don't f*** with king's cross (an advanced rp) discussion
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“There’s someone who would like to see you this afternoon, princess. At the gardens, in fact.”
Louisa lifted her head at the gentle knock on the threshold of her bedroom door, her kind old butler poised with his hands clasped awaiting her permission to enter. “Someone would like to see me? Who-?” Lou perked, setting down her pen to wave him inside her suite. Her heart pittered at the thought of the man she’d hoped to see again, a silly schoolgirl’s crush that seemed to rage the more she thought about him since a few nights ago. She was intrigued by him, yearning to spend if but another hour with him, even if the man had a duty to attend to the crown- not her heart.
Noah Dawson was quite a looker, that one; tall, dark, and handsome by every meaning of the word. While the situation at the Blind Beggar a few evenings ago was less than pleasant, it had been Dawson who had made her feel safe, who offered comfort and solace in the distressing hours that followed afterward. Dominic had been cruel to her, she had been mildly injured by a man falling on top of her in the brawl, and even days later, her brother’s battered swollen face haunted her sleep. She had spoken to neither Dawson nor Dominic since that night, after their father’s rather livid berating that they had been so careless to put themselves in such a dangerous bind.
Royal appointments had been kept to a minimum for that week, her father’s fear of the press heightened now that several bar patrons had seen her that night and the prince sported gnarled bruising on his face. Again, kept like a bird; Lou ached to leave the palace gates and venture off into the world again, and, perhaps, with that mysterious bodyguard.
“Your presence has been requested at Nottingham- now, if it suits you?” Gregor quirked a peppered gray eyebrow. Perhaps, to emphasize his question- but perhaps, with curiosity as to who it was exactly that the princess thought she was to be seeing this afternoon. Her anticipation was evident as she pushed away from her desk and dove into her wardrobe room, the door halfway shut while she shrugged out of her plain clothes into a lilac dress, with romantic short sleeves and a ruffled deep-v backless that gathered in a bow at the small of her back.
When she emerged, Gregor clearly had questions, but said nothing, only smiling at the princess. It was no secret that she had been furious with Dominic as of late, but the butler would allow this one to follow its course. The prince had asked him to keep Dominic’s identity a mystery until the princess arrived, but it was common logic considering how the princess had reacted to being in the same room as him for supper just yesterday.
Despite the cooler fall months that were fast approaching, Nottingham Park still boasted the same rolling green hills, birds fluttering about in the ponds and some of the horses turned loose in an adjacent pasture. It was not more than a ten minute drive from the palace; as kids, she and Dom would explore the massive property and pretend to be pioneers, on the plains of America out west like in their history books.
Smiling fondly at the familiar view, Lou slipped out of the car at the porte-cochere of the Nottingham Estate, strolling with Gregor in amicable conversation to where she proposed Dawson could be waiting for her. It was either him, or her mum; Mother had expressed wanting to gather for tea sometime this week, and she supposed it was as good a time as any.
Had Louisa been aware of who she truly had been destined to visit this afternoon, she would have never left her flat. No army could have dragged her here, kicking and screaming. He sat on a patterned quilt on the grass overlooking the pond; at the sight of the prince’s ghastly face, Louisa stiffened.
He had played one of his tricks.
Embarrassment colored her cheeks, her breath uneasy as Dominic stood to greet her. It was too late now; Gregor had turned back and made himself scarce trudging up the hill back to the main house, leaving her, Dom, and the extravagant picnic spread that laid at her feet.
“You bastard.”
Lou snapped, backing away from the prince and ignoring his greeting. “I’m going home, you fucking arsehole,” she seethed, crossing her arms huffily and turning away. She had refused to make eye contact with him even once, the bitter words that left her tongue feeding into the festering hatred that remained since he’d hurt her.
It wasn't like her to swear, but lately it seemed that Dominic provoked the worst in her.
