Queen's Chambers -- Library

Esras grins upon hearing her answer, shifting to gently coax the bird off of his book before pulling it towards him, "I love history," he murmurs in response, letting his fingers brush lightly over the cover. "Have you studied anything before the creation of the four kingdoms?" he would ask with a tip of his head, gently ruffling the pages of his book while he waited upon her answer. He was still rather nervous, as exemplified by the tapping of his foot against the ground and the dancing of his gaze from book to Ranait and back again. Despite that he was rather relieved to find that they had a common interest; at least this way the studying might not be excruciatingly awkward as it currently was. Maybe they could delve into a conversation about history or some such, and he would no longer have to think about how she probably thought he was the most retarded person that she ever met. Honestly, he wasn't quite sure how to act around her; she was different than every other Lady of the Court that he had met- she was quiet and polite and she didn't succumb to his flirting like every other woman he had encountered. She also wasn't gossiping about how the Queen had fallen asleep on the couch like he knew any other lady in her position would be doing right now. This Ranait was definitely an intriguing individual.  

Esras nods enthusiastically upon hearing her answer, his gaze flicking to the page that he had interrupted her reading. When she began talking about the different areas he would look back to her, leaning in slightly so that he was better able to hear her soft voice. "That's so very accurate," he'd agree with another nod of his head, "But, I find the differences between individual rulers more interesting. It's intriguing to me how one ruler can change things so drastically while still being able to call it the same political system," he'd say with a grin as he opens his own book, flipping immediately to the correct page and holding it out to her. "Like with the creators of the four kingdoms. You can guarantee that they never would have accepted a queen to rule without a husband for more than a few months, but now we have Queen Morgan in the South and yet we still think our four kingdoms to be exactly the way when they were first created," he would explain, pointing to the page of his book that highlighted the first rulers of the four kingdoms. The book that he was holding actually showcased every ruler since before the four kingdoms, and even afterward, speaking not so much about their reigns, but the individual rulers themselves and their beliefs and histories.

Esras laughs softly and shakes his head as she realizes that she misunderstood his intention, "No, no. There's is absolutely nothing wrong with a queen ruling without a king, and I absolutely agree with you. It's just so radically different," he would explain, though he would quiet afterwards to listen to her speak. He would lean his elbow against the table as he props his chin on his fist, watching Ranait as she argues circles around his theory about individuals rulers and how their entire political systems were different from one to the next. To say the least he was completely enraptured by the young woman; his eyes had turned into twin saucers and his lips were parted in awe. He couldn't believe what he was hearing out of this shy lady's mouth. When she was finished speaking he'd simply stare at her for a moment before lifting his head from his hand, a grin settling over his face, "You are..." he'd start before quickly shaking his head. "Excuse me for being blunt, but you are by far the most intelligent individual that I have had the honor of meeting," he'd practically gush, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Later he'd probably be horrified and utterly embarrassed by the way that he had responded, but right now he was too awed by the Lady-in-waiting to really think about it. "And people call ME smart, oh gods..." he'd say with a laugh and a shake of his head.
When she stood he would leap from his chair, eager to see what book she might be choosing next. "What title are you looking for?" he asks, his brows raising as he takes the book from her, stepping around her and moving towards the collection, "I would be more than happy to find it for you," he'd say, pausing and looking back as he waits for her answer.   

Esras completely ignored her blush in favor of contradicting her, "No, you really are. I honestly can't think of another individuals that could hold a light to your intelligence," he says, being completely honest. His praise wasn't him flirting either; he had completely abandoned the idea when she hadn't reacted well to it when he'd first encountered her. When she said that she wasn't looking for any particular title he'd laugh softly and nod, "Of course, I should have expected that," he murmurs, moving to her side once again. As she looked he would listen intently to what she had to say, though he did kind of disagree with her take on foreign languages; he was absolutely horrendous at learning them, and viewed the process as the worst torture imaginable. When she pulled a rather large book down from the shelf he'd sort of gawk at her, not quite believing that she would actually sit through such a humongous book in a completely different language...but then hadn't he labeled her as the most intelligent person he'd met?
"Well, if you're so interested in other languages, maybe you could help me find a way that isn't torture to learn one," he'd say with a soft laugh, though he wasn't joking about wanting the lady's help. He knew the extreme basics of several languages, but he could never advance far beyond that without wanting to fall on his own sword. When she lugged the book back to the table he'd follow, grinning at the sound that it made when it connected with the table. He'd quickly move to pull her chair out for her; ever the gentleman. After she was comfortably seated he would move to sit beside her, letting his gaze roam carefully over the cover of the book that she had selected.

Esras listened avidly as she began to speak about the best ways to learn a new language, and he couldn't help but nod his head eagerly like an idiot. It made perfect sense to learn a new language that way, and he wondered why the tutors hadn't thought of that method yet. He found himself grinning every time Ranait giggled or laughed, her amusement contagious and honestly rather adorable. By the time she was finished speaking his cheeks ached from smiling so much, though he honestly couldn't stop if he tried, "So, are you going to help me?" he'd ask, though he figured he already knew the answer so instead of waiting there for her answer he would jump to his feet and stride towards the collection of books, pulling out one after the other until he found one in a different language that appeared to be filled with songs. He couldn't be certain though, so when he moved back to the table he would hand it over to her, "Songs like this?" he'd ask hopefully, looking for all the world like a child asking his mother for a piece of candy. Honestly, he was just hoping that it wasn't filled with poetry or children's songs or something of the sort; he didn't want to look like a complete idiot, though he even had to admit that he'd kind of been acting like one by drooling over her intelligence and whatnot. He would ignore that fact for now though, saving it for later when he could beat himself up over being a dolt in private.

Esras grins as he notices her face light up when she began to read the lyrics, only to frown as he noticed her blushing, and heard her say something about maybe not using that song before flipping rapidly through the rest of the pages. He would lean in to stare at the book as she flipped through it, trying to figure out what was wrong with the songs only to have her blush darken before she eventually got up and returned the book to the shelf. By that time he was frowning rather deeply, and as he watched her look for a different book he would sigh softly. Obviously there was something wrong with the lyrics. Maybe they weren't even lyrics at all? He'd probably picked up a novel or something. When she returned to the table he glance at the cover of the book, though it didn't give him any insight as to what might have been wrong with the last one. "So...didn't like my choice?" he asks with a tip of his head, embarrassed for his crappy choice but also wanting to know why it had been a crappy choice. He was kind of an odd person in that respect.

When she said that it was one of the easier songs to learn he would smile slightly, "Well, you've never tried to teach me a language before. I'm positive that soon enough you're going to regret agreeing to help me," he'd half-joke. He'd look down at the lyrics that she had chosen, though he honestly couldn't make much out of it and would let out a soft, somewhat nervous bout of laughter, "Well, are you going to sing it to me?" he'd ask, though his cheeks developed a pinkish color; he had never sounded so desperate when he asked a lady to sing for him before.

Esras couldn't help but laugh upon hearing her answer to his question, "Oh...wow. I'm so sorry," he'd say, a sheepish smile taking over his lips. He wondered briefly what exactly was in the songs despite getting a small hint by her saying that they weren't decent for court. He figured his curiosity would be sated sooner or later, so he would focus instead on the lesson at hand. Though, soon enough he wouldn't even remember what he had been thinking of, as the Lady-in-waiting began to sing. He would stare at her as she sang, complete awe settling over his face for the second time that day. When she finished singing he would continue to stare at her for a few moment before finally being able to gather his thoughts, "You..." he would say with a shake of his head, "You are an angel. It's official. I need to spread the word," he'd grin, though his eyes were still wide, giving him a sort of boyish charm.

He would quiet when she continued, translating the song into English before repeating herself in Gaelic and trying to get him to repeat after her, "Oh gosh...I am truly sorry for what you're about to experience," he'd joke, only to try to repeat the words after her like she had requested. He really was a good pupil, but he had the worst image of himself so even if he did okay pronouncing the words, he would think that he was butchering a language best left un-assaulted by him.