The young prince's main form of babbling had been to say "Baba" which sounded close enough to "Papa" for the King's liking, and it was suggested by no less than the Queen herself that he did it more in the King's presence than he did otherwise. They felt it was the beginning of directed speech. To help him learn to communicate, sign language was encouraged as it was for many children in the kingdom, and the King had learned quite a few signs like 'Cat', 'Sun', 'Moon', 'Bath', 'Excited', 'Mother' and 'Father', while the Queen focussed on teaching the Lightning Kid a single word as a starting point, the ever-important 'more', so that he could always ask for more food if he was hungry. The 'More' sign had been seen somewhat sporadically at first, and the motion was sloppy enough that the King and Queen had to wonder if the movement was coincidental. It went away again as quickly as it had come. The latest news had been that the prince picked up a mild fever which made him a little sluggish and less likely to learn dynamically.
The King returned home from a day of ruling and managing the Kingdom. He was happy to see his mother who had been spending time with Shark Boy, his lovely wife the Queen, and of course the Lightning Kid himself. The young prince had been too busy nursing for a proper greeting, so the King kissed the others, and began walking away. The Queen chided him for not properly acknowledging the Lighting Kid, and the latter popped his head up, looked over, and made the following sign:
You must note that the King did not cry at the sight of this. There were no misty eyes, jumping up and down for joy, no gleeful shouting - nothing to betray his regal countenance. It is important that you understand this, in fact, it is a royal decree that you believe it.
