She barely noticed his flinch- she was used to others shying away from her. Though she was dull, she was not so stupid as to think that everyone enjoyed touch or closeness and yet... how could one tell if they did not test the boundaries and press onwards. Regardless, it must not have offended him too much, for her next touch did not leave him running off to find shelter. He accepted it gracefully, gratefully the queen even thought, and she remained eager to hear the answer to the query she had put forth. She was not disappointed- Her. Kahlua smiled and nodded, her mind conjuring just as fast as Thranduil could speak. She did not understand his story when he spoke of judge and executioner, the concept just vague enough to leave her confused, but she understood clearly enough at the mention of lost life.

The queen is not too upset about the darkness of the tail. She is no stranger to loss, no stranger to dead loves. It was not a romantic interest of hers that she had known to be gone. She had no romantic interest to speak of in her life... not one that mattered. She shuddered to think of the past that haunted her from time to time- the deeds she had done in the name of gaining her family's approval and acting like the 'dark' princess she was supposed to be. Ah, she was so different now. Still, of the loss of her loves... It was her family that had left her. Mother and father, older brother and younger sister all gone- to her knowledge, at least. She believed her twin to still be alive, but only because she trusted him to have been smart enough to escape the flames if she had been able to.

But back to the future, the queen nodded her thanks to the golden as he finished her story of why he had changed his mind from evil to good. She would prod no more, it was no fun to speak of death and sorrow and that was the only direction that conversation could lead. At least she knew something more of the motives that could change one's mind from racism to acceptance of others. A good lesson learned.

As for her vagueness about her friend... Kahlua had no real reason for neglecting Eva's name other than her own addled brain. “Oh, Evangeline!” she exclaimed in response. What version did Eva know? Kahlua chuckled at the thought. “She introduced me to the phrase 'an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind',” she finished, eyes drifting off to the trees somewhere in the distance as she remembered the conversation she had had with Eva not so long ago. “She's a good adviser, her advice has been invaluable to me. Especially her history as peaceful queen of a herd that existed long ago in a land I've never heard of.” But she sighed. Reliving that conversation was taxing and she was a lighthearted creature, not so willing to delve into terrible pasts as Thranduil. She was all too happy to let him lead the conversation onwards.

Unfortunately, try though she might to be the star philosopher pupil, it appeared the queen was failing in her attempts. Dearest queen, he patronized her and she sighed softly. Oh, how she had failed her new friend, her generally happy demeanor becoming dampened as she lamented her inability to ever meet the goals that others set for her. Try though she might, she was unable to think deeply, to understand fully... If only her brother was here. He had been much better at these sorts of endeavors. At least he was a willing and patient teacher.

As his lesson wound on, she found herself torn between a duality of interest and boredom, her eyes sometimes resting on the golden and sometimes flicking back to the woods to watch a squirrel play or a chipmunk chatter at his neighbor. It was not that he was boring- far from it- but she was not so used to working her brain very hard. But try though she might to be daft and bored, to ignore his tales, she found herself nodding at the end, smiling despite her mental exhaustion at trying to keep up with him, and laughing at his mention of books and stories. “You are so wise. Evangeline would like you rather a lot- I'm sure I'll never know as much as she does but she certainly tries to help me.” The queen revealed that she was fully aware of her mental inabilities- the reason she had built up such a good council about herself.

“Thank you for sharing your philosophy with me,” she added then, still rolling it about in her tired mind, finding that she supposed she could agree with him. He had placed everything so clearly before her and she could think of no counterargument to prove him wrong. She hardly noticed that he had called her a desperate and lonely creature... As it were, the queen would have vehemently disagreed, but perhaps he was right. Perhaps her idiocy and her position alienated her in such a way as to make her lonely from exclusion and from all of the half-truths that her herd members told her to make her feel better about herself. If only she would think such things. Indeed, she was rather happy with her life.

And then, because she was content with the conversation and not entirely ready to carry on with any philosophical discussions, Kahlua began to hum a pretty song for a short while. And when it was done, she turned back to him and laughed, her mind somewhat refreshed. “So where do you stay now, my friend? I'd like to see you again.”