AUTOPLAY

      katerina was used to disappointing her father-- it was just the way things went; her mother had given him two daughters, and thus far no sons that would grow to take his place when he passed... it angered him. and with her sister long since married off, the blame was placed upon her shoulders. and now that she was of age? her father was desperately seeking a suitor to take her away, but unluckily for him? the young princess was determined to choose her own fate. after a particularly nasty fight, the young woman waited until the house had quieted before she donned a cloak and slipped from her roam-- seeking her secret little escape route. she needed to get out of this place; even if it was only for a little while.

“Well then as a ‘friend’ i’ll tell you that it’s not really necessary. I’m fine.”

“I’m not some sad loser you can just take pity on. I don’t need it, I don’t want it.”

     ❝ because you needed it. ❞

HE  EXHALES  THROUGH  AN  OPEN  MOUTH,   touches  the  pads  of  his  fingers  together  in  a  display  of     anxiety.   she’s  not  exactly  giving  him  a  bounty  of  information,   and  he  just  doesn’t  have  the  time   !   to  keep  pressing  for  more.   a  nod  of  his  head  and  he  spurs  into  action,   leaving  his  workstation  to  scour  his  shelves,   searching  for  the  things  that  he  knows  will  at  least  break  a  fever  and  re   -   hydrate.     ❝     was  the,   ah     —–     chicken  prepared  properly   ?   the  cheese   .   .   .   unspoiled   ?     ❞    he  returns,   bottles  and  vials  clinking   !   against  each  other  in  his  hands,   sets  them  down  and  begins  to  mix,   prepare  solutions.     ❝     not  that  i’m   .   .   .   accusing     your  servants,   but  i  need  to  know  that  you’ve  already     —–     ruled  that  out.     ❞     a  beat,   in  which  he  contemplates  the  implication  behind  her  comment.     ❝     i  can   .   .   .   give  you  things  to  help  with  his  fever  and  dehydration,   but   .   .   .   i—i  could     help     you  better     —–     a—and  His  Highness,   of  course     —–     if  i  could     return     with  you.   see  for  myself.     ❞

❝     —–     p—poisoned   ?     ❞     it’s     heavy,   and  it  sits  uncomfortably  ‘pon  his  chest,   makes  breathing  difficult.   he  thinks  that  it’s  something  he  shouldn’t  have  heard,   as  though  he’s     intruded     ‘pon  a  private  moment,   and  yet  she  confided  it  to  him  with  ease.     (     there’s  something  about  that which raises the  hairs  ‘pon  his  arm,   but  he  doesn’t  have  time  to  identify  it.     )     ❝     a—all  right.   yes,   of  course.   i—i’ll  do  whatever  i  can,   but   .   .   .   i  cannot  just  give  him  anything.   i—i  need  to  know  what  his     symptoms  are,   what  he’s  had  to   .   .   .   eat  and  drink  recently.     ❞

❝     —–     princess   ?   p—princess  katarina   !     ❞     he’s  quick  to     bow,   as  is  proper,   an  arm  before  and  behind  his  bent  waist.   she’s  the  last  person  he  ever  expected  to  see,   anywhere     —–     not  even  a  passing  glance  in  the  streets  much  less     here,   in  his  shop.   ‘   princess  katarina   ‘   has  always  been  just  titles  and  names,   syllables  with  little  meaning  to  a     commoner     such  as  himself.     ❝     what,   ah     —–     wh—what  are  you  doing  here   ?   i—if  His  Highness  is  in  need  of  more  supplies,   he  might  simply  have  sent  a     servant.     ❞     @deadgcrl   !