The Alien Child Leads the Human by the Hand—He Realizes Who Her Mother Is When the Court Bows

Описание: Dr. David Chen is human botanist working at the Thessari Imperial Botanical Gardens—research facility attached to the palace complex where scientists study plant cultivation and agricultural techniques. David has been working at the gardens for three months on temporary research assignment, focusing on cross-species agricultural compatibility. His work keeps him primarily in research greenhouses and laboratories—he has minimal contact with palace officials or court personnel, operates in the scientific sphere that exists separately from the political hierarchies governing the palace proper. One afternoon while David is working in one of the outdoor garden sections taking soil samples, a young Thessari child approaches him. She appears to be perhaps five or six years old, wearing well-made but not ostentatiously formal clothing, showing the curious unselfconscious friendliness that young children display before social conditioning teaches them wariness of strangers. She watches David work with evident fascination, then begins asking questions about what he's doing. David answers patiently while continuing his work, enjoying the interaction. After perhaps twenty minutes, the child announces with confident decision-making: "You should come meet my mother. She likes plants too. She would want to see what you're doing." David assumes this is child wanting to share something interesting with her parent, probably someone who works in the palace in some administrative capacity. The child reaches up and takes his hand with small warm grip and begins tugging him toward the palace. David follows, partly because refusing seems unkind, partly because he assumes someone will intervene shortly to redirect the child. But no one stops them. Palace guards see them approaching and step aside without comment. Palace staff in the corridors move out of their path with unusual deference. The child chatters continuously as she leads him through increasingly formal corridors—talking about colors in the gardens, asking about his boots, pointing out architectural features she finds interesting. David is beginning to feel concerned that they're moving deeper into what are clearly official palace sections when the child leads him toward massive ornate doors. The doors are opened by attendants who bow slightly as the child approaches—opened without question, as though the child's presence is itself sufficient credential. The doors open onto the Grand Audience Chamber—the formal throne room where the Thessari court conducts official business. The chamber is filled with perhaps two hundred courtiers, nobles, and officials engaged in complex court proceedings. The child pulls David into the chamber, still holding his hand, still chattering. The reaction is immediate and synchronized. Conversation dies instantly. Courtiers straighten into formal attention. Guards throughout the chamber drop to one knee in synchronized movement. The bow spreads through the chamber like a wave—starting from those nearest the door and rippling outward as everyone present performs the deep formal genuflection that Thessari protocol reserves for one specific person. David stands frozen, still holding the child's hand, watching two hundred people bow. Only then does he understand—why no one stopped the child, why guards stepped aside, why doors opened without authorization. The child looks up at him, smiling, still holding his hand. She points toward the throne where Queen Seraphina sits in full sovereign regalia. "My mother," she says simply.

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