"We are here, I can't believe it! Queen Marie-Ange's Palace of Lervailles!"
"We only have a little time though, we won't be able to see but a fraction of it."
"Where to next?"
"Montaco, in Magrat."
"Are you a gambler. Amarat Dunkehl?"
"No, I am repaying a favour. Mind the city limit fences."
"This is outside the city?"
"No, the property straddles the city limit, so as it custom in Eurani, that means the city ends on the outside border of the property, stretching the city proportionately."
"And how big is this city?"
"Just about a hundred square kloms.
" "So about as big around as Megamisama?"
'Megamisama city of the holy elements under the protection of Meihomei in Kagomei is just about double in area, but the same population."
"You dork, you didn't need to use the formal name..."
"Sometimes it's bet to use the formal name, like tonight..."
"Oh, in Montaco? We meeting some brass?"
"The place we're going has a director of protocol, he's been known to evict paying customers who were not 'worthy', best to be careful."
"Oh, I better just shut up then, half of what I say comes out less formal than I'd like."
"Hence I thought I'd give you a little practice."
"Oh, thanks. You know, I forgot..."
"What did you forget? Your memory's excellent, normally."
"I forgot to thank you for bringing me here, seeing this place was on my bucket list. What's this?"
"The Diamond Fort? We gotta wait for them to check our papers, before we go in."
"Where is everybody?"
"Guillaume Gauthier arranged for us a tour before the place opens to regular tourists, so we can see the changing of the dawn pistoleers."
"The Dawn Pistoleers? You're kidding!"
"Farmler, a buler speufrache."
"Crerulerer Kagomine."
"Tanlere."
Amarat and Flora handed over their passports. The guard had a shaky command of Moniqan, enough to switch to that language for the rest: "I'm told you are distinguished guests, otherwise you would not be allowed...What dignity do you have, that we would show you this secret ceremony forbidden to foreigners since Marie-Ange herself?"
"My mow is the heir to the throne of Kagomine, and instrument in the treaty of Lai Dang." Flora blurted out, Amarat turned crimson.
"Then the honour is well-earned. What is that on your breasts? You are in the service?"
"Miniatures, yes."
"Even the Kagomine don't bother with miniatures for the good conduct medals everyone has. What did you do?"
"The merit..."
"Is classified, please, we already are holding up the ceremony..."
"A peach-flavoured sundae-toting Merit of HONOR, apiece?" He did what no Dawn Pistoleer had done, not since there was a unit of Dawn Pistoleers: he bowed to someone who wasn't his monarch.
"Distinguished guests? That's calling a leg a little toe! Whatever you did to earn that, even here we know, we remember, the bravery required never goes lesser, and what is it, that you would wear, before a Merit?"
"My Mow is the Valour-Keeper now."
"The Fount of Honour hisself? I bowed once, I won't do it again, but I almost did..."
"He gets that all the time, and the ladies.. Good thing he has me to protect him, some of them require clubs to dislodge..." She batted her eyelashes at Amarat, coquettishly.
"Let us take our places, honoured ones."
"I carry news of Good Queen Marie-Ange! She has passed!"
"Then her Dawn Pistoleers can now rest, ordinary men can guard lesser queens."
"Why would we rest? Duty never ceases."
"But a man's ability to bear burden is finite, let it be known that each guard can only guard for one third of each day, with one other third given to food and training and the care of weapons, and one third to sleep!"
Flora whispered to Amarat: "Why is this place so famous about the pistoleers?"
"That's where they invented smokeless powder, and cartridges for pistols. Those were a major thing, here. Also, they sacrificed themselves quite a few times to save their queen."
"And apparently laying claim to crew rest isn't beyond them either..."
