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[guyexplains.livejournal.com]

Characters: Guy Cecil (guyexplains) and Emperor Peony (imperiator)
Location: Grand Chokmah, d1 Auldrant
Time: A day after this
Summary: Guy has an audience with the Emperor to apologize for his behavior and request time off.
Warnings: Possible trolling.

A good night's sleep, a bath, a change of clothes, and breakfast when he finally felt calm enough to eat... Guy really felt like a new man. Maybe that was poor taste of words, but considering he'd been the one to undergo the changes to his own personality, he felt he was entitled the bad joke. As Mu had predicted, not everything was quite back to normal, little things kept surprising him as he remembered them. It'd taken him ten minutes of searching to find where he kept his own gloves, and then the memory had returned and he'd finished getting dressed and ready with little other incident or poor recollection. But it was details like that that threw him a little off balance for the rest of the morning. When he'd made his way to the palace he'd forgotten the name of the guard at the entrance who greeted him, awkwardly returned the hello and only remembered the man's name after he was in the next room.

Details, unimportant, but confusing all the same. And he did remember the rewritten memories. Hazily, but clear enough that they were confusing in their own way. He knew which set was his own past and which was the experiment--he was pretty sure. He tried not to think too hard on it, or he'd have to start second-guessing everything. He'd just have to have faith in Jade and by extension Mu.

Jade had promised to get him an audience with Peony--something Guy hadn't exactly needed help with, but he'd understood the intention there. So he arrived in the morning, refreshed and feeling a lot more sane and calm and generally himself. He didn't bother taking the stairs up to the audience hall, instead letting himself into Peony's rooms and nodding to the maid in the outer suite before knocking on the doors of the inner room, walking in after a moment without waiting for an invitation.

"Good morning." He said it cheerfully enough, as if nothing amiss had happened lately.

Comments

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

"It's open!" Peony shouted.

He knew who it was. Jade had prepared him. He was expecting Gailardia, but that didn't mean he was going to act like it was anything but a surprise. He busied himself with feeding Luke a carrot, giving the impression of barely paying attention to his visitor.

[explains]

"Your Majesty." Guy approached the Emperor, stopping on the way to kneel and offer Aslan a scratch behind the ear. He felt vaguely awkward in the situation but showing it was not going to help. He was pretty good at lying, and now was a great time to put that skill to use.

"How are you today?" Pleasantries and light conversation were always a good start.

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

Peony sighed, and that sigh held a mixture of good humor and impatience. He looked away from Luke to give Gailardia his full and undivided. attention.

"We're not going to beat around the bush like that, are we? We both know you're not the one who should be asking that question."

Peony's attention wavered as Luke impatiently nudged his knee. Peony laughed, grabbing another carrot.

"My Luke is so needy and demanding. He's become so spoiled it's a full-time job keeping him satisfied."

[explains]

Guy didn't flinch under the scrutiny, but that was probably due to habit. Peony could be unnerving when he gave someone his full attention, and Guy did have a guilty conscience. Instead of looking away, he smiled a little awkwardly and patted Aslan one more time before finishing the few steps over to Peony and kneeling.

Times like this he tended to slip into formality without noticing. It was safer to treat things gently and delicately. He'd done enough damage, he felt.

"My apologies, Your Majesty. My behavior recently was appalling and inexcusable." To put it mildly. He looked up from the floor where he knelt, watching Luke demand Peony's attention. Unnerving as the rappig's name would always be, he was pretty used to it. He couldn't think of what to say to that comment about Luke's behavior, so he looked down again and said nothing. The comment was too pointed, and he wasn't up to responding with banter or jabs. He was a little scared to, after his break down in front of Jade.

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

"If you're going to act like that, you can just come back later. I have enough formality most of the day, I don't need that now."

Peony focused his attention on Luke, even though his words were directed to Gailardia.

"Are you sure you need to be apologizing like that anyway? From what I hear, that wasn't all your fault. Something to do with the Plane, right?"

[explains]

Guy leaned back a little to look at Peony. What else was he supposed to say? He didn't feel much up to being himself, and if he wasn't at least a little genuine Peony would just throw him out. He sighed.

"I'm not very used to blaming my actions on others, even if it wasn't of my own choice." That was true enough. Maybe he didn't have a say in it, but ultimately he still felt responsible. Saying it wasn't my fault! just struck a bad cord with him.

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

"Hey, I didn't say you were completely blameless. Just that it wasn't all your fault. After all, Gailardia is still Gailardia, alternate history or not, right?"

Peony stopped feeding Luke, his attention now completely on Gailardia.

"If anything it might have been a good thing. You were stopped before you did anything too serious, and now you have a better idea of how that kid Asch thinks. You should spend less time apologizing for things you couldn't control and more time trying to take something from the experience. You can't change the past, but you can at least use what you learned in the future."

[explains]

Guy smiled a little ruefully. Trust Peony to put it into perspective. He looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. He'd have to think about it from that perspective for a bit, to see what he came away with. But he had a lot to think about to begin with.

"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry." More casual, but sincere. "I actually wanted to ask for a week off. I have a lot to think about." And Eldrant to go fruitlessly search through. Again.

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

"Hey, take off as much as you like. Maybe you'll set an example, so that Jade will learn to take a week off every now and then, too."

Peony stood up, a hand on Gailardia's head as he ruffled his hair.

"Just don't stay away too long. The rappigs won't know what to do with themselves without you here."

[explains]

"I'd be worried if Jade took me as an example for anything." Guy made a slight noise of protest, or maybe resignation, at the hair ruffle, but took it with as much grace as a full grown man having his hair ruffled like a favorite pet could.

Dignity was clearly for other people, anyway.

"Thank you. It'll only be a week, if that. I wouldn't want to worry the imperial rappigs." Or their owner.

[imperiator.livejournal.com]

"These guys worry way too much. I guess it's just natural, since they're all so caring and intelligent."

As if to contradict him, the Cute Jade walks into a table and falls down.

"Maybe not all, but close enough."

Peony walked over to the Cute Jade, picking him up and cuddling him.

"Do you think they'll be able to see you around on the Plane, if they start worrying too much?"

[explains]

"Yeah. I'll check in so they don't have to fret." Guy laughs, leaning back when Aslan nudges him int he calf. "I wouldn't want to put any more stress on them, after all."

It's not everything he wants to say, but having a heavy discussion with Peony seems unfair. The Emperor's got enough on his shoulders, and he's already refused refused Guy's apology. Guy isn't going to force Peony to accept his regret. Settling into things as normal is easy.