A flicker of irritation betrays Bella. But the speed of a Diodekoi assassin is not a thing that can be denied, especially in pursuit of her target. Her arm and then most of her body crosses the sacred border of the picnic blanket faster than a falling star. Her fingers close around Ember's wrists and as she stands she lifts her Princess into the air as easily as a doll. 

As a child she'd mistaken this cluelessness on Dany's part as a lack of interest. But Ember pines so obviously that isn't possible anymore. Instead she's left to wonder how the fuck she missed it all in the first place. The way the girl in her arms tosses her hair when she's flustered is exactly the same. The slump of her shoulders a moment ago. The smell is so similar it's overwhelming. The sparkle in her eyes, not to mention her own Auspex gleaming there like the most obvious, screaming sign ever crafted by any of the gods. 

The flush of her cheeks is so intense it leaves her legs short on blood to keep her standing. Before she can fuck everything up and drop Ember straight into the six dozen preparations of crab she finishes the motion and tosses her up into the air, instead. Smooth, calculated, though more Mosaic than Bella. She catches the other girl as she sits down and wraps her arms around her in the exact way she used to at the Palace, whenever Dany failed a test and thought the world was ending with it.

Pinned safe and still against her larger frame. Held tight against her body, the shield that denies the galaxy. She waits for the breathing to settle before she risks loosening her arms to put her fingers in that radiant, golden hair. Then, she begins to weave.

"When I was very young, I..." Bella hesitates, "Fell into a trap. A terrible prison I was sure would kill me. And you, still a child, pulled me free. You held me and called me beautiful. The most beautiful thing in all the world. I had bells in my hair, and on my collar. You loved the sound they made. Asked if my name could be Bella. And I'd... never had a name before that."

She has Ember's curls tamed now. This hair has never been a match for these fingertips. Even if the claws that tip them now force her to be more careful than she'd needed to be, once upon a time. She pulls it all back and spins gold into a braid reminiscent of the laurel wreath. A thing fit for a princess.

"And then I met you," she said, "Just outside of Beri. You weren't watching where you were going and you walked straight into my trap. I'd set it up for crabs but in the end I caught something a bit more... valuable. More dangerous, I'd thought. And the look on your face burned itself into my mind for the rest of the day. I was useless, I had to give up on hunting straight away. Vesper made fun of me for a week. Because I saw myself hit you." 

Bella reaches around Ember's shoulder and brushes the spot where she'd hit herself, whisper soft in the space between those beautiful breasts, using only the backs of her fingers where nothing sharp can threaten them.

"Right there. Shit's funny, isn't it? That I've got memories of meeting you for the first time twice? I don't know. Though as a matter of fact, I've spent most of my life chasing after you. Myn-- someone told me a little bit ago she hoped I'd find a new dream. She went on and made it sound like a very pretty sentiment. But fuck her. I don't need a new dream. I have you."