"You found the Andromeda and you dragged it out?" Beka demanded, her previous argument suddenly forgotten.
"I find it interesting that you don't mention the rest of us anywhere," Dylan commented.
"Yeah, it's, uh, quite an omission, don't you think?" Beka asked.
"Well," Harper grinned nervously, "it was just a fairy tale, boss. Why are you so annoyed?"
"Okay, as interested as I am in straightening your little story out, I think we've got a more important issue here." Beka turned to Dylan.
"Hey, the king said write a bedtime story. I wrote a bedtime story."
"You turned Sleeping Beauty into Rise and Fall of the Commonwealth, and you made me male!" It was hard to tell which one annoyed Beka more.
"The rescuer doesn't necessarily have to be male. There are Than translations where Sleeping Beauty and the prince are both female."
"The word 'prince' implies masculinity. The prehistoric Earth tale has a male prince."
"King Evgvenii is a flapper. They're hermaphroditic. Once the translator gets done with it, you'll be bisexual."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?!"
"As I see it," Tyr said, "we have four stories so far. One is, of course, mine."
"And would probably turn the little kid into a murderous psychopath," Beka added.
"The second is a tale of childish determination—"
"See?" Rommie interjected. "Childish determination."
"—turned into a historical horror story that would probably traumatize the child. The third is...unspeakable."
Beka shot Dylan a triumphant look.
"And the fourth is distinctly, uniquely Harper—"
Harper started to smile.
"—with no plot, no character development, a self-serving moral, and the vocabulary of a child."
"Well, I didn't like yours either," Harper muttered, then brightened. "So, boss, what did you write?"
"I find it interesting that you don't mention the rest of us anywhere," Dylan commented.
"Yeah, it's, uh, quite an omission, don't you think?" Beka asked.
"Well," Harper grinned nervously, "it was just a fairy tale, boss. Why are you so annoyed?"
"Okay, as interested as I am in straightening your little story out, I think we've got a more important issue here." Beka turned to Dylan.
"Hey, the king said write a bedtime story. I wrote a bedtime story."
"You turned Sleeping Beauty into Rise and Fall of the Commonwealth, and you made me male!" It was hard to tell which one annoyed Beka more.
"The rescuer doesn't necessarily have to be male. There are Than translations where Sleeping Beauty and the prince are both female."
"The word 'prince' implies masculinity. The prehistoric Earth tale has a male prince."
"King Evgvenii is a flapper. They're hermaphroditic. Once the translator gets done with it, you'll be bisexual."
"That's supposed to make me feel better?!"
"As I see it," Tyr said, "we have four stories so far. One is, of course, mine."
"And would probably turn the little kid into a murderous psychopath," Beka added.
"The second is a tale of childish determination—"
"See?" Rommie interjected. "Childish determination."
"—turned into a historical horror story that would probably traumatize the child. The third is...unspeakable."
Beka shot Dylan a triumphant look.
"And the fourth is distinctly, uniquely Harper—"
Harper started to smile.
"—with no plot, no character development, a self-serving moral, and the vocabulary of a child."
"Well, I didn't like yours either," Harper muttered, then brightened. "So, boss, what did you write?"