Roland smiled at the concerned man beside him. They were likely of similar age, but Caspian seemed so young right now that it made Roland want to mentor him.
"Against your will?" He suppressed a smile.
"Indeed. How can I know for sure I'm not under a spell?" The man looked miserable. Whether it was from admitting his concerns or from guilt at having the concerns in the first place was anybody's guess.
"When you met her, or any time since, did you notice a peculiar scent, like a cloyingly sweet flower, overwhelming in its potency?" Roland asked.
"No," Caspian looked like he was trying to remember.
"Did you immediately find it hard to think or reason in her presence, as if you were drunk or drowning? Like your brain was trapped in an endless fog?" Roland pressed.
"No... well, a little hard to think, maybe, but nothing that bad." Caspian replied.
"Do you find yourself thinking about her when she'd not around? Do your fingers ache or tingle when you touch her? When she smiles at you, does your stomach twist in a way that's a little painful, but oddly pleasant at the same time? Is it hard to breathe when she gets too close? Your heart threaten to beat out of your chest at the thought of losing her? Would you give your own life to spare hers?" Roland's eyes drifted from the man beside him as his thoughts went astray.
The silence next to him drew his attention back. Caspian looked extremely worried.
"Yes," He looked like he might be ill.
"Then good news! You love her. Truly, and of your own accord." Roland slapped the man on the shoulder. "Congratulations."
"How can that be? It's been so short a time." Caspian was struggling to regain his composure, obviously shocked by the revelation.
"Love can sneak up on a man. It cuts deeply, but its wounds are faithful. Bear them with pride. You don't even have the problem of convincing her to marry you! Lucky man."
Roland recalled the struggle and heartache of containing his feelings while he gave Finn the space and time she needed to sort out her own heart.
It had been excruciating at times. He mused on what it would have been like to marry first and then fall in love instead of the other way around. Their wedding might have been grander. He chuckled to himself, earning a curious look from his companion.
"You poor fellow. It hurts at first, doesn't it? Like you might vomit or even die if she doesn't return your feelings." Roland continued.
Caspian paused, and gave a short nod.
"It may take a bit of time to come to terms with it." The Rhone prince smiled, and received another nod, and a slightly panicked look as another man approached the sensitive conversation.
"I saw you two looking very serious over here and thought I might liven up the conversation with my considerable wit," Riley grinned as he took a place beside Roland.
"Have you made yourself famous here yet? And if so, for your tongue or your sword?" Roland wasted no greeting on his friend.
"For both, I'd imagine, although the Commodore's son could likely tell you better." Riley nodded to the third man.
"He's distracted at the moment, I'm afraid, and won't be likely to buoy your pride with assurances of your renown." Roland smiled to soften the verbal jab.
"Distracted? What by?" Riley leaned forward to peer at Caspian, who had yet to speak since his arrival.
"The very worst, I'm afraid." Roland glanced over as Caspian gave him a startled look and Riley slapped his forehead with his palm.
"Oh no! Love, is it? Poor man. Slaves to it, we are. Prisoners in gilded handcuffs doomed to spend our lives in its service." Riley's dramatic speech was punctuated by clasping his hands across his heart as if it had been forcibly taken from him.
"I'll pass your complaints along to your jailer." Roland's eyes rolled toward Ashley, where she spoke with Mayra and Peter nearby.
"And what a beautiful one I have! Wouldn't trade her for another in all the world." Riley grinned broadly.
"You perplex me." Caspian said at last. He wasn't a terribly chatty person, it seemed.
"It is one of my many talents, to perplex the masses," Riley responded. "But I see your distraction prevents you from appreciating my dazzling wit. It was lost on my last audience, too. I fear the same ailment has its grip there also."
"Oh?" Roland had begun to lose interest in his friend's waxing about his own greatness, but his curiosity was piqued. "Have Mayra and Peter finally given in and admitted their feelings to each other?"
"Do all Klain men gossip about love?" Caspian asked incredulously.
"Gossip? Why, how can I gossip about my own sister, my flesh and blood? I'm merely looking out for her well-being. She needs a good strong man to keep her in line. Not that I'm sure Peter's completely up to the job, but I've done my best training him up to take her on."
The Cetoan man stared for a few moments as if trying to discern just how serious Riley was being. The Klain soldier grinned unrepentantly and blessed him with a wink to show that he wasn't entirely in earnest.
Roland sighed.
"Riley, is this the impression of Klain you've been giving to our hosts? It's a rather dreadful one, I must say. Surely you could find it in yourself to be a tad more professional now and then." The prince chastised his friend.
"If they can't appreciate humor, do we really want them as an ally?" Riley shot back. "I have to balance you out. You've only become more serious and diplomatic over time. Listen to you! 'it's a rather dreadful one, I must say'. You sound like an elderly scholar giving me a lecture on manners."
"You've had far too few lectures on manners, I'd venture to guess." Caspian said seriously. Both the other men stopped short and turned to look at him before Roland burst out laughing. Riley soon joined in after his initial shock at the jab wore off.
"I like this one, Roland. Let's keep him around." Riley grinned. "My good influence and fantastic sense of humor are rubbing off on him already."
"I'm sure that's what it must be," The prince returned sarcastically, "and not your innate ability to open yourself up to mockery."
"I'm wounded, Friend. Deeply wounded." Riley mimed being shot by an arrow in the heart.
Roland turned back to the least chatty member of the trio.
"Caspian, as I sense I gave you a great revelation a moment ago, I will not hold you to any social obligation to continue a conversation from which you are doubtlessly distracted. I see where your eyes are wandering and would encourage the rest of you to follow." He smiled kindly at the Cetoan man and then glanced over to where Naomi had joined Peter, Mayra, and Ashley in conversation.
"Yes, don't leave a lady waiting too long or you risk losing her. Strike while the iron is hot!" Riley gave him another wink, and it looked as if Caspian had to refrain from rolling his eyes.
"You two are very different, and yet much the same. It is... a puzzle." The Cetoan man said. "I will take your unsolicited advice and bow out of this unusual conversation."
With a nod to each of them, he was off to join his wife. The two remaining men shared a knowing glance and a quiet chuckle.
"You really are outrageous sometimes, you know that?" Roland prodded.
"Said the pot to the kettle. Without me around you'd become pompous and pretentious. Someone has to keep you grounded. Ever since you found out you're a prince, you need constant reminding that you're not any better than I am." Riley shook his head.
"Oh, I'm definitely better than you are, just not for that reason," Roland grinned.
"See! That sort of arrogance is what I'm talking about. That's my thing, and you've stolen it from me. It's unseemly. I'm planning on lodging a formal complaint with your king."
"I wish you the best of luck with that endeavor," Roland involuntarily took on a more royal tone. "May all your quests find the resolutions you desire."
"Ugh, if only. The quest here has been a dead end. The investigation of the Void is going nowhere." Riley complained. "I've talked to countless people about it, and even gone up into the forest to talk to the people Mayra found with the little girl. They weren't excited to see a soldier, and didn't want to say anything. No one seems to know anything, or is hiding it. I hope you have better luck."
"I hope so too. I've been busy with the diplomatic side of things so far since being here, but the investigation needs to take precedence at some point. I'll try to join you for it tomorrow, if you'll be so kind as to catch me up on all your findings."
"Will do, Your Royal Highness," Riley saluted his friend, who gave him an amused-yet-irritated glance.
"Go enjoy your wife's company. My diplomatic duties require me for now." Roland slapped his friend on the shoulder, wishing he had his own wife there beside him.