i've got a dream

“Anything for a friend,” Eton laughed lightly, running a hand through his fingers, though really it was sort of a lame excuse to possibly see her again, though he probably didn’t need one. It was cute, the way her eyes lit up when he told her he’d never seen a ballroom. “Really really. We don’t need those, where I’m from.” Giving a slight shrug, Eton wasn’t sure how to answer that. “I guess we’ll figure that out. Although I’d rather you step on my feet than me yours.” Dancing was a bit of common knowledge, at least he thought. At the very least, he had seen people dancing before, and thought he could imitate it well enough. “You might have to lead this time,” he confessed with a chuckle, putting his other hand on her waist.

“You’re my first friend here,” Felicity pointed out, glad that she had met someone she felt she could really talk to. Especially since he was so nice to her. “You don’t need them where your from? Of course you do! Where does everyone dance, then?” She asked, wondering where they held their balls if they didn’t have a ballroom. Did they even have a castle at all? She laughed when he said he would rather her step on his feet than the other way around. “Well, you do have a point there.” She put her hand on his shoulder, the other squeezing his hand gently. “I’ll even hum a little if that helps.” She started humming a soft, upbeat tune before she led him across the floor, making sure she wasn’t doing anything very complicated.

“Don’t hesitate to ask if you ever need me to reach anything for you, I’ll come help,” he nudged her playfully. Eton couldn’t help but laugh as she entertained his quip about quicksand, glad that he had made friends with someone as sweet and easy going as Felicity. “I don’t know… I’ve never seen one before, but it sounds fancy enough to be one. People dance, in things like this, yes?” Eton had to admit, he wasn’t much of a dancer, though he figured Felicity wouldn’t laugh at him for that. “Should we test it out?” he asked, turning to her and offering a hand, with a slight bow.

“Wow, thanks,” Felicity replied with a laugh. “That’s very chivalrous of you.” She secretly hoped that things would be put on very high shelves just so she would need to get Eton to get them down for her. When he said he had never seen a ballroom before, her eyes widened. “Really? Then this is the perfect opportunity to get you acquainted with one!” Her voiced bounced off the walls, echoing a little before fading off. When he offered her his hand to dance she took it eagerly. “Are you a good dancer? I’m great! I’ll only step on your foot once, maybe twice,” she joked.

“Blame it on coding,” Eton chuckled. Realizing that probably sounded a bit weird, he corrected himself. “You know, like, genetics.” Her smallness made her seem quite cute, if he was being honest. “Wow… that sounds pretty. Why don’t they like when you explore the woods? Are they dangerous?”

Felicity quirked her eyebrow at his first phrasing, but when he clarified that he meant genetics she nodded. “Uh huh... Well, the genetics are good, then.” She laughed, realizing that that might have sounded a bit weird. “You know how parents are...they’re always worried and a little too protective. There’s a lot of danger out there, poison ivy...quicksand...”

“Taller than me? Or taller than you?” Eton teased, recognizing the difference in height between them. “Well, they sound pretty friendly. That would be fun, visiting the stables, if they have horses here. We’ll have to remember to bring some apples with us.” Plus, if it meant spending more time with her, Eton would be happy. “Left it is. So, Felicity, tell me more about this place you live that has horses, and carriages. What else is it like?”

Felicity laughed at his teasing, nudging him playfully. “Taller than me, definitely. I guess we’ll have to measure you up to the horses when we go meet them, because you’re quite tall.” It was a lot, her having to tilt her head up to look at his face, but he wasn’t intimidating at all. “Well, I’m from a place called Corona and it’s by the water. There’s also a forest I like to explore sometimes, though my parents don’t really like when I do that.”

“I’ve never seen a horse before. What are they like?” Eton knew it would probably sound strange to start telling her why he was so unfamiliar with things in the human world, so for now, he withheld that information. “Really? Good, I like the sound of that, being friends. Though I still might try to limit the swearing a bit. It can be liberating, but think of it as seasoning: if you use too much, it ruins the dish. If you swear too much, the words sort of lose meaning.” He nodded at her question, though laughed it off. “Just means I have an excuse to make new ones, and if my old friends come too, then we’ll just have to have a big party.” Walking down the hall, they came to dead end. “Left or right?”

“They’re tall and have a mane and a tail. They’re really sweet and love eating apples.” Felicity found it a little difficult to explain what a horse was like to someone who had never seen one before. “Maybe we should visit the stables here one day and then you can see a horse for yourself.” When he explained how one shouldn’t swear too much, she nodded, understanding what he meant. “That makes sense. I guess any word used too many times would lose it’s meaning.” When they came to the dead end, she looked both ways before choosing. “Let’s go left.”

“Carriages? I don’t know if I know exactly what those look like, but I’m pretty sure they work sort of the same, right? They bring you places?” He wasn’t quite sure what a stable was either, but he refrained from asking. “Oh, okay… good. I mean, I don’t normally do it all the time, it’s not like I cant go without saying words like that. But I try not to, unless I’m with friends.” Not everyone was so relaxed about those things, but he was glad she was. “Honestly? Not at first. I was sort of bummed, actually, but that’s more of a situational thing. I’m definitely excited now. What about you?”

“Yes, exactly. Horses pull them around and it’s fun. Not as much fun as just riding a horse yourself, though.” It was clear that neither of them really knew what the other was talking about, but Felicity figured that would be pretty common within the palace. “I don’t think I’ve ever really sworn before. But you and I are friends, at least I think so.” She wanted to make friends, and this boy seemed like the perfect kind to be friends with. “I suppose you left a lot of friends behind, right? I was really excited to begin with. I love getting to meet new people.”

“No garages? Where do you keep all your vehicles then, on the streets?” Eton asked, a brow raised. “Wow… no shit…” Realizing that he had just sworn in front of her, his eyes shot open. “Uh, I mean… shoot… Sorry, I didn’t mean to swear in front of you, that probably wasn’t very polite…” Rubbing the back of his neck, he chuckled awkwardly. “A car is like… well, I have to admit, I’ve never been in one either. But I’ve been in racing karts, and they’re kind of like the same thing.” He made sure his eyes were completely closed as he spun around, waiting for her cue before opening them again. “Alright, come on then, this way.” Instinctively he took her hand, leading her down the path they chose.

“We don’t have vehicles... We have a spot for the carriages near the stables.” when he apologized for cursing in front of her, she couldn’t help laughing. “It’s alright, really. No one else was around to hear it and I don’t mind.” Felicity figured that, while she was still a princess here, she didn’t need to always act like one when there was no real supervision. “Huh...” She had never heard of a racing kart either, but she hated feeling ignorant about things. She smiled when he took her hand and led her the way he was facing. “Were you excited about coming here?”

“I guess everyone is getting over first day jitters. That’s sort of how I get, leading up to a big race. You don’t know what a garage is? You know… a place where you keep cars, and… mechanical stuff. Don’t tell me you’ve never been in a car before…” Eton’s eyes widened slightly. “Probably not, that wouldn’t be the smartest move. I’m game if you are. Here, I’ll close my eyes, and spin around, then you tell me to stop, and we’ll go the direction that I’m facing when I open my eyes. Sound good?”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one, then. No…of course I haven’t. Should I have? I mean, I don’t think we have any garages back in Corona.” She smiled sheepishly. “I’ve never been in a car. What’s a car? I swear I’ve never heard of anything like that.” When he said he would spin and she had to tell him to stop, she loved the idea. She nodded, “Sounds great.” She waited for him to spin and, when he did, waited a few more seconds before saying, “Stop!”

“I’m sort of surprised how many people I’ve seen wandering around so far. I guess that makes it a bit easier too, that we’ll have people to talk to. Well, I’ve been to my room, and I’ve spent a good portion of time outside the palace, especially the garage. I know we’re technically not supposed to leave the grounds of the palace, but there’s a town down the road a bit, I heard, for when we’re feeling a little rebellious. Other than that, I think anything’s fair game.”

“People must be feeling more social today, right? That’s a good thing. Wait, what? A garage? What’s that?” She had never heard of anything like that, but it sounded intriguing. “So there’s a town, that sounds fun. But maybe we shouldn’t push our luck on the first day, right? Let’s see what we can find in the palace. I bet there’s some fun surprises.”

“Oh, I get you. At least, I think so,” Eton chuckled. “I wasn’t really that excited at first, to be honest, but I’m actually pretty stoked to be here now. Eton. Nice to meet you, Felicity. So… what do you think might take your mind off it best?”

“I’m glad you’re excited to be here now. That makes me feel better about being here already. It’s nice to meet you too, Eton. Hm...that’s a good question. How much exploring have you done here? I don’t really know where we’re allowed to go.”

“Sure, I mean, anything’s possible, really. Especially something like this… but hey, maybe if you try thinking about something else, you’ll forget about it.”

“I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m still really excited! But I didn’t expect to miss my family so much. I guess taking my mind off of it would be good. I’m Felicity, by the way.”