Edward was pacing the far corners of the library, the section of the library that was so deep that only the scholars would dare reside, and usually they weren't even around enough to care about what a son of a noble family was doing there mid afternoon, he could be studying some olden folk story's, or some history of the captial and the queen and king.
He was pacing because…well he was waiting for a meeting with someone, someone very important and someone extremely special to him.
He had casually dismissed every maid and butler, every servant that had come to stumble upon him and was sent to check on him.
It was well past afternoon tea, and around finishing up a lunch break, and he didn't know how much longer he would have left to wait for her.
Where could she be..?
He stopped in his pace, smoothing his hair back on his head, and smoothing out his clothing as he took a deep breath.
It's fine..she will be here, she's never missed a time..
He still couldn't help but look around with a a slight frantic look around the corner of the book shelf, seeing nobody he retreated back to the small corner desk.
Meanwhile on the other side of the palace, in the palace gardens, the queen's daughter was fancying herself with her newest book, the one she had been wanting to read for the longest time, and she had already finished all her duty's for the day.
She breathed in the smell of flowers, and exhaled out a breath, she had always even fond of the outdoors, and even if she wasn't allowed to explore much outside the palace walls she found solace in being able to go to the gardens without need of any platoon of soldiers that hung over her shoulder everywhere she went.
It was nice.
The calm
The quiet.
The flowers and the leaves falling from the trees as it slowly turned to fall season.
She just hoped it wouldn't get cold really soon, as she didn't have many winter garmets as she would like. Plus she wasn't allowed to go outside as much for risk of getting sick.
Sometimes the palace felt suffocating huge.
Meanwhile, Albion was busy trying to slip his own guards. Since he tended to cause problems and/or get himself hurt due to his carelessness, he was typically monitored while he was wandering around the palace grounds, but he was sick of always being followed. The guards were obnoxious and didn't let him do anything he wanted to do. So, naturally, he bolted. While the guards chased him, he ducked into a hiding place and then slipped outside once the guards were out of sight.
Once he made it outside, he spotted his elder sister reading something outside, which reminded him of the books he was supposed to be reading. He pushed the thought aside, not willing to be bothered by it at the moment. Where should I go? He wondered to himself, glancing around to make sure he wasn't seen. I guess I should go somewhere in not normally allowed to go. Where's the fun in going somewhere I can go anyway? With a decisive nod, he was off. He offered a brief wave to his sister as he ran past her, making his way to the stables. He admired the grand horses his family owned, immediately moving towards the largest, most impressive stallion that the stables housed. It was notoriously stubborn, and Albion knew for a fact that he was meant to leave this horse alone. This, of course, only made him want to ride it more. He opened the stall and approached the horse from behind, gently touching it once he was close enough only to immediately be kicked back out. He tumbled backwards out onto the floor, clutching his stomach and gasping for breath. The horse whinnied and snorted, clearly annoyed at the boy's attempt, but thankfully didn't leave its stall for the time being.
She looked up to see her little brother passing by her with a wave and she offered a smile and a wave back getting back to reading, before realizing he was going to the stables.
She quickly moved to save her place, setting her book down gently and making her way over to the stables where her brother was, watching as the horse made him tumble, holding his stomach. She moved towards him and offered him a hand up,
"ditched your guards again?" She raised a brow at him, knowing he supposed to have a bunch of guards with him because he was the heir to the throne, even though he was so much younger then her.
She didn't mind not being the heir, she didn't want to rule in the slightest.
"Mmmmnhh…" Albion looked up at her and hesitated before reluctantly accepting her help to get up. He was visibly trembling and wouldn't move his hand from where he'd been kicked. It hurt a lot, and he suspected that it was bleeding. "Y-Yeah… I'm sure that they're searching for me." He was hunched over a bit with pain, and his breathing was pretty shallow. After a few seconds of catching his breath, he shuffled forward to close the stall so that the horse wouldn't escape. He definitely didn't want to deal with the repercussions of that. "It's dreadfully boring with them tailing me every hour of the day. I suppose that's to prevent me from doing this sort of thing…" He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the stall door, still holding his stomach.
He moved to help him up, noticing the almost trembling position he was in as he was holding his stomach and she sighed, "This is why you have a bunch of guards to watch you all the time, mom and dad are afraid one day you might do something to get you badly hurt and they don't want to risk anything happening to the heir to our kingdom."
She watched him making sure to stay close to him, "you know you could try and talk to them, befriend them maybe." She shrugged as she moved to stay crouched next to him, "Just a suggestion, but it could be a good one."
Another reason she was glad she wasn't the Heir to the throne, she would hate the limited freedom that came with it.
Though she wouldn't mind having her parents doddle after her and care for her in a special way they didn't to the rest of the siblings.
Then again they didn't seem like they did that much period.
She felt bad for Albion, being so young and yet so restricted.
Albion huffed and looked away, curling in on himself a bit more. "It's not like I especially want to be the heir. I've got two older siblings and I'm still the one who has to try and fix all the issues father is causing. He doesn't even care anymore because he can just force all of his problems onto me." He sighed, drawing in a wavering breath as he shifted his positioning. "A-And I can't be friends with the guards. They're only ever exasperated with me because I keep going off and doing this sort of thing. And I have different ones pretty frequently, so I'm sure that some of them are losing their jobs because they couldn't keep an eye on me." Albion tightened his arms around his stomach, looking down at the ground. Why am I telling her all of this? She probably already knows, or doesn't care.
Sophia tiptoed through the library, her heart pounding in her chest. She had just managed to find a break between her tasks, and hopefully no one would be looking for her now. Still, the thought that someone was watching her kept her from fully relaxing. No one was around though. She knew her love had made sure of that.
Her love… her cheeks were already heating up, though because of shame or excitement, she couldn’t tell.
Deeper and deeper into library she went, the cold light from the windows getting dimmer and dimmer, blocked by walls and shelves. But she knew where she was going, she’d come here many times.
She turned a corner and found him there, in their usual spot. A smile pulled at her lips.
“Hey birdie,” she murmured.
She sighed, listening to him talk about it all, she felt for him and wished she could take everything off his shoulders but that's not exactly how things worked.
She put a hand on his shoulder, "I know…I'm sorry that it's this way, I'd take over for you if I could but even then I feel like I would just end up screwing it up even worse then Dad."
She moves to pull him into a hug, a good one.
"Im sorry Albion…I really am…I wish I could help you with all of this, and I'm sorry dad's such a jerk."
She continues to hold him close in a hug, trying to show him that she did care, she wasn't like there parents and she wanted him to be happy AND safe.
Albion closed his eyes when Jasper hugged him, but didn't return the gesture both out of pride and because he was still clutching his injury. "Yeah, yeah… it isn't like we can do anything to change it anyway. I just need to keep quiet and do what I'm told. That's what they always say." He sighed and buried his face in his sister's shoulder, looking tired. "I suppose we should head back inside before my guards burst in here looking for me. They might startle the horses." He rubbed at his eyes a bit with one hand as he walked off, his breathing wavering. I should probably get checked out to make sure I'm not too badly injured.
Carlysle was arranging Prince Albion's bed chambers. The guards informed the head maid that the Prince had escaped once more and the head maid appointed Kincaide the responsibility of caring for his room. This was not a rare occurence of course, but Carlysle still felt very well-humored whenever he was able to be in the Prince's chambers. He imagined what it would be like to be the Prince's friend. Actually, he wasn't sure the Prince had any friends… or whether it was even allowed. During this pensive stupor that Carly seemed to be entrenched in, he finished assorting the chamber's, with an almost perfect arrangement, as usual, and he began to stare out the window at the courtyard. There he spotted the prince and the princess. His pale face lit up with color, and he immediately began to run down the stairs to the courtyard. This was finally his chance, they had no guards or anybody around, he could finally speak to them for once! As he came to the door, bolting as fast as he could as to not be caught by any of the other help, he yelled out "Prince Albion! Princess Jasper!"
All the while, King Edric was within his courtroom, all the members of his court before him, and his wife Rowena, the wisest of all his court, beside him. "Today's matter at hand!" He began, his baritone voice echoing throughout the hall, filling everyone with a reassurance that Edric was a strong and wise king. This didn't last long, as the empty pause left the crowd confused. Edric leaned to his side to speak to his queen, Rowena, whispering "What is the matter at hand again?.." he looked at her with a puzzled expression that only she could see "I might have forgot… I think I might still be intoxicated from yesterday's festivities" he giggled.
(Oh I already hate the king)
She secretly clenched her fist behind her back, she hated that Albion was raised that way, under the force of just shut up and do what your told without question. He should be able to live his life freely and not have a care in the world Because he's a child, or at least be allowed to do things or make friends with his guards or maids if he wants too.
Ugh she hates there parents, and the situation they were in.
She'd run away with her brother If she could.
She held her little brother close as he leaned into her, feeling how he wasn't hugging back and holding himself. She had almost forgotten that getting kicked by a horse like that might actually hurt a child of his size. Suddenly, she felt like an idiot.
"Albion are you okay..? That was a pretty bad rejection by one of the horses..maybe we should get it looked at."
She moves to walk with him, moving to make sure he wasn't going to fall. She looked up at someone calling there names.
She looked up at…a servant? Well at least it wasn't one of the guards.
"yes…?"
He was sitting down at a small table when he heard the footprints coming close towards where he was, deep into the library and he quickly stood from his chair and smoothed out his clothing and his hair, making sure he looked presentable along with clearing his throat Incase it was one of the gentlemen of a noble family gotten lost, or it was Incase a maid had come down the wrong passage way, or perhaps sent to check on him.
He quickly was relieved when he saw his dearest coming close to him within his sight, his little darling. Standing there looking as beautiful as ever, a grin came upon his face as he made his way over too her.
"milady…I was wondering when you were going to get here."
The heat in her cheeks intensified, and she looked down, smiling bashfully. “You don’t need to call me that, you know… I’m no lady.” Sophia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I had to take extra care to be sure no one suspected where I am, that is why I’m a bit late. You need wonder no longer.”
Sophia fidgeted as she stood there, always at a loss for what to do around him. Her fingers pulled and tugged at each other, her body swayed back and forth. He was better at starting conversation than she, and so she waited, hoping he would say something first.
All the while, King Edric was within his courtroom, all the members of his court before him, and his wife Rowena, the wisest of all his court, beside him. "Today's matter at hand!" He began, his baritone voice echoing throughout the hall, filling everyone with a reassurance that Edric was a strong and wise king. This didn't last long, as the empty pause left the crowd confused. Edric leaned to his side to speak to his queen, Rowena, whispering "What is the matter at hand again?.." he looked at her with a puzzled expression that only she could see "I might have forgot… I think I might still be intoxicated from yesterday's festivities" he giggled.
Queen Rowena’s eyes flitted about the room, surveying the members of the court before landing on her husband. She was still recovering from internally cringing at the awkward pause, and for a moment she didn’t reply. Someone’s going assassinate him one of these days, surely, is what she had been thinking for the past twenty years, and she was surprised it hadn’t happened yet. Oh well. After all this time, she supposed she would wait another year. Perhaps he wouldn’t get assassinated, even. Maybe he would die from cholera instead.
“The war,” she murmured. “That Napoleón seems to have backed himself into a corner; we, along with the Spanish and Portuguese, have the chance to drive him out of Spain.”
"I'll be fine…" Albion muttered, still hunched over a bit as he headed towards the palace. "I'm getting it looked at anyway." He glanced up when he heard a voice calling his and Jasper's names, narrowing his eyes to try and see who it was. Huh? A servant? What's he doing out here? He glanced around, bewildered. There weren't other servants around, nor were there guards. He figured that this young servant probably wasn't supposed to be here. It was unusual for servants to rebel like this, but Albion didn't mind. It brought a bit more interest into his dreary life. He looks like he might be around my age… he's bigger than I am, though. "Hm…? Hello? Who are you?" He asked from across the courtyard, his voice a bit weaker than usual. He still had his arms around himself to feel more secure and to hide his wound, but blood was starting to seep through his shirt and was beginning to be visible above and below where his arms were.
He finally stopped running and caught his breath, the two royals in front of him looked at him confused. At that moment, he realized that he had prepared nothing to say when this moment came. He hadn't planned that far ahead. "Uh…" he began, looking up and down at the two royals. From up close they looked very different from their royal portraits, less creepy, more… alive. He looked at both of them, eyes shifting quickly. He noticed the prince was bleeding "Oh! Your highness, you're bleeding" he said, slightly in shock
"Yes? What is that you need?" She lifted a brow at the servant, he did happen to look younger then her, and around Albions age, despite the size of him. She looked him up and down trying to scan him for wuqtvhus intentions might be, the guards may not be here but you can sure bet Jasper is just as protective if not more.
As soon as she heard she was bleeding she immediately turned in alarm and looked at Albion, moving his arms away from his chest, she put a hand to her mouth.
No no no no how did I not notice?
"okay we need to go to get you bandaged up now."
She turned to the servant boy, and she didn't look happy.
"I need you to go ahead and get the doctor for him, as quick as you can. Now."
"I'm fine. I'm sure it isn't anything serious." Albion huffed a bit when Jasper pulled his arms away, holding himself again when he managed to free himself from her grasp. He kept walking towards the palace, keeping his head down and limping slightly. "We can't tell mother and father. They'll be furious if they found out I got myself hurt. It's nothing. I'll get bandaged up, but then that will have to be the end of it, okay?" He looked up at his sister, practically pleading her. He didn't want to be fussed over for what he assumed to be a minor injury, even though it hurt quite a bit. It would heal and his parents wouldn't even have to know about it. He knew how his father got whenever anything happened to his 'precious heir'.
The heat in her cheeks intensified, and she looked down, smiling bashfully. “You don’t need to call me that, you know… I’m no lady.” Sophia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I had to take extra care to be sure no one suspected where I am, that is why I’m a bit late. You need wonder no longer.”
Sophia fidgeted as she stood there, always at a loss for what to do around him. Her fingers pulled and tugged at each other, her body swayed back and forth. He was better at starting conversation than she, and so she waited, hoping he would say something first.
He chuckled softly, "Oh but I do….and you…my beautiful fair lady.." he moved closer to her where he was directly standing Infront of her and he moved to take the strand she tucked behind her ear to out it back Infront of her face.
"Well, you always make me wonder…but I do appreciate the extra effort. Thank you my little fox." He grinned at her, moving to grab her hand, and squeezes her hand gently.
Hearing the both of them, Carly tried to come to a compromise. He wanted to make a good impression for them. "Well, what if I go get him some bandages and come back? I know how to care for a wound like that" he said confidently. He wasn't entirely sure just how severe Albion's wound was, but he wanted to at least try and help, and he couldn't let them know he didn't know exactly what he was doing. " The royal medical doctor has been letting me watch his procedures as of late" this one was entirely true, though the doctor never really consented, he just didn't care enough to shove him off. "Should I go?" he asked, awaiting a direct response.
She sighed, not wanting to make Albion upset but he needed to get treated. Blood was never a good thing to see…she turned towards the servant and stared them down before exhaling.
"Yes, go quickly, and hurry back." She nodded to the servant, before moving look back at her little brother.
"you will say no word of this to anyone that you run into, not the queen or the king himself. You will go get the bandages and anything else and hurry right back." She was sure this was the safest way to get both ends…she wasn't just going to let him be hurt, but she knew she shouldn't gather a crowd to watch him walk to the doctor's room surrounded by people.
He moved to help Albion sit on a stool.
"I'm not supposed to speak to the royals anyw-" he stopped himself mid-sentence realizing his error. He stared in horror " I'll uh… get those bandages" he squeaked and then scurried off to the doctor's quarters. Once he got there, he saw the doctor fast at work on a surgery. He winced and looked away immediately, grabbing a roll of bandages from the table, making sure that the doctor had spare rolls, and he went back. When he got there, he saw Albion sitting on a stool, his sister next to him, looking worried. "I-I have the bandages" he announced.
He chuckled softly, "Oh but I do….and you…my beautiful fair lady.." he moved closer to her where he was directly standing Infront of her and he moved to take the strand she tucked behind her ear to out it back Infront of her face.
"Well, you always make me wonder…but I do appreciate the extra effort. Thank you my little fox." He grinned at her, moving to grab her hand, and squeezes her hand gently.
She let out a small breath at his words, smiling uncontrollably. The strand of hair tickled her skin, and she pulled it back again out of habit. “Of course, love.” She squeezed his hand in return. Nervous, but suddenly motivated by impulse, she stepped closer to him and laid her head on his chest, but keeping their hands clasped together.
“How are you today?” she asked, unsure of what else to say.
