From fayanora‘s prompt “An unexpected ‘Hello.'”
From Rin & Girey/Reiassan, after In Context (available in Tales for the Sugar Cat).
Speaking of context, the important thing to know here is: Rin’s nation has won the war over Girey’s, and she is bringing him home as her captive across the length of her country. Girey was the prince of the defeated nation, and is in enforced incognito (Girey is a very common name in their country) as the son of a dead Duke.
Rin & Girey have a landing page (LJ Link
Karak and Noni were generous, friendly hosts, and it took Rin little time at all to relax into their company. They’d fought together, after all, Karak and her, and she’d known Noni since they were children (even if, like Rin, the name Noni wore now wasn’t the one she’d worn then).
Even Girey started to relax. He still complained about the colors, but, some of what had to be his royal manners kicking in, not in front of their hosts, and less and less so she found the most muted Callanthe silks she could to dress him in, and a tailor that could actually fit the clothes to him. If his qitari buttoned on the left, well, it would be a while before he figured that one out, and he could complain then. In the meantime, it suited some small petty part of Rin’s soul to keep him in the dark, his clothes marking him as unskilled, if affluent, labor.
And, despite his complaints, he was paying close attention to the crowds as they shopped. There was a shift in his shoulders and his tone of voice since they got to Ossulund, the feeling that he was trying to act of be someone different. He seemed uncomfortable with the idea of Rin having friends, especially male friends that weren’t him. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he was jealous.
“Geer?” The voice, high-pitched, excessively feminine, and loud, came from across the marketplace. Rin turned before her prisoner did, uncomfortably curious. “Girey? Geer, hello!”
Now, he turned, though he glanced at Rin and their hosts first, and now all four of them were looking at the woman who was, despite the decorative shackles tinkling on her wrists, waving wildly at them.
“Friend of yours?” Rin murmured softly. If she had been, what she was, now, was a soldier’s war trophy, lovely and fragile in her tight, left-buttoned silk qitari and delicate house slippers, her blonde hair pinned in curls over her head. A decoration.
Girey’s shoulders were tense as he turned back to the belts they were looking at. “She must have the wrong Girey,” he muttered.
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Perhaps not the sort of friend he’d introduce to his mother?
Heh, probably not!
Not that he’s in a position to help her.
True. Not sure how much help she needs, anyway. 😉
Ouch.
Yeah.
Oh, neat! I am happy that she can dress him in colors. I do like her friends. I’d like to know more about them. Typos: He still complained about the colors, but, some of what had to be his royal manners kicking in, not in front of their hosts, But some of what had to be his royal manners WERE kicking in There was a shift in his shoulders and his tone of voice since they got to Ossulund, the feeling that he was trying to act of be someone different. Trying to act OR be someone different
Your colours comment confused me, a lot, until I realized it was a typo: He still complained about the colors, but, some of what had to be his royal manners kicking in, not in front of their hosts, and less and less AS she found the most muted Callanthe silks she could to dress him in,