Triùir a thig gun iarraidh – gaol, eud is eagal

         𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐊𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 to go to her own club. She was ready even to strip later there if she feels like doing it. She was so laying low lately since she back from her trip from Russia. This is when by chance in the middle of the way she stumbled into Fiona and realizing who it was. ❛ Sorry, Fifi. ❜ She hasn’t seen her since New Years’.

@fionadughlas​

Fiona raised an eyebrow as she eyed the Russian princess. It had been a few weeks since they’d seen one another, and Fiona was glad to see her, even if things had been just a bit weird lately. “You don’t need to apologize to me, Nik. Are you alright? You seem a little bit out of it. Head in the clouds?” Their years of... friendship turned what with most other people would have been a curt response to one of slight concern.

closed starter for fiona dùghlas. ( @fionadughlas​ )

When things in his life adhered to an ordinary schedule Rian rarely had time to visit with the other royals he had come to call close friends unless they were in Dublin for business and thus had a means of interacting with him for official political reasons. When he was home in Ireland both a lack of time and a not insignificant distance kept him from spending a great deal of time with Fiona or any of his other friends, for that matter. On the island, however, all it took was a text message and a decision on his part to ask the Scottish princess over to spend the afternoon with him and they could chat and relax and generally spend time together without said time being rushed for any sudden commitments or anything of the sort. They’d been lounging around the pool attached to his villa for the better part of the last half hour as Rian glanced at her over the rims of his sunglasses. “Are you hungry or anything? I could make us lunch. I’m starting to worry I’ll crisp up a bit soon if we stay out in the sun much longer,” He joked, smiling broadly in Fiona’s direction. 

By far the biggest advantage to her exile to the island was the people she rarely got to see otherwise. She still wasn’t so sure she liked this whole “forced vacation” thing, but getting to see people like Rian or Claude as often as she wanted at moments made the whole thing feel almost worth it. She slid her large sunglasses down her nose and raised an eyebrow at Rian, “Well, if you’re offering to cook, who am I to refuse?” She smiled, “You’re probably right about the sun too, I don’t think either of us were really built to tan, and a bright red sunburn isn’t a particularly dignified look, don’t you think?” She stood up, stretching as she did, “Did you have something in particular in mind for lunch? I may not be a very good cook myself, but I still have some standards at least.” She reached out her hand, offering it to Rian to pull himself up with. “Besides, I’m enjoying our day together, and I’d hate for it to end just because of the sun.”

♚

“‘What the kids are saying’, she says,” Claude repeated, a genuine giggle escaping him as he repeated the comment. “We’re not even thirty years of age yet and you make it sound like we’re absolutely ancient, Fi,” He admonished her gently, the bright smile still alight on his features softening the comment deftly. The nuances of socializing had always come easily to Claude– he knew when to sidestep certain conversations, knew when to duck his head and feign deference, knew when he could be completely and utterly honest with the person he was speaking to– that honesty came quickly and easily with Fiona, as it always had, and he was reminded– certainly not for the first time– why it was that she was his best friend. “What? Deciding what you’d like to do? I suppose if there isn’t dull paperwork involved then it’s a bit out of your realm of expertise, hm?” The blonde teased, clinking Fiona’s glass with his own as he bit back a laugh. “Let’s go sit, then? We can talk and you can tell me all about how you’re keeping yourself busy these days. And you’re not allowed to leave out any of the details– the more exciting, the better.”

.

“Well, I’ve never been in particularly good touch with the hip young people, or so I’m told.” She let out a soft laugh, “You’ve always been much better at that sort of thing than me, anyway. I might be younger technically, but I think in reality I’m about 30 years older. I long for the days when I can yell at kids to get off of my lawn, or whatever it is that grumpy old people say.” She grinned, this kind of joking came easily with Claude, it was no secret that she had a difficult time letting her guard down around most people. She rarely let herself relax enough to let that side of herself show, but over the years Claude had given her the time and space she’d needed to get comfortable with him, and his patience had paid off. “You might laugh, but who’s laughing when you come to me with mountains of work you’ve neglected to do? And who manages to help you get it all under control again?” A small snort escaped her, “If it’s excitement you’re looking for, you might be very disappointed with what you hear from me, Claude. I’d be more interested to hear all of the juicy details of what you’ve been up to.” 

Do they fear death?

“Well, it’s not like I’m looking forward to it or anything, but I don’t fear it in particular.”

⚓

It was endearing in a way he hadn’t expected– listening to Fiona speak about herself and about her perceptions of what a life beholden mostly to the whims of the seas and his captain would be like. She was endearing as a woman in ways he hadn’t expected and Duncan found himself struck silent by that thought as he listened to the princess, a soft, gentle quirk of his lips at one corner the closest he came to grinning outright even as her every word made a nebulous sort of warmth flare to life and settle in him. “She’s a good kid,” Duncan agreed, his smile returning in full force at the sudden mental image he had of his sister rolling her eyes at being given such a description to a stranger. Amusement only continued to brighten his features as Fiona complained about the lack of things to do on the island and it was all he could do to keep himself from laughing outright, corralling his reaction into nothing more than a crooked smirk and a shake of his head. “Oh, darlin’ — there’s plenty to do on the island if you know where to look for it. I’m not exactly an expert or nothin’ but they don’t teach you lot how to make your own fun, I take it?” He asked playfully, accepting another drink from the bartender– green eyes bright and mischievous even in the low light around the bar. “Whenever I’m not readin’ about Egypt - which is just about the only thing I read about these days - I find loads of ways to entertain myself. It sounds to me like you’re in need of a hobby, princess.”

.

Fiona allowed herself a small smile, usually she found herself smiling because she knew that it was what she should be doing, always so aware of how she looked to everyone around her at any given moment, but the smile that quirked at the corner of her cheek was completely independent of that. “I’ve always been close with my siblings as well, I understand the feeling. What’s her name?” She asked, her expression turning to skepticism, one eyebrow raised as he brought up the idea of fun, “There might be plenty to do, but they’re not productive things, it’s all so... frivolous sounds too mean, but it’s the only word that’s coming to me right now. I have a job, I’m good at it, and it’s all I’ve ever been trained to do for my entire life. Here...” she gestured around her, “I have no purpose, no function, it’s miserable, and I know how awful and bratty and spoiled it sounds, but that doesn’t change it.” 

♚

“What’s that the Americans say? ‘I call it like I see it’,” Claude declared, the smile he flashed Fiona vibrant and earnest. She’d been his best friend since they were children and as far as he was concerned he was her most ardent champion— she was his, in his mind, and part of the reason he hadn’t done anything catastrophically stupid in all the years they’d known one another. “You’re probably the only reason I’m not dead in a ditch somewhere because I don’t know when I’m doing something too stupid for my own good,” He continued, nudging her gently even as he continued to smile. It was a fact and the slightest bit more serious than their conversations tended to be but he was the slightest bit buzzed and perpetually eager to show Fiona how wonderful he thought she was at any given opportunity. He laughed softly, “When you put it that way I think it’d be a crime if I didn’t have champagne,” Claude teased, quietly gesturing to the bartender to add another glass as he prepared Fiona’s drink. “When we’re well and truly drunk– what would you like to do?”

.

Fiona laughed, “That’s what I hear, at least, but I’ve never really been an expert on what the kids are saying, and all of that.” She grinned, returning Claude’s nudge with just a smidge more force behind it, unable to help her desire to win even in this small way. “That’s very sweet of you to say, and I’m glad you’ve come to realize that too,” she teased gently. “If it weren’t for you I’d probably be sitting in a corner by myself sulking, or smiling and nodding at some random person who decided to talk to me for some godforsaken reason.” Fiona took her drink in her hand and raised it up to Claude, “Cheers.” She thought for a moment, “Oh, I don’t know. You know I’m not good at that kind of thing, you’ll either have to decide, or wait to ask me until I’m good and drunk.”

Ari: Oh Princess, My Princess, where are you???

Ari: Come have a drink with me!

Fiona: You don't have to ask twice

⚓

“Aye, I did, but I reckon you don’t get a lot of chances to introduce yourself,” Duncan replied, shaking Fiona’s hand firmly– his hands were perpetually calloused from work on the Assassin’s Glare and the fact that woodworking was one of his favorite hobbies; Fiona’s, by comparison, felt like it was quite possible she’d never had a callous in her life but Duncan found the contrast pleasant in ways he couldn’t explain. “I think school would’ve been easier for me if I hadn’t been working on a pirate ship when I was sixteen years of age,” He said after a moment, green eyes flashing quickly towards the bartender before Duncan offered him a nod and a smile when the other man gestured towards his drink. “It was never important. My little sister made it through uni– she’s brilliant– she got all of the good parts of our parents, thank God,” He continued, his expression brightening at the mention of Maisie. “She’s the smartest person I’ve ever met and much, much cooler than I am,” Duncan explained, grinning. “At any rate— I’ve always been better at working with my hands than sitting down and doing anything for school. I think I doodled more in my courses than I did anything else but like you said: we need all kinds of people.” Though he was aware of their differences where class was concerned he felt remarkably comfortable speaking to Fiona— she was engaging and well-spoken and he was eager to fill in the space of things he didn’t understand about her simply from seeing her on the television as a boy. “If I’d had any interest in goin’ to school I think I’d have gone for anthropology or somethin’ that’d let me just study Egypt for hours and hours. That was the only thing that I ever liked studying when I was a lad.”

.

Fiona gave his hand a firm shake, taking note of his confident grip. She appreciated that in a person, someone who wasn’t intimidated by her, it was more rare than she would like, but when she did come across someone who seemed like they could meet her at her level, she felt it all that much more. Duncan, at least her impression of him so far, seemed like he wouldn’t be afraid to tell her his real opinion, or even cut her off or interrupt her, not that she enjoyed being interrupted normally. “I can’t even imagine what that must have been like, exhilarating I guess. To have the whole world at your fingertips like that, and only be beholden to yourself—” Fiona cut herself off, tilting her head thoughtfully when he mentioned his sister, she understood his pride in her, she felt the same about her younger siblings. “She sounds remarkable. A lot of the time I wish I’d been taught more practical skills. Take me out of a political or ceremonial setting and I’m useless. I’ve been bored out of my mind on this island because there’s nothing for me to do.” Her expression softened and gave Duncan a small smile, “There’s no reason you can’t keep learning about those things now, right?”

⚓

“I’ve never even been to university– or really finished school at all– so I think if we’re measurin’ it that way you’d beat me by a mile,” Duncan said, tapping his fingers against the side of his glass. He’d always had a habit of sharing too much of himself far too quickly— it had a tendency to either endear him to people or drive them away and Duncan was never quite sure which one it would be when he was interacting with new people. If they’d still been in Scotland he imagined Fiona would never even have a chance to take a second look at someone like him but here they were on a far more level playing field– though Duncan wasn’t sure whether that made him more or less nervous. “But in general I quite like talkin’ so I’m not gonna pass up a chance to talk to a beautiful woman when she wants to give me the time of day.” Attention wasn’t necessarily Duncan had had to struggle to earn since he’d grown out of his awkward phase somewhere around the age of eighteen but he’d maintained the slight shyness he’d always held as a boy even now that he was a man grown. He finished his drink in one solid gulp to give himself a reprieve from answering Fiona’s question and his eyes drifted briefly towards his shoes, “I grew up in Granton. I’ve heard it’s gotten loads better since I was a lad but it wasn’t exactly on the up and up when I lived there.” He laughed softly at the expression of horror on her features, “Duncan Lewis. Carpenter. Not quite as fancy soundin’ as your titles, I’m sure.”

“University smarts only get you so far in life, oftentimes it’s practical experience that matters much more. Besides, I’ve always been of the mind that not everyone needs to or should go into academia. I did, and it worked for me, but who am I to speak for everyone? We need all kinds of people in the world, don’t we?” She shrugged. Fiona wondered if she was talking too much, she’d gotten used to people letting her go on until she trailed off, most people avoided cutting her off, and there were moments she wished people would do it more often. She realized she was... nervous? Here was a perfectly nice person, a normal person, one of her people, and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten to have a conversation like this. The times when she did get to intermingle with the normal people of Scotland, it was in some sort of formal situation and everyone present knew that no one was being candid. This was something different entirely. “Don’t feel like you have to explain away your home, not on my account. Everyone comes from somewhere, right?” She smiled, extending a hand. “Fiona Dughlas. I’m sure you already knew that but still, it’s nice to meet you.”

          𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋, after her trip to Russia, she was oddly way too quiet that night when she supposed to have fun. Who was Nikki?! She was the first to be in a party and crashing to the ‘afters’ and 'afters’ to a big loop. Fiona always had a way to win her heart so easily, which ashamed the crown princess, and sometimes she hates her for it. ❛ Do you really want to know? ❜ She couldn’t help herself to beam at the sight of the other princess. ❛ Well, you look breathtaking, as usual. ❜ This wasn’t exactly what she was thinking, but it was a thought the crossed on her mind momentarily, so it should count as something, right?

Fiona raised an eyebrow at the other princess, “I’d like to think you’d know me well enough by now to know that I don’t do pleasantries unless I want to. We’re friends, Nikita. If you haven’t gotten used to that yet, I suggest you do it soon.” Her expression softened into a smile, “Why thank you, Nik. You don’t look half bad yourself.” There was something in the other woman’s expression that made her slightly uneasy, it was just a bit too sentimental for Fiona’s liking. She’d been open about her disdain for anything resembling romance, but perhaps their frequent dalliances were beginning to muddle things? Fiona tried to shove the thought down from the forefront of her mind. For once, she would try not to overthink and overanalyze every single word and glance, it was New Year’s Eve, she should be getting drunk and making dumb decisions.

♚

“Fiona,” Claude intoned severely, “I may be more inclined to enjoy the company of men but I’m not blind. You look beautiful and anyone who looks at you tonight or in general and thinks that isn’t the case is either wrong or in need of an optometrist,” He exclaimed, the pointed look he flashed Fiona dissolving in an instant in favor of a broad smile. Even as a boy Claude had always considered Fiona to be one of the prettiest girls he’d ever met and that wasn’t something that had changed as they’d gotten older– it was, if anything, something that he’d come to believe with that much more certainty. “And for whatever my humble opinion is worth, love– I happen to always find you fun to be around– even when you’re scolding me for my poor life choices.” Claude pressed a kiss to the side of Fiona’s head as if to punctuate the comment before he began to guide them deftly towards the bar– murmuring the appropriate ‘excuse me’s’ and ‘pardons’ along the way. “First: thank you for the compliment– I still don’t know how I managed to find anything resembling a suit. Second: what would you like to drink, gorgeous?”

.

“Claude,” Fiona responded, looking at her friend in mock-seriousness, mimicking his tone. “And you’re very lucky for that, or else what would we possibly do? You wouldn’t be able to resist me and I’d be out of a best friend, and we can’t have that, can we?” She smiled, “That was very sweet, but entirely unnecessary.” She squeezed his arm, trying her best to let him know without words how much she meant it. “Now, that’s how you give a girl a compliment,” she laughed. “Lots of people say I’m pretty, but you are one of the few who says I’m fun, and that means much more to me coming from you.” She laughed, and turned to the bartender, “Champagne please.” She turned back to Claude and shrugged, “It’s New Year’s Eve, if there was ever a time to get champagne drunk, it’s tonight, am I right? What are you having?”

⚓

“And run the risk of losing a chance to spend time with such a thrilling conversationalist? Nonsense.” Duncan wasn’t the most educated person in the known world but he’d learned quite a bit simply through observation and if he had to tap into memories of royal speeches to sound even half-sophisticated well, no one would know enough to hold it against him. “It’s an Old Fashioned if you’re wonderin’ – just with whiskey instead of bourbon. I feel like I’m doing a poor job at being a Scot if I drink it with anything else at this point,” Duncan explained with a crooked grin and half a shrug. His eyebrows rose briefly at Fiona’s next question and a small part of Duncan balked at the notion of telling a woman who could be the future monarch of the country he’d once called home that he was from a worn down neighborhood where his idea of a fun afternoon had been fishing with his father before his father had passed. But there was nothing to be ashamed of, he reasoned, it was what his life had been and it wasn’t what it was now but there was nothing he could do to change the past. “You’ve a good ear, lass– I grew up in Edinburgh. I haven’t lived there since I was sixteen but the accent never seems to go anywhere. It might’ve gotten even stronger in the long run I can never really tell. It’d take me hours to talk as clear as you do– I cannae imagine doin’ it to save my life,” He paused for a moment before he held his free hand out for Fiona to take, “I don’t know if it’s appropriate for a princess to shake a workin’ bloke’s hand but it’s a pleasure.”

.

“Well, that’s very kind of you to say, but I don’t think I’m thrilling by any sort of metric,” Fiona smiled, taking another sip of her drink. It was refreshing to be talking to another Scot, especially someone outside of her normal social circles. She had no particular fondness for the other aristocrats her age, most of them had decided that they found Fiona boring or annoying when they were children, which made social events absolutely hellish. “An excellent decision, I think. There’s nothing quite like a good whiskey, and I’m not just saying that because they’ll take my title otherwise,” she let out a slightly nervous chuckle, never quite sure if her jokes would land. “Well, considering I spent most of my life traveling around Scotland, I’d like to think I have a decent ear for that sort of thing. She smiled, “I love Edinburgh, it’s probably the place I spent the most time as a child, and where I was primarily living before I came here. If you don’t mind my asking, whereabouts in Edinburgh exactly? If I’m overstepping there’s no need to answer.” She laughed softly, “I had to spend hundreds of hours working to make sure I could give clear speeches, I don’t believe that’s something most people have to be conscious of.” She took his hand, giving it a firm shake, “The pleasure’s all mine.” Dropping her hand to her side she realized, slightly horrified that she hadn’t asked his name. “I’m so sorry, I’ve been incredibly rude, I never asked for your name.”

𝐍𝐈𝐊𝐈𝐓𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄, she was near to the table of drinks, and she already has chugged two glass in a row. But the blonde wasn’t drunk yet. She sat on a chair very unexcited with everything around her. In parts, she was counting until the fireworks so she can go to her room and sleep. Her gaze was lost elsewhere, and her mind was miles away from this party, that’s for sure. She noticed somebody was in front of her, snapping out to reality. ❛ Promised, I wasn’t staring! ❜ It was true, she said it awkwardly.

Fiona had been wandering around the outskirts of the party when she’d spotted the other princess. She decided to go over and pay her a hello at the very least, and was getting reading to clear her throat to alert Nikita to her presence when she finally noticed she was standing there. “Are you sure about that?” Fiona raised an eyebrow at the blonde. “Please, there’s no need to do any of that on my behalf. I think it’s pretty clear your mind was someplace else just now. Penny for your thoughts?”

event starter for fiona dughlas. ( @fionadughlas​ )

Two drinks into the evening Claude found himself sitting at a small table set up outside of Hooked, his jacket hanging over the back of the chair and in the process of rolling his shirtsleeves up to his elbows. Midnight was approaching at something of a crawl but he was thoroughly enjoying himself so far– an enjoyment that seemed to extend to everyone he’d seen at the event for the evening. It was an infectious atmosphere that left Claude with a warm smile on his features; not that it was unusual for him to be smiling in almost any situation but it was, perhaps, the first time he’d felt genuinely at home when he was alone on the island. Satisfied with the state of his shirtsleeves Claude leaned back in the chair he was occupying only to spring to his feet at the sight of Fiona coming up to him. “You would put goddesses to shame looking like that, mon cher,” Claude announced as he closed the distance between them, winking at his friend as a soft laugh rolled through him. “I was wondering when I would see you— I’ve already had two drinks and I do believe that means you’ll need to catch up,” He teased, offering Fiona his arm to take with a tilt of his head towards the open front entrance to Hooked. “Shall we?”

.

Fiona strode through the crowd directly to where Claude sat. The formality of the evening gave her a strange sense of comfort, even if the decorum wasn’t the same as it would be back home. As helpful as all of that was to her, there was still a degree of discomfort Fiona felt at purely social gatherings. Without an agenda or specific social script to follow, she tended to feel a little bit lost and adrift, which was part of why she was so grateful to have a friend like Claude by her side. This kind of thing always came more easily to him than it had to her, and his reassuring presence by her side kept her from getting too inside her own head. She flashed him a warm smile, “Claude, you really are too hyperbolic for your own good, but thank you.” She took his arm, immediately feeling more secure as she did so. “Well, let’s not waste any time then, I need to get nice and tipsy if I’m going to be any sort of fun tonight, and I think New Year’s Eve requires a bit of fun.” She began to walk into Hooked, “By the way, you look positively dashing tonight.”

⚓

“It’s easy enough, I reckon— just two little letters and you’re sorted,” Duncan replied playfully, shifting slightly so he could take in the woman who’d spoken to him more fully. She was beautiful— that was his first clear thought but Duncan found nearly everyone he met to be beautiful in their own small ways so it wasn’t a thought that surprised him in the slightest. He recognized her accent quickly— though it had been years since he’d been home to visit in any capacity it was as familiar to him as his own voice and it took only a fraction of a second for him to recognize the princess– a woman grown since Duncan had last lived in their home country. The thought alone made his spine straighten the slightest bit as he stood at her side– a remnant of whatever manners he’d imagined long lost somewhere throughout his teenage years. He turned towards the bartender with a crooked grin– eyes shifting towards Fiona again for a fraction of a second before he quietly ordered two whiskey Old Fashioned and held one out to the princess after they were slid in front of him. “Slàinte!” It was another nod to Scotland– both an automatic gesture and one he was using to discern whether he’d recognized Fiona’s accent properly– not that he’d ever had any trouble differentiating Scottish accents from any others. “I used to sneak these at the pub when I was a kid– never got into any trouble for it either which, I reckon, only made me try to get them more often. It’s good, I promise.”

.

“No need to be facetious,” Fiona raised an eyebrow, “If you want me to leave, you can just say so and I’ll be on my way, but I suspect you’re not going to do that, now are you?” That sort of teasing banter back and forth was something she hadn’t realized she’d missed about home until now, and it was a surprisingly nice feeling. Feeling a small pang of homesickness, she took the drink and raised it, “Slàinte!” The word felt comforting and familiar in her mouth, and it occurred to her she really needed to find a way to keep up with her Gaelic while she was here, but there really hadn’t been anyone to speak with. She didn’t even know if this fellow here actually spoke it. Raising her glass to her lips, she took a long sip of the drink. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting to taste, but she was pleasantly surprised to find she didn’t mind it. “Not a bad choice there. I’m not quite sure how I managed to avoid trying one before, but I don’t mind trying something new now and then.” She let herself smile just a bit, “So tell me, whereabout exactly back home are you from? Correct me if I’m wrong, but you sound like a lowlands lad to me. I’m rarely wrong though.”