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Firewalk with Me (Madam Mim x EvelynWillows)

Enlightening? What was that supposed to mean? Althea sat quietly as the king asked his question, encouraging her to be honest. She thought for a good while, slowly chewing her food as she thought.

Finally the princess swallowed and began. "My lord, I believe this isn't a matter of politics but of faith. I was raised to believe in one true God, and I still hold that belief. Although, I confess recent events which I care not to discuss I admit that my faith has been deeply shaken."

Althea took a deep breath before continuing. "As for magic, though I was raised to believe it was evil and created to lead good people astray, that is no longer the case. When I first began to see, I thought God had cursed me and cast me out of His kingdom for my sins. Usually the things I see...aren't very pleasant." She lowered her eyes to her lap momentarily. "But I've since come to see it more as a gift, as an ability to be forewarned of the terrible things which are to pass. My champion, rest his soul, was adept at magic and I've never known him to be anything other than the best man I've ever known. But you know of my feelings in that regard. I see no evil in you, either. As with people who cannot weild magic, there are both good and evil conjurors. Magic depends on its user's intent, and would no more corrupt a soul than, say, reading."

She looked up at him when she had finished. "Did I answer you satisfactorily, sire?"
 
King Alastair smiled at the young woman across the table from him. "You answered me truthfully, and that is always satisfying to a king. Now, I want you to be able to strengthen your faith Althea. The last thing you need to do is to lose the foundation of your life by doubting your God. Whether you realize it or not, we believe in Him too. We just...give credence to the powers that affect other things, like dreams, and the harvest, and love." His hazel eyes seemed to grow sad. "I can't see your abilities as being anything but a gift. Those of royal blood have it, you know. The ancient stories say that we were once separate from others; a separate people entirely. But for some reason lost to time our peoples blended. Then when wars broke out, those with these 'gifts' were able to protect the others. Once peace was made the gifted ones were made into the people's protector, and eventually their kings and queens."

He shook his head. "There are many levels of abilities. I've seen mostly that women have the sight. Some have dreams of premonition, others can see spirits, still others can read the surface thoughts of those around them. It's something that I think you should hone, my dear. It's a tool. Use it." He sipped on his tea and regarded Althea with an amused look. "This champion of yours was quite the man. How will I ever hope to win you over?"

After a moment the king winked. "Olivia has said that the teacher I've sent for has arrived. Marcus will be able to meet with you this afternoon if you're up to it. Your wedding is but six weeks away, Althea. I want you to take advantage of this time to learn all that you can. Tomorrow morning I'd be pleased to have you sit in with me when I hear the petitions from the people. Perhaps in exchange I may allow you your evenings free to do as you wish. Perhaps even to oversee the design of your library."

"Is there anything that has been weighing heavily on your mind my dear?"
 
Althea smiled at the king's reaction. She was glad he didn't condemn her for believing only in one God. "I have dreams, sire, and have seen only one or two spirits in my lifetime who have wished to make themselves known; my grandfather shortly after he died, and a castle page who seems to be here of his own will, serving a self-assigned penance." Dom Pierre had peeked in from behind a fern and she had to resist the urge to smile when her eyes flicked to him.

"Perhaps your majesty would be willing to teach me how to develop my gifts?" she suggested, taking a sip of tea. "I'd like to learn how to see at will." Althea flushed when King Alastair teased her gently about Jacques. "Forgive me, sire. I suppose I do go on a bit. It's just...in addition to friend, champion, and love he was always somewhat of a hero to me. I always looked up to him, my lord, and still do. But it was his wish I go into this with an open mind and an open heart, and so I will try." She gave him a small smile and continued eating.

Her heart jumped at the mention of designing her own library. She could make it just like her tower room at Highchester, but with more shelf space! She smiled at the king and tried to hide her excitement.

"Thank you, my lord. I would be honored to join you tomorrow."
 
"You brought a page here? A spirit page?" The king seemed amused at that. "Well, I would be pleased to help you to develop your powers as much as I can if you are certain that you will not tire of an old man's prattling." He smiled. He was far from an 'old man', perhaps in his early fifties at the most. "There are a few others who can do things that may be helpful. Firewalking, for one. I'd be interested to find out if you have that talent. Not many do."

He was overjoyed to see the obvious and pure pleasure that she had at the mention of the library. "Yes, I have an architect who will be here next week. I was planning on a nursery, perhaps another wing altogether, but first let's concentrate on your library." He put a warm hand over hers and gave her a squeeze. "Alright my dear, tomorrow then." He looked up and a moment later Princess Olivia entered the Greenhouse, bringing in a blast of cold air despite the sally port between the outer door and the inner one. With her was an exotic, tall dark man dressed in elaborate clothing.

Princess Olivia paused to curtsy. The man beside her bowed deeply and smiled.

"Greetings, Father." She put a hand on the man's arm. "May I introduce Sir Marcus to Princess Althea? We happened to be in the garden and I saw the light."
 
"I don't know how, but Jacques wanted to teach me," Althea said, smiling a little. The smile grew wider at the mention of an architect for her library, despite the stab of fear at the mention of a nursery.

The princess was about to reply when a blast of cold air interrupted the conversation. In swirled the icy wind, bringing with it her future step-daughter and a tall, dark man. Althea was surprised, but curtsied politely nonetheless as he bowed.

"It is an honor to meet you, Princess," Sir Marcus said with a smile, his voice rich and melodious. "And it will be an honor to teach you the ways of Juko-Kai."

"The honor will be all mine, to learn from such a master," Althea reciprocated. "Perhaps we could get started later this afternoon?"

Sir Marcus inclined his head. "As you wish, your highness."
 
"Why not now?" King Alastair stood. "I can hear the petitioners' impatient grumblings now. It seems as if they've saved all their grievances over the last seven years to dump at my throne now."

Olivia laughed. It was a pleasant, honest sound. "Oh Daddy! We've keep the kingdom running just fine; you just have little patience for petty matters." She sneaked an apple off the table. "Don't worry. Most of the petitioners are just here to see if you've really returned so that they can stop taking orders from a 'pair of little spoiled princesses'."

"And you know this because....?" King Alastair raised an eyebrow.

"Because I KNOW." She smirked. Olivia motioned towards Althea. "Come on, Marcus and I will show you the most fun you can have with your clothes on."

"Olivia!"

She giggled. "Oh Daddy, you know I love you the mostest." She reached out to take Althea's hand. "Come on, we'll wear you out on the practice field and then you'll sleep really well tonight. Plus, there's nothing sexier than a woman who can fight."

The king sighed. "My dear Althea, please forgive the roughness of Princess Olivia's words. She's spent so many hours in the company of knights that she sometimes believes that she is one."

"I am one."

"Of course dear."
 
Althea turned a little pink and glanced nervously over at Sir Marcus, who seemed unfazed and indeed even amused by the way Princess Olivia spoke. She had of course heard the knights talk this way, especially Sir Rupert and his friends, but she had never heard a lady say such things. Perhaps if her mother hadn't forced her into being well-behaved she would have said such things once she was old enough to understand them, but she hadn't expected such behavior from a princess.

"It's quite alright, sire, I'm just...surprised, is all." She smiled at King Alastair and curtsied to take his leave. "Thank you for lunch, your majesty. I look forward to sitting in on your council tomorrow."

Once they were out of the greenhouse and trudging through the snow, Althea finally spoke again. "Princess Olivia, Sir Marcus, please tell me I can change for this. I can't see making any progress in such infernal dresses as these." Since she had seen Olivia wearing men's armour she felt a bit more comfortable showing her more tomboyish side around her. Still a thought occurred to her, particularly after that comment about sexy women, that perhaps Princess Olivia might be...

No. The king would likely be devastated and in case something terrible happened to her siblings--God forbid--she would have to produce heirs to the throne just in case. That wasn't exactly something she could do with another woman.
 
Princess Olivia looked over Althea's dress. "Oh, do you have sparing clothes? If not I think we're about the same size. You can come over to my room and we'll get you properly outfitted." She winked at Marcus. "You don't mind waiting for us in the training area do you? The guards there might be working on their drills; it would give you something to do to entertain yourself with."

Marcus smiled, which only made him more handsome. "It would be my pleasure, Princess. Ah...Princesses." He amended. "I'll see you there in about an hour then, yeah?"

"Yeah. Sure." Olivia grabbed Princess Althea by the hand. Her own hands were strong and softly calloused, but not overly so. "It's been a while since I've had someone to play dress-up with," she said with a smile. "You'll forgive me for being excited."
 
"Sparring clothes? Princess your father is much more lenient than my mother. When I was ten she had all of my boy clothes burned in hopes I'd dress like a proper lady. It only succeeded in making me successful at stealing the stable boy's extra clothes, until...well..." She motioned to her breasts in exhasperation. "These." She rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid I shall have to borrow some of yours. Thank you."

Althea took Olivia's hand and followed her to her chambers. She seemed to be making friends with her stepdaughter, despite their rocky start. For this she was glad; it would have been a lonely marriage indeed with only one friend in the whole castle, not including a dog and a ghost.

"I'm happy to indulge, Princess Olivia," she returned. "It's been a long time for me, too. I'm my father's only daughter. It's nice to have a friend."
 
Olivia smiled as Althea waved at her breasts. "These," she said, drawing a circle with one hand around her own, "have always opened doors for me rather than shut them. Besides, we're about the same size. With a few adjustments people would mistake you for me, and vice versa." She winked. "It could be fun."

Her rooms were large, connected to another set of rooms that she told Althea belonged to Owen. "We have mirrored rooms; his apartments are the exact opposite of mine and we share a common room and a large balcony. My father built it for us when we were five." She smiled. "He thought that it was about time we stopped sharing a bed." She opened a large armoir that turned out to be an entry to a dressing room, lined with clothes, shelves, and mirrors. There were a few dressers as well. "Okay, simple training clothes." She pointed to a large section of the closet where trousers and shirts hung above many types of shoes one might wear when practicing the martial arts.

"Take your pick. After we practice you should come back and choose a few to keep. At least, until you have your own made."
 
"It seems perhaps I would have been better off raised here," Althea murmured as they walked. "Perhaps I would have been allowed more freedom to be myself." She smiled as Olivia suggested switching places.

"You mean, you turn your hair blonde and mine brown and see if anyone notices? That does sound like fun..."

The room was incredible! Even as compared to hers, which itself was quite remarkable. The princess still stood looking at the room when Princess Olivia spoke of her twin with fondness and she smiled. She had wished when she was younger that she had a sibling closer to her own age.

"I used to crawl into Edward's bed when I was younger, too," she said with a small, sad smile. "Usually he even let me stay. He was a decent brother." She refrained from heaving a whistful sigh before following Olivia to her magnificent closet. "Thank you for allowing me to borrow some clothes, your highness."

Althea smiled before picking out a set and changing with Olivia's help. Once dressed--it felt nice to be back in trousers after so long--she turned in a circle.

"How do I look?"
 
"Changing ones appearance isn't really that difficult," Olivia said with a wink. "I've often gone into town as someone else simply to visit with people and to hear their true thoughts on the nobility." She smiled. "And for other reasons..." She reached out and helped Althea adjust the sash around her waist, running her fingers along the inside of the cloth next to her skin.

Princess Olivia smiled once Althea was dressed. "Yeah, you'd be fun to dress. But until the hoopla from your wedding settles down I think you should just borrow my clothes once in a while when you want to wear more comfortable things. You're gorgeous, by the way. You look perfectly at home in trousers. I'll have to get you into armor soon and see how that feels on you." She looped her arm through Althea's and walked with her back to the training yard.

Marcus was leaning against the arena fence, watching several soldiers walking back towards the castle. He was talking to another man as they watched the group, then he looked up at the approaching ladies and grinned. The smile encompassed his entire countenance. "Princess Althea! I just met your brother," he nodded towards the rapidly disappearing group. "I can see that good looks are a strong hereditary trait in your family." He reached out and shoved the man next to him, who looked up and smiled like one caught in a trap.

"And look who I found! The gardener was busy doing nothing so I recruited him to be a training tool for us."

Alex bowed slightly to the Princesses, which earned him a hearty thump across the shoulders from the dark-skinned martial trainer. "Stop acting like they're going to bite you, boy! At least out here on the training field. I want you to treat them like any other man on the field."
 
"Other things?" Althea asked with a raised eyebrow and a crooked grin. "What other things?" But as she shivered when Olivia's fingers brushed her skin, she thought she had a fairly good idea of what other things. She smiled again at the compliment. "Thank you. I spent more of my life than not in trousers; now that I'm in a place where it seems more acceptable I hope to be able to again."

Althea followed Olivia downstairs, arm in arm. She was quickly developing a fondness for her stepdaughter and hoped they would be more like friends than like step-family. Sir Marcus was waiting for them on the training field and a familiar figure stood with him. As his purpose there was explained, Althea gave the gardener a smile that to him may have looked pitying. Poor Jacques! To be roped into something like this as a gardener and disguise that he was one of the great war heroes!

"Indeed, Alex, don't hold back," Althea agreed with a twinkle in her eye. "When I was young I had an excellent teacher. It's been a few years because he went away for the war, so obviously I may be a little rusty...but I think I've still got it." She grinned. Jacques knew her skill level and fighting style as well as how much pain she could handle; she didn't worry in the least that he would hurt her.

"As for my brother," the princess added, looking at her new trainer, "he should thank God he got the looks as his Maker didn't deem it necessary to bless him with brains." She laughed lightheartedly, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.
 
Marcus laughed heartily at Althea's assessment of Sir Edward. "Perhaps that is true; but sometimes it's good not to have someone who over-thinks things, hey?" He winked at Olivia, who grinned in understanding. "He's not presently engaged or involved with anyone is he? Ah, nevermind. We can discuss personal things later. For now ~ we assess what you know, Princess Althea. You said that you've had a teacher before who worked with you in martial matters. Tell me what you know."

After listening to Althea's description of her skill the Moor turned to 'Alex'. "I assume you are not trained, Hey? But you've seen a bit? Or were you drafted into the War of Seven?"

"Uhm, yeah. Yes Sir. I served a little bit." Jacques looked nervous enough, like one about to sit on a wild horse for the first time. In truth he was more uncomfortable about lying and then being caught with more skill then he should have. His safety depended upon blending into his new role as a simple man.

"Good." Marcus grinned in his wide, open way. "Don't be upset if the princesses make you look puny. They both have much more training then you do. Just be glad, hey? You'll learn more here as their training tool then most commoners would in a lifetime marching with the soldiers. It's a good thing for you ~ in case The Duke of Highchester decides to start another war."
 
Althea's eyebrows shot up as she came to understand Sir Marcus's intent with her brother. A half-hidden grin twisted her lips. Oh this could be very fun indeed.

"I'm fair with a sword, though not the best," the princess said when asked of her skill. "I'm much better in archery. I'm a very good huntress, if I may say so. As far as hand-to-hand combat, however, I'm afraid my training goes no further than playful wrestling with a friend. My best defenses still come down to hair pulling and groin kicking when it starts to become apparent that I'm losing."

Althea had to resist glancing sideways at the gardener. He'd had to explain to her when she was five and just getting big enough to roughhouse that it wasn't nice to kick a boy in the groin. When she asked why he'd given her one of the very few "because I said so"s in her life. When Tess had sat her down when she was old enough to have "the talk," Althea had remembered the conversation and had to write a letter to Jacques apologizing profusely for pestering him about it.

The princess almost snorted when Jacques said he'd fought "a bit" in the war. Still she held her tongue as Sir Marcus told him not to feel bad if the princesses beat him up. It was all terribly funny to her until he mentioned Highchester. She cleared her throat loudly and looked at Sir Marcus.

"Politics aside, m'lord, he's still my father and I'll thank you to still your tongue if you have anything more to say about him," she said calmly. She had never agreed with her father's politics and was still angry at him for selling her off as a peace offering, even if the king wasn't as bad as he'd always said. But still, he was her father and she didn't like to hear anyone else speak ill of him.
 
Jacques cleared his throat when Althea mentioned groin-kicking. He tried to cover with a cough, his mind drawn to the first time he'd been undone by Althea. Her little fists and feet managed to sneak through his improvised defenses, and he remembered going down in a flash of pain when she connected. Even now his body flinched in remembered agony.

Marcus raised an eyebrow at Althea's order to say no more regarding her father. "Princess, no disrespect is intended hey? But I will not withhold truth from you, especially when we are training. Right now the biggest threat to the peace we have is come from beyond your borders. Now, what I teach is fighting with your mind first, your body second, and then anything else you can get will come after. A broomstick, sand, a rock; those will all be weapons to you one day."

He nodded at Althea. "I understand your loyalty, Highness. You are his daughter. But one day you will be Queen."

Jacques crossed his arms and watched their instructor.

"Now, let us begin." Marcus spent the next hour having them practice simply dodging each other as their partner tried to slap them with either the left or right hand. They all took turns with each other so that they wouldn't learn each others' habits. Unfortunately for Jacques, he seemed to continue to get slapped by the women.

"Stars above, Alex! I can see why you're piddling around in the garden instead of serving as a city guardsman or something more useful! How did you ever survive in the war with those reflexes of molasses hey?" Marcus walked up behind the gardener and smacked the back of his head. "Wake up! You're so slow my grandmother could smack you, and she's dead!"

Alex dropped his gaze. "Sorry Sir, I guess I got distracted."

"Distracted my ass! Stop goo-goo-eying the ladies and avoid that smack." Marcus frowned. "Man, you're worse than my sister's one-eyed cat. Distracted."

Marcus continued the lesson, emphasizing that avoiding the blow was better than blocking it, and that by being completely alert, always on a slight edge, they could best avoid being assaulted. He spent some time talking about how people walked around every day as if their head was in the clouds and they would often walk into someone coming around a corner or not realize that they were in the midst of hoodlums until they had already been surrounded.

After a brutal hour of slapping and dodging he allowed them to take a short break for water.
 
Althea opened her mouth to argue with Sir Marcus, then closed it again when he moved on with the lesson. Shut up yet again by a man who thought he knew better than her! Althea clenched and unclenched her hands and tried to pay attention to the lesson. It was hard when there were so many things she wanted to say.

Olivia proved a fair match for her in their initial practice. She knew Jacques was allowing himself to be hit and pulled her slaps each time, instead going a little extra harder at Sir Marcus. When the Moore started berating her love she wanted to step in on his behalf, but kept herself from it. She knew he had likely gone through training worse than that to become a knight. Instead she gave him an apologetic look before starting up practice once more.

By the end of the hour she was sweating despite being surrounded by snow. When their trainer let them stop for water, Princess Althea looked at him.

"Sir Marcus, a word please?" She led him a bit away from the other two and spoke in a low tone. "Sir Marcus, I have no delusions about my father," she said frankly. "I don't agree with most of his politics, am quite aware that he is the biggest threat to our peace right now, and yes I would go to war against him if I absolutely had to. Be that as it may, the War of Seven is in the past; both sides handled it poorly, both sides lost many lives, and both sides spread plenty of propaganda. Additionally, as I've said he's still my father." The princess looked at the dark knight evenly and unflinchingly. "I neither want nor expect you to lie to me, sir, but I do expect you to remember why you're here; to teach me how to fight, not invite political discourse into our training. Because you're right; I will be queen. And as the future queen I did not appreciate the way you spoke to me, as if I were just another silly-headed female to be shut up when it came to the discussion of men."

Althea backed away a step and took a deep breath. "Now, I'd like us to go back into this with a clean slate. Besides, keep talking politics and I won't tell you the key to my brother's heart." She smiled and tapped him on the shoulder before going to rejoin the others.
 
"Princess." Marcus grabbed Althea's hand as she began to walk away and pulled her back to himself. "Tell me something. Is it that you're upset over mention of your father, or that you are attracted to the gardener that makes you so upset?" He smiled and winked. "So lesson one is actually this; do not let your emotions get in the way of your actions. Alex is not going to melt because I reprimanded him, and your father's not a worse or better leader based upon whether or not we talk politics. Grow thicker skin, Princess. It will serve you well. Now, I'll stop mentioning the state of the world and you, little butterfly, will tell me more of your brother hey?" He released her. "Don't be concerned with such things Althea. You are a strong-willed woman; you're not someone to be overlooked regardless of your gender."

Olivia was sitting on the edge of the water trough, as Alex pumped a bowlful for her to drink. She reached down and tugged the gardener closer to herself and whispered something into his ear, for which he promptly blushed. He shook his head briefly.

The princess grinned at Althea. "Would you like a drink, your Highness? Alex here has quite the skill with repetitive tasks." She nudged him with her toe. "He takes a tease well too, don't you Alex?"

"Of course I do," he said, turning towards Althea. He reached out behind himself with his hand and pushed Olivia into the trough. "Oh!" He looked back at the sound of her splash. "Oh, did I do that? How clumsy of me."

Marcus laughed. "See? Thick-skinned." He reached into the trough to help the now soaking Olivia out. "You should have been on guard, princess. How is it that you block the slaps but are done over by the push?"
 
Althea blushed deeply when Marcus mentioned her attraction to the gardener. Was she that obvious? She took a deep breath and nodded as they squared things away. It was the first time someone below her station apart from Tess had spoken so frankly with her, and she appreciated it. She smiled when he mentioned Edward; she'd be honest with him about her brother's preferences, but wouldn't discourage him from trying to change Edward's mind. It would be fun to watch.

As they walked back Althea saw Olivia whisper in her love's ear and noted his blush. What were they talking about? She was about to accept the offer of a drink when Alex pushed the princess into the trough. Althea hid her laughter behind her hand, but a little gnawing jealousy nibbled at her heart. Was he flirting with her? He'd just that day told her he wouldn't forsake her for another...but it looked very much like they were flirting.

"Perhaps you ought to change before we continue," Althea suggested, still smiling. "We wouldn't want you freezing to death."
 
Olivia laughed as she stepped out of the tub, her hand still in Marcus'. "Oh Marcus can dry me off." She shivered as the water dripped off her. "He's of the desert sands, you know. Sun and wind are their specialties."

Marcus nodded. "And my father said that I was always full of hot air. At least I can be useful, hey?" he held his palms out towards Olivia as his magic drew the water out of the cloth and away from her skin. The air grew warm and humid, and she was rapidly drying off.

Jacques watched with with open awe at the display of Marcus' power. "I thought..." He stopped himself.

"Thought what, boy?" Marcus asked.

"I thought that only those of noble blood had powers?"

Marcus laughed. "Aye, that's what I heard too." He finished drying Olivia off and she spun around to be inspected. "Hot and dry, princess. Now shall we continue?"
 
Althea watched with some wonder as the princess was quickly dried. She shared Alex's confusion, and quirked an eyebrow at Marcus's response. Was he too secretly nobility? She exchanged a look with the gardener before nodding.

"Indeed, it seems our training has only begun," she said softly, stepping back to get ready. "Sir Marcus, perhaps you could teach me what magic you know? I've only just begun to come into my abilities and am still a stranger to magic."

Training that afternoon was vigorous. They were still going at it when the sun set and it was suggested they go inside for supper and to warm up. Althea herself was sweating, but her toes were cold and as they trudged through the snow back up to the castle she began to shiver as the sweat dried. She wrapped her arms around herself, glancing at the others and trying to appear unaffected; it snowed in Highchester, but being in the south it was never so cold so early. This was a climate more suitable to the dead of winter for her, and didn't bode well considering it was only late autumn.
 
Marcus was a tough teacher, but by the end of the day they were able to react almost without thinking and avoid smacks, things thrown at them, and a swiftly moving staff. He had them dodging, ducking, and jumping so vigorously that he began to teasingly call them his three fleas. The sun began to set and the shadows grew long and blue across the muddied snow.

"Aye, back to the castle. And you," Marcus said to Althea, "still owe me some information hey?"

Princess Olivia seemed unaffected by the cold. Perhaps she was used to it, but the bounce in her step as they made their way back to the castle walls were unaffected.

Alex noted Princess Althea wrapping her arms around herself, though, and he removed his grey woolen cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. He gave her a small look of shared understanding but said nothing as they crossed the final fifty yards to the entry. He held the door open for them to enter.

"Thank you good man," Marcus said as he ushered Olivia and Althea in before himself. "I hope to find you out on the field after lunch again tomorrow. You did well."

Alex nodded and thanked him before shutting the door firmly behind the trio and turning to return to the garden.

Olivia looked back at the closed door. "He's an interesting fellow. Quiet, but familiar." She smiled and laced an arm through Althea's. "Sir Marcus, you'll excuse us if we go clean up before supper? And then afterwards perhaps the three of us can have our little informational sharing tete-a-tete."
 
Althea looked up and smiled when the gardener gave her his cloak. She pulled it tighter around herself and resisted the urge to turn her face into the collar to try and catch his scent. Looks could be easily explained as misconstrued or mistaken, but that couldn't. She simply thanked him quietly and continued on as Olivia bounced ahead. She was quite exuberant and seemed not to notice the cold around her.

The princess allowed herself to be ushered in but realized to late she still had the gardener's cloak. "Indeed," she agreed with Olivia. "Quite familiar. Oh damn...remind me to give this back to him tomorrow, please. I feel bad he has to walk all the way back with out it now. Poor thanks that is!"

Althea allowed herself to be steered away by the other princess, bidding Sir Marcus a farewell for now. She liked this. She'd of course had Tess and Jacques and Apollo, but apart from them growing up she hadn't really had friends. They were all her father's knights or the children of servants who she usually didn't like very much; they were always more situational playmates than friends. Even over the course of her childhood she had several times asked both Tess and Jacques if they were her friends because they had to be. This was really the first time in her life Althea had had actual, genuine friends who had never been hired. She liked it.

"I'm going to be sore in the morning, aren't I?" Althea asked Olivia as they climbed the stairs up to where their rooms were.
 
"Oh don't worry; I don't think the cold affects him as much as it does you," Olivia said in regards to Alex. "Besides, peasant stock is very hearty." She smiled, easing the harshness of her words. "Come on, you can bath in my combined bath house that I have with Owen. He's bound to be done and off drinking with his friends by now." She began to unbutton the top of her blouse as they neared the hallway to the royal chambers.

Dom Pierre was sitting in a large fern when the girls came up the stairs. He smiled at Althea before fading away.

Olivia's eyebrow raised slightly but she said nothing about the spirit. "I have a lovely red velvet dress that might look good on you," she said. "My father loves red on women. Would you care to take a look at it? Oh and don't worry about soreness. If you don't mind a man's touch, Marcus can work out your sore muscles tonight and you'll fee perfectly right as rain in the morning!"
 
Althea had to force a smile at Olivia's comment about peasants, as if they were livestock. She was soon distracted, however, but the mention of a bath. Hot water over her sore limbs sounded heavenly.

"A bath sounds wonderful, your highness," she nearly groaned. As they came up the stairs she was caught off guard by Dom Pierre sitting in a fern, but managed to smile back before he disappeared. She could tell Olivia had seen him, too, but since one princess didn't mention it neither did the other.

"I'll have a look at the dress," Althea agreed with a smile, also beginning to undo her top. "And I have a feeling I have nothing to fear from Marcus's hands." She giggled and nudged Olivia gently.
 
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