Continental Breakfast Included

[kitchen_maid]

The King and Queen have a great many parlors at their disposal, ranging from the very grand to somewhat very grand.

And then there is this one, which is generally reserved for the use of the family and their closest personal friends. It is a comfortable, sunlit sort of room, where one may find the children's toys and the Amy's embroidery and Perry's carving projects.

It is also where Amy has instructed her staff to lay out a breakfast for her friends this morning. They were all shown back to their rooms for what was left of the night before after their adventures, to at least attempt to get some rest.

Amy herself is a bit busy at the moment catching up on Official Matters: giving reports to the Deputy Captain of the Palace Guard and the Court Historian, seeing to the palace's new ghost (she's settled him in the Northwest tower, which is, she assures him, a perfectly lovely place to haunt), and reassuring her husband that yes, darling, she really is perfectly all right. She'll be along when she can.

In the meantime, everyone is free to make their way into the parlor in their own time. When they arrive, they will likely find company, and definitely find a table laid with everything the kitchens could find to send up: bread and jam and marmalade, cakes and pastries, eggs and bacon and sausages, a giant bowl of fruit, tea and juice and milk.

Comments

[kitchen_maid]

"Oh, probably having a perfectly delightful time with Rosalind and Stefan at Wrennford.

"We'll send for them to come back this afternoon, probably. Wrennford is only a few miles outside Amber, and Stefan needed to check on things after the earthquake, anyway.

"Gracious, but it feels like it's been weeks since that, doesn't it?"

[cutting_edgex23]

X offers a quick, one-shouldered shrug.

"I did not go to school."

Beat.

"I will ask Norman if he would like it. When he is back. You will be sure not to get too close?"

X does not quite frown, which contrasts with the barely leashed excitement she's got going on.

"He is not always good at paying attention to small things where he does not expect them. In the air."

It's like cars on the highway and bugs, really.

[alsoagreengrass]

"I'll try to avoid the dragon," Scorpius says, laughing.

He won't fly into him, certainly.

Then:

" - You didn't go to school?"

He's just curious.

[cutting_edgex23]

"Good."

X sounds pleased, however. Both by Scorpius' sensible decision-making (in this case), and also by the thought of going dragon-diving again. In company.

Then she pauses, head tilting as she considers how to answer the question.

It is complicated.

So eventually --

"I went for three days. Once. Most people thought I was strange."

So it goes, right?

[alsoagreengrass]

"It does."

Thinking on it now, he's sort of missing Hogwarts andacertainsomeoneatHogwarts. But then -

He's not nearly been gone that long and he's liking the trip. Even with the clockwork agents and earthquakes and all.

"Maybe I'll see them again, before we go?"

[kitchen_maid]

"I think they'd like that.

"And if you don't, you'll just have to come back and visit again."

[noteful]

"True," Meg agrees.

"Even having been here before, and I can safely say I hadn't even considered anything like this happening.

"It's a bit like falling down a rabbit hole and somehow landing Grimm's fairy tales."

[noteful]

"Good morning, Bruce," Meg says.

And then, after a second, she adds, "The plums are very good."

[master_bruce]

'Thanks for the tip.'

He scoops some up, and offers a smile.

'Morning, Meg. How're you feeling today?'

[master_bruce]

'You don't like magic?'

He can't remember her ever specifically saying so before.

[master_bruce]

'Find them other jobs.'

He says it, and immediately checks himself.

'I mean, I'm just talking about my world. Things are obviously different here.'

Royalty is a symbol for people, and he knows all about those. It's probably a lot more complicated when you get down to the logistics of staffing, and whatnot. People have expectations.

[kitchen_maid]

"But where?" Amy asks. "Doing what?

"Directly or indirectly, Perry and I provide some or all of the livelihoods of, oh, easily half the Capitol.

"If we stop, there really aren't enough other jobs for them to take."

She shrugs a little.

"So we probably could get by with a smaller staff, but I'm not sure we should. It's not just about what we need or want."

[noteful]

"Honestly? Like any minute now I'm going to wake up and say to my husband, 'I had the weirdest dream last night . . . '

"Aside from that, and a little tired, I'm good.

"How're you?"

[cutting_edgex23]

"It does not make sense to me," X says. "Magic."

She does not fidget, just takes another grape.

"I do not like when things do not make sense."

Because then it is a lot more difficult to do anything useful.

And X really likes being useful.

[alsoagreengrass]

"And so you quit? Because people thought you were strange?"

Well. Scorpius can sort of relate to that.

He's wanted to quit Hogwarts loads of times for not feeling like he belongs.

[cutting_edgex23]

"No."

X's response is prompt.

"I did not go back because it was not safe."

And after putting her aunt and cousin on a bus for places unknown --

There really was no reason to stick around.

[alsoagreengrass]

"Ah. Well, that is a good reason not to go back then."

[cutting_edgex23]

X shrugs, one-shouldered and quick.

"I do not run anymore."

Beat.

"You like school?"

She's curious.

[alsoagreengrass]

"On some days," Scorpius says, shrugging.

When he likes what the class is studying, anyway.

"Though, it is loads better this year than the past few."

[cutting_edgex23]

X's head tilts, almost imperceptibly.

"I am allowed to ask why?"

[parkerlee]

"Could be romantic."

Parker grins.

"Like E.T."

[parkerlee]

Parker looks impressed at the suggestion, and lifts her tea cup in Laura's direction in a gesture of respect.

"I think you might have hit on the one thing that could have made the whole ting weirder."

[parkerlee]

"I can see that, too," Parker says.

"So....what happens now? Will Perry try to seal that whole place off? Will the Royal Archeology Society go down to excavate?"

[parkerlee]

Parker watches the clean up appreciatively.

"Enough so that I'm not a slobbering incoherent mess."

That's about as much as you can ask some days.

"How about you? Any dreaming of clockwork sheep?"

[noteful]

"I can't say 'romantic' is the first word that comes to mind for E.T."