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@ask-another-cringey-au
my three moods
artist is @fairydropart â€ïžđž

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thinking about....her...........
Do I look lonely
other peoples faeriecore: cottages, off-white fabrics, baskets, stained glass, baby animals, butterflies, flowers
my faeriecore: i am in the woods i have sharp teeth n black eyes and a branch crown. I am older than is comprehensible. i am covered in dirt and blood and luring in a weary traveler with my tricks. there is a deer carcass nearby. the flowers and off white fabrics and stained glass are still here tho

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oh to be a slightly ominous but gentle presence in the woods, surrounded by the calming company of the age-old trees who've witnessed so much, hearing the stream bubbling on about its way, listening to the songs of all the forest's birds, doing nothing other than being a slightly ominous but gentle presence in the forest all day ...
Anyone else think we should try to take back the âChangeling Childâ thing with autism? Kinda like what we do with the whole âthis-and-that cause autismâ kind of thing?
Because if Iâm actually fae, thatâd be kinda badass, ngl. Whatâd be even more badass is if I was a fae princess.
I mean, Iâve always had a fondness for things like magic and fairies and unicorns; and I tend to be kind of a âhead-in-the-cloudsâ dreamy kind of girl, so it might explain a lot.Â
Oh yeah, and I happen to be autistic.
-Fae Princess Luna
Give a fae something sparkly and theyâll surely come back for more đ§đ«
Helena by ЧДŃĐČĐŸĐœĐ° ĐĐŸŃĐŸĐœĐ°
Fairy Crowns
Just As Strange As I Am on Etsy
See our #Etsy or #Crowns tags

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Send đ for a royalty!AU for our muses
âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
N-no, Iâ|| b3 fin3. Iâm sorry for g3tting in your way.
,,,itâd be no trouble, really,,,
I m3an, you s33m busy. I donât want to caus3 any troub|3.
,,,itâs your choice,,,
[She grabbed another plate to replace the one she broke.]
Iâ|| g3t out of your way.
[He started to leave, before stopping.]
Th3 bruis3. Was it the Marqu3ss who caused it?
[She hesitated.]
,,,,,,,,,,no,,,,
Ah.
[He makes a mental note- that man shouldnât be trusted.]
Sorry again for both3ring you, Iâ|| b3 on my way.
[He left after that, disregarding that he was 1) lost 2) very distracted.]
[The day seemed absent of business as the treaty was being drawn, leaving Destal and Jolene plenty of time to infiltrate and investigate relax and explore.]
âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
N-no, Iâ|| b3 fin3. Iâm sorry for g3tting in your way.
,,,itâd be no trouble, really,,,
I m3an, you s33m busy. I donât want to caus3 any troub|3.
,,,itâs your choice,,,
[She grabbed another plate to replace the one she broke.]
Iâ|| g3t out of your way.
[He started to leave, before stopping.]
Th3 bruis3. Was it the Marqu3ss who caused it?
[She hesitated.]
,,,,,,,,,,no,,,,
âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
N-no, Iâ|| b3 fin3. Iâm sorry for g3tting in your way.
,,,itâd be no trouble, really,,,
I m3an, you s33m busy. I donât want to caus3 any troub|3.
,,,itâs your choice,,,
[She grabbed another plate to replace the one she broke.]
âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
N-no, Iâ|| b3 fin3. Iâm sorry for g3tting in your way.
,,,itâd be no trouble, really,,,

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âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
i tried asking before, but i didnât exactly get a real answer.. who is marquesS lysSaq?
[She knee Destal had likely met him by now- sheâd ask him for his opinion on the man later.]
[They were more than happy to gossip.]
Oh, the marquess is the head of one of the oldest families in the Queenâs court! He helps the princess run the countryâ
But heâs nnot exactly knnownn for beinng the nnicest personn to work unnder.
so it would seEm. do you think he gave the prince any trouble?
And embarrass the princess like that?! I doubt it!
Yeah, he usually just likes to give servannts trouble.
Oh, more than just that! Remember Sheale? She swore up and down that he was handsy.
Margei, you believe anny rumor you hear. Sheale liked to be inn the cennter of attenntion.
Doesnât mean she was lying!
[She frowned at that.]
rumor or not, that certainly isnât... goOd. and he just gets away with it?
[They exchanged looks.]
...yeah?
Um, thinngs work kinnd of...differenntly here. Itâd be our word againnst his, and his...definnitely holds more weight.
what... on earth. thatâs awful. queEn aziane would never alLow such a thing.
[She looked somewhat horrified. She knew Destalâs mother well enough to know that would never fly with her, and Reyinl would drop dead before his court got away with that. Hatred for the nobles of this place flared up in her, but it didnât show on her face.]
We still donnât knnow sheale was evenn tellinng the truth. She liked to make up stories.
with or without that part, stilL...
[Yeah, Jolene was clearly from a different type of kingdom. Hell, she was wearing a diamond hair clip.]
[They dissolved into their own conversation, while Minera still seemed pretty withdrawn. When she caught eye contact with Jolene, she gave her a shy smile.]
[She smiled back and approached her.]
youâre rather quiet, arenât you.
[She sincerely hoped her face wasnât as red as it felt. It was.]
,,,uh,,,yeah,,,I guess,,,sorry,,,
itâs alright, iâm just used to more chatTer, i supPose. destal is... rather dramatic at times.
,,,sounds exhausting,,,
only sometimes. so, what are you usualLy up to? everything is so difFerent here.
,,,hmm,,,well, thereâs work, and when iâm not working Iâll work, and if i finish that iâll get a head start on work,,,
[She seemed... sad, about that.]
nothing else but work? you never get a break?
[She shrugged.]
,,,itâs not that big of a deal,,,pays well enough,,,
stilL, thatâs... awful. you shouldnât have to deal with that.
[She gave her a weird lookâthen it melted into patience, the same kind of face she held with the nobles who never work a day in their lives.]
,,,thatâs the way it works here,,,if we want to eat, we have to work,,,itâs fine, really,,,
i understand that, but stilL, i...
[She looked bewildered.]
[She shrugged it off.]
,,,so whatâs your home like,,,?
itâs what you would expect a place calLed âisland of the diamond shoresâ to be like. itâs heaven on earth.
,,,hm,,,sounds like they pay you to say that,,,
[She laughed at that, like it was the most ridiculous thing sheâd heard.]
yes, the closed kingdom is paying me to telL people how much i love it there.
[She couldnât help but laugh too, but mostly out of nervousness and because Jolene had such a cute laugh and heck she said something dumb and aaaa]
,,,well,,,! ,,,the prince is wanting to open borders,,,isnât he,,,?
[Her face is bright redâprobably from embarrassment. Surely not because shes gay as shit. Haha. Nope.]
that is the plan, yes. though, in alL honesty, this is a tactical move. i believe the phrase the queEn uses is âyou do not fear the lion when you are in his pride.â
[She shrugged helplessly. Shes jst a littel creacher. She dosnte knoe ploltkics shes]
it means we donât neEd to fear alternia if weâre alLies. frankly, the queEn doesnât trust this kingdom and neither does the king. keEp your friends close and enemies closer.
[She frowned. She considered them enemies?]
obviously alternia has done nothing to us, but stilL, everyone knows of the alternian queEnâs ruthlesSnesS.
,,,oh,,,
[!!!she didnât!!! Sheâs been fed propaganda of the queen spreading Alterniaâs prosperity to the neighboring kingdoms.]
[She blinked a little.]
youâve heard of deorum, yes? my brothers are travelers, and thatâs where they said they were headed.
[She nodded. She knew of deorum.]
welL, theyâve told me what locals say there. apParently the royals are close to declaring war if something canât be done. destal knows a princesS there- his mother hopes he can mediate.
[That part was true- Aziane had insisted that Cuspim be sent. Princess Nadaia would bring a war. Prince Destal could bring peace.]
[Her eyebrows furrowed.]
,,,whâwhy would they want war,,,?
[That...wouldnât be good. War meant her already-demanding job would get harder, that money and food and water and pretty much everything would be that much more scarce. It wouldnât touch the upper class, of courseâbut servants like her? Theyâd be screwed.]
no one ever wants war. they likely feel like theyâre out of options. hence why destal is here.
[She frowns.]
,,,,then i hope this goes well,,,
as do i.
[Otherwise, sheâs afraid of what might happen to these servants.]
if youâlL excuse me, i actualLy neEd to go find his highnesS. his mother asked that i fulLy inform her of the things heâs liable to leave out in his letTers. heâs never beEn one for âstarting troubleâ- you could pour boiling soup in his lap and heâd apologize to you.
[She giggled a little, frankly finding the idea absurd. Once Jolene started to actually leave, though, Minera reached forward for her hand.]
,,,waitâ uh,
[beet. Red.]
,,,,,,,,i could, uh, show you around? The castle? Sometime? When youâre free,,,?
[She smiled charmingly, her face red as well.]
that sounds wonderful. i loOk forward to it.
,,,o-okay,,,great,,,uh,,,
[After an embarrassingly long pause, Minera seemed to realize she was still keeping Joleneâs hand captive and let it go. Some of the other waitstaff were snickering.]
[She giggled at Mineraâs pause, winking at her.]
i loOk forward to our arRangement.
[And with that, she went to search for Destal, leaving Minera to watch the swing of her hips as she goes.]
[The staff was a chorus of ooOOOOOOoooh! And minera covered her face and made a distressed noise.]
[Jolene soon managed to track down the prince. Would be a shame if someone... was listening in.]
[Gosh diddly darn that sure would be a shame! And with all the staff running around making sure everything was kept up and clean and perfect, it sure would be difficult to tell.]
your highnesS, i neEd to speak to you about-
-|3t m3 gu3ss, Marqu3ss |yssaq?
precisely.
I doubt h3â|| b3 troub|3. Or at |3ast not 3nough to warrant writing to my moth3r about.
[Ah, but what was this servantâs concern? Wondered the shadowy figure that absolutely most certainly wasnât listening.]
he just seEms-
-Rud3-
-dangerous-
-Th3 r3a| dang3r on this trip, y3s. But h3âs don3 nothing y3t.
has he not?
No, h3 hasnât. H3 hasnât don3 anything.
[Nothing to the prince, nothing he could see.]
[The prince glanced around and lowered his voice.]
And th3 s3rvants? What do th3y say about him.
....
Jo|3n3?
the girl, minera. she doesnât speak badly of him. but there are rumors.
I s33... how vi|3.
[All that could be heard was âmineraâ and ârumors.â
How...interesting.]
[Their voices returned to normal volume.]
and the princesS?
Po|it3, dip|omatic... Iâm g|ad Iâm d3a|ing with h3r and not th3 qu33n. Th3 on|y difficu|t part is d3a|ing with th3 afor3m3ntion3d Marqu3ss. And 3v3n that was mi|d annoyanc3.
goOd. weâre trying to prevent a war here.
Iâm trying to pr3v3nt a war. Youâd b3 fin3 with |3tting it br3ak out.
[Hm! Now why would a servant be interested in war!]
thatâs not fair. iâm here to keEp you from saying the wrong thing and launching the kingdoms into war.
[His jaw tightened before he forcibly relaxed.]
Goodnight, |ady Jo|3n3.
goOdnight, prince destal.
[He went into his room as the Lady posing as a servant fixed her dress and tried to collect herself.]
[The next morning, the aristocrats slept while the servants rose early in order to prepare the day. Minera was trying to set the table for breakfast.]
[Jolene was tired and definitely unused to this. Which was odd? She was the princeâs servant, wasnât she? She wasnât expected to help around this castle, so she was awkwardly buffering and staying out of the way instead.]
[She smiled at her.]
,,,different sleeping schedule on the island,,,?
you could say that.
[She smiled back.]
,,,you could go back to sleep,,,i mean, itâs not like anyoneâs expecting you to sweep the dining hall,,,
i think iâd feEl guilty if i did that.
,,,why,,,?
because alL of you have to be up. iâd feEl wrong, i supPose.
,,,thatâs nonsense,,,youâre our guestâ
[She picked up a plate with her left hand without thinking, and was cut off by a sharp gasp of pain and the shattering of porcelain.]
[She gasped in shock and worry.]
oh my gods- are you alright?
[She rubbed her wrist, making a small noise in pain before kneeling down to carefully pick up the shards of plate.]
,,,yeah,,,yeah, Iâm fine,,,just uh,,,hurt my wrist last night, is all,,,wasnât thinking,,,sorry,,,
iâm sorRy, i shouldnât have distracted you.
[She knelt and helped pick up the shards.]
,,,itâsâitâs fine, it happens, I probably wouldâve done something stupid like that anyway,,,
[If Jolene were to think about it, there wasnât a whole lot of time in between supper and lights out for Minera to hurt her wrist on her own...]
[Oh, it absolutely occurred to her. The dots connected pretty fast, but she had no reason to mention it.]
stilL, i heightened the chances. how can i make it up to you?
,,,really, donât worry about it,,,itâs fine, really,,,
[She couldnât bring herself to meet Joleneâs eye as she collected the remnants of the shards and left to throw them away.]
[She stood up with a frown, leaving quietly. She didnât want Minera to worry about her. Gods, maybe Cuspim was right- she really wasnât a very convincing servant.]
[She winced as she threw the shards away. She pulled back her sleeve to examine the hand-shaped bruise wrapped around her wrist, muttering something about it being worse than she thought.]
[There was a voice behind her, with the gentle tone of another servant, but it wasnât someone from the castle, or Jolene.]
Thatâs a nasty bruis3. Ar3 you a|right?
[She nearly jumped out of her skin as she whirled around to come face to face withâ
Oh shit.]
,,,y-y-yes, yourâyour highness,,,um,,,
[She attempts a bow, ignoring the throbbing in her arm.]
,,,did youâdid you need something, your majesty,,,?
[He seemed startled too, strangely enough.]
R-right, of cours3, I shou|dnât hav3 snuck up on you |ik3 that, Iâm sorry.
[Jolene wasnât exaggerating about the soup thing.]
I just- w3||, I was worri3d. About th3 bruis3. Iâv3 had my fair shar3 of th3m.
,,,oh,,,uh, itâs fine, really,,,Iâve just been kind of,,,clumsy lately, is all,,,
[He gave her an I-donât-buy-it look. It was strange, how much Jolene acted like a noble and Destal like a servant.]
That bruis3 is in the shap3 of a handprint. I wonât t3|| anyone, but, if you want my advic3...
[He handed her something. A wood chip?]
Whit3 wi||ow bark. It a||i3vat3s pain wh3n you ch3w on it.
[She frowned, swiftly covering up the bruise the moment it was brought up. She took the bark cautiously.]
,,,,,,,,,,,thank you,,,
Itâs nothing. My fath3r- my r3a| fath3r- wasnât th3 kind3st man. I figur3d out what works for pain.
[She frowned slightly. Who would raise their hand to a prince?
She nodded and thanked him again.]
,,,whatâuh,,,with respect, your majestyâwhat brings you to the kitchen,,,?
[He gives an awkward shrug.]
It was too stuffy in my room- Iâv3 n3v3r |ik3d b3ing in on3 p|ac3 too |ong. I... sort of got a |itt|3 |ost.
,,,IâdâumâIâd be happy to show you back to your room,,,? ,,,or maybe the grounds, if you need some fresh air,,,,?
[After all, the servants have been instructed to go above and beyond for their guest.]
âYour highn3ss, can I just⊠ask why we must switch p|ac3s? Sur3|y youâd g3t a|| th3 sam3 information acting as the princ3ss.â Cuspim fiddled with the shirt he wore- he had to admit that it was nice, his princess had good taste in fabric, but it wasnât meant to be worn by someone like him. He may be a prince by birth, but he didnât like acting like one.
âbecause, if you donât recalL, alternia is our sworn enemy, they wonât take kindly to a princesS from deorum. however, a prince from the island of diamond shores, however..â
His face flushed and he stared out the window. Theyâd even gotten his mother in on this, so if questioned, they had a solid alibi. Prince Destal of the Island of Diamond Shores sounded more regal than he felt. Still, arriving in the seafoam colored carriage, done up in the namesake jewel and the countryâs native flower would help sell the story.
As the castle drew nearer, he felt at everything to make sure it was right. Nadaia- Jolene, now, he supposed- was already falling into the role sheâd picked for herself, fixing one of the crystalline fake fins that adorned his ears. She looked like many of the servants back home- a flowing dress of pale yellow, her hair pulled back by a jeweled version of a carnation. No one would suspect a thing.
The door of the carriage was opened for them, and he stepped out, heart pounding. If they were caught, tensions would soar at best, and at worstâŠ
Well, he didnât want to think about that right now. Instead, the prince and his âservantâ were led to the throne room, the first major step in their plan.
@ask-another-cringey-au
i tried asking before, but i didnât exactly get a real answer.. who is marquesS lysSaq?
[She knee Destal had likely met him by now- sheâd ask him for his opinion on the man later.]
[They were more than happy to gossip.]
Oh, the marquess is the head of one of the oldest families in the Queenâs court! He helps the princess run the countryâ
But heâs nnot exactly knnownn for beinng the nnicest personn to work unnder.
so it would seEm. do you think he gave the prince any trouble?
And embarrass the princess like that?! I doubt it!
Yeah, he usually just likes to give servannts trouble.
Oh, more than just that! Remember Sheale? She swore up and down that he was handsy.
Margei, you believe anny rumor you hear. Sheale liked to be inn the cennter of attenntion.
Doesnât mean she was lying!
[She frowned at that.]
rumor or not, that certainly isnât... goOd. and he just gets away with it?
[They exchanged looks.]
...yeah?
Um, thinngs work kinnd of...differenntly here. Itâd be our word againnst his, and his...definnitely holds more weight.
what... on earth. thatâs awful. queEn aziane would never alLow such a thing.
[She looked somewhat horrified. She knew Destalâs mother well enough to know that would never fly with her, and Reyinl would drop dead before his court got away with that. Hatred for the nobles of this place flared up in her, but it didnât show on her face.]
We still donnât knnow sheale was evenn tellinng the truth. She liked to make up stories.
with or without that part, stilL...
[Yeah, Jolene was clearly from a different type of kingdom. Hell, she was wearing a diamond hair clip.]
[They dissolved into their own conversation, while Minera still seemed pretty withdrawn. When she caught eye contact with Jolene, she gave her a shy smile.]
[She smiled back and approached her.]
youâre rather quiet, arenât you.
[She sincerely hoped her face wasnât as red as it felt. It was.]
,,,uh,,,yeah,,,I guess,,,sorry,,,
itâs alright, iâm just used to more chatTer, i supPose. destal is... rather dramatic at times.
,,,sounds exhausting,,,
only sometimes. so, what are you usualLy up to? everything is so difFerent here.
,,,hmm,,,well, thereâs work, and when iâm not working Iâll work, and if i finish that iâll get a head start on work,,,
[She seemed... sad, about that.]
nothing else but work? you never get a break?
[She shrugged.]
,,,itâs not that big of a deal,,,pays well enough,,,
stilL, thatâs... awful. you shouldnât have to deal with that.
[She gave her a weird lookâthen it melted into patience, the same kind of face she held with the nobles who never work a day in their lives.]
,,,thatâs the way it works here,,,if we want to eat, we have to work,,,itâs fine, really,,,
i understand that, but stilL, i...
[She looked bewildered.]
[She shrugged it off.]
,,,so whatâs your home like,,,?
itâs what you would expect a place calLed âisland of the diamond shoresâ to be like. itâs heaven on earth.
,,,hm,,,sounds like they pay you to say that,,,
[She laughed at that, like it was the most ridiculous thing sheâd heard.]
yes, the closed kingdom is paying me to telL people how much i love it there.
[She couldnât help but laugh too, but mostly out of nervousness and because Jolene had such a cute laugh and heck she said something dumb and aaaa]
,,,well,,,! ,,,the prince is wanting to open borders,,,isnât he,,,?
[Her face is bright redâprobably from embarrassment. Surely not because shes gay as shit. Haha. Nope.]
that is the plan, yes. though, in alL honesty, this is a tactical move. i believe the phrase the queEn uses is âyou do not fear the lion when you are in his pride.â
[She shrugged helplessly. Shes jst a littel creacher. She dosnte knoe ploltkics shes]
it means we donât neEd to fear alternia if weâre alLies. frankly, the queEn doesnât trust this kingdom and neither does the king. keEp your friends close and enemies closer.
[She frowned. She considered them enemies?]
obviously alternia has done nothing to us, but stilL, everyone knows of the alternian queEnâs ruthlesSnesS.
,,,oh,,,
[!!!she didnât!!! Sheâs been fed propaganda of the queen spreading Alterniaâs prosperity to the neighboring kingdoms.]
[She blinked a little.]
youâve heard of deorum, yes? my brothers are travelers, and thatâs where they said they were headed.
[She nodded. She knew of deorum.]
welL, theyâve told me what locals say there. apParently the royals are close to declaring war if something canât be done. destal knows a princesS there- his mother hopes he can mediate.
[That part was true- Aziane had insisted that Cuspim be sent. Princess Nadaia would bring a war. Prince Destal could bring peace.]
[Her eyebrows furrowed.]
,,,whâwhy would they want war,,,?
[That...wouldnât be good. War meant her already-demanding job would get harder, that money and food and water and pretty much everything would be that much more scarce. It wouldnât touch the upper class, of courseâbut servants like her? Theyâd be screwed.]
no one ever wants war. they likely feel like theyâre out of options. hence why destal is here.
[She frowns.]
,,,,then i hope this goes well,,,
as do i.
[Otherwise, sheâs afraid of what might happen to these servants.]
if youâlL excuse me, i actualLy neEd to go find his highnesS. his mother asked that i fulLy inform her of the things heâs liable to leave out in his letTers. heâs never beEn one for âstarting troubleâ- you could pour boiling soup in his lap and heâd apologize to you.
[She giggled a little, frankly finding the idea absurd. Once Jolene started to actually leave, though, Minera reached forward for her hand.]
,,,waitâ uh,
[beet. Red.]
,,,,,,,,i could, uh, show you around? The castle? Sometime? When youâre free,,,?
[She smiled charmingly, her face red as well.]
that sounds wonderful. i loOk forward to it.
,,,o-okay,,,great,,,uh,,,
[After an embarrassingly long pause, Minera seemed to realize she was still keeping Joleneâs hand captive and let it go. Some of the other waitstaff were snickering.]
[She giggled at Mineraâs pause, winking at her.]
i loOk forward to our arRangement.
[And with that, she went to search for Destal, leaving Minera to watch the swing of her hips as she goes.]
[The staff was a chorus of ooOOOOOOoooh! And minera covered her face and made a distressed noise.]
[Jolene soon managed to track down the prince. Would be a shame if someone... was listening in.]
[Gosh diddly darn that sure would be a shame! And with all the staff running around making sure everything was kept up and clean and perfect, it sure would be difficult to tell.]
your highnesS, i neEd to speak to you about-
-|3t m3 gu3ss, Marqu3ss |yssaq?
precisely.
I doubt h3â|| b3 troub|3. Or at |3ast not 3nough to warrant writing to my moth3r about.
[Ah, but what was this servantâs concern? Wondered the shadowy figure that absolutely most certainly wasnât listening.]
he just seEms-
-Rud3-
-dangerous-
-Th3 r3a| dang3r on this trip, y3s. But h3âs don3 nothing y3t.
has he not?
No, h3 hasnât. H3 hasnât don3 anything.
[Nothing to the prince, nothing he could see.]
[The prince glanced around and lowered his voice.]
And th3 s3rvants? What do th3y say about him.
....
Jo|3n3?
the girl, minera. she doesnât speak badly of him. but there are rumors.
I s33... how vi|3.
[All that could be heard was âmineraâ and ârumors.â
How...interesting.]
[Their voices returned to normal volume.]
and the princesS?
Po|it3, dip|omatic... Iâm g|ad Iâm d3a|ing with h3r and not th3 qu33n. Th3 on|y difficu|t part is d3a|ing with th3 afor3m3ntion3d Marqu3ss. And 3v3n that was mi|d annoyanc3.
goOd. weâre trying to prevent a war here.
Iâm trying to pr3v3nt a war. Youâd b3 fin3 with |3tting it br3ak out.
[Hm! Now why would a servant be interested in war!]
thatâs not fair. iâm here to keEp you from saying the wrong thing and launching the kingdoms into war.
[His jaw tightened before he forcibly relaxed.]
Goodnight, |ady Jo|3n3.
goOdnight, prince destal.
[He went into his room as the Lady posing as a servant fixed her dress and tried to collect herself.]
[The next morning, the aristocrats slept while the servants rose early in order to prepare the day. Minera was trying to set the table for breakfast.]
[Jolene was tired and definitely unused to this. Which was odd? She was the princeâs servant, wasnât she? She wasnât expected to help around this castle, so she was awkwardly buffering and staying out of the way instead.]
[She smiled at her.]
,,,different sleeping schedule on the island,,,?
you could say that.
[She smiled back.]
,,,you could go back to sleep,,,i mean, itâs not like anyoneâs expecting you to sweep the dining hall,,,
i think iâd feEl guilty if i did that.
,,,why,,,?
because alL of you have to be up. iâd feEl wrong, i supPose.
,,,thatâs nonsense,,,youâre our guestâ
[She picked up a plate with her left hand without thinking, and was cut off by a sharp gasp of pain and the shattering of porcelain.]
[She gasped in shock and worry.]
oh my gods- are you alright?
[She rubbed her wrist, making a small noise in pain before kneeling down to carefully pick up the shards of plate.]
,,,yeah,,,yeah, Iâm fine,,,just uh,,,hurt my wrist last night, is all,,,wasnât thinking,,,sorry,,,
iâm sorRy, i shouldnât have distracted you.
[She knelt and helped pick up the shards.]
,,,itâsâitâs fine, it happens, I probably wouldâve done something stupid like that anyway,,,
[If Jolene were to think about it, there wasnât a whole lot of time in between supper and lights out for Minera to hurt her wrist on her own...]
[Oh, it absolutely occurred to her. The dots connected pretty fast, but she had no reason to mention it.]
stilL, i heightened the chances. how can i make it up to you?
,,,really, donât worry about it,,,itâs fine, really,,,
[She couldnât bring herself to meet Joleneâs eye as she collected the remnants of the shards and left to throw them away.]
[She stood up with a frown, leaving quietly. She didnât want Minera to worry about her. Gods, maybe Cuspim was right- she really wasnât a very convincing servant.]
[She winced as she threw the shards away. She pulled back her sleeve to examine the hand-shaped bruise wrapped around her wrist, muttering something about it being worse than she thought.]
[There was a voice behind her, with the gentle tone of another servant, but it wasnât someone from the castle, or Jolene.]
Thatâs a nasty bruis3. Ar3 you a|right?
[She nearly jumped out of her skin as she whirled around to come face to face withâ
Oh shit.]
,,,y-y-yes, yourâyour highness,,,um,,,
[She attempts a bow, ignoring the throbbing in her arm.]
,,,did youâdid you need something, your majesty,,,?
[He seemed startled too, strangely enough.]
R-right, of cours3, I shou|dnât hav3 snuck up on you |ik3 that, Iâm sorry.
[Jolene wasnât exaggerating about the soup thing.]
I just- w3||, I was worri3d. About th3 bruis3. Iâv3 had my fair shar3 of th3m.
,,,oh,,,uh, itâs fine, really,,,Iâve just been kind of,,,clumsy lately, is all,,,
[He gave her an I-donât-buy-it look. It was strange, how much Jolene acted like a noble and Destal like a servant.]
That bruis3 is in the shap3 of a handprint. I wonât t3|| anyone, but, if you want my advic3...
[He handed her something. A wood chip?]
Whit3 wi||ow bark. It a||i3vat3s pain wh3n you ch3w on it.
[She frowned, swiftly covering up the bruise the moment it was brought up. She took the bark cautiously.]
,,,,,,,,,,,thank you,,,
Itâs nothing. My fath3r- my r3a| fath3r- wasnât th3 kind3st man. I figur3d out what works for pain.
[She frowned slightly. Who would raise their hand to a prince?
She nodded and thanked him again.]
,,,whatâuh,,,with respect, your majestyâwhat brings you to the kitchen,,,?