fh_trips | The Crown Princess - Monday [Cabins and Lido Deck]

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spring break 2009: crown princess cruise

The Crown Princess - Monday [Cabins and Lido Deck]

It was a beautiful day in the Caribbean! The sun was bright in the cloudless sky, casting no shadows on the open section of the Lido deck: Sunbathers beware. Luckily, the Horizon Court offered umbrellas at some tables for the sun shy.

Near the pools were large lettered signs discouraging guests from diving or jumping into the water due to the lack of depth.

[OOC: Cabin Listing | Ship/Shore Post | Cabins Thread | Pool & Bars | Terrace]

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"And I believe you've met my roommate," Arthur replied, considering her thoughtfully. "I hope Merlin hasn't given you any trouble."

It was absolutely important that he mention that to anyone who spoke of meeting the boy. He was an idiot, after all.

"Your roommate and I spent an evening in the common room," she beamed. "For that matter, I believe Merlin was in my room, which makes it an interesting daisy-chain. Perhaps half the school had changed rooms for the night. No trouble whatsoever; he was delightful. He told me of Albion."

"Thanks for housing Leto in his time of need," Arthur said, with the ragged edges of clear deadpan. "I suppose there's little I can say if Merlin's been delightful."

Incorrigible moron seemed more the word for him. He barely bit down on 'surprising as it may seem'.

"And he would've," he continued, "No doubt."

"You are quite welcome," she said, in a fake-proper tone once more. Alice quite delighted in playing grown-up. "We were discussing his Albion and my England, and how they had some intriguing similarities. He knew some of the same town names I did. And where is Merlin? I would have expected you to be sending him about on errands, lest he enjoy himself."

"I'm not opposed to Merlin enjoying himself," Arthur said, and didn't quite catch the roll of his eyes. He managed playing the adult quite well if other people were being adults at him, but... "As long as he doesn't loiter when he has duties to tend to. As for Albion, from what I've gathered, the two lands are practically identical."

Which was... something he was both troubled and comforted by.

"And you would never invent duties because he seemed to be doing too much loitering?" she asked. As innocently as she could manage, which was not terribly. "He didn't know Oxford, but I told him it was in the south, near Kent and Sussex and Surrey and so forth. It might be some variety of a parallel world, you know. Or perhaps Albion was in fashion as a name in your time. It crops up now and again for us, but it's mostly poetic."

"I don't invent duties," Arthur said, with a clear hint of offense. "It's just that his worse actions sometimes coincide with the stables needing a good mucking-out."

This was all more important than talking about Albion, clearly. Or perhaps his mind simply hadn't managed to accept all of this parallel world lark yet.

"Cause and effect," she agreed easily, letting the other matter fall aside. "He loiters because he wishes to avoid stable-mucking, or you assign him stable-mucking because he loiters. Perhaps both at once, which would be a particularly vicious cycle."

"Or he's just an idiot with a fondness for having vegetables thrown at him," Arthur said, dryly. "And horse dung."

He was so sophisticated, really.

"One would think you could avoid the middle-man, in that matter," Alice mused. "Keep vegetables on your person, hurl them at him at your leisure."

(Was dead zomg, am back?)

He shot her a look that clearly implied she was at least partly mad. "Now why would I do that," Arthur said, "If I can find perfectly good people to do it for me who might enjoy it just as much?"

[[ welcome back to the living! ]]

"Efficiency?" Alice asked, lifting her shoulders in an idle shrug. "It would save a great deal of time, you know. Though it's quite generous of you to wish to share that joy with others. Quite noble."

(TY!)

"It's the stocks," Arthur replied, "I'm fairly sure there's a reason why no one's ever bothered to establish any hard and fast rules. Efficiency isn't it."

"Nor is enjoyment," Alice agreed. "One would think you'd have to find a new punishment for Merlin, if he delights in the stocks. Though I am loathe to suggest that, as more severe punishments are usually quite unpleasant."

"It keeps him out of trouble," Arthur said, off-handedly. It wasn't nearly as idly meant, for reasons Arthur wasn't quite sure of and had gone through great pains to stay oblivious to.

Alice raised an eyebrow, at that. "Does it?" she asked. "It would be quite difficult to make trouble, whilst imprisoned in the stocks. But if he's causing mischief just to be punished, then I'm not certain how that balances itself out."

"I really don't think he causes mischief to be punished," Arthur replied, shooting her a little look. "But rather he just attracts trouble and does his best to give me a headache while he's at it."

"Perhaps he intends to keep you on your toes," Alice noted, oddly serious. "It doesn't do to let one's guard slip, especially when one is royal."

Else someone might usurp the throne.

"I think I'm aware of that," Arthur said, dryly.

More than averagely aware, with all the sorcerers attacking Camelot lately, and that was bringing him to places he'd really rather not return to.

He needed another drink.

"I should hope so," Alice said easily. "I've known far too many royals who weren't."

Arthur fiendishly hoped Father hadn't had Morgana executed in his absence.

"But there's also the risk," he said, "of getting too paranoid."

It wasn't undermining his father if no names were named.

Edited 2009-02-25 17:35 (UTC)

"There is," she nodded. "Everyone who displeases you, all who might be plotting, off with their heads. Which soon leaves you with little populace, if you're allowed to run amok. And if you aren't, then you'll find you have no authority at all."

No one feared the Queen of Hearts. The King pardoned any she imprisoned.

"You sound like you've got some experience," Arthur said, doing well not to show anything as wary as he felt. "Do you deal with royalty often?"

"That would depend entirely on how one defines 'often,'" she said. "I was a pawn, and then a queen, and then exiled from my own land. But that was a long time ago."

She seemed a bit... young.

"Right," Arthur said, a little bit of his wariness slipping into that one syllable, and he raised his glass to his mouth to take a sip before he said anything else. "That's either a good story, or a good riddle," he tried at last.

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