When Elowen explained what garlic and cloves were for, Cassander blinked a little as he wasn’t sure if he had understood some of the words correctly. A moment later, his eyes lit up, and he inquired, “Cough? Like that?” He pretended to cough. He was beginning to see how the different ingredients could work together. He’d been sick often enough in his life that he was familiar with the symptoms. You didn’t only suffer from a cough or a runny nose. You were often slightly nauseous as well and didn’t have much of an appetite.
He’d hated being sick.
But of course, being a king hadn’t exempted him from it.
He hesitated for a moment when Elowen asked him about the king’s fate. He hadn’t expected her to want to know more about him, but he realized that he should have. Dragons and kings were probably equally interesting to a girl her age. And a man like the one he pretended to be wouldn’t have a reason not to talk about him.
Rynmere being a monarchy had been one of its defining features.
“King probably gone”, he said, allowing a hint of sadness to briefly seep into his voice. He preferred to think that at least some of his citizens missed him, in spite of everything that had gone wrong, everything that he had supposedly done, but didn’t even remember, at least not clearly.
“Maybe tried to leave … Some people managed to flee in time when the dragon came. I prefer to think that the king joined them rather than letting the dragon enslave or kill him, for as long there is life, there is hope. Whatever happened, he hasn’t been heard of since the trial the last ships left and the Jacadons escaped though”, he told her, briefly switching to Common again, because he wanted to answer her question properly.
The story he told Elowen was not really a lie; he’d just omitted certain details.
He looked at her, hiding his thoughts behind a smile, his posture relaxed once more.
“Jacadons dangerous”, he confirmed with a nod. “But can become … friends. Ride like horses. Xiur Sky Riders”, he mentioned the name of the branch of Rynmere’s military that had ridden Jacadons. Sometimes, he wondered if some of them had escaped along with their mounts. If a few common citizens had managed to get out, why not highly trained solders?
“Moseke’s Mist and Noble’s Blessing from Rynmere”, he said when Elowen placed the herbs in front of him. He recognizd the names because of how common the herbs in questions had been in his homeland.
“Saikuru”, he continued after a moment of hesitation and pointed at the dried petals of Noble’s Blessing, hoping that Elowen would understand that this was the plant’s other name. It had rather distinctive sky blue petals, although they were slightly harder to recognize in dried form. “Very common in Rymere. Moseke’s Mist common in Rynmere as well. Weed”, he added.
He remembered that his gardeners had always gotten rid of Moseke’s Mist due to its commonality. Such common plants had no place in the palace gardens.
“What do you use Moseke’s Mist for?” he inquired.
He’d hated being sick.
But of course, being a king hadn’t exempted him from it.
He hesitated for a moment when Elowen asked him about the king’s fate. He hadn’t expected her to want to know more about him, but he realized that he should have. Dragons and kings were probably equally interesting to a girl her age. And a man like the one he pretended to be wouldn’t have a reason not to talk about him.
Rynmere being a monarchy had been one of its defining features.
“King probably gone”, he said, allowing a hint of sadness to briefly seep into his voice. He preferred to think that at least some of his citizens missed him, in spite of everything that had gone wrong, everything that he had supposedly done, but didn’t even remember, at least not clearly.
“Maybe tried to leave … Some people managed to flee in time when the dragon came. I prefer to think that the king joined them rather than letting the dragon enslave or kill him, for as long there is life, there is hope. Whatever happened, he hasn’t been heard of since the trial the last ships left and the Jacadons escaped though”, he told her, briefly switching to Common again, because he wanted to answer her question properly.
The story he told Elowen was not really a lie; he’d just omitted certain details.
He looked at her, hiding his thoughts behind a smile, his posture relaxed once more.
“Jacadons dangerous”, he confirmed with a nod. “But can become … friends. Ride like horses. Xiur Sky Riders”, he mentioned the name of the branch of Rynmere’s military that had ridden Jacadons. Sometimes, he wondered if some of them had escaped along with their mounts. If a few common citizens had managed to get out, why not highly trained solders?
“Moseke’s Mist and Noble’s Blessing from Rynmere”, he said when Elowen placed the herbs in front of him. He recognizd the names because of how common the herbs in questions had been in his homeland.
“Saikuru”, he continued after a moment of hesitation and pointed at the dried petals of Noble’s Blessing, hoping that Elowen would understand that this was the plant’s other name. It had rather distinctive sky blue petals, although they were slightly harder to recognize in dried form. “Very common in Rymere. Moseke’s Mist common in Rynmere as well. Weed”, he added.
He remembered that his gardeners had always gotten rid of Moseke’s Mist due to its commonality. Such common plants had no place in the palace gardens.
“What do you use Moseke’s Mist for?” he inquired.
