Heritage tidbit
I've been meaning to fit this incident into the novel somewhere, and while browsing through a section for fun this afternoon I found a spot where it works perfectly.
Empress Vazali, her sister Kazaneta, and her guest, 11-year-old Delzeena, are looking at old photos of the imperial family. It comes to light that the sisters played some creative pranks on their little brother when they were children, including blue hair dye in his shampoo, and throwing all his unmentionables into the swimming pool. And then there's this addition...
“Oh, and there’s that picture,” Vazali said, indicating a family portrait that filled an entire page.
“What about it?” Delzeena leaned in closer but saw nothing remarkable besides the obvious fact that it was a portrait of the Imperial family.
Kazaneta snickered and pointed to Xeebec, who looked to be about four years old in the photograph. “See his left antenna?”
“Yeah.”
“That was airbrushed in later. It was missing when that picture was taken.”
“What? Why?”
Kazaneta looked to her sister with a grin. “Vazali?”
Vazali pursed her lips, obviously trying not to smile. “Oh, it was a sort of accident.”
“Did you do that?” Delzeena asked hopefully.
“Well, not on purpose, but, um...”
Kazaneta explained. “It was taking forever for the photographers to get Mother and Father arranged with their formal robes in front of that curtain, and we were bored and fidgeting. Xeebec was annoying Vazali, as usual, and it devolved into a shoving match. Somehow she got a hold of his antenna in the scuffle, and it came off.”
Vazali put a hand to her forehead and shook her head, looking both embarrassed and amused. “I screamed bloody murder and Xeebec started to cry.”
“I’m not sure which one of you was more shocked,” Kazaneta said. “Father was understandably peeved, but the portrait session had to go on. They tried shooting from an angle that wouldn’t show the, er, mishap, but eventually they simply ended up airbrushing in an antenna afterwards.”
Delzeena nearly fell off the sofa laughing. “That is so cool!”
Vazali didn’t dare confirm or deny this. “It grew back fairly quickly.”
“You haven’t told her the best part,” Kazaneta prompted.
“It gets better?” the girl squealed.
“Well, you’ll recall what I said once about Xeebec having had a nervous twitch in his antennae as a child?”
“Yeah...”
“That was the other one.”
“You pulled off the normal one?”
“Again, not on purpose, but...yes.”
“So he was left with just one antenna, and that one twitched all the time!”
“Not all the time. Most of the time.” Vazali briefly hid her face behind the photo album. “Not one of my most glowing achievements.”
Delzeena stood up and struck an eager pose. “Forget the underwear in the pool, let’s go do that again!”
“No,” Vazali said firmly. She grabbed Delzeena’s arm and gently pulled her back to the sofa. “That was all long ago. We’re grownups now.”
“But I wasn’t even born then!”
“No, obviously. But you’ll just have to imagine what it was like.”
“Aww...”
Vazali successfully changed the subject and picked up a different album.
*sigh* Back to therapy...
It obviously didn't work the first time.
Aww, poor widdle Twitchy.
MY NAME IS NOT TWITCHY!!!
Whatever you say, Unca Twitchy.
I hate you all. I really do.
We know.
Mwahahahaha I shall take over the universe with the power of my extreme superpukeykyootness! *goo*
Empress Vazali, her sister Kazaneta, and her guest, 11-year-old Delzeena, are looking at old photos of the imperial family. It comes to light that the sisters played some creative pranks on their little brother when they were children, including blue hair dye in his shampoo, and throwing all his unmentionables into the swimming pool. And then there's this addition...
“Oh, and there’s that picture,” Vazali said, indicating a family portrait that filled an entire page.
“What about it?” Delzeena leaned in closer but saw nothing remarkable besides the obvious fact that it was a portrait of the Imperial family.
Kazaneta snickered and pointed to Xeebec, who looked to be about four years old in the photograph. “See his left antenna?”
“Yeah.”
“That was airbrushed in later. It was missing when that picture was taken.”
“What? Why?”
Kazaneta looked to her sister with a grin. “Vazali?”
Vazali pursed her lips, obviously trying not to smile. “Oh, it was a sort of accident.”
“Did you do that?” Delzeena asked hopefully.
“Well, not on purpose, but, um...”
Kazaneta explained. “It was taking forever for the photographers to get Mother and Father arranged with their formal robes in front of that curtain, and we were bored and fidgeting. Xeebec was annoying Vazali, as usual, and it devolved into a shoving match. Somehow she got a hold of his antenna in the scuffle, and it came off.”
Vazali put a hand to her forehead and shook her head, looking both embarrassed and amused. “I screamed bloody murder and Xeebec started to cry.”
“I’m not sure which one of you was more shocked,” Kazaneta said. “Father was understandably peeved, but the portrait session had to go on. They tried shooting from an angle that wouldn’t show the, er, mishap, but eventually they simply ended up airbrushing in an antenna afterwards.”
Delzeena nearly fell off the sofa laughing. “That is so cool!”
Vazali didn’t dare confirm or deny this. “It grew back fairly quickly.”
“You haven’t told her the best part,” Kazaneta prompted.
“It gets better?” the girl squealed.
“Well, you’ll recall what I said once about Xeebec having had a nervous twitch in his antennae as a child?”
“Yeah...”
“That was the other one.”
“You pulled off the normal one?”
“Again, not on purpose, but...yes.”
“So he was left with just one antenna, and that one twitched all the time!”
“Not all the time. Most of the time.” Vazali briefly hid her face behind the photo album. “Not one of my most glowing achievements.”
Delzeena stood up and struck an eager pose. “Forget the underwear in the pool, let’s go do that again!”
“No,” Vazali said firmly. She grabbed Delzeena’s arm and gently pulled her back to the sofa. “That was all long ago. We’re grownups now.”
“But I wasn’t even born then!”
“No, obviously. But you’ll just have to imagine what it was like.”
“Aww...”
Vazali successfully changed the subject and picked up a different album.
*sigh* Back to therapy...
It obviously didn't work the first time.
Aww, poor widdle Twitchy.
MY NAME IS NOT TWITCHY!!!
Whatever you say, Unca Twitchy.
I hate you all. I really do.
We know.
Mwahahahaha I shall take over the universe with the power of my extreme superpukeykyootness! *goo*