Juli was briefly shocked when Lorenso whispered that she should come to his quarters tonight. Though when he added that he had much to discuss, she soon recovered. Not that she found him unappealing—actually, he struck her as charming, intelligent, and quite handsome. Her surprise was more that she had never really thought of him in that way. Due to the age difference, and how she had come to rely on him for advise, training, and understanding, she had thought of him as a mentor above all else. But he was also a man, and it belatedly occurred to Juli to wonder if he found her attractive at all. And then to wonder if she<em>wanted</em>him to find her attractive.<br/><br/>The princess had had some sexual experiences with other women over the years, but she had not yet been with a man. Partly because she found women more physically appealing, partly because the none of the few men she had been interested in had been available or interested in her. As a result she was a lot more uncertain of herself when she thought of being with a man.<br/><br/>But all of this was not something she needed to be distracted by now, and after these thoughts flitted briefly through her mind she pushed them aside. She nodded to Lorenso—she would be more than happy to talk with him after this stressful day. Juli did not have the chance to answer Lenally’s question before the group moved on. Maybe it was just as well, as it was a difficult subject.<br/><br/>It was obvious to Juli the Aserit princess did not react well to the attentions of Lorenso or Gerrard. The former she assumed was just being gentlemanly, but perhaps Lenally had misinterpreted his gesture in another case of cultural misunderstanding. As for her half-brother...there was no mistaking his intentions, and Juli had to resist rolling her eyes. The poor girl was what, fifteen or sixteen at the most? And her lack of emotional maturity just made her seem even younger. Despite the fact that she had only just met Lenally, Juli found herself feeling very protective of her.<br/><br/>But Juli said her goodbyes to the remaining Aserits and lingered near Lorenso—she figured now was as good a time to talk as any, assuming he was not busy.