(sorry for the wait, I was really busy yesterday!)
Edward smiled a little. "I am unsure what information you are basing this off of, but yes, I am a fair fencer." he replied, taking a sip from his tea. "And as for us fencing against each other, it could well be an interesting or even helpful thing to do. However, I am not sure that we have the opportunity to do so today."
(oh no, it's all good! thanks for the response!)
Sabbas shrugged with a light scoff slithering off his tongue. His hands left the sides of the chair, motioning to King Edward before resting back on the chair's arms. "Well, if I may say, with the way you carry yourself and the manner of your physique, I assume that you are the exceptional fencer, my king. I do not need information from one's tongue to determine a person, whether that be their fencing ability or not." He shook his head, slightly waving his left hand. "Please, Your Majesty, let us not worry about that now. We, or even I, shall take care of that on another day. Like fencing, the matter is the current moment at hand; the opportunity of here and now. So let's enjoy it, shall we?"
"I see." he replied, then nodded slightly. "And of course; we shall enjoy our current moment, and save our fencing for another day." if it happened. He would have to speak with his advisors about all of this. After all, he did not want to get into a fight that he would not win, not when that could reflect badly upon his very country.
"Fantastico! Thank you, Your Majesty." Sabbas lightly chuckled before picking up his tea cup. His left index finger traced around the edges of it. The detail in the cup left him in wonder for a bit as he stared at it, appreciating the fine china's beauty. No words had come to his mind. All he could think about was the set of blue eyes in front of him and the same ones painted on a portrait. Both ad fine as the teacup. He smiled while taking a sip.
Edward nodded again. "You are welcome, ambassador." he replied, setting his own teacup down and letting out a soft, slightly tired breath. "I take it from your words that you enjoy fencing, then?" his question was soft, without pressure to answer if Sabbas did not wish to answer it. Edward had no wish to unduly pressure the other man.
Softly, he laughed a little while nodding his head. Sabbas moved forward in his seat to place the cup down. "Ever since my father made me take lessons, I suppose. He believes it to be a rather important skill to have, not just just fighting purposes of course." The question was fine in his opinion. There were plenty of more obscure ones that he is also fine with answering, although, ones about his personal life and background required more time to think, naturally of course. "It helped learning French a bit easy on my part as well." He chuckled while relaxing in the chair.
"Ah, of course." he inclined his head slightly. "Fencing is the gentleman's art, and as gentlemen, we must learn it." he smiled a little bit. "I was not aware you spoke French, either. Does that mean that you speak three languages? English, French, and of course your native tongue of Spanish?" that was rather impressive. Edward himself was fluent in both English and French, but only spoke Spanish passingly well; it had not been seen as a priority in his education, and what he did know he had mostly learned since becoming King.
Spanish, French, English, and little bit of Arabic, that is all that he knows. Not to be a bit of a bragging type of course; well, maybe there is nothing wrong with being a bit cocky. Sabbas rubbed the back of his neck. Lightly grinning back, he nodded. "Ah yes, I am fluent in those three. I did my best with learning Arabic since I had wished to work in the Ottoman Empire as a diplomat." He gave a slight shrug, still smiling. "Que sera, sera, it is more than alright. I actually quite love it here as a matter of fact. If Your Majesty ever needs a Spanish tutor, I will be more than gladly be of service. It is not much different from French more or less."
Edward hummed very faintly. "I may take you up on that offer; I am afraid my knowledge of Spanish is quite lacking. It was not focused on while I was being tutored. My tutors focused on French, instead, due to my bride." his French wife. He had been engaged to her since they were both very small children; he had never had a choice on whether or not he was going to marry her.
Teaching the king on reading, writing, and speaking Spanish could help with relations; it would be an educating, as well as interesting, experience for them both. For him, learning French was feasible. Sabbas grinned, giving an understandable nod. "Ah, but of course, Your Majesty. You must be a delightful husband to Her Majesty for learning French. I take it that you speak the language wonderfully as well."
"She appreciates it. I had no choice in the matter of learning it, but it is good that I know it." he replied, smiling back at Sabbas. "I speak it quite well, which is good. For me and for my wife, and for the French that I work with." he shrugged his shoulders just a little bit. To tell the truth, he enjoyed learnign.
"It is indeed," He added. "Would you be interested in conversing in French with me at this moment?" Sabbas sat up for a moment, only to cross his leg before leaning back into the chair. His head slightly tilted as he let his gaze linger on the king for a moment. The grin persisted. "I take it that you are quite the catechumen, my king; you must enjoy learning, yes? Is there any particular subject that fascinates you or catches your eye?"
(love that I managed to misspell learning lmfao)
Edward raised his eyebrows a little bit. "If French is a language that you are comfortable conversing in, then, oui. Nous pouvons converser en français." he smiled over at the consul, then switched back to English. "I do enjoy learning, yes. I enjoy languages, and history, though I am not choosy about what precisely I am learning about."
Sabbas laughed. It was low but silky and gentle. After a momentary pause, he spoke, "Quelle que soit la langue que vous décidez d'utiliser, j'utiliserai la même, mon roi. J'ai l'air plus natif en français qu'en anglais. J'espère que mes deux accents ne sont pas terribles." Once the final word waltzed off his tongue, he chuckled again. Switching between languages was still something he was learning to do, and he admits that he is not the best at it. At least he can listen in another better. "Ahh, I see. History is a rather extensive subject, but a critical one to know. Same goes for languages," He finally said in English. "When you think about it, Your Majesty, someday we will be subjects of history that men like us will be fascinated with. In fact, one can argue that we are right now as we speak."
Edward inhaled very slightly at that laugh, eyes flickering up to the ceiling, then back to Sabbas. "Vos deux accents n'ont pas à rougir. Je suis sûr que mon propre accent en espagnol sera quelque chose d'atroce." he replied, laughing a little bit himself. His own laugh was soft and gentle, his mouth tilting up at the corners as the laugh left his lips. He took in Sabbas's words, nodding faintly. "Yes, you are correct. Someday, my name will be in the lineage of monarchs, and yours shall be recorded as an ambassador and lord." he replied.
"Non non non, Votre Majesté. Je peux vous assurer que votre espagnol sonne aussi bien que votre anglais et votre français. De plus, avec la bonne langue pour vous guider, vous réussirez, rassurez-vous." He could not help but laugh again, although this time, it was because he enjoyed hearing King Edward's. To laugh along with the monarch is as much pleasure as it is an honor to him. And to be etched into history, it as well, an honor. He bowed his head. "That will be an interesting day for the both of us. Our children and grandchildren shall remember us as the greats of our time, that along with the descendants of our great empires respectively. I just wish that I can learn of our history now the way they will; it would a be a wonder to, wouldn't you agree, my king?"
"Ah, mais sir Valiente, comment pouvez-vous m'assurer une telle chose alors que vous ne m'avez jamais entendu parler espagnol ? Cela semble tout à fait la tâche impossible, à la limite de purs mensonges flatteurs." he replied, laughing again and smiling over at the ambassador. "It would indeed be a wonder to learn of history the way they will. But, sadly, we cannot learn of it that way."
"Eh bien… mon roi, votre français est exquis. Et en tant qu'Espagnol de souche, je peux vous assurer qu'avec votre espagnol, ce sera aussi exquis. Ne laissez pas de petits changements d'accent et de grammaire vous décourager, Votre Majesté." Sabbas beamed, laughing along with the king. "En effet, je les envie d'une certaine manière….." He stopped. Lowering his chin, he chuckled to himself. A slight tint of red blushed his cheeks. "Ah forgive me, Your Majesty. I am great at many things, but switching to English is still a struggle for me. Hopefully history will not record that."
"Ah, eh bien, je suppose que vous devez avoir raison. Ou, à tout le moins, j'espère que vous l'êtes. Cependant, je crains toujours que ma grammaire ne soit atroce." he replied, shrugging his shoulders. At the faint flush on Sabbas's cheeks, Edward cleared his throat and nodded. "Ah, of course. It is not a problem, ambassador. I can move between French and English easily, as I learned them both from a very young age, but if it is a problem for you, then we can converse in solely English from this point forward, if that would be better."
"Pas de soucis, mon roi. La grammaire est comme le cuir, vous pouvez l'étirer et la porter jusqu'à ce qu'elle soit parfaitement ajustée." It is true after all, or at least with his experience it is. He only knows so much after all. Leaning forward, he took ahold of his cup and drank from it. "Only if you say so, Your Majesty," He added. "I still have to learn switching from Spanish and French to English, and there's no better way than doing so in real life. I am not sure how you approach learning, my king, but I find it that learning as one grows is a beneficial one. Not only does it apply in certain studies, but in life as well."
"Une merveilleuse description, monsieur Valiente. Merci car je ne l'avais pas entendu avant." he replied, smiling over at Sabbas. He stretched a little bit, nodding at Sabbas's words. "I see. Of course we can continue our switching, then. I do agree that some of the best ways to learn things is from real life, and from practicing things in real conversatiosn."
"C'est mon honneur, Votre Majesté. Je suis plus qu'heureux d'entendre." He glanced over at King Edward, noticing the monarch stretch. It made him adjust and stretch in his seat himself. They have been sitting for awhile now. "Wonderful, thank you, my king. My secondary and tritary language, it will be a delightful experience," Sabbas mused. "If I may, Your Majesty, would you like to walk around the palace or perhaps the gardens with me? We have been in these chairs for a good bit now. I only ask out of consideration though, that is all."
"Merci pour cela, ambassadeur." Edward replied, smiling faintly at Sabbas. At the man's question about walking through the gardens, he nodded, standing up from his seat. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." he replied in agreement,adjusting his sleeves and giving Sabbas a quick, easy smile.
"Ah, splendid!" Sabbas sat his hands on the arms of the chair as he slowly stood up. Gazing down at the ground, he tilted his head and heard a slight crack. He neatly swept off his trouser legs and jacket sleeves before glimpsing over at His Majesty. It awhile for words to finally develop in his mind and spill out. Turning to the servant, he gestured for them to handle the teacups and everything. Then he motioned towards door, "After you, my king."
Edward hummed softly, and led the way from the room. "Come, then." he said simply, leading Sabbas through the halls of the palace. A guard fell in behind the two, silent and watchful. It was not that Edward felt he needed one; it was only for safety.