histories told

aksel was stood by his horse when he saw the mughal carriage pull up at the camp site. at first he stood by and watched but as the princess emerged from the carriage, aksel stepped forward and made his way over. they hadn't yet met and now felt like a good time to introduce himself. the more he friends he had the further his name spread. " your highness, could i help you with your luggage? " he held his hand out to her in case she was in need of assistance, a warm smile settling on his lips then. " i'm aksel, the blacksmith. we haven't met so i thought i would introduce myself and offer some help. "

Elisabet assisted with loading the last of her things into the carriage, sighing and leaning on the wheel. She used to pack lighter, but thanks to the generosity of Amara, she now had more dresses and jewelry than she ever had before, and fine ones too. The only thing she constantly kept out was the yellow diamond brooch, the first gift from the princess. She had it pinned to her bodice, always.

She heard the Danish carriage, and sighed. She wished she could say goodbye to Anneliese and Dagmar, but she knew that would not be a good idea. Instead, she smiled at the English princess, tickling her belly gently. "She is growing so beautiful already," Elisabet commented softly, stroking her small cheek with a finger.

"Are you settled for the ride? If you should need anything, please ask. I'm a bit nervous myself, traveling such a long way."

"I believe we are prepared, will you be joining us in this carriage?"

She watched advisors gather, telling each section of the traveling party the news. An illness had been discovered among the ranks, and a few were sick. With what, no one knows, but whispers immediately began circulating of the plague that had ravished so much.

Lotte despised travel. She was not someone who sought out bigger skies, or new experiences. New things meant potential danger. Not to mention, her plans to kill the queen had been fully uprooted when the king announced that the summit will be moving. Now Lotte needed to hope that her basic botany skills translated to Portugal.

nathaniel had been walking the grounds one last time before their departure from switzerland. it seemed odd to be leaving a place where he'd found his title as duke, but it was only a little bittersweet now he travelling friends and those he considered almost family. he was excited to travel and even more excited to see what awaited them in portugal on arrival, he only hoped it wouldn't be war or more murder. but that felt unlikely.

"I see something might have resurfaced, my lord. Hopefully this time around no lives are claimed. Surely the doctors have learned better."

"The servants have packed the last of your trunks into the luggage cart, Amara. The baby is quite settled with Beatrice, and the rest of our bags are packed. It's time to leave." Elisabet walked up to Amara, putting a hand on her shoulder. Amara was closed off, she knew that, so Elisabet wasn't sure how she was feeling. Her first thought would have been homesick already, because they were leaving her home. She was a mystery, though, so for all Elisabet knew, she wasn't feeling that at all.

The announcement came-a few people in the traveling party had fallen ill from an unknown illness. Elisabet's eyes almost seemed hollow, and her expression shifted from confusion, to utter terror. Not again. The screams, the cries from adults and children alike, the bodies piling up on carts despite her and the other women's best efforts...it came rushing back, and it felt like a boulder had crashed into her chest. "No," she whispered. "N...no, I cannot do this again." She shook off the panic momentarily, enough to look at Amara and the rest of their party. "Quickly, into the carriage. We must isolate you and everyone in the immediate family as soon as possible, Amara."

Location: parlor in the Netherlands wing

"For the last time, this water is blisteringly hot. Do you think the queen wishes to scald herself before being able to taste the tea brought from her home country?!" Lotte barked at the maid, making the girl flinch. Lotte was used to running a home, and the staff within it, to the letter. This included making sure everything was perfect for her demanding husband, and some habits were hard to break. Besides, after all her planning, she was not going to have the queen hurt by hot tea.

Lotte looked at the butler, still holding a finger to the maid. "You are clearly not used to making proper tea, so let me explain something to both of you." It had been drilled into her for hours, by her former husband, how he made his tea, and in turn, how she made it now. "If you pour boiling water over loose leaf tea, as it is prepared here, it will scald the tea and not only burn it and make it taste bitter, but it will not release all of the flavors and make the tea taste rancid. The water should be exactly 70 degrees, otherwise you should be able to hold you hand to it for no more than five seconds."

Lotte hesitated to put her book down, lest her eyes give away how utterly little she thought of this mock of the royal crown. How Prince Luca thought this man was a better choice was beyond her, not that she payed attention to any of their politics. It frankly bored her, and it seemed as if it bored their king too.

When he butchered her name, she did lower her book, looking at him. “Ah, your majesty. I am afraid it is Visser, but you were very close. You have a lot on your mind, it is understandable. the summit has gone on for a while, after all.” Truly, there were probably just pieces of lint in there, but again, the queen loved him, so she must act as if she did not think him a dolt.

.

“Lady Visser- I am sorry.” He had never been skilled at keeping names straight. He did feel bad about it, a quick flash of guilt. Perhaps he ought to focus on remembering the names of people from his court more. The ones he interacted with often he tended to remember, but he did not have reason to speak regularly with many of his wife’s ladies.

“Yes,” he sighed. “Quite a while. Do you miss home as well?” He felt more homesick by the day. He wished these matters would just find a solution- it could not be so hard for all to simply agree to peace, could it?

"No," she finally said. "I do not have a home to miss. My long passed husband's home was my only home, and I sold it to avoid the memories. I am sorry that you do, my king. I understand you have much to go back to, and I'm sure the queen agrees."

Elisabet hummed to herself as she worked at the counter. Nothing fancy, just something light to take with her on the grounds. She heard footsteps and turned a little. "Oh, forgive me, I was told it was alright if I made myself a small midday meal? I am taking it to the gardens with me, and I'd feel dreadful having someone make it for me."

"Oh, well I'm just putting together a small picnic lunch. Bread, cheese, that sort of thing. I'm going to be gathering herbs and flowers today and I'd thought I'd bring something along. I did not meant to offend you, I apologize if I did so. I have not seen you around and thought maybe you'd just arrived. Many people arrive by the day, it would not be a surprise to anyone," she chuckled.

"Yes, you should," she said, clearing her head. "It is rather soothing. You do not have to do what I am doing, obviously," she laughed. "It is quite taxing."

Rivka had been terrified that Hakim would not even want to see her, let alone talk to her, but he did, and he was wonderful. "I am still scared, though. I am old enough to be married, my mother married much younger than I, but...I worry that it will end up a dream, and I'll wake up and things will be different." She glanced over at the duke, sighing. "Have you felt that way before?"

"Seeing the three stars like that makes me think that I can always find something constant, no matter where I am."

She wanted to learn what she could. She had already started researching the history of the country. "I want to make sure I am as accustomed as I can, so the prince does not have to worry about that."

"I understand to an extent, wanting to know why something happened when it shouldn't have. Even if the outcome was good, in your case. It is not the same, but when my Mama died, I ask the heavens why for days, weeks after. Had I done something? If I had not done something, if I had..." she paused, watching Fran's expression over the books. This would not help them. Anecdotes about past trauma would not aid them in this moment.

fran listens to her speak, nodding along with the words and it's nice, for a moment, to focus on something other than words on a page. elisabet trails off and she offers her help and fran knows what she is doing. they almost say no, tell her not to worry or to waste her time helping them find answers they, deep down, already knew the answers to. but elisabet is like fran in this way -- she would not let his matter rest until there was some way fran left this interaction feeling the slightest bit better. so instead of shooing her away and insisting they are fine, they smile a bit and hand her one of the books. "thank you, elisabet," he says softly. "i know it seems pointless. i just -- it's hard to chalk it all up to fate. in my experience, there's more than just fate. there's always a reason."