[center][img]https://thumb.ibb.co/cAYwNz/kisspng_watercolor_painting_leaf_india_ink_watercolor_leaves_5ab93b6af1d9a9_7941349115220888109906_1.png[/img] [img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjU0LmZmZmZmZi5SWFpoYm1kbGJHbHVaU0FtSUZSb2VYSnlhUSwsLjAA/ming.regular.png[/img] [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] [sub] collaboration with [@KahleenCuthald][/sub] [hr][hr] [color=silver] Thyrri noticed Eve’s mood changing as they talked. [i]‘Awesome, here I am supposed to entertain one of the most important guests of the festival, and I have only managed to make her feel miserable. Great job, Thyrri, great job.’[/i] Suppressing a frown, she tried to figure out, what the hell is wrong with her. She wasn’t the most charismatic person ever, but she would usually get along well with other people, not make them depressed. She decided to do anything she could to make Eve look happy again. As they were approached by the princess’ bodyguard, Thyrri noticed the sparkle in Eve’s eyes and wondered whether those two have some deeper relationship beyond the official one. Not that it was any of Thyrri’s business. She was just opening her mouth to reply to the girl’s introduction but didn’t have to speak before one of the festival organizers dragged Laurel away. Eve’s mood dropped again as her bodyguard disappeared from their sight. [b][color=fff200]“I am sure she will be all right,”[/color][/b] Thyrri tried to comfort her. [b][color=fff200]“These things usually have strict safety rules and people rarely get hurt.”[/color][/b] When Evangeline made her request, Thyrri had to think for a second, to figure out the shortest way to the back yard, where the carriages were parked until the guests needed them again. [b][color=fff200]“All right, I think I know where we need to go,”[/color][/b] she said and started to make her way through the crowd, holding the princess’ hand as not to lose her in the moving ocean of extravagantly dressed people. She stopped for only a split second, staring at a woman at the bar, who was wearing a metallic… Thyrri wouldn’t even go that far to call it a dress, more like small pieces of fabric covering most of the necessary places. Her eyebrows raised, she giggled quietly. [i]‘Well that is certainly something else,’[/i] she thought before continuing her way. The hallway she picked was nearly empty, only one smaller group of people sought it out as a place to talk in private and relative quiet, and two people passionately kissing, hidden away in a small wall niche. Thyrri reluctantly let go of Eve’s hand as they kept walking in familiar silence. A few servants hurrying this way or another crossed their path, but otherwise this section of the palace seemed mostly deserted. [b][color=fff200]“This entire section was turned to rooms for the festival guests,”[/color][/b] Thyrri said quietly, feeling like she should say at least something. [b][color=fff200]“I am sure you and your parents have been assigned several of our nicest chambers.”[/color][/b] The sad truth was they weren’t. The best rooms were saved for the Primfira delegation, but whoever said that out loud would get into serious trouble. They walked past one of the smaller kitchens and finally they reached a small service entrance Thyrri had been aiming for. It led them directly to the stables, now filled with horses that brought the delegations here. Two stablemen gave them strange looks, especially when eyeing Eve’s attire, but didn’t make any comments. The carriages were parked behind the stables, lined next to each other, ready should their owners decide to leave the festival early. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Thyrri taking her hand to guide her through the masses of the bright garden surprised Eve. She didn't feel like the woman had been too pleased with the physical contact earlier, when Eve had reached for her arm. But now it seemed to bother her no longer. Evangeline surely would not complain. Being dragged through glitterly, sparkling, elegant dresses and neatly fitting suits, she bumped into Thyrri's back as the woman stopped for just a moment. Confused about their sudden halt Eve followed her gaze. Her eyes met with a lot of bare skin, wrapped only slightly in what seemed to be a black-metallic piece of revealing clothing. Evangeline was concerned that the next breeze would reveal all of the woman. She did not seem to be wearing anything else underneath that thing. Not considering her undeniably supposed-to-be-errotic attire, the woman was of unfair beauty. Eve wondered if Thyrri knew her perhaps; she must be from Exodus. Just a second after having stopped, Thyrri already continued to pull her forward, a secure grip on her hand. It shot through her mind, that maybe it was not too smart to sneak around the castle with a stranger, who was part of the Exodus royalty, without any of her guards accompanying her. But she trusted Thyrri - and that was foolish, she knew that. As they reached a hallway, Thyrri slowed down the pace and let go of Eve's hand. Reluctantly so, the princess noticed. And frankly, Eve missed the warm skin on hers immediately. Thyrri continued to lead the way, the ginger woman following her neatly, almost like a lost puppy, her eyes darting around in awe and adoration. Even the not-so-fancy parts of the castle were all too fancy for her liking. Bigger, better than anything she had seen in Earthica. [i]This marriage would be of great advantage to my kingdom and folk[/i], she thought to herself. Moments later they stood in the stables. It smelled of hey, horses and their excrements. Evangeline could feel her heart almost bursting with joy for the familiar odor. The oils and the perfume of the festival left behind, she greeted the new envirenmont thankfully with a deep inhale. It reminded her of home, at least a little bit. The princess spotted her carraige with ease, striding towards it with confidence and pulling the door open roughly. On the ground of the carraige, just as she left it, lied her dark green dress, hairpins and those shoes that she hated more than she wanted to. Eve looked at the gown, she could not believe she was about to do this. A sigh left her throat, but she had already made up her mind and there was no backing down. Maybe she could still fix things. [b][color=82ca9d]"I don't like to ask.... But I might need your help with that."[/color][/b] The red haired woman stepped aside to allow Thyrri a look inside the carriage, a slim hand reaching up to stroke a strand of her own hair behind her ear. A little blush could be spotted on her cheeks. [b][color=82ca9d]"These things were not made to be put on by oneself..."[/color][/b], she tried to explain, terribly so. Her fingers began nervously playing with the strand of hair they had just tucked back. Like most of her actions she had not thought this through. Asking a member of the royal family to help her get dressed.... Logic, as always with the impulsibe princess, crashing in way too late once again. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Thyrri was expecting a lot of things but a beautiful dress lying in a messy pile on the ground, accompanied by a pair of shoes, apparently kicked off in a hurry, everything decorated by a bunch of hairpins, most of them still containing strings of red hair. She had no idea whether to feel amused, embarrassed or something else, leaving her confused. A short hysterical laugh escaped her lips. This whole situation was a bit absurd. [b][color=fff200]“I’m sorry,”[/color][/b] she raised her hands in defensive manner when she realized her laugh might look offensive. [b][color=fff200]“I just didn’t know what I was expecting.”[/color][/b] She scratched her head, thinking what to do now. Putting such gown on was no simple matter and the inside of the carriage was definitely too small for such endeavor. [b][color=fff200]“I think I have an idea. Let’s just pick this all up,”[/color][/b] she grabbed the shoes and started to collect the hairpins. They folded the dress and now Eve’s face was barely visible behind the huge pile of cloth in her arms. [b][color=fff200]“All right, just follow me,”[/color][/b] she said and headed to the other side of the yard. A small door there were a back entrance to the private section of the palace, reserved only for the Exodus royalty. The guards recognized Thyrri and gave Eve a very long and suspecting look. Thyrri attempted a charming smile and the man just shook his head and gestured them to go. Thyrri’s chambers were right around the corner, she specifically requested them because that way she could easily escape outside when she felt the need. It originally seemed like a great idea for a safe place to help Eve put the gown on, but just now she realized that it might seem inappropriate to invite the princess to her own room. [b][color=fff200]“Umm…,”[/color][/b] she didn’t know what to say so she just opened the door and invited Eve in, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed of the mess there. And of course, the beautiful rich gown she was supposed to wear was still hanging in the corner. [b][color=fff200]“Let’s see what we have here,”[/color][/b] Thyrri was nervous, so she reached for Eve’s dress, trying to untangle it and figure out how to put it on. [b][color=fff200]“I would probably kill myself in shoes like that,”[/color][/b] she smiled, glancing at the remarkably high heels. [b][color=fff200]“You can try some of mine on if you want, although I am not sure they will fit. I think I have it,”[/color][/b] she said triumphantly, managing to find the right entering point to the dress. [b][color=fff200]“I… think you will have take that off,”[/color][/b] Thyrri pointed to Eveline’s shirt, her hands battling the layers of the dress. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Her face hidden behind a pile of clothes, shoes balancing on top, she peaked around the gown she was carrying, trying to see where she was going as she stumbled after Thyrri, carefully trying to keep her balance. She felt like a silly sheep, blindly following the shepherd. She did not know where they were heading, her eyes kept fixated on the floor, afraid to trip over something, she could not make out anything other than the ground before her feet and the hem of Thyrri's dress, which she used as her star at the sky to guide her way. With the green dress hiding half her vision, Eve almost ran into the door frame as she entered the chamber Thyrri had led them to. With a thud the whole pile landed on the floor. Eve dragged her arm over her forehead, as though having worked very hard, wiping off some sweat pearls that lingered on her skin, but mostly messing up her hair even more in the process. Standing in the room with her red mane falling around her pale face, strands of wild hair standing in several directions, messy und untamed, her earth green eyes took in the view. The room had a wonderful sense of life to it with all the things lying around. A pompous, legendary gown hang in the one corner, demanding attention with it's pure glorious existence, but seemingly having been banished there to be ignored. Evangeline soon realized that Thyrri had guided her to her very own chamber. Invited her into her little world, her private room. She felt honored, special even, to being allowed an entrance so effortlessly. The dress in the corner, looking so heavy and expensive, formed a big contrast to the rest of the room. It could have easily been a metaphor for Thyrri's conflict with the queen and the enforced marriage she feared. The glittering, glorious life that the queen saw for her, that Thyrri was supposed to play pretend, weighing heavy and pulling eyes towards her without one seeing the burden she is carrying - but she had tossed those enforced responsibilities aside, kept them in a corner of her mind, and had decided to wear a lighter version of that prison. Eve wondered how much facade Thyrri was used to maintaining all day. And how much facade she was maintaining for Eve right now. [b][color=82ca9d]"What?"[/color][/b] Eve had drifted off too far once again. While she had taken in her new surroundings, the private intimate place of Thyrri, the Freyja woman had untangled her dress for her and was fumbling with the fabric of it. Her eyes were set on Evangeline with something like expectation. [b][color=82ca9d]"Oh... right. Sorry. I..."[/color][/b], the red haired woman stuttered, any grace she had been able to cultivate slipping from her for a moment. [b][color=82ca9d]"Of course. Undress. Right."[/color][/b] She laughed softly and her cheeks turned red with embarrassment. She didn't have any problems undressing in front of Thyrri, that was no issue, she was not prude about her body as anyone in Earthica was well aware of. But she did feel silly and even ashamed that she would stutter in front of her and lose that effortless grace she usually carried her body with. Quickly the princess grabbed the hem of her shirt with both of her hands, arms crossed to an X, and pulled it over her head slowly, someone might have considered it to be teasingly slow, when really she was just fearing of embarrassing herself more by getting stuck in it. As she pulled the red fabric up her body, lifting it over her head, a somewhat toned, flat stomach and nice hips got revealed. Evangeline dropped the top and with skilled fingers she opened the button of her shorts and then effortlessly pushed them down her long legs. Stepping out of them, she was standing in a forest green lace bra and panties, a few very thin, delicate branches with only a couple leaves were draped over it in golden yarn. It was ridiculously matching her dress. Maybe she should have chosen a neutral black pair instead. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Thyrri tried not to stare at Eve’s body, still stunned by the whole situation and the ease with which she took off her clothes in front of a complete stranger. It was one gorgeous body, Thyrri had to admit to herself, which must have caused plenty of lust in both men and women around the princess. Certainly something to think about after all this festival madness ends and Thyrri will have some time for herself. She didn’t usually think this way about women, not because she wasn’t attracted to their bodies, but mostly because nearly every woman she had met before had some personality traits that discouraged her from wanting to get closer to them. That was definitely not the matter with Eve, at least not so far. [i]‘Get it together girl, you are a doctor, for devil’s sake, you have seen more naked women than some men ever will in their entire lives!’[/i] She took a deep breath to quickly regain her composure and put the gown over Eve’s head, balancing on the tiptoes trying not to drop the entire heavy thing on her. Once the dress was in place she let Eve adjust it around her waist and breasts, not wanting to put them both to even more uncomfortable position. Meanwhile she collected the hairpins and tried to clean Eve’s hair off them so they could be reused. [color=fff200]“I am not really an expert on this, I usually just make a braid when I need the hair out of my face. I think your hair looks perfect when it’s loose like this,”[/color] she added quietly, looking at the ground. [i]‘Why are you saying that, it is completely inappropriate.’[/i] [b][color=fff200]“What about the shoes, you really want to wear those?”[/color][/b] Thyrri said quickly, trying to change the topic. [b][color=fff200]“I have some string sandals which might fit you, they aren’t extremely comfortable, but better than this monstrosity. Let me look for them.”[/color][/b] She turned away and bent down beside one wardrobe. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Eve stood as still as she could in this bizarre situation she had navigated herself into. Thyrri was, she had to admit, even more stunning from up close. Now that the woman was trying to get this uncomfortable dress onto Evangeline somehow, the princess unwillingly had the chance to gather a quick look at her from a close position. Her skin showed no signs of powder on them, just the raw, bare bronze tone, untouched. She adored it. There was a beauty radiating from her eyes.... Evangeline would have gotten lost in them, if the dress had not gotten pulled over her gaze in just that moment. Quickly she recollected herself, once the gown was over her head, adjusting it as best as she could. The tight waistline made her feel slightly claustrophobic, but she swallowed the upcoming need to rip the thing right off of her body again. She fumbled on the dress, pulled it in one direction, then in the next, pushed her bra up as it had been accidentally pushed into an uncomfortable position, then shook her body to see if everything sat where it should be. [b][color=82ca9d]"I guess it's the best I can do"[/color][/b], she said to herself. Averting her eyes from the green gown and finally looking back at Thyrri, she found her pulling strands of red hair off the hairpins. [b][color=82ca9d]"Oh you don't have to do that - "[/color][/b] But she didn't listen to her. Evangeline raised her hands to her hair, combing through it in an attempt to make it seem less wild, unsuccessfully so. She then tried to put it in an upper style with her bare hands, just to test what she was able to create. It was more terrible than before. She sighed and gave up, dropping her hands down to her sides in defeat. Due to her hands having tangled around in her fiery mane, she had an even messier crown as a result. Thyrri assured her, with her gaze dropping to the ground, that she looked just perfect with her hair hanging loosely around her face. It turned Eve's lips into a sweet smile. She enjoyed the presence of the healer very much, even more so when she let go of her guard, dropped her manners, forgot certain boundaries. It reminded Eve of herself and it reassured her that she was not alone in the world. Suddenly Thyrri began to talk about Eve's footwear hurriedly. The princess giggled softly at her dedication and helpfulness. [b][color=82ca9d]"Thank you so much, that would be of great help."[/color][/b] Her eyes kept fixated onto Thyrri's backside as the dark haired woman tried to find the mentioned shoes. [b][color=82ca9d]"And thank you for the compliment. I do prefer my hair loose, I have a tendency to play with it. And if I may return the kind words, I do think your hair looks gorgeous as well. [i]Perfect[/i] even"[/color][/b], she attempted to tease Thyrri with the choice of words. [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] Thyrri, trying to find the right shoes for Eve stopped for a moment and turned her head back to the princess. [i]‘Is she just making fun of me? There is no way she is being serious, right?’[/i] She just shook her head, confused, and finally pulled the right pair of sandals out. [b][color=fff200]“Here, try these on,”[/color][/b] she passed them to Eve and watched her struggle with the number of strings that were supposed to keep them in place. [b][color=fff200]“It’s a bit complicated,”[/color][/b] she grinned when Eve’s impatient fingers made a knot that seemed impossible to untie. [b][color=fff200]“Let me help you, we can’t be here forever.”[/color][/b] Her tone sounded strict but the smile on her face revealed that she was just trying to tease the princess back in return for her remarks. Getting down on one knee she dug under Eve’s dress to get to her feet. At least she could be facing the ground, so the princess wouldn’t see her blushing. [i]‘How did you even get into this situation? Peeking under gowns, very classy.’[/i] She tried to tie the shoes quickly, but of course that caused her to make another knot. Eve’s foot twitched a bit when Thyrri accidentally run her finger on its bottom side. [b][color=fff200]“I’m sorry.”[/color][/b] Her voice was muffled by the sound of fabric surrounding her. Finally, the knot gave in and Thyrri managed to secure the boots in place. She made her way back up and tried to fix her hair.[b][color=fff200] “All set. I suppose we should be heading back now, if you are ready? I don't suppose you want to miss the tournament.”[/color][/b] [img]https://thumb.ibb.co/mMJMnK/Leaf_Convert_Image.png[/img] The sandals Thyrri had picked out for the princess to wear underneath her gown were impossible to put on. She needed at least five hands more to get the strings wrapped around her legs without making tons of knots! After just a few weak attempts Thyrri saved her by taking it upon herself to put the shoes on correctly. The woman dug underneath the dress and a blush once again formed on Evangeline's cheeks. Lucky enough for her, Thyrri was busy with those ridiculously hard to put on shoes and couldn't spot the redness in her face. A soft touch of fingers against her foot tickled her and made her ankle twitch. Moments later Thyrri came back up, beautiful dark hair messed up slightly and a little red on her cheeks. Evangeline nodded in answer to her question. [color=82ca9d][b]"I really do not want to miss the tournament."[/b][/color] Missing the tournament, and therefore not being there when Laurel was gonna be fighting, was simply unacceptable. The princess ran her fingers through her red mane one last time, pulled on the waist of the dress in an unsuccessful attempt to widen it around that area, and then began to gather her clothes and the hairpins. [color=82ca9d][b]"Thank you so much for your help"[/b][/color], she looked at Thyrri, took in the features of her face, enjoyed her presence for a last moment before they'd have to head back. [color=82ca9d][b]"I owe you big. Just let me know if there's anything I can do for you. Don't hesitate to ask."[/b][/color] She gave her a sincere smile, then she clutched the gathered clothing against her chest and headed for the door. The two of them walked the same way back that they had come - Eve stopping only shortly to put her belongings into her carriage - and found themselves back in the festive garden, the smell of oils causing Evangeline to feel slightly dizzy before she adjusted to it. She felt like she could use a drink. The party looked nothing different from how they have left it. Eve figured that no one had noted her absence. And while she knew that her mother would have heard of her daughter's previously inappropriate attire, she hoped her change of heart would give her mother's anger a little rest. She was trying, more than usual, more than she had planned on doing. Her eyes darted around to see if she could find any signs of the beginning tournament, perhaps even find Laurel standing in armor somewhere. But she couldn't spot anyone of her interest, the garden was too full of guests. The ginger woman hoped deeply that she would get a chance to talk to Princess Aamaya again, she would need to apologize and hopefully she would get a chance to make it right between them. [/color] [/center]