The Estate, After Lunch, (Morning Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

When Mallory had been asked by Queen Ilyse and Prince Audric to come tutor their young daughter, he had been honored and delighted. Several months later, the shiny had been rubbed off both the honor and delight, but he had become fond of enough Karla to continue to teach her for years, up until the tragic accident that had claimed her parents' lives and gotten her shipped off to live with the local Hourglass coven her aunt Kay had been a part of. When Hobart had announced Karla's 'death,' Mallory had spent a week mourning the spoiled, yes, but also sweet, imaginative, and precocious child he had taught.

In the years she'd been gone, time and nostalgia had blunted the worst of her childhood antics, helping him forget that classes were just as often characterized by biting, kicking, crying, and arguing as they were learning, studying, and behaving (Darkness bless behaving.) All that had come rushing back to him over the past four days, dealing with her much-younger self--and her much-younger friends. Even being the Steward to the headstrong and still impetuous Queen and her entire Court was easier than this.

Mallory couldn't help but reflect on these facts as he pulled Karla down the hall by her ear. He'd caught her in his office a few moments earlier "playing" some kind of game that had involved a jam sandwich and a great deal of ink all over his desk, his chair, and the floor. Coincidentally enough, those were the same places he could see much of his paperwork, also under the ink. Any last ideals he'd had about respecting the Queenly dignity she was due as an adult when flying out the window (possibly with more of his papers) as he'd grabbed her ear and began dragging Karla towards her room, a bath, and the tender mercies of anyone who was not him.

What neither of them had been expecting, however, was for the filthy, shrieking child was to suddenly return to being an equally-filthy-but-less-inclined-to-shriek adult halfway towards their destination. It was Mallory who ended up yelping when the ear he was pinching shot up two feet in the air.

"Karla!" he said, half-surprised and half-thrilled. "You're back!" Before she could respond, however, he was grasping her shoulders with a hissed, "Don't you move or I will throttle you," and running off to find Julian, Morton, and anyone else he could find. Their Queen was an adult again. They were going to get this bloody coronation over with before something else could happen, come Hell or high water.

[NFB, open for folks what are here, SP is gonna be a thing, pls to be waiting for OCD]

Comments

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"Smashing and paint spatters do not count as 'redecoration,' Dinah," Karla said with a liberal use of air quotes. "Though it does make choosing what room we work on next a lot easier."

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I know art galleries that would be thrilled to have that room as an installation," Dinah told her. "Of course, they're pretentious and full-of-it galleries, but it's still possible." She reached out to give Karla's hair a little tug. "Happy the ceremony's over? Feel like a full Queen now?"

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"Happy it's over, anyway," Karla agreed with a nod. "And...I dunno. More relaxed maybe? I don't feel anymore Queenly, but less like the other shoe might drop any minute now."

She was firmly entrenched now. It would take a lot more time and effort to dislodge her.

"We're not in the clear by any stretch, but we're closer."

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Seven and a half years until the crisis Dinah knew about. But who know what could happen between now and then?

"Lots closer. There aren't mobs outside chanting for Ludmilla or Hobart. Even if there aren't mobs outside chanting your name, either." Dinah started to snicker. "Sorry. I just thought of what it was like last year when the Crown Prince of England and his wife had a baby. That could be you, in a few years. So weird."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Sooner than Dinah thought. For both tragedy and joy.

"Yeah, we have a few years before all that, thank you," Karla said crisply. "Even if I thought I were ready for a little bundle of poop--and ahahahahahaha to that--Glacia isn't ready. It's still too unsettled to even start thinking of ten months without Craft."

Pay attention to this, Warren.

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Things you curse yourself for not saying sooner....

"I'm so telling Kayla you said that, someday. Probably when she's mad at you."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"You are a terrible friend," Karla informed her, looking as pathetic as possible. "Threatening me with the daughter I don't even have yet."

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Should I threaten you with the son you don't even have yet?" Dinah teased. "The one who's dating triplets, or trying to? Emma's triplets?"

Oh, he was not, but Dinah hadn't been able to keep straight which one he was interested in, so...

"You realize, that could all change. You could get a little girl who's not Kayla. Or you could get Nommy first."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I wonder about that sometimes," Karla admitted. "How do we know? What if we have a daughter and name her Kayla because of Fandom, but then have another one who should have been Kayla?"

Was that even possible?

"If we have a son first, do we name him Nommy, or do we assume Kayla had a big brother they didn't mention? And what the Hell is Nommy's first name anyway?"

THESE WERE SOME OF THE THOUGHTS THAT KEPT HER UP AT NIGHT.

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah snickered. "Name her whatever you wanna name her the day she's born. Even if she's Kayla and you name her-- ohhh, Dianoko--" For instance. "I figure that should still work out. You can't be too married to one idea of the future." She thought about Lena, and Laurie, and Sin. "...I am so tempted sometimes to figure out where Momoko and I got that little Lasumi guy. Because he was just too darn cute."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I would be absolutely okay with you and Momoko adopting Lasumi," Karla assured her. Because they'd been worried about her permission, of course. "You can take turns raising him along Sin and Lena and then with Momoko and her brood."

Because, excuse you, Karla's ideas for the future were pretty set, including who was marrying whom.

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

That got her a smile, but a more rueful one. "Some things, you know, may never happen, Karla." Dinah bit her lip. "No matter how much you want them too."

Yes. She was still talking about Karla there. Mostly. 98%. Shut up.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

The narration totally believed her. Really.

"That's why, if you really want them, you should fight for them," Karla advised. "Can't just sit back and hope it happens. Figure out what you want and then go for it."

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"I'm always good at the going for it," Dinah agreed. "...not so good at figuring out what I should go for, though."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Karla looked up at Dinah, now, surprised. The conversation felt like it had taken a turn from the hypothetical to the specific.

"You okay?" she asked.

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Umm. Sort of?" Dinah put her arm around Karla's shoulders. More for her own benefit than anything else. "Weird conversation with Mark, a little while ago." She debated for a moment, then brushed a hand on Karla's shoulder. Why didn't you ever tell me I was rotten at picking up signals? Or interest?

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

*Are you saying you never noticed my signals telling you that?* Karla teased, linking her arm through Dinah's and ever-so-subtly steering her away from the crowd a little so they could talk.

"I take it you finally noticed Mark's mooning?"

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

"Mooning?" Dinah repeated with dismay. "Wait, how long has that been going on? Am I the only one who didn't see it?" Then she poked at Karla. And yeah, I noticed your teasing for ages... after a while.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"Ummm, only since, like, the war?" Karla said, rolling her eyes. "You cut an impressive figure, darling. You can hardly blame him for noticing."

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Dinah facepalmed, muttering, "So I'm even more oblivious than I thought. Good to know." She sighed and let her hand drop, feeling flattered and bewildered all over again. "Although maybe it's good I didn't notice, I was sort of his commanding officer, and that could've been-- even more awkward, and. Yeah." She shook her head. "So. Yes. Well. Nice to know." Especially with... Okay, stuff to tell you, and it's miles into the Awkward Zone. Bear with me?

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

*Always, darling.* Karla snagged two glasses of wine and handed one to Dinah. Somehow she bet that whatever Dinah had to say would go better with alcohol.

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Sooooooo much alcohol. Dinah took several long sips, then said pretty quietly, "Um. So. I had a crush on someone. Who does not have a crush on me back. Still kinda do. I'm getting over it. But. Achey. You know."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I know," Karla said, giving Dinah a sympathetic squeeze. "Hottie archer from New Gotham?" she asked. "Or some Santa Cruz boy you met...?"

Re: The Coronation

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

Ha. Ha-ha. Dinah gave a very small laugh. "The second one. Um. You know him."

Take a moment....

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Karla did, but she took it in the wrong direction.

"Ozzy?" she asked, wrinkling her brow. "But I thought he really liked you!"

Okay, so she didn't know him, but she knew of him and that was practically the same, right?