Hearing voices through the fog of her slowly waking mind, Rhiane blinked several times at the sun pouring through the open door, at the four silhouettes standing at varying distances from the vehicle. Sebastian nodded to Luke respectfully before he approached and gently kissed his sister-in-law on the forehead. He was older than her by over a decade, three years Gerard's senior, though his unassuming demeanor made it easy to forget this significant difference. The gesture was undeniably affectionate but lacked any undertone of romance; it was full of the familial love a father had for his daughter and an elder brother had for his younger sister. When Hubert Black had been crushed under the grief of his wife's death, Sebastian had become a secondary father figure for Rhiane, someone who could listen and offer advice without making her feel she was a burden for him to bear.

"Good morning, my princess," he said without a hint of possessiveness.

With an unladylike exclamation of delight Rhiane veritably pounced on Sebastian, who laughed, catching her in her arms. They hugged fiercely, as if it was the last time they might ever hold each other, uncaring if their audience disapproved. From over Sebastian's shoulder, Rhiane met Luke's gaze and beamed. She had genuine smiles at every event; she found things to like, to appreciate, and sincerely enjoyed being around the public and reporters even if the crown prince did not. The smile she fixated on her fiance was brighter than its predecessors and filled with an unspoken gratitude for reuniting her with a treasured friend. It was sufficiently brilliant that from where he stood apart Tobias went briefly rigid in jealousy.

"Are you sure I can't convince you to like women?" she teased Sebastian as she pulled away, whisking away tears that had formed at the edges of her eyes.

"I'm afraid that every other night I'm reminded I only care for men," he shrugged and smirked when he saw Rhiane's face twist into an expression of disgust. She loved and Gerard and Sebastian, and envied their relationship, but reacted the same way any other sibling might at the allusion to an intimate life. "Are you sure you're ready to see them? I wouldn't hold it against you if you left now," he said with concern in his voice.

"I'm not a coward," she asserted. Luke had tried to advise her she did not have to prove herself to anyone, but her pride compelled to do just that, to strive towards impossible goals. "The rest of you can stay outside until I calm them down," the princess elect declared coolly as if she were discussing misbehaving children rather than two grown, physically imposing adults. Rhiane was tall and stronger than the average woman, but there was no mistaking that any one of her present company could have taken her in a skirmish, that if things devolved to blows she would be at a disadvantage. Her sense authority did not come from an imposing stature, however, and was instead the result of cunning and raw willpower.

Sebastian sighed. He watched her start to stride towards the front door with an air of purpose and determination. Walking up beside Luke and whispering so that only the royal would be privy to his commentary he stated, "The rebellion doesn't realize they are trying to abduct a lioness. She's fearless when she's trying to protect something or someone." What propelled the brunette to the front door of her home, shoulders squared to brace herself for a fight, was not motivation to reconcile for her own benefit. The former farmer was, in her own way, trying once again to shield the heir to the throne from her emotional baggage, the venom that could be unleashed towards him, cruel truths that could not be unsaid.