I get myself into the strangest things. During a discussion on Tammy's pronounciation, I commented that my next fic would be 'Thigh for Thayet'. And it is. For those who are dyslexic, the lisping only lasts for the first section. It also isn't intended to insult anybody with a lisp.
So, for the Dove (and for Lea who made Sergeant this week!), here it is.
(thanks go to Maddy for letting me bug her about this)
"Thigh for Thayet!
Thee ith the beauty
That thcornth the thky
To ithh paradithe.
Her eyeth are like
The thetting thun,
And her cheekth
Like rothe petalth."
Thayet blinked rapidly as the man bowed, trying to formulate a fitting response in her mind.
"Well," she said, smiling politely. "We certainly have nothing like that in Sarain."
He looked deeply gratified, even the tips of his ears flushing with pride. "Your Highneth ith motht grathiouth."
"Does he really have to use so many s words?" Buri murmured in Thayet's ear.
Thayet could barely surpress a laugh at that, elbowing Buri gently in the ribs, before rising. "Thank you very much again, I so... appreciated that, ah, Mister...?"
"Douglathh, Mithter Douglathh," the minstrel replied, bowing once more and she heard him sigh as she walked away.
"He's thighing after you, you know."
Thayet laughed. "I couldn't actually work out what he was saying," she admitted.
"Oh, I could," Buri assured her, slipping her arm into Thayet's. "Thweet Thayet, he wanthh you to be hith."
Thayet gave her a gentle push, her eyes crinkling with amusement. "I'm sure."
"Thigh, Thayet?"
Thayet flushed on cue, glancing up at Jonathan who was offering her a plate. "I'm sorry, your Majesty?"
"Would you like some chicken?"
"Ah, no, thank you, I'm fine."
He gave her a strange look, tilting his head on one side. "That's funny, I could have sworn I heard somebody say you enjoyed it. I can't have been listening properly. I heard this magnificent poem earlier, and it seems to be all I can think about."
She was left gaping, losing her chance to ask him about it as Cythera on the other side took and held his attention.
"Jonathan?"
Jon turned and smiled, beckoning her to him. "Had enough of sunsets today, or do you have enough in you to enjoy this one?"
"How did you hear about that?" Thayet asked, moving to his side and watching the sun slip beneath the clouds, resting her hands on the balcony rail.
He shot her a grin. "My lady, the very walls here have ears. Or, at least, ears pressed to them."
Thayet smiled at that, raising her eyebrows at him. "Oh, is that so?"
"Yes," Jonathan assured her, his eyes glinting. "Cythera has informed me that the new craze around Court is thighing. We all used to sigh for Cythera, you see, it saddened us to realise that we had been doing the wrong thing."
She fixed her eyes on the balcony rail, narrowing her eyes speculatively at it. "We?"
"Me," he corrected quietly.