Chapter 3: Transposition
Resolve to be thyself: and know, that he who finds himself, loses his misery.
~ Matthew Arnold
"Mirana certainly seems cheerful this morning," Ilosovic said, watching the queen flitting about the breakfast table, chattering with her subjects.
"She is so happy to have Alice back," Casiphia said. "And I am happy to see her so light-hearted. It has been such a long time."
"Jam, please?"
Casiphia started to pass him the jam pot, but was intercepted as Mirana wafted past and plucked it out of her hand.
"Remember, my dear, it's jam tomorrow and jam yesterday, but never jam today!"
Ilosovic watched her depart and remarked, "She's gone quite mad, hasn't she?"
"Give it time," Casiphia said, handing him a dish of marmalade. "She never stays this silly for long."
"I have just had an uncomfortable realization," Stayne said, observing Tarrant buttering pieces of toast for Alice and handed them to her in rapid succession, while she blushed and looked down at her lap. "Is that how we appear?"
"Certainly not," Casiphia replied. "We're both considerably taller than they are, and you dress in far fewer colors."
She swallowed a giggle as Ilosovic gave her a narrowed-eye look.
Casiphia looked upwards, then in several other directions where Stayne was not. "Well, then...probably...yes. If not worse, because our initial courtship took place away from the castle, and we were not as shy with each other."
"How horrifying," he said. "I'd like to think I have more dignity than that. My apologies."
"No apologies necessary," Casiphia said, leaning over and flicking his earlobe with her tongue, and laughing at the glance he gave her. "And no need to worry about making those two uncomfortable, they haven't seen anything but each other since they entered the room. The rest of the room—well, there's nothing new here for them."
"The court must find no end of entertainment these days," he said.
"We were due for some frivolity. Are you not glad that you can provide it?"
Stayne grumbled and took a swig of tea as he looked down the long table. "Tarrant's tie bothers me. The ends open and close like the wings of a dragon-fly. And just look at his eyes—have you ever before seen them that shade of green?" Casiphia nearly choked on a bite of scone.
"No better than the rest of us, are you?" she said.
"I deserve some frivolity too," came the answer.
"I don't suppose I can argue that point," Casiphia said. "Nor would I deprive myself of the same. Luckily it doesn't seem that will ever be a problem."
They resumed dining, watching as Mirana, Tarrant, Mallymkun, and Nivens all strove to get Alice's attention, which meant trying to shoehorn words in around Tarrant's stream-of-consciousness commentary.
"So she came by rabbit hole this time?"
"So it seems," Casiphia said. "I can't imagine why anyone would travel that way rather than by looking glass. We all—the children living here when I was little—had our share of experiences with Pishsalver and Upelkuchen, and I have to say I'd as soon never partake of either again."
"I'm sure you did have some fun with that," Ilosovic said.
"Oh, yes," she said, "at least until we grew old enough that the grownups decided there ought to be less peeping into windows and abandoning of clothing that had become the wrong size.
"Being small was especially fun, though," she went on, "especially for a girl like me who was taller than all the boys from about the age of eight on. Even though dragonflies are terrifying when one is tiny, bread-and-butterflies won't let you lick their wings, and rocking horseflies will never let you ride them. I'm grateful that Bayard did give us rides."
"Ah. Bayard."
"Um, yes? Why do you sound so gloomy when you say his name?"
"Because he is someone I must admit I regret harming. Iracebeth and I both took advantage of his sense of duty and asked him to do so many things against his will."
"If you recall," Casiphia said, "Bayard was quite a good agent for the Resistance. I don't believe you managed to break his spirit in any real way."
"Nevertheless, he is someone to whom I owe an apology, if not amends that I cannot even imagine how to make."
"You should talk with him. Dogs forgive. That is their nature."
"And humans feel guilty when there is something to forgive them for," Stayne said.
"All the more reason you should talk to him. I feel I should apologize myself for using him as the messenger between us when you were still at the Red Castle."
"But keeping him from his wife and pups. I didn't realize then what that meant, how that must have felt," he said.
"Then tell him that. Dogs also understand."
"You realize I deplore apologizing."
"As opposed to the rest of us, who love it so much we choose to do it often on holiday. I also realize you will feel so much lighter afterwards."
"Right again you are, milady. Why is this?"
"I think I was assigned the position with our living quarters. Something like that."
"I would find it annoying were I not so familiar with the quality myself."
"We were discussing Bayard. I will ask him to meet with you."
"As I suppose you should. It will be good to get it over with, at least." He paused for a moment to think. "I do let you push me around, don't I?"
"I only push you to do things you know you should do or want to or both."
"I should hate you," he said. "How odd that I don't."
Casiphia turned his face to hers and kissed him full on the lips.
"Ah. Right. Now I remember."