The post he held on the night shift was across the castle grounds from the barracks, at the moment he wished he had a faster way to travel. The castle was large but not so large as to necessitate horses or carriages to fairy personnel across the grounds. He’d been on escorts to larger kingdoms in the past and remembered how small it made his little world seem. It still didn’t lessen how exhausting he found the walk ahead to be. As he passed the west wing he heard rustling in the bushes. He slowed his footing and announced himself while he quietly slid his blade from its sheath. “Who’s there?” The rustling quieted and he stopped walking. “I know you’re out there. Best come out while I’m still asking nicely.” A moment passed, the air was silent as the seconds ticked on. Revyn squinted into the darkness for any signs of movement. Though some still lived who witnessed the war firsthand, to members of his generation it all felt like a distant story. Something that only really happened in history books. Revyn slid his blade back into place and continued walking on. It must’ve been a chipmunk or such. The likelihood of something nefarious happening was small and he wasn’t sure it was even more than the wind. He always felt a bit on edge after a long night shift.

She couldn’t believe that worked. She couldn’t believe she was almost caught in the first place. If only she’d headed back earlier like she’d told herself she would before. It was too late to think about all that now though. There was little time left for her to slip back into her room unnoticed. She scurried across the open path and into the bushes on the other side. She was lucky it was only Ren she ran into. He was easy to fool, and even if he had caught her, she was sure she could still convince him to keep quiet about that little interaction. They’d known each other long enough and she was confident she knew his weak spots. She waited for him to pass out of view before she crept over to the window she left cracked and began lifting it slowly. Seeing the pebble she left to hold it open, she tossed it into the bushes.

The castle was old and the windows, best of all, made that wholly apparent. She tenderly pushed up as paint chipped and wood creaked. Slowly she shifted the window back and forth inching it up and up, just enough for her to squeeze her slender frame through. She shimmied in and clattered to the floor ungracefully. Quickly righting herself, she frantically looked around for any sign someone might have heard her. Seeing the coast was clear for the moment she tugged and pushed the window closed again before darting up the nearby stairs, quiet as a cat. There was little worry in her mind of getting caught at this point slipping into her room. It was just the second door from the top of the stairs. Only court ladies and the queen's maids slept in this wing of the castle. With hardly anyone needing to walk these halls at such an hour and her knowledge of how often patrols roamed the halls. She was there with no problems. The door creaked as she slowly closed it behind her. Her room was none too fancy as she wasn’t much for material goods. At least not ones that sat alone in a room only she ever really saw. Her cloak was first off, not an article of clothing she used every day. It would be suspicious if it was found lying around, so she tossed it to the back of her armoire. She peeled off her top and traded it for a nightgown, shimmied out of her slacks, and removed her undergarments as quick as she could, lest someone hear a commotion and check in. She climbed into bed, the sheets were just as soft and inviting as one would expect of castle bedding. She closed her eye and pretended as though she had always been there.

Sometime later she found herself waking from a sleep she had hardly realized she fell into. Judging by the light coming in through the edges of her window curtains the sun was fully up now and she could hear an occasional set of footsteps muffled through the door. It seemed like the castle was already awake for the day. She sat up from bed and gathered her wits. There were no scheduled events this morning so it was unsurprising no one had come to check on her yet. She only hoped it wasn’t too late into the day. Standing from her bed she stretched and walked to the window. The sun was in the sky now but she could tell she’d probably still catch the last of the stragglers for breakfast if she hurried to get ready. A knock came to the door of her chamber. “Lady Zophe.” The voice on the other side sounded timid. She would guess one of the younger maids. Zophe enjoyed taking the time to get to know the attendants and other staff around her. She was sure at this point she knew the name of every maid in the castle. The doors however made it difficult to discern voices. She closed the blinds and moved to her armoire. “Lady Zophe are you in there?”

“Yes I’m in here but I’m not decent.” She began stripping off her bed clothes and found the outfit she’d prepared the night before. “I’ll be out in a moment.” Zophe caught a glimpse of herself in her vanity mirror. She looked like a mess, she noted as she stepped away from her clothes and examined herself. She smirked at the thought of leaving her room looking like that. Princess Tirandre was particular about presentability. Even within one’s home they should be ready to receive royalty. It was something she’d heard the princess say on a number of occasions. She examined herself, auburn hair still tied high in a now disheveled ponytail from the night before. Her pale skin dotted with freckles made the dark bag beneath her eye, from lack of sleep, all the more prevalent. She ran her hands down her face pulling at her skin. There wasn’t time to do much about her appearance or how badly she wanted a bath, but she could admit to herself she’d draw attention if she left her room like that. Zophe pulled the ribbon holding her hair up, loose and shook out the red curls. She combed and re-tied her shoulder-length locks. Quickly patting a layer of concealing powder onto her face, she did her best to multitask and began applying a bit of lip gloss. It would have to do for now. 

“My lady, would you like some assistance?” The maid’s voice was muffled through the door. Zophe was only a noble lady of lesser descent, though still a court lady, she rarely had assistance dressing or bathing herself, if it wasn’t in preparation for a ball or other court event.

“No no, that’s alright. I’m just about ready.” She assumed the princess must be asking for her. Since she was little the two of them had been companions. Now that they were older Zophe served as a lady in waiting to the princess. She once would have said they were friends as children but she could see with more maturity that the princess most likely never saw her that way. Tirandre favored her and enjoyed her company but she found the lives of her court ladies to be quite trivial. This was why Zophe felt secure in the idea that this had nothing to do with the princess finding out about her plan to leave tonight. They were simply there as needed. Returning to her armoire she quickly pulled her clothes on with ease. The fashion of Yarose was far more forgiving than those of some neighboring nations. It wasn’t often she had to be nipped and tucked into layers upon layers of skirts and corsets or cake her face in garish makeup. Yarose was warm most of the year and it was more practical in a modern world for trousers to be available to everyone. Of course, on other topics of this sort, you could say Yarose was still a bit behind the times. She buckled her pants and buttoned her blouse before strapping her corset overtop and pulling the laces tight across her back. Her shoes lay beneath the edge of her bed. Simple lace-up leather boots. Not what most court ladies wore but she enjoyed the outdoors more than most, and in the coming days, the habit would be a convenient hobby to keep. Hopefully It would take the princess longer to notice her absence. Zophe fastened her shoes and opened the door. As it swung open she found herself face to face with a shocked maid. 

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“Good morning Ginnie.” Zophe smiled at her.

“My Lady, You look like you’ve just woken up.” Ginnie stammered. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping well. Did the princess ask for me?” Zophe found lying was easiest when weaving in as many truths as possible.

“Her Highness wanted to invite you to breakfast. I figured it was a tad late but by the look of you, it seems you haven’t eaten.” This sort of behavior was typical of the princess Tirandre. They had no previous plans for the morning but the week before they’d had a bit of an argument and Tirandre had been avoiding her since. She often took days to cool down from these sorts of things, and when she made up her mind she liked to apologize over a meal.

“Sounds delightful, lead the way.” Zophe followed as Ginnie began down the hallway. It was annoying timing. Tirandre had her running errands outside of the castle since their fight; now she chooses an inconvenient time to change her mind. Zophe had more to be upset about anyway. Tirandre had always treated her like a favorite. When there was bad news to be given to the princess it was Zophe who was often asked to deliver it. She never asked anything of the princess, simply did as she was told and offered advice when asked. Then last week for the first time Zophe asked for a leave of absence to visit her family. She asked her if she could go this week. Tirandre’s first response was to simply deny the request and dismiss it out of hand as if the conversation ended there. It didn't, however. In truth Zophe hadn’t expected her to deny the request as there was nothing in the following weeks which only she could handle. Not here anyway. The truth was it wasn’t home she wanted to visit. She had received a strange letter claiming to be someone she hadn’t thought of much since she was a child. Claiming if she didn’t capitulate he would ruin what was left of her family. A disturbing letter to be sure but the proof sent with it held at least a kernel of truth to the story. She felt it better to confront this head on. Unfortunately Tirandre was more of an obstacle then she’d hoped. The time to herself since the argument however had given her other ideas. It would've been convenient if the princess had waited at least a day more to come around but she could adapt. Even with this distraction she would still find time to slip out of the castle tonight. By the morning she would be too far gone. There was the worry that the obvious place to look for her would be her family home but she wasn’t sure there was much she could do about that now. She wouldn't be there and her family wouldn’t know where she was. There wasn’t any real reason for them to do anything to her family. She would simply be missing. Not the ideal outcome but she would cross the bridge of how to return once she solved this mystery. She hoped all this scheming didn’t backfire in her family’s face.

She realized as they walked they’d be meeting in the greenhouse, this was a bonus at least. The greenhouse was her favorite place in the castle. The high walls surrounding most of the grounds tended to ruin the landscape in her opinion. The greenhouse however was a large glass domed garden filled with beautiful foliage from lands beyond Yarose. It was a free spirit in the middle of a rigid environment.

“I know my way from here Ginnie. Thank you for your assistance.” Zophe smiled at her.

Ginnie curtsied. “ Have a good breakfast, my lady.” She scurried off down the hallway. Zophe watched her go for a moment before turning back to the greenhouse doors at the end of the hall.

The doors, glass though they were, had a frosted finish for privacy. The bottom panels around the whole dome were also frosted but it was hardly noticeable from the inside. Zophe pushed the doors open to the fresh scent of flowers and tea. “Good morning, your Highness.” She smiled.

Princess Tirandre fit the image of a princess. She was taller than many of her peers. You could spot her in any crowd. It wasn’t just her height that would draw eyes however. Her long wavy hair fell all the way down to the small of her back. The color shown in shades of gold and copper that glowed like fire in the sun. Her eye was a piercing steely grey. She had a regal air about her that never seemed to falter. “Good Morning Zophe. I’m glad you could make it. I was starting to worry the tea might go cold.” Tirandre smiled. It was the type of smile often weaponized by royalty. One that portrayed nothing, or anything. “You look like you slept terribly.”

Zophe walked to the opposite side of the small garden table where a place setting had already been set out for her. She sat. “I apologize. Yesterday was quite busy. It seems I was more exhausted than I thought.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I hope I didn't interrupt your morning.” Tirandre raised her cup to her lips and sipped.

“Of course not, your Highness. It’s always a delight to spend time in your company.” Zophe found it easy to tell the princess exactly what she wanted to hear. It was practically her job.

The princess set down her tea cup. “I know I was rather harsh to you last week, Zophe, but I wanted you to know I realize I perhaps got a bit more heated then the situation called for. I’ve had a number of stressful ordeals on my plate as of late and I’m simply not sure how I’d manage if you went on holiday at present.”

Having already decided on a far more dramatic course of action, she had the night before, set in motion. She saw no reason to fight the princess on the subject further. “I’m sorry princess. I wasn’t aware there was so much going on at present.”

The Princess sighed. “Mother and Father want me to start seriously considering the marriage proposals they’ve received for me.” She leaned back in her chair. “I really find none of them that interesting. I suppose my choices were always going to be limited, but I was hoping to keep my options open for at least a few more years.” This information was terribly unsurprising. These were the types of things that most often occupied the princess's thoughts. She wasn’t boy crazy, rather her high standards left her constantly scrutinizing any potential prospects. After all the time Zophe had spent listening to her on the subject, she was sure what Tirandre wanted in a marriage only existed in story books. In reality she knew that sort of thing took compromise.

“It shouldn’t be hard starting with narrowing down the list. I can help you, if you like.” Zophe picked a couple pastries for herself and settled in. The princess was acting as she always did. As though the matter of their argument was settled.