[ She watches him think it over, and it occurs to her again that she ought to be clearer. She takes things for granted often; her life experience is so vastly different from most people's that many things never bridge the gap, and she's never really had to make them. ]

You are dear to me. You are important in my life, and I am glad for your companionship. [ It's not empty words; her tone is sincere, and she lifts herself up on one elbow to better deliver them. Still, it's padding for what's next. ] But my heart--[ and perhaps more importantly ] --my loyalty--those I must reserve for the man who will become King of Atlantis. The man who chooses to stand by my side as my husband.

[ The one who chooses to father her heirs, to be her partner in rule, to care for the city even more than its queen. Her father loved her mother tremendously, and that love, coupled with Atlantis' isolation, has given Kida far more freedom than most princesses; it doesn't change the fact that this is a part of her reality she can't deny. That's twenty, thirty thousand years of marriage and partnered life. It's just not feasible to demand of him. ]

Do you understand? I can take you for my lover, but my body is all I can give--and even then we are...limited. [ Okay, her cheeks colour at that, namely because being 'limited' with him is a wholly different circumstance. ] I cannot afford to be gravid now.