It was an effort not to applaud alongside the rest of the crowd, to look just as surprised and delighted as they were. No...she had to look like she knew what the heck she was doing and that meant she had to look like she had known about Akkiel's decree in advance. But she couldn't help the small smile of wonder and appreciation that curved her lips as she helped hold out the flag, as she listened to Akkiel speak. The flag was beautiful...she didn't know much about this country yet, but she did know it was a sigil that anyone could appreciate, that anyone could be proud of. It was what this country needed...and even she could feel pride over this, and she wasn't even a native!
Not that it mattered. It was her country now, too, and it wasn't altogether difficult to feel that connection, either, even if her own country and culture was vastly different. People were people, no matter where you went. Cultural nuances aside, it was really the same wherever you went, right?
And Akkiel...he was a true leader. She'd only known him for all of five minutes, but it was really obvious, the way he stood and spoke, the way the crowd reacted to him, the way they respected and seemed to adore him. And the change she saw come over him was amazing, the way he went from a baby dragon's perchâ€"which was ironic, given that the symbol Akkiel would choose would be a dragonâ€"to a dignified king, all in the span of seconds. It was almost jarring to think he was the same person, and for a brief moment, she had a sudden fear that maybe, just maybe, he was one of those people that wore different masks in different social situations. Nobles were notorious for that, notorious for being fiercely competitive and even jealous of others of their rank, and she still didn't know him. She didn't know him at all.
But then common sense told her that he was probably doing the same thing that she was now. Putting on a public face. So, she wore masks, too...
But only in the public. There were some people that <I>never took off their masks, never. Those were the people she always worried about, because you could never be too sure about them.
At least, she was worried until the speech ended to a final round of applause and he grinned her way, once again boyish and casual, and blessedly true to her first impression.
Whew. So far so good. Bah, she was probably just thinking too much right now. Probably still had "new person" jitters, and rightly so, considering who he was.
"Very," she agreed with a small smile his way, releasing her corner of the flag carefully as he collected it. "They really do love you, and the flag is beautiful," she told him. "Even a petty thief could feel proud beneath it."
[ooooh, wow...sucky post, gomen nasai! *bowbow*]