsome features, but can’t help but notice a sadness behind his expression. She greets him, and he looks briefly in her eyes before quickly glancing down. Adella could swear that he is blushing.

The Queen shows Caroline and Adella to their places at the table. The two queens sit across from each other. Adella sits to her mother’s right, with Shasta across from her. To Adella’s right is Praamo, with Shilette across from him.

“I wish to honor you properly with a formal state dinner before you leave,” says Imperia, but for this evening, I thought a more informal setting would be preferable.

“I agree,” says Caroline. “What better way to get to know one another?”

The queens quickly enter into conversation, finding an immediate comeraderie, leaving their children to speak amongst themselves. “I know one better way to get to know one another,” says Shilette. She nudged her sister. “Remember when Angonia sent its emissaries for the trade negotiations? We got to know the Chief Emmisary’s son quite well that night, didn’t we?”

Shasta laughs. “Do I remember? His mother was in the middle of making a toast when you reached under the table and put your foot between his legs. The way his eyes looked at that moment was so priceless that I almost spit my wine all over the table!”

The ladies see Adella’s questioning look, and Shilette says, “His mother saw the look on his face and thought he was about to get sick. My sister and I offered to escort him to his room, and we did.... But it wasn’t to rest!”

Adella glances at Praamo, whose cheeks are bright red. He appears to be studying the potatoes on his plate with intense interest, looking at nothing else.

“He wasn’t much to look at, Sister,” says Shasta. “I was rather surprised you went after him.”

“In truth, his face wasn’t much, but when he knelt upon being introduced to Mother, I could see he carried a rather large package with him, and I felt it was my duty to the Crown to inspect it and make sure it was safe.”

“And you were right to do so,” agreed Shasta. She looks at Adella and says, “It was such a hefty package that it took both of us most of the night to fully inspect it. I don’t know how that poor boy was able to stay awake long enough to ride his horse the next day!”

As the princesses dissolve into shared laughter, Adella marvels at how weird this is. If she were back home, she could easily imagine a similar conversation taking place between her brothers as they recounted their conquest of some diplomat’s daughter, but hearing such talk from women seemed so entirely out of place!

She looked at Praamo and felt an instant understanding of him. Had this been taking place at Mirantia, it would be Adella sitting quietly at the table, her face burning with embarrassment, pretending not to hear any of her siblings’ sexual boasts.

Shilette notices Adella’s attention to Praamo. “Don’t worry about our dear brother, Your Highness. We’ll explain all of this to him when he is old enough to understand it.”

“Old enough?” thinks Adella. “Why, he’s older than they are! He’s my age, in fact!”

Shilette continues, “Or we’ll just let his wife explain it to them on their wedding night. You don’t need to concern yourself about any of this until then, do you, Brother?”

Praamo does not answer, but his face grows even redder, and he renews his laser-like attention to his meal.

The discussion continues for some time, shifting to various topics, until the dessert has been completed. The two queens continue to be fully engrossed in some complex discussion that Adella has long since stopped trying to follow.

Shasta turns to Adella and says, “Would you like to come with us and get some air?”