Patiently and attentively, Alric listened without interrupting as she searched for what she wanted to say, cutting herself off as soon as she began, then dismissing the observation, only beginning to respond in earnest as snow began and come down around them. He couldn't help but look troubled, himself, at the sight of her shedding tears, and he tensed slightly where he stood, carefully restraining the impulse to do something to comfort her. She was clearly not in a state where he could make some simple gesture to soothe her, and if he attempted to without regard for her clearly significant anxieties, he had to assume it would only exacerbate them.
Pausing a moment after she'd evidently finished speaking, he sighed softly to himself, and shook his head lightly.
"...I wish I could offer some unequivocal assurance, but I have no intention to so insult your intelligence, Lady Elsa. However, whatever uncertainties and fears they may have, it's my impression that yours are a sensible, practical people. They may indeed find it difficult to adapt to the notion of a queen who wields magic, but I have every confidence that it's an adaptation of which they are quite capable."
Another brief pause, and his expression relaxes and brightens a little.
"I confess, from a rhetorical standpoint, the manner in which it was revealed to them was perhaps less than ideal..."
Hopefully he can defuse her distress over what had happened by framing it as an announcement that was executed poorly, rather than some unbounded total catastrophe, as well as playfully understating the matter.
"...however, I don't believe it was an unrecoverable incident. As I recall, the immediate harm was limited to a fountain and a number of frightened party guests. I assure you that younger, less popular dynasties ruling more capricious nations have weathered far more politically damaging events."
He smiles a touch more warmly, moving slowly so as not to startle her, and offering his hands--distant enough to avoid imposing on her, his posture relaxed and neutral.
"Think of it this way, Lady Elsa: if the people of Arendelle can embrace the coronation of a monarch unseen since her childhood and sealed away from them for a decade as warmly as they seemed ready to embrace you only yesterday, there is only so much of their favor likely to be lost through one more irregularity."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2022-07-24 08:05 am (UTC)From:Pausing a moment after she'd evidently finished speaking, he sighed softly to himself, and shook his head lightly.
"...I wish I could offer some unequivocal assurance, but I have no intention to so insult your intelligence, Lady Elsa. However, whatever uncertainties and fears they may have, it's my impression that yours are a sensible, practical people. They may indeed find it difficult to adapt to the notion of a queen who wields magic, but I have every confidence that it's an adaptation of which they are quite capable."
Another brief pause, and his expression relaxes and brightens a little.
"I confess, from a rhetorical standpoint, the manner in which it was revealed to them was perhaps less than ideal..."
Hopefully he can defuse her distress over what had happened by framing it as an announcement that was executed poorly, rather than some unbounded total catastrophe, as well as playfully understating the matter.
"...however, I don't believe it was an unrecoverable incident. As I recall, the immediate harm was limited to a fountain and a number of frightened party guests. I assure you that younger, less popular dynasties ruling more capricious nations have weathered far more politically damaging events."
He smiles a touch more warmly, moving slowly so as not to startle her, and offering his hands--distant enough to avoid imposing on her, his posture relaxed and neutral.
"Think of it this way, Lady Elsa: if the people of Arendelle can embrace the coronation of a monarch unseen since her childhood and sealed away from them for a decade as warmly as they seemed ready to embrace you only yesterday, there is only so much of their favor likely to be lost through one more irregularity."