I ... don't quite understand what you're saying. But I do believe I sense a measure of distrust and hostility. Kindly correct me if that's not the case, and I will apologize.

[ this is familiar, at least. dimitri has been schooled in etiquette and politics, he knows how to hold himself in court and in public. this, well. he feels a lot more as his arena. dimitri settles onto it like a scrumptious layer of cheese on gautier gratin. ]

That the monarchy can't hold on is unfortunate, but no rule is ever eternal. I hope that may provide comfort to yourself.

As for my parents, they are dead. [ he says it gently, but firmly. ] I was young when I lost them. My mother died during the plague. My stepmother ... and my father ... were both murdered when I was younger. I remain the only survivor and heir of my immediate family.

[ how to talk about duscur without talking about duscur. certainly not in a place where it matters, where people won't understand what it means to him. the ghosts stir in his mind, restless, angry. like poking a hive with a stick, there is an incessant buzzing at the back of his head that reminds him of their existence. i know, he thinks to himself like offering a prayer. i understand your fury. but this is not the space nor time. and this place is inhospitable to history, my history. ours. ]