William teleports us to the next residence. We're picking the next instead of the last. I assume Mom is here and that's why. William would know the schedule better than me. He guides me to the Lord Storm.
"Welcome Your Highness." Lord Storm seems spooked to see me. William is playing servant and guard for me. So others will know he's a mage by his looks. They won't know he's also a lord.
"Am I early?"
"Not at all. I just didn't realize you would be-" He stops himself. "I'll show you the royal quarters."
"Thank you."
"I was a touch worried you were skipping out on my ball given your mother came in an hour ago without you."
I glance to William. Maybe the question is I look exactly like my father. Lord Storm would've met him back then. "I had my reasons for separating from the queen."
"Of course. Always. I would never suggest otherwise." Lord Storm is extra nervous. Why? "This is the wing given to the royal family."
"Thank you." I step into the wing noting the guards are placed in the first rooms. I find the one for my mother and knock politely. "Mom?"
"Welcome back. The goblin you found was the only one in the area. It only lead to questions." The queen motions me to enter. I do so. "You returned to the safety of the castle. Did you happen to question your friend about the residence?"
"Jessica? Yes. I asked her about possible concerns with goblins. She suggested that has never been a problem for them."
The queen's fingers tap her chair. She knows she's missing something. "The Wartons all suggested the same. That was my thought as well. This is not normal goblin territory. But then the real question is the watch of a royal by random goblin. We cannot treat the monsters as if they had thought."
"Or we could?" I question my mother. She seems shocked by my thought. "Ryan Telligence was studying the goblins-"
"Absolutely no surprise given his home normally has goblin invasions."
I nod. "He noticed something. You know how they wear the headdresses of feathers and fur?"
"Yes. Of course. To indicate rank." Mom knows things. It does help I don't need to explain.
"They have started to use leather armor." I run a hand over my chest. "A chest plate. Similar to what we wear as knights. Although I doubt they have magic mixed in."
The queen eyes me. "And this means what?"
"They couldn't've have stolen such a thing. We don't place children in our knighthood. So I thought... Maybe the goblins aren't monsters as much as we think they are. Perhaps they are intelligent enough to trade or grant citizenship."
Mom stares at me. "You have never done battle against a goblin before."
I sink. She's not going to listen to my suggestion. I'm going to be marked too young, too inexperienced. 'You'll understand when you're older'. How much older? "I have not. The interaction before was not a battle. Only a fool would think to fight given the placement."
"Yes." The queen stands up to offer me a hug. "Trust the knights to handle everything."
"I am a knight, Mom. I am capable of this." I step out of her hug. She does not take kindly to that or my glare. "Have we tried diplomacy before attacking?"
"What if they attack first?"
"If someone entered our castle, are we going to treat them with respect and dignity? We would attack them because they didn't try to communicate from beyond our territory. But what if they didn't know where our territory started."
"Child."
I flinch. That's never a good nickname. Mom won't see things from my view. She doesn't want to. She's been a knight. She stood on the field of battle fighting. Missions are more often than not are kill this creature. What if we have it wrong?
"You cannot give humanity to monsters." Mom drops back into her chair. She looks to William behind me. "Can you bring his thoughts back to normal, Lord William? These thoughts do no help."
"I will do my best, Your Majesty." William bows to my mother.
I only glare and growl at her. She's not going to even try to see my viewpoint. What if goblins are capable of diplomacy. Why must we just kill them off? Why has that been our first thought? Not that there haven't been some monsters that are aggressive for seemingly no reason. But most things attack if you walk into their home. And if we can't guess what is their home? "I need to ready myself for the ball, Mom. I will see you then." I offer her a bow before leaving her room.
"Sorry about that." William says as we reach a room I may or may not stay in. "Rest a moment."
"Ha." I drop on the bed available. William sits at the desk focusing on the mirror. When I look over it's not William in the mirror. "What?" Then I notice he's signing. I didn't even know he knew a sign language. Which one? I sit up watching. William cuts the spell off and looks over at me. "Who?"
"A friend." William ducks his head. "Mirror messages doesn't allow sound to pass over, so we sign. I can teach you another time."
"I don't control my magic yet, so it has to be later." I move to the mirror. It shows the proper reflection now. "I didn't know you knew how to sign. I only know the signs for the guard."
William chuckles. "To know if they were threatening you in your escape plans."
I look away. "For more reasons than that."
"We can practice a full signed language. It can suit better. We can talk when no sound is allowed."
"Yeah. I wouldn't mind learning." A signed language definitely helps in many cases. Not sure why I wasn't made to practice. Or is it because I started picking up on the language they denied me. I'm protected. Being denied a language can be a form of protection. "How many languages do you know?"
"Vocally? Three. Our common tongue normally called Calliset. The Shuire language of the elves to the west of us. And the Archaet language our language was derived from. It's similar enough most wouldn't be too confused if we moved to our old lands."
"What is back there?" I learned a lot of history about the place. How we fled because of monsters. We were no longer safe there. It's been hundreds of years though. "Did anyone survive?"
"Yes. I cannot teleport that far, though. Not even by myself. We can travel by boat to see it in the future." William watches as I begin to pace. "I also know the Gergoian language, but it's archaic. So no one knows how to vocalize it. I will learn a few more written languages for the sake of magic practice. Plus you just saw me using the Listet language. It's a signed language, though. It is neither vocal nor written." He pauses. "I can translate it into any other language I know, though."
"That's impressive."
"Father was pressuring me to learn the different languages. It truly will be a massive help both as a mage as well as a lord." William shrugs. "As much as it is helpful, you only need to truly understand Calliset. As well as those guard signs you already know."
I smirk. "Please teach me."
"Whenever we have a few minutes, I would gladly."
I look out the window. "We have some time before the ball, this would suit. Teach me the signed language first. That would be the most important."
"If we were going to meet with someone who speaks another, I would suggest that." William chuckles. "But if they're seeing you, they need to know Calliset."
I nod.
"Then let us practice. This is how you say hello." He offers a simple wave.
"Basics it is. Anything is good."
"Languages aren't for rushing." William waits for me to copy. "I'll teach. No complaints from you."