A Phone Call to Prince Edward (backdated to 4/11/06)

[geoff_chaucer]

[For royal_majesty.]Geoff may have had worse days, he decided, but not recently. Not since that wretched time in the French prison. Not since the prince had paid his ransom, bought him back from French nobles. He'd broken a heart, drunk with a demon, fought with and been struck by the man he was committing himself to, and spent the night sleeping on a park

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[royal_majesty]

His plate cleaned, Edward sat back, balanced gracefully on the stool as he picked up his beer and sipped at it.

"Is it serious as all that, then Hearld? That you'll need slink in like a thief rather than charm with your pretty words?"

The Black Prince wasn't particularly known for his soothing, cry on his shoulder, manner but in his own way he was not unsympathetic.

[geoff_chaucer]

Honestly? Geoff would have been horrified at the suggestion he cry on Edward's shoulder.

Setting down his beer, Geoff rubbed his hand through his hair and sighed. What had ever given him the idea he could expect the prince to provide sanctuary without demanding answers in return?

"Yes," he said quietly. "At the moment, it is."

More than that, Edward was going to either have to ask for outright or figure out for himself.

[royal_majesty]

Edward had bloody little use for moping, affairs of the heart and his snort indicated this.

"Should have just hit him back." The prince said flatly, finishing off his beer and standing.

Yes, it was a hell of an assumption but a fairly straight forward one and yep... Edward said very distinctly him.

Picking up his plate, he tapped Geoff's with his knife.

"Eat."

Both of them were from a time where a steady meal was not a given and food was precious. Geoff knew better than to let a meal go to waste.

[geoff_chaucer]

Geoff's eyes widened, and for a moment he forgot himself and stared at Edward, until he caught what he was doing and dropped his attention to the plate again. The Black Prince's very presence in this town still disconcerted him, and Geoff was beginning to think maybe this had been a very bad idea.

"You know I'm no brawler, Your Highness," he replied after a moment. "And it would only have made the situation worse."

Picking up his fork again, Geoff began to eat. Edward's opinion of the situation was being made abundantly clear, and Geoff supposed the man was right. After all, going off to brood and feel sorry for himself was what had ended him in this mess in the first place.

[royal_majesty]

Edward didn't say anything immediately following Geoff's words, instead he cleaned up his dishes and watched the poet out of the corner of his eye, making sure his old friend finishing up his meal.

Only once he was certain that the majority of the food was in Geoff, did he turned, flipping a dishtowel up over his shoulder.

"Brawler or not, Hearld you should not let yourself be misused. It breeds disrespect, which is harder on a situation in the long run."

[geoff_chaucer]

If it had been anyone else, Geoff would have snapped back a retort that he had no intention of letting himself be used at all. But it wasn't anyone else, it was His Royal Highness Edward Plantagenet, and even if Geoff thought the words he was far too attached to having his head in its current position to say them out loud.

The only indication of his dislike for the prince's words was the set of his shoulders. When he spoke, Geoff's voice was as quiet and respectful as it had been throughout the conversation.

"I was drunk, and he was drugged. There was no good way to resolve it, milord. Not then."

Now? He still wasn't sure. Because what Edward was saying was, as harsh as the words were, the truth. And Geoff didn't know for certain that House did respect him. It certainly hadn't sounded that way.

Knowing that he was fast on the way to drifting back into emo self-pity, Geoff finished off his food and rose from his seat, carrying his dishes to the sink to take his turn at washing.

"I'm grateful for your hospitality, Your Highness."

[royal_majesty]

Ah but to a man who was used to watching Chaucer for the smaller flicker of an eyelash, the set of those shoulders called out to the Prince. Even as they confirmed, they also warned that Chaucer was right at that edge where it would be easy for the poet to spit the bit and bolt in the wrong direction, just to be... well...the poet and Edward knew it was time to lay off.

After all, Chaucer was fairly good and beating himself with a horsehair shirt.

Leaving the poet to clean up his dishes, Edward grabbed another beer.

"I'm going to go grab a shower." He announced, needlessly. "When I'm done, how about a game of dice?"

Perhaps a slight consession to the fact that Geoff was in a rough place right now.

[geoff_chaucer]

And Geoff appreciated that concession, and he supposed that losing to the prince at dice would be reminiscent enough of normal times that it might keep his mind mostly off his troubles.

"Thank you, milord. I'd like that."

Geoff gave the man a respectful half bow from his place at the sink, and saw to the remainder of cleaning up from supper while Edward was having his shower. Then he did his best to straighten up his clothes -- which did exactly nothing -- and found a place to hang up his coat before his liege returned.