[b][u][color=royalblue]Valentine[/color][/u][/b]


Val looked out of the car at the mass of people near the park entrance.  She wished desperately that Anton had come -- that would make her feel safer.  But she could do this.  She had to.

"Are you alright, Valentine?" Ianos asked her.  He'd driven her from the Amerian palace but wouldn't be coming in  the park with her.

"I'll manage," the young woman told him, praying that she would, in fact, manage.  Reluctantly she got out of the car, adjusting the crossbody bag that held her cheaper camera, a water bottle, and other essentials.  She'd applied sunscreen back at the palace and a ball cap kept the sun from her eyes as she looked around.  She knew all of the royals by sight, having studied names and faces before her arrival, but she didn't really [i]know[/i] any of them, with one or two exceptions.

She took a few steps away from the car, and then it hit her.  Just how many [i]people[/i] there were.  How alone she was.  The breath caught in her throat and a vague buzzing filled her ears.  No, not an anxiety attack.  Not now, not in front of all these people.  [i]Breathe, Val![/i] she ordered herself.  [i]Focus on breathing.  You can do that.[/i]  If she just got past this, the rest of the day would be easy in comparison.