"I bet you can hold your breath for ten minutes or more. It's all very impressive, I'm sure." She smiled, in spite of herself. Rhi didn't want to be one of the women who fawned over what they perceived to be their next ticket to marriage town. This was a nice man who'd singled her out for reasons unknown, possibly just to do a nice thing. So she'd be wary until those reasons revealed themselves or he left.
She nodded as he explained why the gala was taking place and why he wanted to reach out to the shelter. It seemed like a good enough purpose and the aquarium was a nice place worth protecting. Taking the water from the assistant gratefully, she opened it and sipped, holding it up in a small toast, a thanks, and proof that she was drinking so she wouldn't swoon again. "That's the first time I've heard it explained that way - a lonely big city - but you're very right. That's what it is. You can stand in a crowd of a thousand and two people and not know a single one."
Except Rhi didn't feel that way now. With this man she felt... well, if you'd excuse the pun, he made her head swim a bit. Every gesture he made towards her, every word he spoke, felt as if he'd made it, as if he'd said it, a thousand times, a thousand lives, over and over again. "Yes, it does mean queen. My mother had high hopes for me. I don't think she expected this, though. She never would have wanted me here."
Because she didn't belong there. It echoed in the back of her mind. She belonged on a throne. More visions danced in front of her. Rhi blinked and shook her head. "Strange... you must have one of those faces, too. I could have sworn I'd seen you before today, but I think that's next to impossible. No offense, but you kind of stand out in a crowd. I think I'd remember you." Brother. The word floated on the tip of her tongue and she swallowed it before she could say something foolish.