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

[momslilassassin]

Ben hugged her back tightly. "Sorry we're late," he said. "Portalocity decided that we were too young to fly without escort."

Thanks for that, Fandom...

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"You mostly just missed me being horrible and wanton destruction of ugly figurines," Karla assured him. "And possible terrorist activities in the name of cookies."

Jono would be the final arbiter of that.

"I'm just glad you two came." Another hug. "Also, please tell me you argued with the rep that you should be allowed to go because you'd been flying ships by yourself since you were, like, six or whatever."

Oh, Skywalkers.

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"Oh, you don't want to know the lengths our younger selves went to to get this done," Ender said dryly. "We were very offended."

He'd made use of Ben's distracting counter-hug to compose himself before going in for a hug himself.

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

"We threatened their supervisors and were going to call Jaina," Ben said, nodding.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

One of the reasons Karla always went for Ben first. Well, that and he likely appreciated the near-tackles a bit more than Ender would in his position.

"Oooh, bringing out the big guns," she said gleefully. "I'm picturing it now. Being told that you're too young to go somewhere without adult supervision."

Especially considering that, by ten, Ender was already a general in his own right? Yeeeah, she bet that went over well. And Ben had been well into his training by then, though possibly not as a Jedi.

"Did it get you at Fandom, or back on Shakespeare?"

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"Oh, I try to avoid detours past Fandom these days," Ender said, stepping back after a couple of moments. "So Shakespeare. I'm sure Valentine was laughing herself silly."

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

"She won't be when she realizes I ate her out of ice cream and toppings," Ben said with a little grin.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"...How does this differ from you being big?"

It was a legitimate question!

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"When he's big, he knocks," Ender said.

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

"And I do the dishes after," Ben said. "And don't leave the jar of cherries on the floor."

That would be sticky. Sorry, Val.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I take it you'll be bringing tasty snacks home as a peace offering?" Karla chuckled. "Or are you hoping that the Fandom whimsy is excuse enough to protect you?"

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"Val will live," Ender said. "And if she's really livid, I'll make Ben clean her house."

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

Ben wrinkled up his nose. "Maybe just the kitchen."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

Maybe she'd just pee in their ship?

"If I sent ice cream along with you, what are the odds it would make it to her?" Karla asked.

...She was guessing 'low.'

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"Depends on how likely we are to get stuck in a Portalocity waiting room," Ender said. Which was... very. "Or a yurt."

Slightly less so, but still possible.

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

Ben's cheeks went a little pink at the yurt comment. "And also what flavor it is," he said, trying to cover.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"Yurt?" Karla said, glancing from Ben to Ender and back. "Never mind, I don't even want to know."

Okay, yeah she did. A lot, judging by that blush. But she was being all grownup today, see?

"Unless, of course, you'd prefer to unburden your souls to a caring friend."

...Mostly grownup.

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"No," Ender said dryly.

He narrowly avoided giving Ben a look that read really. Really, did your face have to go there.

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

"No, it's not important," Ben agreed a little hastily.

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"Well, just remember I'm always here to listen," she said, patting Ben on the arm and looking very understanding.

Oh wait. No. That was her amused face. They were so hard to keep track of.

Re: The Coronation

[endsthegame]

"The important thing is we made it here," Ender said, ignoring her amused face and Ben's blushing face and basically everything about their faces. "Sadly, Shakespeare isn't much for luxury goods yet, but we did bring you some local produce... and ice cream."

Re: The Coronation

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "The wine's not quite ready," he said. "but I'll send you some when it is."

Re: The Coronation

[glacial_queen]

"I'm looking forward to it," Karla assured them. "I'll probably give the produce to Cook to see what she can do with it, but I'm keeping the ice cream for myself."

She paused. "Unless I'm supposed to share?"

[endsthegame]

"You don't have to share," Ender said, shooting her a look that was wryly fond. "That's part of the present. Ben even rigged up a portable, lockable cooler-- though that was mostly to get it here."

Since he figured Karla could probably rig up something similar with her Craft.

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "And a good thing, too, because smaller me would have totally eaten the snack if it didn't have a lock on it."

He was just...not going to mention the giant tantrum he'd thrown when he realized he couldn't get to the ice cream.