A Little Girl-Talk

“I know what will cheer you up, Abbie... a story about the palace!”

“What!?”

“Oh, yeah, Frannie showed up at Temple this morning in a royal carriage. Eee he he he.”

“Eeee, he he, aghhh, don’t tickle me. You're getting me wet, plus how can I tell the story while I'm laughing?"

"Sorry."

“I knew it! Okay, let’s hear how Chaucer came and swept you away to the Royal Palace. ”

"Then yes, I will regale you with the tale, or at least all the decent parts. While Optimism gets ready.”

“No, you will skip the boring parts and go straight to the gory details!”

“Alright, alright, Oh Gods, I almost forgot all about what happened after I finished homework and before Chaucer got there. Beans showed up, behaved quite strangely, didn’t say much really, and then ran off when Chaucer walked through the door. Which I thought was especially strange since everyone always tries to waylay us, getting a few words in with him.”

“Oh, so he finally came around to try asking you out. He probably thought that while Matt was gone to Harmonian Isle, it would be the best time there would ever be to test the waters."

"That's a good point. Matt couldn't say much if you had already been out together, but he wouldn't be having it if Beans pulled that move right in front of him.”

“What! Abbie, you already knew he liked me? And Opt, how did you know anything about this?”

"I don't know, I have eyes?"

“Exactly, I think Tristan has a minor crush on you, too. Argento and Aisley have had something between them for years, which you also seem to have missed, or more likely ignored. Tristan is just so... ugh, what's the word?

"Moody?"

"That works, thank you, Optimism. You really are oblivious, Francine. You never suspected anything?”

“I can accept Beans, because, obviously. But not Tristan! Because he just, ummm... well?”

“I know I haven't been going out with you that long, but I have been at Defenders all Term, and from what I saw and heard, he and Matt stopped being friends over how poorly Matt was treating you. I wouldn't rule out some deeper affection being at the root of it.”

"You know I hate to agree with Optimism, but when she agrees with me, it's so much easier. Listen to what she's saying, Frannie."

“No, stop, no more of that, I was telling the story. If you are all done hearing about it, before we even get there, then I bow to you."

"No! No, no, please, do go on."

"So we went back to the Palace, Andross swaggered off to his chambers, or wherever, and we went to Chaucer’s. It was beautiful; there were all of these really interesting art pieces from around the empire. If he decorated the rooms himself, I'm very impressed. Prisc would love it in there. She would transform into a museum curator and start babbling about where this came from or what special technique was used on that."

"Yes, yes, the walls were fascinating. Now, let's move away from the walls. What were the beds like?"

"Ugh, I haven't gotten there yet. Lunch was already set out for us, he showed me the drawing room, and the library... and the billiards room."

"Oh, come on!"

"BUT when we walked past the bedroom, we just sort of…”

“Fell into bed, curiously and suddenly naked, and had your way with each other? Raw la la gahhhhh”

“Ahhhh hahaha ha ha gods stop it Abs. Oh, look, you're smearing your makeup... that would be no-ish.”

“That’s a yes. Ahh ha, that’s such a yes, did you finally, you know, ehhh?”

“What’s gotten into you? I thought you were the Future Duchess of Zillain. What Duchess do you know who talks like that?"

"ME, oh, and Viv's mom, now spill."

"Ha Ha Ha, I suppose you are right. Not exactly, you know how I like to ease into things. All I will say is we were glad lunch had been set out. I was half-starved by the time we returned.”

“If you really want to cheer me up, I just have one question.”

“Fine, what?”

“You know, what’s under those royal robes? More importantly, how well does he use it?”

“Ah, Abbie, I don’t think I can say that.”

“Oh, please, please! For a man, any publicity is good publicity. Plus, she doesn't even care. Now spill.”

“Fine, he's a soldier, so... he's very fit. Mmm, the strength has set into his body. Gods, it’s intoxicating. He knew what he was doing clearly, but he took his time and made me feel really special.”

“Awwww, that’s so sweet, you're even blushing. Now, just to be clear, intoxicating means BIG, right?”

“What!? NO! Gods."

"No? Oh, you poor thing."

"No, I’m not saying it isn’t, that would be insulting, but those are your words, not mine. I don't want to go into detail, would you want Usher describing you to his friends? Actually, can’t we change the subject to your dalliances with Usher or Richter? How do you always avoid giving the gory details?”

“Yes, I count that as good publicity. Ugh, that reminds me Richter is on his way to apologize, so we had better be out the door. I want to be gone when he arrives.”

“Yeah, right, you would destroy him. Why don’t you want to see Richter? What about his apology? Or more importantly, his gift?”

“Oh no, avoiding contact is the clearest way of declining the first offer. Don’t think for a second I don’t have my spies waiting to check to see what he brought. If he doesn’t bring me something better at my first meeting with him, instant denial; the negotiations shall continue. If he doesn’t show up…”

“Wow, you’ve added new steps to this process, Abs. Did Usher go through all of this making up for his betrayal?”

“Yes, and he didn’t complain, because he knew what he had done. Richter will be equally lucky to get a second chance.”

“SO let me get this straight, you expect Richter to show up with more gifts tomorrow than he has today, and if he doesn’t show up today, it’s all over for him, no more questions?”

“Yes, that’s about the size of it.”

“Is this a general rule? Francine, if we had a fight, would you expect that of me?”

“No! Of course not. That’s just Abbie’s way. She is a very proud woman, and once that pride has been struck, it takes a lot to repair the damage. ”

K.B. Silver

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I chose to use characters from my story series to give me a solid foundation for strong dialogue. This is an excerpt from a chapter in the third story arc, which I am currently writing: Francine's first school break.