The young servant stands, poised, in the doorway, looking in on the king, queen, advisor, and Mountain Elf, who are waiting at the table. It is only proper and polite for them to wait for their guest! A guest who has already gotten lost several times down the hallways.
Ah, but here he is now, following quickly after the maid with wobbling steps. Even after a day or two, the flat, still earth quakes and rolls under his feet. He has the legs of a sailor, the pointed ears of an elf, the softer, rounder eyes of a human. Whether the human in him came from his mother or father, he didn’t know and didn’t wish to find out.
He is Alabaster, and there isn’t much more than that worth knowing. He’s a pirate, a scoundrel, a flirt, and definitely not best friends of a merman who, for some outlandish reason, has been hugging land life as hard as a serpent constricting a deer!
“Your Majesties,” the maid chirps with a small curtsy, “I present Alabaster!”
That must be his cue to go in, he supposes, and so he makes the entrance only a pirate could, with strutting steps, flinging out the ends of his worn coat, with its polished buttons of copper. His boots *clack, clack* on the polished tile, the earrings and chains around his neck and rings on his fingers glint in the lamplight and throw sparkles on his silverware as he takes a seat beside the Mountain Elf.
The King, Nikolaj being his name, stares at him before looking at his wife. He looks around the table with a vague sense of curiosity. Everyone else is still standing..though Nikolaj pulls out his chair and takes a seat, followed by the elf and the queen. Not that Alabaster has really noticed the awkward stares; he’s too focused on other matters, like the steaming breakfast cakes and chilled pastries topped with whipped cream and berries.
“So,” he drawls at last, reaching for a tiny glass cup. It’s filled with hot coffee, and it smells absolutely divine! No offense to the cook on the ship, but he’s never had a coffee smell this good. He could live on just this drink!
Ah..right. He was talking!
“..How’s Fishy doin’ these days?”
Not that he cares, of course!
He’s not getting an answer, so Alabaster glances around the table, at the advisor, at the king, the queen, and the elf. Maybe ‘Fishy’ isn’t the best title, then.
“Adrian, I mean? How’s Adrian doin’?” He follows the question with a slurp of coffee, realizing a second later that the hot, bitter taste is not what he was expecting after getting that amazing smell. What follows is the cup being slammed on the table, splashing dark liquid onto the tablecloth, and the utterance of a singular expletive that makes the queen choke on her bite of pastry and the king to go beet red.
“If you could,” the advisor says abruptly, so abruptly that the crow on his shoulder almost falls off, “please watch your language in the presence of Queen Shara and King-”
“King Nik, I know.” Alabaster waves a hand, growling quietly at the patch of coffee that’s stained his coat. Now he’ll have to wash it! Bother it all. He reaches for a scone and takes a big bite, munching loudly while the other four scrape their silverware and look at each other.
“As for my tongue..I’ll have to apologize to the queen most heartily.” The elf nods toward her, smiling a bit after swallowing. “You’ll see in time that I’m master of sweet words, just as much as the vulgar ones.”
The Mountain elf’s ear twitches and he takes a tiny bite of his food while looking at Alabaster. For his part, Alabaster chooses to ignore the icy stare in favor of picking some loose food out of his teeth with his dagger.
Queen Shara glances at her husband.
Why did we allow him to stay, again?
Nik can only shrug his shoulders, watching with a hapless resignation while Alabaster throws his feet up onto the table.
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Queen Shara, King Nik, the Mountain Elf (Curan), Adrian, and the advisor (Mikie) belong to @supesofherown