Liviana seemed taken aback by the fact that they were trying to make her feel better. [i]I guess she doesn't get much of that at home, hmm?[/i] Mai mused. It seemed like Fareeha's words had more of an effect on Liviana than did Niklas's, and Mai had to grin at the sight of the other princess giggling. Liviana also seemed taken aback when Mai complimented her eyes, and it brought Mai some comfort to see her laugh once more when she recounted her fiasco with high heels. 

Mai expertly reapplied the mascara, fishing around for a tissue in her hand bag to lightly wipe away the smudged make-up. Zhou had always found Mai's habit of carrying around cosmetics and compact mirrors and small packs of tissues to be exceedingly inconvenient, but then again, he was a boy, and what did [i]boys[/i] know about how much effort it took to look good all the time? [i]Honestly. Casimir is the only person of the other gender that I have ever met who appreciates cosmetics as much as I do.[/i] Besides, hand bags were also convenient places to hide weapons in, provided that nobody looked through the said hand bag. Mai doubted that anybody would want to go through the trouble of sorting through all the make-up supplies in her bright red purse, let alone open every single container in it to discover the small dagger she kept hidden inside an eye-shadow palette. [i]I really should not be carrying around blades here in Aciras,[/i] Mai thought wryly. [i]But still, how is it fair that it is acceptable for security officials and even some of the princes from more militaristic nations-my betrothed included-to carry around, in my opinion, poorly concealed handguns, yet if I were found with the dagger in my purse, it would be a cause for an international scandal? It is quite unjust.[/i]

Mai finished with the mascara. She put the tube back into her purse and carefully closed it, resting one of her hands lightly on the flat part of the hand bag. As Mai did so, she realized that Liviana had been clutching the pendant or locket or something of that sort that Mai had noticed her touch earlier. [i]It must be very important to her,[/i] Mai noted. 

"Thank you all for the kind words... and I am sorry for my, well, outburst. In Lusitania people are somewhat less forgiving than they are here and I was convinced that I must have offended someone," Liviana apologized.

Mai smiled softly at her. "No, of course you have not offended anybody," Mai answered reassuringly. [i]Liviana is very...I don't know how to put this. She acts very submissive, almost, but there's something about her that tells me that she is not. I'm not sure what it is, though. It's just a hunch. I suppose it has much to do with the Lusitanian Empire in general; they are very, well, traditional, when it comes to gender roles.[/i] Mai could sympathize with Liviana. [i]Liang has some undercurrents of these traditional gender roles still. It seems like despite everything that the socialists did, they could not get us to shake off[/i] that[i] part of our imperial past.[/i]

Gender roles had their uses, though. Nobody back in Liang would expect her to be proficient in martial arts or comfortable with blades. Nor would they expect her to use her shoes as weapons, or be able to use a weapon at all, for that matter. To them, she was just a harmless princess who spent her days shopping for new dresses and applying make-up. And that was how Mai liked it.

Mai suddenly had an idea that was very uncharacteristic of her. "Princess Liviana," Mai began. "Would you be open to the idea of having me do your make-up one day?" she laughed lightly at the absurdity of what she was doing. [i]This is very unusual for me,[/i] she thought. [i]Like Zhou says-since when have I ever done anything just for the fun of it?[/i]

"I am sorry if this seems like a strange request. I simply had a random thought while I was looking for the mascara, and, well, there is much that I could do with your coloring," Mai explained in a warm, slightly sheepish voice. [i]I could make her a 皇后-an empress, if I had the right shade of red lipstick and enough gold eyeshadow and black eyeliner. Any black make-up in general would contrast wonderfully with her complexion, though it is quite different from the soft pastel colors that Princess Liviana usually wears. Oh my. This is going nowhere yet everywhere all at once.[/i]