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“I’m sorry, but I simply cannot respect you.”
The Pale King startled, looking up at the creature - no, human - that accompanied him. They had been silently walking together down to the dinner hall, for once left alone without a retainer or two trailing behind, when they spoke. The sudden statement left him at a loss for words, and lingered awkwardly in the air between them.
“Pardon me?”
“I can’t respect you.” The adolescent human paused, and tilted their head, “Well, not as a adult. As a host, yes. But not an adult, nor a king.” Another pause, “No more than I’d respect a substitute teacher, anyways.”
The Pale King was absolutely baffled by this point; without any prerequisite, or build up, this near stranger simply comes out and says they simply don’t respect him! It was a novel experience for sure, and the king couldn’t find it within himself to be offended.
“Why so?” He asked, the faintest bit of amusement leaking into his voice.
“Well, for one: I don’t know you very well. Like I said, I do respect you as a host! But no more than that.”
An encouraging hum was all they needed to continue.
“For two, well… we don’t have kings where we come from. Or queens.”
It’s not like the human had been very tight-lipped about information of their homeland before, but it was always a shock to hear. Or see, whenever they interacted with nobility. The Pale King couldn’t fathom a kingdom without a ruler, godly or not.
“For three, - once again, I must say - you’re a stranger...” They giggled quietly, “and my mom isn’t here to make sure I respect you, if that makes any sense.”
Eyes widening at what they just said, the human backpedaled with a frantic waving of their hands: “Not that I’m saying I’ll be rude! I’ll still be nice because I’d feel bad otherwise!!! But yeah.” They laughed quietly again, “No mom to tell me no.”
Still rather bemused at the topic, the Pale King began walking once more, and asked: “If not I, then who do you respect? As an adult, not simply a host.”
The human hummed softly as they followed along, appendages tapping their arm while they thought. A minute or two of silence passed as they glanced at the lumaflies, like the little creatures might hold the answers to their questions.
“Your wife, the white lady, right? Her, I think. More than I do you, at least.”
The Pale King couldn’t help a quiet chuckle: “I cannot begrudge her that; indeed, I’d be fairly displeased if she was less respected than I.”
A squint of the eyes, and a faint ‘heh’ was the human’s only response before they continued on: “annnd… I think the cooks. Always be nice to the people cooking your food. Always.”
There was such heavy emphasis there. He wondered what the story was, for them to have taken such a statement so deeply to heart.
“Plus they’re just... really nice. Always seem to have a ton of snacks on hand, even after the midnight hours.” They finished, letting the piece of fabric they had started rubbing part-way through drop back into place.
Another minute or two of silence passed while they walked toward their destination. Suddenly, the human stopped with a quiet ‘oh!’, before peering down at the Pale King, embarrassment clear in their features.
“I… never said why I said that, huh.”
“No, you did not.”
“Ah…” They sagged sheepishly, “Well… hm, I suppose I kinda just wanted to let you know? That I don’t.” They shrugged, tapping their arm again, “Maybe I could respect you more one day? Maybe not? I’m not sure. But I just wanted to let you know.”
The Pale King barely managed to keep his composure; for the mere reason of simply wanting him to know, this human had told one of the highest authorities in the land they didn’t respect him! It was one of the funniest things to have happened to him in awhile, and he could not wait to tell the White Lady this one. With a shaky, inaudible sigh, the Pale King shoved down the remainder of his laughter, and turned back to look at the human, who now looked more nervous than before.
“I thank, and appreciate you for coming to me with this information. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind.” He responded, struggling to keep his mirth in check.
Reassured, the human relaxed and gave him a slight nod. The two then continued on their way to dinner.