~*~~~*~

Ari awoke to Vida gently shaking her shoulder. She sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes before opening them to see her guard's stoic face. A familiar view that she saw almost every morning, since she was terrible at waking up herself. Vida had prepared a bowl of warm water and a cloth for Ari to give herself a quick clean before changing. She glanced down at the cot where an overly extravagant gown and jewelry that Vida picked out for her was laid out and scrunched her nose up in response.

"Why am I wearing something this lavish to travel in? That seems a bit much, don't you think?" she asked Vida pointedly.

Vida's lips pressed together as she picked up the bowl to go empty it and reminded the princess, "We'll be arriving at the Othan palace today. You'll want to wear something appropriate to meet everyone there, yes?" With another terse look and a turn on her heel, Vida exited the tent to give Ari some privacy while she changed.

Ari flinched at her friend's words, then sighed heavily. Because Vida was right, as she always was. The bitter expression never left Ari's face, though, while she pulled the dress on. It was truly beautiful and still probably one of the more "simple" gowns that her brother had designed for her. It was a mint green color but the sleeves that hung off her shoulders were a sheer gold that flowed down as a layer over the flowy skirt. There was a slit on both front sides of the skirt that would reveal Ari's long legs when she walked, which were only covered with translucent golden harem pants. An intricate golden leaf design connected the sash under her chest to the sheer fabric that cascaded from her shoulder, down her back, and up to the other shoulder in a scooped shape. She decided to pair it with more simple jewelry, swapping the chunky jewels that Vida had picked for thin, gold options instead. Vida returned just in time to brush and braid Ari's hair. Ari didn't miss the decorative gold beads that her friend wove into the braids. The veil Ari donned matched her dress, mint green in color embroidered with the gold leaf design. She scowled at Vida, with her comfortable clothes and simple ponytail, in disdain and jealousy.

They packed up what little they had in the tent and exited just in time to catch Arell and Ronan leaving their tent at the same time. The four of them paused and looked at each other apprehensively for a while until Ari cleared her throat gracelessly and made her way to the carriages, Vida in tow. She didn't know how to feel about Arell now. She had thought he was cold and arrogant at first and she really didn't mind him, but after last night… there was an inkling of fear mixed into her emotions. Though the last thing she wanted was to be afraid of her future husband. She hoped that the rumors of Arell being a demon were just that; rumors. She hoped that the fiendish glint in his eye was a trick of the light from the setting sun. As silly as it was, she also hoped that Arell would never have to kill anyone ever again. But maybe that was the physician in her that conjured up such a pipe dream.

Vida touched Ari's arm gently, jolting her from her thoughts. "You can get in the carriage now, Princess Ari," Vida told her slowly with a slightly concerned look on her face. She held out a small basket for Ari. "It's breakfast," Vida informed her.

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Ari smiled, then searched around the campsite for her maids. Jannah was in the process of taking down Ari's tent with Milli crouched beside her, wiping Odion's face with a cloth. Milli was speaking to Odion with a strangely parental look on her young face and Odion was nodding in response to her words with wide, attentive eyes. As Ari sat down in the carriage, she felt a surge of consolation once again that her maids had agreed to join her. They worked basically the entire time that Ari was conscious, every single day, and never once complained about their jobs. Not that Ari tried to make their jobs difficult in any way. It mostly consisted of cleaning, cooking rarely when necessary, and minor errands like drawing a bath or fetching some paperwork. And they were paid quite well, in all fairness. But to be at someone's beck-and-call at all times wasn't something that Ari took lightly and was thankful for everything that they did.

Arell sat down next to her and closed the carriage door. As Ari looked outside, she realized that she had been lost in thought long enough for the entire camp to be packed back up. The sunlight was beginning to bare itself over the horizon now. She gulped quietly and glanced at Arell out of the corner of her eye. He looked so stiff, sitting completely straight with his hands on his knees and his lips pressed together tightly, staring straight ahead. Honestly, he looked kind of amusing that way.

After a few minutes, the caravan made their way back on the road. It would only be half a day until they reached Otha's capital city, Isara. They'd arrive before dinner if the rest of the trip went smoothly.

Suddenly, Ari heard a gurgling sound. She turned and looked at Arell with a questioning expression. He quickly reached up and put his hand on his stomach, as if the noise would stop if he physically held it in.

He chuckled sheepishly. "I haven't eaten yet," he admitted.

Ari looked down at the basket she was all but squeezing the life out of in the tense atmosphere. "Ah…" was all she said as she loosened her grip and held it out to him.

He shot her a grateful look as he took out an apple. He finished it quickly, tossing the core out the window to become fertilizer. He resumed his rigid position, opening his mouth to speak several times, then shutting it with furrowed brows before Ari finally cut him a break.

"Is there something you'd like to say?" Ari tried to keep her voice neutral, although she was suspicious of him after yesterday's episode.

Arell blinked anxiously. "I have rarely ever had to apologize in my life… But I've realized that I need to now. For my behavior, I mean. I spoke unfairly to you and that's not how I want to start our relationship." He paused, considering all of his past actions and his next words carefully. "I can't promise that I'll be completely righteous because that would be a lie, but in no way do I want to disrespect you. I will try my best not to do so in the future." He searched Ari's veiled face for a reaction but she kept her poise.

Ari took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. "Thank you for apologizing. I'm sure it took a lot of courage to admit that you were wrong and I can appreciate your efforts."

For a moment, there was a look of complete surprise on Arell's face, but he suppressed it just as quickly as it came. His body relaxed like a weight had just been lifted from his shoulders. Ari wondered why in the world he was so surprised at her words.