Sound of Silence - Isolation: Forge and Crystal - The Things People Say...

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While celebrating the Attilani Independence Day, Forge gets drunk and Crystal bears witness to it.




Attilan Date: 20 January, 2009

The boating docks were strung with paper lanterns and the sounds of music could be heard from various patios and boats moored out in the harbor. None of the fishing boats had gone out today, Paolo had explained, because today was Attilan Day, the day that Randac, the first King of Attilan, had declared the nation to be an independent kingdom.

As far as Forge could figure out, the holiday involved playing An Accolade To Attilan every time the clock would strike the hour, and drinking heavily. While Forge had never been one to indulge in alcohol, and he wouldn't yet be old enough to drink in America, working for over a year among fishermen and old sailors had acclimated him to the occasional evening of rum and fishing stories. Mostly older men talking about the days when they would pull ten-foot-long marlins from the sea, or have their net snag a squid that would threaten to capsize them completely.

Today, however, there were stories from the older sailors who recalled the elaborate wedding of King Agon and Queen Rynda, nearly three decades past, and how beloved their new King Blackagar was. Forge, happy to be included (very happy after his second drink) had joined the festivities with some tales of his own.

"So there we were..." he began, voice only slightly slowed, "...in a jungle. A jungle in New York, no less. With dinosaurs. Real live ones, too. And I got carried off by them, almost got eaten. Dinner."

"Christo..." Felipe breathed, eyes glazed from the rum, nodding intently. "One of the giants, a... how you say, T-Rex?"

"Nah!" Forge laughed, slapping the table. "Buncha little ones... compo... compsu... little bitey bastards. But I got away, and one of 'em took a big chunk out of me, though!" He tugged at his loose cotton shirt, displaying the ragged white scar on his collarbone, pale against his suntanned skin. "An' you know what? I came back with a... ~uma curva~!" He pantomined shooting a bow. "A bow! Made it out of my leg. Shot a dinosaur, and got my shoulder all stitched up by... an' get this... stitched up by the Princess Crystal herself."

The men around him laughed, and Forge waved his hands indignantly. "No, no! S'true! Course, she was just the Lady Crystal then... but no, she was never 'just' anything, you know. Did a good job, too. Barely felt a thing. Here's to her, then!" He raised his glass, then stopped, puzzled as to why his fellows weren't following suit, but all just getting up out of their chairs to stand quietly. "What? It's... Attilan Day, right? Can't raise a toast to the Princess?"

"Of course you may raise a toast to the Princess," said the voice of the princess herself, standing less than five feet away from Forge, close to the same spot where she'd been quietly listening and observing the most scintillating conversation for the past few minutes. Two members of the Royal Guard stood nearby, close enough to protect their royal charge if needed (not that Crystal thought she needed to be protected or that she wasn't perfectly capable of defending herself should such a situation arise, but she didn't really have much of a choice in the matter) but not close to find themselves invading too much of Crystal's personal space and earning themselves a two-foot journey backwards. "Perhaps, though, such a toast would be much more enjoyable if the person whom you are toasting were present?"

Blinking back a look of utter astonishment, Forge braced one arm against the table and rose to his feet, raising his glass. "You betcha," he said strongly, with a nod to Crystal. "To our Princess Crystal Amaquelin, to her health! Attilan's lucky to have her," he exclaimed, echoed by a loud toast of agreement from the revelers on the boardwalk and punctuated by the sounds of clinking glasses. Carefully, Forge picked up a drink from the table and extended it out to Crystal. "And may she always be full of surprises," he said quietly, so only Crystal could hear.

"Expect the unexpected and all that," Crystal said with a smile as she accepted the glass from Forge, quoting what Forge had said to her two year earlier the day he had been very glad that she'd been wearing pants. She wondered if Forge's words were because he believed them, because he was drunk, or if they were just for her benefit.

As Forge raised his glass and drank, the crowd around them subtly dispersed as a rousing chorus of music came from one of the boats, prompting the fishermen to make their own conversational toasts to the health of the King and Queen as they walked down the pier.

Looking over the edge of his glass, Forge smiled at Crystal. "I'd have thought you'd be up in the palace at the royal festivities. What's up?"

"Maybe I simply wished to mingle with the commoners?" Crystal suggested, smiling a bit to show that she was joking. "The whole day is full of festivities, and the day is clearly celebrated in various ways by different people. I thought perhaps I would take in multiple sights rather than stay at the palace."

Forge cocked his head, wondering if Crystal's words were because she believed them, or if they were just for his benefit. "Cool," he said, pulling a chair out for Crystal, then sitting back into his own, ignoring the glares from the Royal Guardsmen standing a respectable distance away. "Supposed to have fireworks in a few minutes, I think. I was going to go watch them with Paolo and Maria and Cristina, but now I have company, so..." He gestured to the darkening sky. "Aaaaany minute now."

"Oh?" Crystal looked at Forge. "And the reason we cannot go join them now is...?"

"Huh?" Forge turned to look at Crystal as if she'd grown a second head. "Um, I mean... if you want. I really don't think they'd mind if I invited a guest." He smiled a little. "If you wouldn't mind trying some of Maria's cioppino. She keeps asking me if it's as good as the palace chefs make." Before Crystal could comment, Forge nodded. "To tell the truth? Better. And I didn't even like fish before I came here."

"Oh, they are not here?" Crystal asked. She'd assumed they were going to watch the fireworks from the are where they were and Forge was going to join them, not that he had intended to go up to their house to watch the fireworks. "Perhaps you should ask them if it is fine for you to bring a guest and see what they say. I do not wish to intrude."

Forge turned to go, then paused and looked up the hill. He cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed loudly. "Hai, Paolo! Mind if the Princess comes up to watch the fireworks?"

A few seconds later, and an excited squeal could be heard from the house atop the ridge, and a loud cheer of approval. Forge chuckled and turned to Crystal, clearing his throat lightly. "It seems your presence would be most welcome, your Highness. You know, I'd offer to race you up the hill, but you'd totally cheat," he teased, but he had a twinkle in his eye as he said it.

"I said 'a guest', not 'the Princess'," Crystal said, wincing delicately at the shriek from above. "Also, I never cheat, and I could fly you up there if you so wish."

"I heard you," Forge replied, scampering up the hill. "Now c'mon. Bring Bert and Ernie there, too." He nodded to the two Royal Guardsmen and turned to head up the hill. "We'll have a great view."