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Brighton said, “I ought to have asked how your head feels.”

Kaerius blinked and put a hand to the knot above his ear. He shrugged.It hurts, but you were right to do it. Is the physician recovered?He wasn’t surprised when Brighton didn’t understand the question.

“See how the boots feel.”

The prince slipped his feet into the boots with a suppressed grimace, then tied the laces and stood. He walked back and forth across the room.

They are probably as comfortable as boots can be.

“Shall I get a bigger size? Or smaller?”

Kaerius shook his head.Thank you. He smiled, suddenly grateful for this man who had been so unaccountably kind to him, despite his skepticism.What can I learn today to be of service to the princess?

“You might as well take off the boots for now,” Brighton said. “Jill is bringing you a new outfit to wear to lunch. Wear the same trousers and the jacket with gold trim to dinner.”

Brighton spent the next two hours asking Kaerius for more signs he thought important. The Mer prince was charmed by the guard’s quick memory and dedication to this task.

The princess is beautiful.

“The princess…” Brighton frowned. “What about her?”

Beautiful.Kaerius signed it again.

“The princess is beautiful?”

Kaerius nodded, smiling.

The guard leaned forward. “I’m starting to understand your signs a little better. Were you really raised by fish?”

Not exactly. I am a prince of the Mer. We live in the water.

“You used that sign when I asked you whether the boots pinched. Is it like ‘sort of’ or ‘not exactly’?”

Yes!

“Not exactly raised by fish, but something close. Show me the other part again.”

After some time, Kaerius had managed to convey to Brighton his own royal status, the fact that his people lived in the ocean, and that his feet were new. He wasn’t sure exactly how much of this the guard believed, but he felt a surge of elation at having been understood this much.

Along with other words like hope, danger, hear, and trust, Kaerius gave name signs to Jill and the Boravian delegation. Lord Ralph’s name sign designated him by his curly hair. Jill entered just in time to see her name sign, which was derived from the signs indicating thejsound and the sign forrill, a little stream of water.

“Thank you,” Brighton said. He clapped his hands on his knees and stood. “Jill will get you ready for lunch with the princess and Ralph and escort you where you need to go.”

Thank you.

“He seems very sensitive to strong flavors. If you could let him know what to expect at lunch, it might be helpful.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you.” With that, the guard set off to meet the princess before her meeting with the Boravian lord.

Jill spent the following hour on details. She told Kaerius to stand up straight and measured his body in every dimension. She said it was so they could find him better-fitting clothes and perhaps have some made, if he were to stay more than a week. She straightened his jacket, combed his hair, and arranged itin soft waves that fell over the collar of his jacket. Finally, and most reassuringly, she told him about the foods that he would eat at lunch with the princess and her guests, and attempted to describe their tastes for him.

Thank you.

The woman looked him over critically. “You look quite nice,” she said. “I could almost believe you are a foreign prince.”

Kaerius smiled.I am.