ʀᴏʏᴀʟs ♛ ᵃᵈᵛᵃᶰᶜᵉᵈ ʳᵒᶫᵉ ᵖᶫᵃʸ ♛ discussion

Sef sat in the grass on the edge of the pond, finally freed from his accursed armour for the day. He wore a simple tunic and trousers (no shoes), and was writing in his notebook. He'd come up with what was a passable poem about the pond (his favourite place in the palace) in his opinion, and was now attempting to sketch it. He was doing fairly awful, or at least he considered himself to be doing so, but it was wonderfully quiet and peaceful, and it was something to do while he sat.

Camellia was a pleasant girl. On that day she was filled with the jitters after having several cups of coffee in her bedroom. She was always happy, thinking of kind things in her head. As she walked to the pond she purposefully kept clear of any flowers, so she wouldn't crush them. When she saw someone, not a royal, was at the pond she hid behind a tree. Her eyes squinted as she looked. A guard sketching. How silly? Guards were meant to guard, not...be creative. Her thoughts were silent as she watched. Nothing interesting happened. She wondered why he was there? Why not ask?
"Who goes there?" Cam called out.
It was getting slightly dark and dinner would be soon. After writing a letter to Adira she needed to walk around. She was no longer in the blue evening gown but wore a simple white long lace dress. A black fur mink was draped around her shoulders.

Her Dress:(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

((ooh, it's Cam :D))

His head shot up from his work. What... What was that? Footsteps? A woman's voice? The voice sounded strangely familiar, so it must be someone he knew, at least by sight. And he didn't know all that many girls in the palace. "Er, Guard Sefton?" He replied, trying to find the source of the voice. He was allowed to be here, after all. He was off duty. He had nothing to hide... And the person, whoever it was, already knew he was here.

Camellia stepped out of her place and looked across the pond to see Guard Sefton. With an expression, not a pleased nor upset, she scanned the guard. He was writing, or drawing, something. Her question session began.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you suppose to be guarding, sir?" She asked. "And why might you not be wearing shoes? It is very cold out."

Her face changed from nothing special to confusion. She watched the guard from across the pond. Her red hair dangled from her shoulders down and her freckles were paling. Cherry red lipstick made her pop and she began to frown.

((Have to go! Be back soon :D ))

Sef stumbled to his feet quickly as he recognized the Princess, bowing quickly. "I-um, it's my break, Your Highness," he said quickly. "I thought I'd come out here for a bit." He looked down at his pale, bare feet, slightly embarrassed, then back up at her. "Oh. I think I left them over there, with my jacket," he waved vaguely over toward the part of the pond nearest the castle. He hadn't even noticed the cold until now, quite honestly. It'd felt wonderful after wearing his armor all day.

"I hate when people say that. I'm just a person, Guard Sefton. No need to call me Your Highness. Call me Princess Camellia, or just Camellia." Cam said, smiling. "I recommend putting those shoes on. It is chilly. Well, I hope you enjoy your break, sir. If you wouldn't mind, Sefton, I mean Guard Sefton, would you mind sharing what you are sketching? I'm a painter myself."

She shivered under her mink but was very warm. Her white gown had strapped sleeves but was very long. So having the extra soft cover up was helpful on that cold day.

Well, he would like to put shoes on, now that e thought about it. But problematically, he wasn't exactly sure where he'd put them. And he wasn't going to go search for hours while the Princess laughed at his stupidity. He bowed his head quickly. "If it's all the same to you, Your Highness, I'll keep my shoes off. And calling you anything else but Your Highness just doesn't seem proper, Your Highness."

He glanced down at his scratch worriedly at her question. "It, er, isn't very good, Your Highness, I'm afraid. I'm not a very good artist. Certainly not as good as yourself. And I've only just begun it..."

"By gosh, do you think I'd judge someone on a first formal meeting occasion? If you think yes, you are incorrect. Please, Guard Sefton, call me Princess. Anything but that horrible two word phrase. I beg you." Camellia asked politely as some laughter slipped her mouth. "Do you need help finding your shoes? Because I believe I've spotted them."

She watched as nice shoes floated in the pond water. They must've been Sefton's. She covered her mouth to stop the giggles. "Guess where they are." She requested.

He inclined his head. "I'll try to remember that, Princess." He looked at her in confusion. "Where?"

"Guess." Camellia pushed as she shivered once more. "Fine, since I'm such a kind lady I'll grant you the allowance of being able to find your shoes."

Her thin pale finger pointed to the soaked pair of shoes underneath the bridge then went across the pond.

"You'll need new ones, of course. We'll have to fetch you a pair from storage. Maybe even go to the shoe shop and get them perfectly fitted for your foot." She suggested.

Her head glanced down the the grass the was sprinkled with snow. The water was slushy and slightly icy. The wind was whispering in her ear, telling her to get inside.

"Sir, do you have any idea what time it might be?" Camellia asked.

He looked out at the pond on confusion, following her finger. He shut his eyes, groaning. Oh, no... The wind must have caused some waves, or something... Which meant his jacket was probably ruined, too. Which meant he was going to be in rather a lot of trouble with the head guards that night.

"Yeah, probably," he nodded at her. He didn't have the money to afford new shoes tailored to his feet, and the storage would have guards... Who would send him to the head guards, who would probably make him do some sort of humiliating task before allowing him into storage. And then none of the shoes in storage would fit properly, so he would have either too big or too small shoes. The ones he had been wearing before, in fact, had been too small, which was why he'd taken them off in the first place. Then he'd have to go through the ordeal again with the jacket. What a wonderful night he was in for.

He glanced up at the sky quickly in response to her next question. It was fairly cloudy, so the sun wasn't all that visible. "I'd say about... 9:00?"

"I guess around eight o'clock. Don't forget we set the clocks back. Well, I'm pretty sure dinner starts at eight fifteen. Better get going soon." Camellia announced.

She turned to go away but then felt pity on the guard.
She made her way across the bridge to his side. Inside her pockets in the mink was always a bunch of gift cards. Recently she got a shoe fitting in town and bought a gift card for her friend. Instead she took it out of her pocket and threw it to Sefton.

"Oh, and don't return that little thing. It has only enough for a pair of guards shoes anyway. My dear friend couldn't get a pair of heels made for that. Please, don't give it back." She requested, standing a few yards away from him, still. "I would offer you a ride with me up the hill but that'd be improper."

Her horse was tied up on a tree on the opposite side of the pond. It wore a saddle and armor. Her horse wasn't cold at all. It was white and beautiful. She'd ride him up the hill and wished Sefton could come with her. It was a dreadful walk.

"Oh. Right. I'd forgotten that... It always messes up my sense of time."

He looked down at the card in his hand in surprise. "I... I couldn't take this from you, Your Highness. Really." He held out the card in the hopes that she'd take it. "Your friend could at least use it to discount her heels, if not for the entire pair."

He bowed quickly. "I hope you enjoy your ride."

"No." Camellia said as she turned away. "And you dare not let it go to waste. If you return it, or even think of it, well, things might not go well."

There was a teasing hint in her voice that Sefton most likely picked up.

"I've enjoyed your company and wish to meet again. The address of the shoe shop is on the gift card, sir. Good day to you and enjoy your evening." She said before picking up her skirt and running gracefully back to her horse. When she got over to him she untied the sturdy rope and got onto her horse. In the distance the guard could probably see her riding quickly up the hill.

He looked down at he gift card in his hand, biting her lip. It wouldn't do to put it to waste, and the Princess undoubtedly wouldn't take it back. So he might as well use it, even if the person at the shoe store wondered how he might have obtained such a gift card. And it would save him one trip to the storage, although he'd still have to make a trip for a jacket...

Ida sat at the edge of the pond, wrapped in her thin cloak to protect from the cold. The pond was frozen, and there was snow everywhere which her thin cloak and boots did little to protect her against. She hadn't realized there would be snow, already, when her and Andrew had agreed to meet here when they'd last seen each other briefly last week. Back then, it had been sunny, and had seemed like it would remain sunny for a good long while. It didn't.

She was worried Andrew would forget, or would decide not to make the trip because of the cold or snow. She herself had been late because of fetching the Princess lemonade and having to change warmer clothes. Yet he still wasn't here. She tried to tell herself that he had probably forgotten, or had stopped to tend one of his gardens on the way. After all, it was Andrew. But she still couldn't help but worry as she sat shivering against the harsh winds on the bank of the pond.

She shivered again, reaching up to pull her hair down from its severe bun to flow down over her neck, adding an extra layer of warmth. Snow looked beautiful from her window, she decided, but up close it wasn't as beautiful. Her fingers felt like they would fall off if Andrew didn't arrive soon. Perhaps sitting down hadn't been her best idea, but she'd hoped it might shield her from the wind. Her eyes scanned the shore, wishing Andrew would appear, and soon.

She turned her head quickly, and her face lit up quickly. "Hi, Andrew," she smiled nervously. She hadn't really talked to him in forever, and she was worried that it would go sour. That would be the worst thing that could ever happen. It would be like losing him again, but somehow worse. How to talk to your brother who you haven't had a real conversation with in five years? Who still probably sees you as the ten year old girl he left behind?

"You too," she replied. "You're older. More mature, I suppose." She looked down at the snow, embarrassed to have revealed her thoughts so. "I've... I've been good, I guess. Busy. With work." Her fingertips brushed the snow crystals, feeling the cold seem into her hand as the snowflakes melted at her touch.

She shrugged. "Thank you? I've only seen her in pictures... And in pictures people always seem cold." She turned her head to look at him, looking for similarities to their father in him, if she looked like their mother.

She leaned against his shoulder on an impulse, looking out to the frozen pond herself. Vaguely she remembered sitting like this together, many many years ago. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked. "In a cold way."

((XD it's cool. Eheheh. Cool. I'm so funny.))

"Right... You must not like winter, being a gardener and all. But even you have to appreciate it. It might kill the flowers for a while, but it helps them to regrow when it melts. And it gives them time to hibernate."