Bridget's eyes glanced between the King, and Tiff, who was still in his arms. She couldn't smell anything, not from this distance in the open air, but she could still read body language. She wasn't great at that on the best of days, but Tiff was broadcasting. Slowly, her tail rose and stiffened, her ears pinned forward. If she'd had hackles, they would have been raised. A growl rose in her throat. She swallowed, somewhat painfully, almost coughing. She couldn't growl in front of the children. She'd freak them out. Or worse, they'd get excited about it.
Not being rude seemed less important, suddenly. There weren't foreigners here, other than Tiff, and that was a technicality that would probably be taken care of in short order. The garden was less formal than the throne room, and the children were often rude just because they were children. She was going to be down in the dungeons later, anyway. She could afford to be a bit of a brat.
She opened her mouth to remind Tiff of what she'd said, but to her surprise, Tiff remembered on her own. She maybe wasn't as firm about it as she could have been, but most people weren't, when dealing with the King. The boldest of hearts--quite literally--still tended to waver towards the side of being overly polite when uncertain. It was progress. Bridget let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
It would be fine. She could trust him, she reminded herself. In ten years, he had never done anything to hurt her. And he'd never do anything to hurt a scared woman. He'd play a little, sure, and maybe she'd get a bit of a fright, since she seemed predisposed to be scared of him, but only exposure would fix that. Eventually, she'd get used to him, and how scared she felt at first would be a humorous memory.
A child pulled at her skirts, and her ear twitched down to half-listen to the demands for the promised ride. She held up a finger, silently--a librarian's reflex she'd developed ages ago now. Her eyes stayed on the King and Tiff.
He'd put her down, obviously.
She just. Wanted to see it, was all. Once she saw it, she could take care of the children. She shouldn't need reassurance, ten years in. Normally, she'd scamper off cheerfully and without a second thought. But for whatever reason--Tiff's fear, or her similarity to how dumb Bridget had been when she'd first arrived, perhaps--she found she really, really needed to stay for a moment and see Tiff's feet touch ground.
Not being rude seemed less important, suddenly. There weren't foreigners here, other than Tiff, and that was a technicality that would probably be taken care of in short order. The garden was less formal than the throne room, and the children were often rude just because they were children. She was going to be down in the dungeons later, anyway. She could afford to be a bit of a brat.
She opened her mouth to remind Tiff of what she'd said, but to her surprise, Tiff remembered on her own. She maybe wasn't as firm about it as she could have been, but most people weren't, when dealing with the King. The boldest of hearts--quite literally--still tended to waver towards the side of being overly polite when uncertain. It was progress. Bridget let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
It would be fine. She could trust him, she reminded herself. In ten years, he had never done anything to hurt her. And he'd never do anything to hurt a scared woman. He'd play a little, sure, and maybe she'd get a bit of a fright, since she seemed predisposed to be scared of him, but only exposure would fix that. Eventually, she'd get used to him, and how scared she felt at first would be a humorous memory.
A child pulled at her skirts, and her ear twitched down to half-listen to the demands for the promised ride. She held up a finger, silently--a librarian's reflex she'd developed ages ago now. Her eyes stayed on the King and Tiff.
He'd put her down, obviously.
She just. Wanted to see it, was all. Once she saw it, she could take care of the children. She shouldn't need reassurance, ten years in. Normally, she'd scamper off cheerfully and without a second thought. But for whatever reason--Tiff's fear, or her similarity to how dumb Bridget had been when she'd first arrived, perhaps--she found she really, really needed to stay for a moment and see Tiff's feet touch ground.
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Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 10:26 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 11:12 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-08-2019, 12:06 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 12:24 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-08-2019, 03:25 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 03:41 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-08-2019, 05:04 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-08-2019, 06:19 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-08-2019, 11:00 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-09-2019, 09:09 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-09-2019, 02:33 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-09-2019, 04:48 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-09-2019, 10:53 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 07:27 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 08:44 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-10-2019, 03:15 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-10-2019, 03:44 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-10-2019, 05:24 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-10-2019, 09:01 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-11-2019, 04:02 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-13-2019, 11:21 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-15-2019, 02:04 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-15-2019, 06:59 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-15-2019, 11:39 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-16-2019, 04:36 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-16-2019, 04:50 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-17-2019, 06:26 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-17-2019, 10:32 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-17-2019, 10:54 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-18-2019, 11:51 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-18-2019, 08:23 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-18-2019, 08:50 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-18-2019, 11:40 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-19-2019, 12:04 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-19-2019, 12:10 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 11-19-2019, 04:33 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-20-2019, 06:18 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-20-2019, 06:56 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 11-21-2019, 10:38 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 11-21-2019, 11:01 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-02-2019, 08:35 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-02-2019, 08:58 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-10-2019, 05:34 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-10-2019, 05:50 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-16-2019, 12:40 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-16-2019, 12:53 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-17-2019, 03:01 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-17-2019, 10:39 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-17-2019, 06:20 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-17-2019, 08:07 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-19-2019, 06:23 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-19-2019, 07:04 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-19-2019, 08:15 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-19-2019, 08:49 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 12-20-2019, 05:12 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 12-30-2019, 07:24 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 12-30-2019, 09:47 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-01-2020, 07:12 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 01-01-2020, 05:45 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 01-01-2020, 05:59 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-02-2020, 06:41 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 01-18-2020, 12:39 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 01-18-2020, 02:20 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Tindome - 01-31-2020, 06:45 AM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by Viala - 02-03-2020, 04:56 PM
RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 02-03-2020, 05:55 PM