courageous.

Emilia was soaked from the rain. But the truth was, she couldn’t bring herself to be upset. After a long, long winter, she had missed the feeling of rain. The fact that it was raining meant that it was finally above freezing and that was something to celebrate. Of course, the English princess hadn’t expected to get caught in the rain but she wasn’t going to complain. Standing on the bridge, halfway between the village and the palace, having, of course, escaped from her guard, she was trying to work out which was closer.

she’d never been one for politics, and any history she’d learned had felt more like a guiding lesson, to not foster the same mistakes her ancestors had made. she could recognize when they’d done wrong, when their actions hadn’t been out of the good for their country but for their own pride and selfishness. biting her lip, not knowing how the other princess would react, she stepped forward, umbrella clutched close. gesturing to the shelter the fabric offered, she caught the other’s attention.

“I’m closing in five minutes.” Claire didn’t even bother to look up from the book she was reading when she heard the bell over her shop door chime. It had been a slow day with very few customers. It made sense. The weather was slowly warming up and people were inclined to do things other than read. Which worked fine for her. The rebel didn’t love pretending to care as she was forced to cater to people. So spending a day reading on her own and watching security feeds from the palace was just fine with her. “And I hate kicking people out so just be quick about it please.”

“ oh! this...isn’t the chocolate shop.” she felt a little silly, for wasting the other’s time, could have sworn this was the right door to chocolatey goodness. she wasn’t one for sweets, having far more of a taste for rich items, but she could ignore her slightly craving for the stuff. fighting down a blush, something she hadn’t done since her youth, she gave the other an apologetic look. “ right, I should stop wasting your time...do you happen to know where it is?”

It wasn’t everyday that Val decided to go out to the village to relax for a bit, to get away from the castle. He was just wandering around, as usual, hands deep in his pockets in case he wanted to get something for himself or for his sister. He did stop, though, to see a necklace with a small, dainty diamond settled in the middle. The more he stood there, the more the world disappeared around him, and it was just him and his thoughts, imagining things in his mind about who he would give it to until he heard someone say something to him, making him jerk from his daydream. “I’m sorry?” he said turning to them. ‘Did you…say something?”

“ you should buy it, if you’re staring at it that intently.” she repeated herself, arms wrapped around her own purchases. she’d seen the necklace, eyes moving past it to a pair of small earrings, far less grand than anything she’d inherited, but entirely her style, simple but fresh. she’d come back this way, to inquire about the price, but curiosity got the better of her, as it always seemed to do, mind derailing, as she tried to figure out why someone was just standing there, when they could simply purchase it. “ unless it’s too much, then I could always help you out. regardless, it deserves to be worn, rather than left on display and cold.” regretting not wearing her glasses she, shifted so her free hand could pat her pocket. “I didn’t bring much, but it should cover it?”

“I’ve had about four of these and I still don’t feel a thing.” Sarika sipped on the drink in her hand as she sank back against the couch in the red drawing room. It was getting late and she was definitely already on her way to drunk but refused to admit anything of the sort. “You think it’s strong enough? I don’t think it’s strong enough. Taste this.” The Princess slung the drink towards the other person, eyes inquisitive as she held it out to them for a taste test. Drinking like this out in the open with her peers lingering around her probably wasn’t the best decision in the world but nobody could really call the girl intelligent as of late. It was a great escape from her life she just hadn’t been able to muster up enough energy to care enough to get drunk in the privacy of her own room. Sloppy, especially for a former Crown. “I think it could use more vodka.”

she could admit, she knew how to have a good time, her rebellious years filled with her sneaking out of places she shouldn’t have been, tip toeing past the press and the guards. she’d felt unstoppable then, until she’d hit one too many, her parents anger, her memere’s disappointment finally hitting her. she’d still gone to functions and banquets, small family friend parties, but she’d kept away from the club and alcohol scene for the most part, trying not to get sucked back into it. putting her hand up, she laughed at the pushiness of the other, raising her own glass, tame in comparison. “ if you have to say it needs more vodka, then I don’t need to taste it to know it needs more. why not have a new one made?”