Of the sea, the land and the sky...
Breccan indicated his leave for Wynn and Syr Aldebrand to retire with a wave of his hand and a nod, "I will have supper sent to your rooms," he stated.
Once they had withdrawn with a young serving girl to guide them to their quarters, Breccan rose and walked out onto the massive terrace and summoned Rhagarth with a soft mental call. There was a sound like a thunderclap as the great dragon launched herself from some unseen post nearby, circled overhead and then landed gracefully and softly for one so large.
Breccan stepped to her side and lay his hand on the side of her face when she had lowered it so their eyes to meet, ‘We have much work to do in order to settle this affair,’ he conveyed the message in the Ddraig’s mindspeech, a form of telepathic communication that the Drakeri shared with the dragons.
‘There is,’ Rhagarth agreed.
‘First of all,’ Breccan said, turning his eyes to the sky, ‘You must find Gruudux and impress on him the importance of behaving himself. In fact, in many ways, Wynn will be hostage to that good behavior. He cannot fly off in a sulk.’
Rhagarth rumbled her assent and prepared to launch while Breccan turned back inside to take up quill and paper. He would sup alone in this room while he worked to head off more trouble than Claen Gael had seen in nearly one-hundred years.
The serving girl, who was as blonde-haired and blue-eyed as everybody else in this vast mansion-cum-castle, it seemed, and who led Sir Aldebrand and his wife through the corridors, looked a little afraid of either one or both of them: or maybe it was the ungodly combination of the two that gave the girl the collywobbles. But eventually the wench, whose name was Angharad, had to ask a question, and so braved to open her mouth. She spoke in the same barbaric, fennic version of Gaelic as did Wynn.
"Wyt ti'n dau yn cysgu yn yr un gwely?"
Wynn looked a little discomfited, but managed a dignified "Wrth gwrs. Rydyn ni'n briod." back, before turning and explaining to Aldebrand "She wants to know if we will be sleeping together. I told her 'of course!', as we are man and wife." she said.
The girl raised her eyebrows. To be fair, she needed to know this, to know where to properly lodge them. Feeling that she had survived asking one question, she evidentially felt emboldened enough to ask another. This time she addressed it directly to Aldebrand, even though it must have been clear that he did not fully comprehend her foreign tongue.
"A yw'n wir fod gan bendefigion dynol wraig-yn-aros i'w mynychu pa le bynnag y maent yn mynd?"
"Nac ydw!" answered Wynn for him.
The maid looked sullen.
"The silly little beggar is trying to get to come to Brydd with us." Wynn sniffed. What the girl had actually asked the human lord is whether it was true that Human Noblewomen (by which she meant Bryddian noblewomen) always had a lady-in-waiting in attendance when they traipsed about.
Notwithstanding Wynn's short dismissal of the question, the girl flashed Aldebrand a smile, while Wynn glowered.
A Flawed Plan Executed Quickly and with Confidence is Better than a Perfect Plan Enacted Too Late.
Studying one's enemies was a wisdom Aldebrand and House Salain had embraced, and that included learning the language of likely rivals. Unfortunately, it had all been theoretical work drawn from books and accounts of interactions. That, and the secondhand tutelage of traders who often only learned enough of the language to name a price for their wares. As such, he was only able to ferret out one of four words the girl spoke, and even then his poor grammar often left him confused as to whether the servant was speaking of him, of Wynn, or of an inanimate object.
Fortunately, Wynn sorted out the meaning for him.
"You'll have to spend some time each day sharing your tongue with me," he told Wynn, realizing his grasp of the language needed substantial bolstering.
"But yes, someone of your station should have servants accompany you. And if your status is akin to a Knight, perhaps also someone to act as a squire. That would be especially helpful if you intend to participate in the Tourney." Aldebrand judged that such a thing would invite both controversy and interest. But the court seemed to like such things, so that was probably good.
He supposed he'd meet the Princess again. He'd have to remember to read his words out in his mind before speaking them aloud, lest he offend her once more.
"If you like that girl, bring her. I'll see to her pay. And one or two others besides, if you like. Do you have any noble relatives junior to your station who might enjoy waiting on you? You should have a confidant near to your rank, but subordinate to it, so that you can gossip about courtly things and use her as an agent to probe for intelligence. I have seen it done many times. The royal court is like an assortment of national factions vying for power. They seem to forget we are all of one Kingdom and are always seeking advantage over one another."
It was impolitic of him to speak ill of his own nation, but he had never been very good at editing his opinions.
"Wynn... I know you have been adopted by a powerful man, but I remain largely ignorant of how to describe your position in ways a Bryddian would understand. You will meet my parents, most likely, on the passage out of here. You will be meeting nobles at ports along the way. You will be announced at court. There are people whose whole job it will be to announce you properly.
What should be said of your Gaelic social and military rank? What does it mean to be adopted by Lord Breccan? What does it mean to serve in your cohort of Dragonriders? To work in your prestigious unit?
Do your people even have such things as Knights and Nobility? I must find ways to translate your world in terms my world will understand."
@[Stormwolfe]