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Posted on November 4, 2012 at 06:34:11 PM by a r t h u r
 It was with sympathy that Arthur received Tsi rebuffs, realising that something inside the deity had reached the end of its tether and snapped. Not for the first time however, the King also felt a new surge of anger directed at Lorraine. He was not a man given easily over to hate or spite, but increasingly he was finding both feelings were becoming increasingly difficult to quash where the Russian Original was concerned. A King learned how to act when he hands were tied, learned to appease his conscience as events played out that could have been avoided if it had not been for the bigger picture. The problem in this case however was that, on this occasion, Arthur was restricted by the exact opposite. He was not playing the cards of a King, he was acting in the way of millions of fathers before him, each move he made was made with the safety of his remaining son at the foremost of his mind. His own frustration was increased in the knowledge that Tsi would probably have understood, he was not an unreasonable sort, but Tsi had other preoccupations. The safety of one nine-year-old boy, Prince or no, on some obscure little world, was never going to be as high on Tsi’s list of priorities as it was on Arthur’s. It was a mess. The whole business was a mess. “Know then,” Arthur responded gravely, understanding obvious in his eyes as Tsi rebuffed him as a liar, “that I am sorry for it. You do not know me as well as you might, but I trust you know me enough to realise that that much, at least, is true. I would never lightly block the road to justice without good cause.” Was that true? No sooner was it out of his mouth than Arthur felt a want to retract it. Did his reasons really count as a good cause? An understandable cause, certainly, a serious cause, yes indeed, but a good one? Could something so selfish be good? Another bite of anger, if anyone had earned the right to be selfish, just once, and for the sake of a child, then surely it was him? The king sighed. A mess indeed. “I understand that,” the King replied, as Tsi explained about the difficulties involved with interaction with any of the originals, “but I must request your indulgence in this matter.” Lorraine, he was determined, would not be the guardian of Shaman for so long as he was King. She had already proven herself to be callous, and petty, and how on earth could he be expected to work with a woman who Arthur still blamed for the death of his son? It might not have been rational, but, in the beginning, it had made it easier. It was just human, and the King had still been human for longer than he had been fairy. How was Tsi to know that Arthur had once been father to two sons instead of one? How was he supposed to know that Gawain was more than just a name, assigned to a geographical feature out of...what? Nostalgia of a life well-lived? Arthur had lost children before, but the injustices seemed great this time. At least he had seen the others become men, and, he was determined he would see Tristan become the same. “I will accept anyone you could recommend, except for Lorraine...” Arthur frowned, “master race?” he mused, trying the words against his tongue. “I have heard the phrase in Shaman before, and I am familiar with the concept.” He scanned Tsi’s face with acute interest in the following moments, “I can understand why it came to mind.” The King’s gut reaction to Tsi’s next question was, out of an affection for Thoth, to avoid giving a direct answer again. However, on this occasion, he felt guilty enough about the run-around he had been giving Tsi for practically the entire meeting, and relented slightly as a result. “I cannot offer you much in regards to Aura’s relation to Poppy, beyond the fact that I never got an impression of any closeness there. She was however a good mother to her son, or, at least, as good as circumstances would allow her to be. It has not been easy for Thoth, but she would have much cause to be proud of him if she were still with us.”  |
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