Red Rope of Fate by K.M. Shea

“Halt in the name of the King,” he said carefully before sipping his tea.
    “Halt in the name of the King? When is she g oing to use that?” Thad scoffed, adding a dash of sugar to his tea.
    “Captain will kill us…she…goes…patrol,” Wilford said, slumping in the settee in Tari’s sitting room.
    Evlawyn cleared his throat, and the young patrol leader jerked forward, correcting his posture.
    Tari frowned slightly, inwardly disappointed with herself. While she was picking up human words and grammar rules she wasn’t good enough ! Whenever Grygg, Thad, or Wilford spoke at a normal speed she had a difficult time picking out words she recognized, much less understood.
    “Lady Tari,” Thad said, recapturing her attention. “You are doing great. Well done,” he said with an emp hatic nod.
    Tari shook her head. “Not yet. Hailt in the namane of the King.”
    “Halt in the name of the King,” Grygg repeated as Thad shot him a dirty look.
    “Hailt in the namane of the King.”
    “No, halt. Halt. Name. Two parts, not three. Na-me,” he said.
    “W hat……………Tari?” Wilford asked.
    Tari shook his head, his whole sentence was lost to her. “Please, once more, more slowly?”
    Wilford thoughtfully frowned as he set his dainty tea cup down. “At parties, humans ask you what?” he said, executing a few sign gestures to get his point across.
    Tari thoughtfully shifted. “Capetain Arion.”
    “Captain,” Wilford corrected.
    “Captain Arion, the food and drink, daughters, my bond, Captain Arion, and weather,” Tari listed.
    “Daughters?” Thad asked.
    “King Petyrr.”
    “Ahh.”
    “Food and drink? I see,” Thad said, thinking for a moment as he sipped his tea.
    Wilford held out the tray of tea treats. “Would you like a cookie?”
    “Yes please,” Tari said, reaching for the tray.
    Wilford held it just out of reach. “Ask a question,” he suggested before bringing the tray closer.
    Tari thought for a  moment before saying, “Which one tastes best?”
    Thad nodded. “Well said. Good accent, but in royal company you should say ‘Which one do you recommend?’”
    “Which one do you r-recommend?” Tari asked, stumbling slightly.
    Wilford smiled to show his approval before replying. “The elvish green tea cookies taste…”
    “Taste how?” Tari asked.
    “ Fantastic ,” Wilford said, carefully pronouncing the word. “They taste very good.”
    “Thank you, then I will try a green tea cookie,” Tari said, selecting a slightly green hued cookie from the tray.
    Grygg frowned slightly and straightened in his chair. “What hour is it?”
    Tari leaned forward to glance through the open doorway that led into her bedroom, getting a look at the sunlight. “I think it is almost third hour,” she said.
    Grygg brightened and grinned at Tari. “I say, well done Lady Tari! I am glad you caught that,” he said, clapping.
    Wilford, however, set the treat tray down and stood. “We have to go then. Our patrol reports are due in two hours.”
    Grygg said something that sounded like an agreement, but Tari didn’t r ecognize any of the words.
    The soldiers dutifully placed their emptied tea cups on the tea tray and straightened any cushions they might have flattened before inspecting each other’s uniforms for crumbs and creases.
    “That was a lovely tea, Lady Tari. Thank you for inviting us,” Thad said, taking care to enunciate his words.
    Tari smiled and also stood. “Thank you for coming. I shall see you for tea, again, tomorrow?”
    All three of the patrol leaders bowed.
    “We look forward to it,” Thad smiled, stepping out of Tari’s sitting room.
    “Think of topics to discuss,” Wilford advised, following his friend.
    “Halt in the name of the King,” Grygg, the last guard in the room, hopefully said.
    “Halt in the name of the King,” Tari parroted back.
    Based on Grygg’s beaming smile, she said it correctly.
    “Grygg, stop that,” Thad called from the hallway, an accent