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"Yes," he said, shooting a small smile her way as he went back to his stack of papers. "Getting people to help the lesser-off is difficult, even with me backing it up. I believe I've stated this before, but I don't exactly have the most benevolent reputation in my kingdom—or any kingdom, for that matter." He scrunched his nose when he read about a proposed tax on the people that would be filtered to the charity in order to have a guaranteed income.
A small crease appeared between her brows, the product of her focus on reading. She hummed thoughtfully, glancing up from the papers for a moment. "You could always try fixing that, if you were really looking for the backing of more people." She said, the innocent look on her face making it obvious she didn't mean anything insulting by that. "But what about…donation boxes at popular shops? And occasional events, to gather positive interest?"
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He sat back, thinking it through. "Y'know, that's not a half-bad idea," he mused, grabbing the notepad he had set aside to scribble something down, then paused. "I was thinking riding lessons for little kids—free, mind you, so that the parents are more inclined to donate—but then I remembered that I might not exactly be the best teacher." He scratched the back of his head as he thought of something else. "Or I could just hire actual teachers."
"Oh, that sounds like a great idea." She said, nodding as she went back to reading. "You might want to see if you can get volunteer teachers first. It builds a sense of community, if that makes any sense, and then you don't have to worry about going over some sort of funding budget, either."
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He smiled and wrote that down, glad that Lily had shown up when she did. "Thanks," he said as he wrote, then set the notebook off to the side and went back to the papers. Some of the proposed ideas were good, but others were more greedy than benevolent. He scratched those as soon as possible. He found one that he really liked. It was similar to that of what they discussed, but for up-and-coming jewelers to represent their prince's well-known love for jewelry.
She sorted each paper into one of three stacks she'd made as she finished reading them, occasionally brushing her hair back from her face as it decided to fall loose. Every once in a while, her nose would scrunch up alongside her entire face, making it obvious she'd read an idea she absolutely didn't like, before dropping it into the 'nope' pile.
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((I love 'nope' piles. It gives you an excuse to say NOPE repeatedly))
Right after Rhydar sighed off on one idea, his signature both loopy and messy, he sighed and cracked his neck, then rolled his shoulders and shifted. "Uhhh, this is so tiring," he complained. "And my hand hurts from writing my name so much. Why couldn't mother spell my name the shorter way?" he whined, cracking his knuckles next.
((Very firmly "N O P E"))
Lily huffed a laugh, looking up from another paper. "Maybe because it sounds fancier. More formal or something?" She offered, almost teasingly, with a half smile. "You should get a stamp signature, that way you can just-" She mimed stamping one of the papers, shaking her head.
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"Pfffft." He scrunched his nose playfully, sticking his tongue out at her. "I don't appreciate the teasing," he said, though it was quite clear he was enjoying it and her company. He flipped through a few papers, recognizing the name and scoffing as he put all of them in his own 'nope' pile. The dude was a greedy bastard. There was no way in Hell that Rhydar would make a deal with him.
"And yet, you haven't told me to stop." She said with a laugh, this one full, instead of the usual small huff of air. She took a moment to straighten up her piles before continuing, her nose scrunched in concentration this time. "Did you have any more ideas?"
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"Uhh, not at the moment. Some of these ideas are really good, so I guess I just got lazy, as usual, and figured that one idea was good enough," he said with a sarcastic smile aimed Lily's way. "And I haven't told you to stop because it's cute coming from you."
"Cute?" She blinked, glancing up at him for a moment as a light pink dusted her cheeks. "Er-you were right, it was a good idea though. Kids'll find it enjoyable, while their parents will be happy they're learning a valuable skill."
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He smiled at her slight blush, as well as her words. "Glad I can use my brain for things other than sneaking around," he said, then went back to the papers. andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer) Giles, you sir are a greedy pain in my ass, Rhydar mentally grumbled, tossing some more papers into his 'hello no' pile—which was formed courtesy of Mr. Giles.
After a little while of quiet reading and sorting, Lily began to hum softly, a subconscious habit she had lost quite a while ago and was only now starting to see again. Nope. Yes. Yes. Maybe. Absolutely not.
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After a few minutes of quiet reading and sorting, Rhydar set down the final paper and stretched, throwing his head back as he let out a small whine. "Ahhh, finally. How you doing over there?" he asked her, looking back down at Lily.
Lily's humming stopped as she glanced up, before looking back down at the paper she'd been reading for the past minute. "Almost done. Just trying to figure out how exactly this plan is supposed to benefit anyone, and how it would even work." She scrunched up her nose, shaking her head.
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"Then scratch it. If it doesn't make sense or isn't beneficial, then just toss it. I don't need a whole lot of things going on anyway, and I think we got enough things to go through to narrow it down from there," he said. He reached up to brush his fingers over the leaf shading him, smiling softly as he felt the thin layer of fuzz coating the purplish plant.
"Oh, thank the gods." She let out a sigh, tossing the paper unceremoniously onto the nope pile and making quick work of the last few papers. "There. All that's left is to go through any maybes, but you should take a break for a bit." She said, turning her gaze to a patch of flowers near the pathway.
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He glanced over at Lily and noticed where her attention had been diverted. "Feel free to explore this place. It's huge, and it also has other stuff beyond where the paths are laid out. If you ask me, the best stuff is the hidden stuff," he said with a shrug.
"I would most definitely get lost if I attempted that." She said, shaking her head as she smiled. "Besides, I would much rather spend time with you, as long as I'm not in the way of anything." She pulled her eyes from the flowers to smile at him.
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He smiled and shook his head, moving so that he was sitting next to her. "You're not in the way of anything," he said, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "And I'm glad you enjoy spending so much time with me. Sure beats the screaming ducks and geese," he joked.
"Ducks can be incredibly noisy." She said, nodding solemnly. The effect was sort of ruined by her smile, which had brightened as he moved closer. Shifting, she pressed her shoulder slightly against his, looking up at him. "They have many things to say."
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"Mmm," he hummed, smiling as well. "And what would those things be?" he asked, tilting his head. He was partly humoring her, partly curious as to what she'd say. It also didn't help that he was ecstatic that she had moved closer—like a kid in a candy store, as his older brother would say.
"It depends entirely on the duck." She said knowingly. "My family had ducks, and they tended to yell a lot about food, mostly when they wanted said food. Other ducks might yell about ducks. Or just because they feel like they need to be loud."
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He raised a brow, looking genuinely intrigued. "You speak duck?" he asked disbelievingly—though in a more impressed disbelieving than an 'I legit don't believe you' disbelieving. "And–wait, what? Why would they yell about ducks?"
"They yell about each other. When another duck makes them mad, the same way a human would." She said, tilting her head. "Er-kind of. It's more…a feeling thing, and understanding certain movements and noises, but I can usually tell what they're trying to get across."
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"Ah," he said, nodding his head. "That makes more sense. So is it with other animals as well? Or people?" he asked, tilting his head curiously. He was interested in learning more about Lily, and this was definitely more interesting than sorting through a bunch of papers with fancy words and complicated plans that could be explained in two sentences.
"Most animals are pretty easy to read, when you pair the general knowledge and the…extra ability." She said, shrugging the shoulder that wasn't pressed against his. "It helps that I grew up raising animals. You kind of get to know things like that, you know?"
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He nodded, thinking about Kaspa. "Yeah, I know horses pretty well, thanks to raising Kaspa, but beyond that, I have no clue." He sighed and tilted his head back to rest against a thick tree trunk at their backs. "I can only imagine a life outside of the one I've lived. I can't exactly assume that your life was particularly easy, but I envy those that have easier—simpler—lives than mine. Who knows how I would've ended up like if I'd been, say, a farmer."
"You could've ended up very much like I was, then. Or at least, what I would have been. That's what my mother was, and my sisters and I by default." She said, staying fairly upright. After a moment of thought, she slipped the photo from her pocket, fiddling with it. "Imagining you as a farmer, I must admit, is slightly amusing. What would you steal? Eggs from chickens?"
