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I always wondered why people think being a royalty is easy.

You need to mind your etiquette, play political games, attend dozens of tiring events every day and you're not even allowed to have some privacy.

Your bodyguards always follow you around outdoorsy, maids help you get dressed, cleaned up and seem to never leave your side.

Today was another dreadful day, in fact my birthday was today but I was not looking forward to it in the slightest.

sigh another day getting dressed up like a doll and pretending to enjoy the gifts and company of those snobs.

Why must every day be so troublesome? Dance lessons, history lessons, fencing, horse riding, politics, philosophy, music and other things which a princess like me are expected to excel at.

And sadly my parents force me to learn all that every day without any breaks. sigh I don't even see them much - they're always busy with their duties and never have time for me other than criticising me if I start slacking off.

I dreadfully walked towards the ballroom to start greeting the guests. well dreadfully is just my feelings inside - outside I look confidently walking with a sweet smile - learning how to put on a mask in public is one of basic skills for nobles after all.

Entering the ballroom I start greeting guests with a smile as my birthday gifts pile up in the corner - the gifts I get are all the same anyways, jewellery, perfumes, boring books and similar things which I don't really care for getting. Still I need to keep my smiling mask on and pretend to like it all.

The ball continues as I need to dance with neighbouring countries' princes and listen in to various blabbering and rumours. A few rumours did seem interesting - apparently few barons kept telling how they saw a dragon flying by last week, dragons are quite rare though I wonder if I will ever get to see one. —

Finally near midnight I'm finally back in my room - finally some alone time, really the only alone time I get is for sleeping, though I'm not really sure I'm alone - maybe there's some skilled bodyguards hidden. I look at the pile of gifts near my bed and get even more tired by the realisation that I will need to write thank you letters for all of them.

Suddenly a blue shiny box catches my eye - not because it's shiny, but simply because I don't remember receiving it. Afraid of scolding I pick it up to see if hopefully there's a note on the gift.

As I take the box it seems to tremble as if something alive is inside. Panicking I drop it on the bed as I also notice some guards appearing from shadows with worried looks.

The box starts tearing as a cute creature appears, but everyone tenses up on the sight of it. it's the thing I always wanted to see - a dragon!

Everything seems to slow down as I see in slow motion that tiny dragon glowing and growing in size, my guards start dropping to the ground as if asleep and I feel my eyes getting heavy as well… The last thing I see is the dragon smirking at me as if amused.

— yawn I wake up fully rested and wondering why no maids woke me up yet I clearly feel the sun's warmth on my skin and I was supposed to have my fencing practice an hour before sunrise.

Suddenly what happened last night came to me and my eyes snapped open. This is not a place I have ever been before. I stand up and look around. It seems I'm in some sort of cave - did that dragon kidnap me??

Fear takes over me as I remember all the stories I hear about princesses disappearing never to be seen again. Suddenly a fragrant smell enters my nose - it seems like spices chefs use for food. I try to scream but somehow I make no noise.

Suddenly a nearby door opens and I see a dragon head looking my way. "bump". Scared I fall back to the bed, though now that I think about it why does a huge dragon have a human sized bed? Dragon smirks as if amused by my reactions.

"I suppose some explanation is in order - first I apologise for kidnapping you so to say but looking over your life over past few weeks you looked like a suitable candidate"

"You see, us dragons have a very low chance of getting children of our own, so we usually just adopt some human ones."

I look at it weirdly - how come I'm hearing the voice but he's not moving his mouth? Also adoption? Don't I already have parents? poor ones but still.

" I speak with the help of magic, and yes your mind defences don't seem very good, don't they teach Occlumency to royalty anymore?"

"Anyways, you can call me Azurax, if you still want to go back to that dull live you had, I can let you go, but if you decide to stay here I will give you a new life - there's a ritual we dragons invented to convert humans to our kind, as a dragon you can have as much freedom as you so long for - we can freely change our size, change our form, learn magic and have very long lifespans among other abilities "

He suddenly shifts to a middle aged man with azure hair as if to prove his point.

" So what is your choice? "

Thinking back to all the annoyances of noble life I so wished to escape from it does not take long to came to a decision.

" I see you have made up your mind, daughter. Happy adoption day"

> The alien raised a slender hand. "Keeneetaa that is explained in terms of other things is not truly keeneetaa, for keeneetaa is both itself, and the description of itself. Even the sound of keeneetaa is not truly 'keeneetaa', it is rather the sound produced by an object colliding with nothing."

We do have similar concepts, incidentally.

"The Tao that can be spoken is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name..."

Surely that is not the expectation. We don't quite know why and how humans* developed languages, but it's safe to say we didn't have these things in mind back then.

* animals, especially birds and cetaceans might or might not have something akin to language as well.

I need to go through your profile and read stories, Pyronar. You have the exact same style of material I like to binge!

I for one welcome our giant lizard overlords

Lmfao

I think this year has been a magical one, my boyfriend of 5 years proposed to me, and we got married in the spring. He has been a helpful distraction after my mother passed away late last year. I never thought she was mentally unstable considering how happy she was when I told her Ethan proposed. All she left for us was a note, "Which me is the real me? The one that stares back, or me?"

Me and my siblings cleaned out her house after the funeral. Most of her stuff we sold at a yard sale. I only wanted one of the family pictures she had in her bedroom. As I was leaving, I walked past her large dressing mirror she had next to the dresser. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw a smaller figure in the mirror but when I went back it was just me. *Strange* I thought. Since the mirror had my attention, I decided to take it home since I didn't have one yet in our new house.

That night I had a dream, I was a little girl again, I had no shoes, I stink, and two adults who I assume to be my parents were arguing in the kitchen. Whatever language they were speaking I did not know. I decided I wanted to wash my hair, so I went to the bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror.

My husband kissed me on the cheek, "Hey you ready we were gonna go try that new breakfast place down the street." I had no memory of waking up from bed. I was just standing in front of that mirror getting dressed. "Yea, sorry must of been daydreaming." I fix my hair and spend a nice weekend day with my husband.

Night two, once again a child. I have a new bruise on my left cheek. My mother has locked herself in the bedroom and my dad is hugging me and sounding apologetic. He nudges me to the bathroom. I look in the mirror and notice the bruise large enough to resemble a fist.

I hold my foundation brush against my face. "You done with your makeup yet, hon? The bar is only open this late on Sundays, I got to work tomorrow let's go." This time the entire day has gone by, no memory of the day. I am just standing in front of that mirror getting ready for a night out. "Yea just daydream about how nice you look all dressed up." That gets a nice smile out of him. I finish putting the foundation on my left cheek and we head out.

Night three, my father is nowhere to be seen my mother seems to be doing better, that's good, I think. She has made dinner, some bread, and beans. This dream family must not be well off, makes sense why I am dressed the way I am. She sets the plate right in front of me and starts to cut the bread. That is when I noticed she had mumbled something. Suddenly she turns the bread knife towards me in a swiping motion and it grazes my cheek.

I fall from my chair as she screams at me. The burning in my cheek drives my adrenaline as I race to my feet and sprint to the only place I know in this world, the bathroom. I gaze in the mirror, "let me out!" I scream. I want this nightmare to end. I remember today is Monday. My husband who is normally there next to me has already left for work. My mother pounds against the bathroom door, eventually overcoming my small child's strength. I gaze into the mirror one more time please, I beg.

I'm sitting on the floor covered in sweat, my heart is pacing, and I begin to cry tears of happiness being back in reality. A voice speaks out from the mirror, "You owe me you know" I look up to see that small child standing in the mirror. "Who are you?" I ask. "I'm you, the one who takes your place in reality so you can calm yourself in that perfect dream world you live in." Confusion wells in me, "What do you mean dream world? This is reality I'm married; I just got a new home; my life is perf-." The child cuts me off, "You're wrong, that world is one you fabricated to escape the hell that is reality. But reality never stops so I take your place. But frankly I think your time has run out." I scream at the mirror. "No... I won't... I won't go back!" I punch the mirror; it shatters to pieces and masks itself in a red hue of my blood.

I refuse to sleep; I refuse to look in another mirror for fear of going back. I like this life and I want to live it. I don't care what reality is, this is the one I choose. My husband still isn't home, maybe my mind is starting to disassemble this dream. I decide to take control and make myself sleep, for good.

[removed]

Rites and Wrongs

A familiar, heavily bandaged agent met Gladys as she left the interview facility.

She fought a smile. "Hello again, Two First Names."

Dale glowered. "How'd the talk go with Penelope?"

"Well enough for wishing."

"Which means..?"

"She'll be more friend-shaped, by and by. After a few unpleasant nights, assuming failure isn't fatal." Gladys started walking; it was quite a distance to the Agency's front gate. They liked the Farm wide-open, with minimal cover for escaping inmates.

He fell into step. "We appreciate the favor. Miss Dessemer's fraternal uncle is Senator-"

"I know."

"And it's an election year, so-"

"Public embarrassment, aye. A rogue witch-niece is terribly bad for his image," she snarked. "Politicians are faulty corkscrews of personality."

Dale made a business decision. Specifically, to mind his own business. "We settled your mortgage. You're good for the month, after a fashion."

"This month? It's the twenty-sixth!"

"That was the deal," he looked smug beneath the bandages.

She eyed him. "'Not a single farthing furbished to the poor, Prince John?'," Gladys quoted.

"What's your phrase? 'The world balances'? And I'm not a Sheriff."

Gladys grinned, impressed. "You've read Robin Hood?"

Dale stopped just before the turnstile. Click-clack. Slam. "Saw the movie. Have a good day, ma'am."

She waited until he walked off, then cupped both hands to shout. "Caw! Caw!"

Watching him duck and panic was worth it. Forgetting is painful.

​

WC: 230

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No references are better than bad references!

I feel thr same thing as r/gifsthatendtoosoon. Dude we were right at the climax! I totally thought the loss of translation was gonna force a display of the beginning of a natural universal language in an attempt to be understood

It is slower than our learned language. But the aliens also used a learned language. It would take a long fucking time but could work.

This is where my mind went too.

"GROG IS PROUD OF GREGNOCK!"

a large Barbarian shouted, arms crossed as they stared me down. Ah, this must be where he gets his unique way of speaking. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I look over to Gregnock, who was currently "sneaking" into the room after what I presumed was either his father or brother had shouted. While obviously everyone had definitely spotted him, they refused to look at him. After all, they couldn't see him. Or their arms would be broken mysteriously the next day.

"Look, I didn't say you couldn't be proud of him, I'm just saying he needs to learn how to really sneak."

I said again, calmly as possible. God, I hated barbarians, but I couldn't fire Gregbock until he failed an assassination.

The nod is not innate. It it taught - which is why in some countries a nod means no.

The twisting head shake, however, is universally a 'no' - think of trying to feed a 2 year old!

[removed]

Excellent

Assuming one person a day 309 people (or more if names are shared) is a lot of people

I just looked it up.

I feel SO much better about my first mini.

[deleted]

That's right.

Yes, and he’s well-versed in the novel branch of magical spell-casters that is “cheese magic”

>the nod

Except in Bulgaria the not means "no".

Big part of nonverbal language is also taught rather than innate.

Thanks for the feedback.