The Queen's Chambers, Sidra, Glacia, Sunday Afternoon (Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

It had been a long and miserable two weeks. Just ask anyone who had had the misfortune of dealing with their Queen. Karla was a terrible patient; somehow managing to be a tyrant even when she was coughing so hard she could barely speak. It was a good thing her nasty chest cold had also kept her asleep a great deal, or it was possible she would have been overthrown by her own Court.

Now, however, she was on the mend. Which, on the positive side, meant she was feeling almost human again--and behaving that way. On the negative side, it also meant she was bored out of her mind. Morton and Julian had finally made good their escape after their third straight hour of playing cradle, her lunch lay untouched because she was tired of soup and toast, and the next person who came in to make her take another foul-tasting brew was going to get kicked in the face.

There was clearly only one thing to do. Call people and whine about how bored she was. Also, check up on anyone who had gotten tangled up in the latest bout of Fandom crazy, but mostly the whining and bored thing

Let's see. Who to call first?

[Open for phone calls, visitors, and them what live here. If you think Karla would have called you, she did!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Some people didn't need to be called. They simply cleared up a slot on their busy schedule, bought themselves a portal ticket, and stopped by for a visit.

While wearing a kilt. Jono would thank people to ignore that part. He randomly wound up wearing the bloody things more often than he'd care to admit.

//Knock knock.//

Because it would be rude to just walk in. Or... something.

[glacial_queen]

"Did you bring something to eat that isn't invalid food?"

Such a sweet girl.

[furnaceface]

//... Define 'invalid food,' and then I'll figure out if I need to head back to the kitchen,// Jono replied, looking down at the plate in his hand.

Steak and potatoes, Karla. Because he loved you.

And because he loved steak.

And yes, he'd had to argue with a handful of Healers about it on the way to her room, too. It was a wonder they didn't try to kill him in his sleep when he was in Sidra.

[endsthegame]

Well. His Fandom phone was ringing. "Wiggin here," Ender answered, just to stave off any use of his first name one way or the other.

"You're going to regret that," Jane sing-songed in his other ear.

[glacial_queen]

"Wiggin, huh?" Karla sounded amused. "Well, this is Her Majesty, Queen of Glacia, who is also too good for first names."

Just be glad her throat was still healing from two weeks of nigh-constant coughing. It stopped her from squealing 'Ender!' into the phone at high volume.

[endsthegame]

"Sorry," Ender said easily. "First names have become a little more complicated since the last time we spoke."

He took a head start and began ignoring Jane's running commentary early.

[glacial_queen]

They almost certainly talked about it, Jono. In fact, Karla wouldn't be surprised if they had a dart board with his picture on it.

"Anything that's mushy or watered down," Karla grumped. "Or toast. If it's toast, you can just turn around and keep on walking."

[glacial_queen]

Probably for the best, Ender.

Karla was going to raise an eyebrow at that. "Complicated? Maybe I've just had too much cough syrup in too short amount of time, but how did your name get complicated? Are you incognito or something?"

She paused and then leapt to the conclusion that any Fandomite would. "Are you in danger? Are people after you? Do you need sanctuary?"

...Forgive her if her offer of sanctuary came with excited plans to get a few guest suites ready for them.

[furnaceface]

//I can say with at least some certainty that what I have in my hand is none of those things,// Jono reported. //And as an added bonus, I'll even let you mock my wardrobe at will, today.//

Because yeah, kilt.

[endsthegame]

"We don't need sanctuary," Ender said lightly, "Though thank you for offering. It's just that my old nickname seems to have dropped in esteem lately. Going by my full name staves off a lot of fuss."

To put it mildly.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack had absolutely nothing to do today, so it was really no surprise he picked up the phone. He saw it was Karla calling and answered with a complaint:

"The island put me in a kilt."

[glacial_queen]

"What are you wearing beneath it?"

SHE WAS ASKING FOR REASONS!

[glacial_queen]

It was a good thing Ender couldn't see her pouting at the phone. Because she was. Not that she wanted them to be in danger, but y'know, a visit might be nice.

"Your name dropped..." she was trying to figure out how to parse that. "...Did Peter do something?"

Her biases were showing again. Sorry, Ender.

[bitten_notshy]

"The traditional kilt undergarments," Jack answered with a smirk Karla could probably hear. "Why do you ask?"

[endsthegame]

"Peter's been dead for forty years, give or take," Ender said mildly. "No, this one is all me."

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh..." Not that she would have refrained otherwise, but it was always good when Jono knew what to expect. "I guess you can come in then. I could use a good laugh."

Much gracious. So wow.

[furnaceface]

Glacia's monarch, ladies and gentlemen.

//Well, it's good you'll let me in,// Jono decided, opening the door and stepping into the room. //I'd hate to be left out here in the hall, all alone with my steak and potatoes and kilt.//

Enjoy, Karla. He was even striking a pose for you just inside the doorway.

[glacial_queen]

At seeing him, Karla squealed and clapped her hands. "Steak!" she gleed.

Sorry, Jono.

[furnaceface]

Hey, squealing over steak beat mocking the Englishman about his kilt, at least.

//Steak,// he agreed, making his way across the room with the plate in hand. //Who's your favourite, hm?//

[glacial_queen]

"Right," she said, before being interrupted by a bout of coughing. "Right. I forget that your time goes so much faster than even mine."

Which was hard enough in and of itself to remember.

"So what happened? Last time we talked, you were finally leaving your position as Shakespeare's beloved governor. I can't picture you going that far in the opposite direction to make your name some kind of dirty word."

[glacial_queen]

A mutual audible smirking, yes.

"Don't you remember, Jack?" Karla drawled, leaning back against her pillows. "I'm a stickler for tradition."

[endsthegame]

"We've touched down on two planets since," Ender reported dutifully. "We're still on the second. It's a place called Hijra - Alai founded it."

And was still on it, much to Ben's displeasure, but he'd keep that one to himself until he found a reason not to. "We'll probably be moving on in a couple of months, but we'll detour past Fandom first."

Also for reasons he wasn't going to share with Karla. This would be informative.

[glacial_queen]

All in good time, Jono. All in good time.

"You are! You are!" Karla said, having upgraded from clapping to making grabby motions at the plate. "Best Jono! Favorite Jono! Ooooh, did you fry up onions in the potatoes, too?!"

Super-best-ultra Jono!

"Gimme!"

[bitten_notshy]

"Silly of me to think you might feel any other way," Jack replied, and that smirk had broadened into a grin. "Would asking your opinion on corsets get me into trouble?"

[glacial_queen]

And Darkness forbid we should be anything close to 'informative'!

"If you visit Fandom and I don't get a phone call telling me when, I will...dammit, I don't have a good threat for this. Think of a suitable threat and then pretend I said it."

Yeah. That'd show him.

"So, what, you're going by Andy now?" She highly doubted it.