Exotica's Error

Captain Artur liked to be polite. The normal protocol on being presented to a princess would be to bow, but given the circumstances that would have seemed a little ridiculous, so he contented himself with a brief dip of his head in acknowledgement. "Good day, Your Highness."

Exotica too had been brought up to be polite. "Good day, Captain Artur."

"How did you know my name, Princess?"

Exotica realised that she had blundered. Whereas she herself knew Artur well, Astra would have had no idea of who he was. There was an awkward moment of silence as she tried to come up with a plausible explanation of how she knew his name.

Eventually she said: "Earlier, before I was sent to the dungeon, I saw you in the distance and asked Lord Fred who that handsome man was. He told me that it was Captain Artur."

1. Artur is susceptible to flattery and accepts this.
2. Artur doesn't believe her. He can't understand how Astra and Fred could have seen him without his having seen them. Besides, Exotica had paused altogether too long before replying.

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