To say that Ratja and Mrs Tibbs were surprised when Mausinger appeared in the door to the Servant's Station that evening was an understatement.

"Good heavens, Your Majesty!" Mrs Tibbs exclaimed.

Mausinger smiled good naturedly. "Good evening, Mrs Tibbs." His smile grew in strength when he turned to her. "Ratja. I hope I did not startle you both."

"Good evening, Your Majesty," they chorused as they both curtsied. "I was not expecting you to have materialised in the doorway by the time I'd turned round," Mrs Tibbs explained to Mausinger's amusement. "What brings you to the Servant's Station at this hour?"

"I seem to have found myself with some free time tomorrow. So I was hoping that I would be able to steal Ratja away from you, Mrs Tibbs."

Mrs Tibbs smiled warmly. "But of course, Your Majesty. We can manage without her for one day."

"Are you sure about that, Mrs Tibbs?" Ratja asked. "Even on such short notice?"

"Of course I'm sure, Ratja. You go off an enjoy yourself. And you as well, Your Majesty."

They both smiled and chorused. "Thank you, Mrs Tibbs."

"You're welcome, now go on, off you with now," she said making shooing gestures. "And good night."

"Good night, Mrs Tibbs." Ratja gleefully took Mausinger's arm and allowed him to escort her to the entrance hall. "So what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that it would be nice to get out of the castle for the day. Perhaps a wander around the Summerlands if the weather permits? It has been somewhat gloomy of late."

"A wander sounds lovely. Shall we take a picnic?"

"After last time, perhaps we should take dinner as well?" That had Ratja giggling. He stopped and took her hands in his. "Meet me here in the entrance hall after breakfast. We shall see what the weather has to say about our plans for the day."

"It's a date then," she said and Mausinger smiled. "Good night, Your Majesty."

For some reason his smile faded a little after she had said that, but before she could ask him if anything was wrong, it had returned. "Good night… Ratja."

Ratja was waiting for him in the entrance hall after breakfast as agreed. He smiled when their gazes met only for it fall off his face the moment he took notice of the pattering sound echoing through the hall. He looked up. Rain was pelting the glass roof and the sky beyond was dark and gloomy.

"Oh no," he said. "Oh tell me it is not."

Ratja gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid so, Your Majesty. It just started."

"I see." He hummed in thought. "What do you suppose the chances are that this is naught but a light shower and it will pass momentarily?"

"Not good from the looks of that sky."

He sighed again. "Yes, I thought the same. It seems our stroll around the Summerlands will have to be postponed until another day."

"Nevermind, Your Majesty. I suppose we will just have to find something else to do."

Mausinger pulled his gaze away from the skylight and looked at her. He stroked his goatee as he made a decision then held out a hand. "Ratja. Come with me."

She blinked, looking puzzled before taking the hand. "Of course." Her puzzlement only grew as he lead her towards the throne room. He sat down on the steps leading up to his throne and gestured for her join him. So she did. "Your Majesty…?" He held up a hand and she trailed off in confusion. They sat there in silence until Ratja began to realise that it wasn't in total silence. Rain pelting the glass roof of the throne room filled the place with a soft pattering noise, just like in the entrance hall. She looked up, allowing the sound to wash over and smiled. "It's so soothing," she said.

"Yes," he agreed. "It is. I am not fond of the rain, as you can imagine. But I do enjoy sitting here and listening to it fall upon the glass. As you say, it is quite soothing."

She hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thank you for sharing this with me, Your Majesty."

"You are quite welcome, Ratja." They sat together in a comfortable silence, enjoying the sound of the rain falling. Eventually Mausinger broke the silence but hesitantly. "Ratja, I…"

"Yes?"

"There is something I would have you do for me."

"Of course, Your Majesty. What is it?"

"You have known me long enough that I would have you call me Otto."

She pulled away with a light frown. "Your Majesty, I couldn't possibly…" She trailed off when his expression became pained.

"I understand your reluctance, Ratja as once upon time I was in your position. But what I did not know as chancellor was that the burden of king can be quite… isolating… Those who once called me Otto no longer do. I cannot say if it is because I damaged those friendships with my past actions, or because they no longer feel comfortable addressing me by my given name now that I am king. So now those who do only amount to a small handful of people, and I suppose it must be because they are rulers themselves." He gripped her hand. "So Ratja, please. At least when we're alone, call me by my name."

Ratja had a sad expression on her face as she said. "I hadn't realised it was like that, but… now that you've said it, it seems obvious that it would be. If everyone around me would only ever address me as 'Your Majesty', I could imagine feeling very lonely after a while."

She gently placed her hand on top of his and smiled. "So if it's that important to you, then… I will… Otto."

He gave her the biggest and happiest smile she had ever seen. "Thank you, Ratja." And she couldn't help but laugh. They went back to sitting together in silence. Eventually Mausinger spoke up a second time. "Is there anything you would like to do today, Ratja? I do not imagine you would want to sit here with me all day."

She pulled away again looking thoughtful. "Well. If it's a rainy day on my day off, usually I like to curl up with a good book and read."

"An admirable activity," he replied. "One that I often engage in myself."

She smiled at that. "But I don't know if it's something we could do together."

Mausinger hummed in thought and stroked his goatee. "Perhaps not… Unless we found a book we were both interested in and read a chapter aloud to each other."

It was Ratja's turn to hum in thought. "What about you? Is anything you would like to do?"

"… Well…"

"Yes?" She asked patiently.

"I suppose… there may be something…"

"What is it?"

"My father enjoyed painting as a hobby when he still lived. I never had much care for it in my youth but… After I became chancellor I began having thoughts of entertaining the idea of trying my hand, but never found the time. I suppose I may have been seeking a way to reconnect with his memory; He died many years before I took office you see."

Ratja squeezed his hand and gave him a sorrowful look as she said, "I'm sorry to hear that, Your Ma-Otto."

But he just smiled. "I must confess that of late, now that I am king, the desire has begun to intensify… But I would not know where to begin." He went wide eyed when Ratja stood up and held out her hands to him.

"I think I do." He blinked, then took her hands and allowed her to pull him to his feet. "The library should have books on painting, so we could start there."

"The castle library or the public library?"

"Let's go find out."

Mausinger pulled a book off the bookshelf and flipped through its contents as Ratja perused another. He hmmed to himself before putting it back and selecting another. "This is no good, Ratja. All the books we have in the castle are about paintings, or the history of art rather than how to paint…" He trailed off, accidentally becoming absorbed in the history of one of the paintings that was currently hanging on one of the castle's walls.

"We'll probably have better luck with the public library then."

"Yes…" He agreed absently. "But that would require us to brave the rain in order to pay the place a visit."

Ratja giggled. "It wasn't raining that hard, Your-Otto."

"I have an affinity with the fire element, Ratja. So I have always found unwelcome contact with water to be particularly unpleasant."

She was surprised at that. "Does it… does it hurt you then?"

"Water spells do of course but unspelled water, well… I would not say that it is painful so much as it feels… wrong… Though a nice hot bath is the exception to that rule however."

"How fascinating, I hadn't realised. The thought of being able to use magic has always been so wonderful to me that I hadn't thought about there being any downsides to it. Does this mean that… that you don't want to go to the library then? I'd understand if that was the case."

Mausinger heaved a sigh as he replaced the book. "I just wish I had paid more attention to my father the one time he tried to teach me to paint, but at the time I… I was just not interested."

Ratja squeezed his hand. "You shouldn't blame yourself for that… Otto. You didn't know you were going to lose him so soon. And you didn't have to share in his love of painting, either. Nor do you have to now. But if you really want to, then… Then I think you should give it a try."

He turned to her with a smile. "Yes. You are right of course. And today is a good day to attempt my first painting is it not?"

She smiled back. "Yes, it is."

"If you would accompany me to the public library then, Ratja."

"But of course, Your Majesty." They left the library arm in arm.

Despite her earlier understanding, Ratja still struggled to suppress her giggles as she watched Mausinger hesitate in the castle's entrance as he examined the sky with trepidation. It was still raining and the sky was still overcast. "I could… I could Travel us down…Though I cannot Travel us directly to the library, more's the pity, but it will at least save us from enduring the rain overlong."

"If you think it best… Your Majesty." He took her hand and she felt the peculiar sensation of being whisked away on a river of energy. When she opened her eyes again, they were standing in Dell with the rain beating down on them. Mausinger shrank in on himself and pulled his sleeveless overcoat over his head as he began emitting a high pitched whine of discomfort. Then he seized her hand and they sprinted to the public library. He dived through the door with a shrill squeal that had Ratja in hysterics and then shuddered before shaking the raindrops from his hair and fur and then his overcoat. "You may well laugh, Ratja but I did not enjoy that."

"F-forgive me, Otto," she wheezed. "But-but that was the funniest thing I've ever seen."

He gave her a wry smile in response. "Happy to be of amusement, my dear."

The Librarian, a tan and dark brown grimalkin curtsied when they approached. "Your Majesty. This is an unexpected pleasure. How can I help you today?"

He looked around. The library was mercifully empty besides the Librarian herself so there had been no one else to witness that undignified display. "I wish to procure some books on painting for those who have never painted before."

"Right this way." She lead them to the arts and crafts section of the library. "You should be able to find something to your liking in here, Your Majesty. Or perhaps you may find something else that catches your fancy."

He smiled. "Thank you."

She curtsied again. "Your Majesty." And then left them to it.

"What sort of painting was your father into?" Ratja asked.

"Landscape painting."

"Is that what you want to do?"

"I am not sure." He picked out a book and flipped through it. "Though I have heard that watercolours can be quite difficult."

"I probably wouldn't start with that, if that's true."

"Nor would I." He picked out another book and flipped through that. "Portrait painting seems like it could be simplistic enough… or…" He trailed off and frowned as he read something. "Perhaps not…" Ratja chuckled. After skimming through a further three books, he exhaled a sigh. "I cannot seem to decide."

She put a hand on his shoulder. "Then don't. Why not start by trying everything, or anything you like and then decide which you like best?"

He smiled. "You have sound advice as always, Ratja. Sometimes I think that your talents are wasted as a maid."

"I'm proud of what I do, Otto."

"Of course. And you should be. You helped carry the castle through a difficult time after all. And you have served me faithfully ever since."

"Thank you, Otto. That's very kind of you to say."

"And it is all true." Her smile became radiant after that and they shared a moment of gazing deep into each other's eyes. Mausinger was the first to break the spell. "But, back to the matter at hand, I will… I will take your advice." He pulled out a handful of books off the shelf and stacked them one on top of the other. "I believe these will suffice." He took the books back to the counter to get them checked out.

"Will that be all today, Your Majesty?" The Librarian asked.

"Yes. Thank you."

"Very good. Please return the books on or before the date I have stamped here. If you find that you wish to renew them, we will discuss it then."

"Understood."

"Enjoy the rest of the day, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, and you." He picked up the books from the counter and moved away. As he disappeared them into his arms band, Ratja pulled open the door so they could peek outside. It was still raining. He grimaced. "I cannot Travel us back to the castle directly, so… there will be more running involved…"

Ratja was chuckling already. "I'm ready when you are."

He huffed a sigh and took her hand again. Once more she felt the same sensation of being swept along by a river of energy. When they rematerialised Mausinger took off with a squeal that slowly rose in pitch as he pulled his overcoat over his head, and Ratja followed laughing. He breathed a sigh of relief when they were back in the entrance hall and under the protection of the glass roof.

"I'm sorry but… That is never going to get old," she confessed.

He pulled a face. "I am sure." Droplets of water went in all directions as he shook the rain from his hair, fur and overcoat. The guards stationed at the doorway recoiled and Ratja laughed and held up her hands. "Now then, I have had quite enough rain for one day, Ratja."

"Well let's hope you don't have to go out again, Your Majesty."

"Indeed. Shall we get to painting?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I've not drawn or painted before, but I'm willing try."

"Then fear not, Ratja. We are both in that boat together."

Giggling pulled Mausinger out of his painting. He took a moment to massage his forehead, not realising that he had been frowning intently at his work. "Ratja, whatever is the matter over there?"

"It's my painting, Otto. It… it's terrible."

"Well that is to be expected for your first attempt and I assure you that mine is probably no better."

"I know but… but look at it, Otto."

So he did. "Well I… Is that supposed to be me?" His delivery sent Ratja into peals of laughter.

"I-I tried."

He folded his arms. "So I see."

"Let me see yours."

"Before I show you let me say this. Do not judge me too harshly, Ratja, I…" She was giggling already. "Just as you said… I tried." He turned the easel around and Ratja wheezed. And then came the snortling. "In our defence," he said over her laughter. "Neither of us have ever drawn or painted before. So with that in consideration I think we both did quite well."

"Oh, Otto," she sobbed. "If I showed these paintings to you without any context. Would you honestly believe that two adults painted these?"

Mausinger tried to twist the smile off his face but the wretched thing wouldn't leave. "No," he confessed at length. "I would not."

"Neither would I!" He found himself beginning to succumb to Ratja's giggles despite his attempt to suppress them. "Otto, you… you look like… you look like a deformed soft toy."

He laughed. "Well you, Ratja… you look like a malformed marshmallow."

After a fit of laughter which saw her doubled over and clinging to her easel for support, she said. "And you looked so serious painting it too."

He chuckled. "I did not mean to become so… focused… But painting is much harder than I anticipated."

"Even harder than learning magic? Or learning to use a sword?"

"In some respects I suppose it is. Painting is an exercise of the mind that is expressed through the movement of the brush. It may not be physically challenging, but it is still challenging all the same."

"Challenging in a good way?"

"Yes indeed. For some reason I seem to have developed a better understanding and an appreciation of the matter that was absent in my youth." His smile faded as he continued. "It is a shame my father is not here to share this with me."

She gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "He'd be proud of you, I'm sure."

He smiled weakly. "I am sure he would be." Then the moment passed and his smile grew in strength. "But what of you, Ratja? What do you think of painting?"

"I had a lot of fun today make no mistake, and I would happily to do it again. But as a hobby, I don't think painting is for me."

"Understandable. It does appear to be very time consuming, or at least in the beginning. And it will require a great deal of patience and dedication to pursue."

"Will you be continuing then?"

"Yes… I think I will… And not for my father, but for myself."

"Good." She smiled. "I'm glad."

He smiled back. Then he pulled out his pocket watch. "Well. It appears that we are just in time for lunch, Ratja. Would you like to continue this afterwards?"

"I'd love to, Otto. But… you might want to change into a clean pair of clothes…" And then she glanced down at herself and added. "As will I."

"Wh-" He looked down at his robe to discover it covered in splatters of paint. "Oh. Ah. I see. Hmm. If we are going to keep painting afterwards, then… Perhaps it would be best to take lunch here instead."

"Yes, I think you're right."

He tugged on the bell pull to summon a maid and while they were waiting for a response, Mausinger removed his masterpiece and placed it to one side to allow it to dry. Ratja laughed hard as she watched him title the piece "A Malformed Marshmallow" and sign his name. He turned to her with an innocent smile. As she was deliberating over what to title her painting, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," he instructed.

A petite humanfolk maid with red hair entered the room and curtsied. "Your Majesty." She smiled at Ratja. "Hello, Ratja."

"Hello, Mary."

"What can I do for you?"

"Ratja and I will be taking lunch here today. So if you would be so kind as bring it up, that be most appreciated."

Mary smiled and curtsied again. "Of course, Your Majesty." And then left.

He placed a fresh piece of paper on the easel and then turned to Ratja. "Now then. What should we paint next?"

A/N: I had originally planned to end the piece after they had left the throne room, mostly because I'd got stuck on what they should do, but as the painting idea solidified I was fortunately thus able to continue. C: