[center][h1][b][color=DAF6C7]Ríoghnach "Riona"[/color][/b][/h1][/center]
Riona was still fuming mad when the first melodrama of the still early night finally reached its anticlimactic conclusion. Honestly, the guests could have done the world a favor by slaughtering each other. [color=DAF6C7][i]Especially that Leo Woodworm, or whatever that redheaded bastard’s name is.[/i][/color] Over polished the floor her a**. What did he know about cleaning? [color=DAF6C7][i]I bet he’s never cleaned his own damn room. How dare he try to shift the blame to us! Who the f**k does he think he is?[/i][/color] Riona continued to spew all sorts of profanities in her head as she silently waited for waste to be dumped on the ground. Because that was what many of these nobles were, overgrown toddlers prone to temper tantrums. Sure, there were decent nobles out there just as there were atrocious commoners. Riona had lived long enough to know that people were a multitude of complexities, but it also didn’t change the fact that the King of Caesonia attracted equally rotten people to him and since he refused to interact with commoners unless it was absolutely necessary, that only left nobles around him. So Riona's claim that there were a lot of terrible nobles in Caesonia was not unreasonable. Doubly so given the kingdom’s knack for murdering or banishing the good sort. 

Riona had just come to the decision to over polish every square inch of Lord Smithwood’s quarters when the ballroom doors opened, revealing that Callum’s plan to hide out in the library had failed. Why he thought no one would find him in his arguably most favorite part of the castle was beyond her understanding. She and every Caesonian servant paused what they were doing to bow to the princes as they approached their parents.

While King Edin was widely feared and despised by his servants, they were divided in which prince they supported: Prince Wulfric, Prince Auguste, or Callum. Riona was one of the few outliers who didn’t support any of the princes. She’d prefer that none of them become the next king. The Danrose legacy could die in a ditch for all she cared. In fact, she hoped it would.

Out of the three brothers, Riona disliked Prince Wulfric the most. Not because she knew him on a personal level to dislike him –if anything she knew very little of the eldest son–, but because he was both King Edin and Queen Alibeth’s favorite and the next in line to the throne.  That was reason enough for Riona. 

The Second Prince, Auguste, was not too bad. He was one of, if not the friendliest of the Danroses. She’d never seen him mistreat a commoner unless provoked and he was lenient on the servants. He, however, lacked the courage to stand against his father. For all that talk about equal respect, when it came down to it, Riona believed Prince Auguste cared more about bringing honor to his house than happiness for his people. 

… But more than that, she was terrified of him.

The crazed glint in his eyes and the euphoric smile on his face while sparring mirrored the predatory smile King Edin had when he watched his prey struggle helplessly against the inevitable; the sadistic satisfaction derived from knowing that their fate was in his hands. Excruciating pain shot through Riona’s stomach every time she saw that smile so, she avoided Prince Auguste to avoid remembering.

And then, there was Callum. The one Danrose she, much to her own disappointment, liked. An amazing feat considering Riona tried to kill him many years ago.

Over a decade ago, Callum had fallen gravely ill. The young prince was bedridden for days, even weeks, and many feared the worst. One night, when the castle was short-staffed, Riona was ordered to deliver a jug of fresh water to the prince’s room. It was supposed to be a quick job. She’d be in and out of the room before anyone's attention was drawn to her. She never found out why, but he was unsupervised when she arrived.

Riona recalled staring down the boy by candlelight, wondering why he wouldn’t just die already. One Danrose was more than Caesonia could handle, it didn’t need more of these wicked creatures roaming its lands. Perhaps, she thought, she could slay one while she had the chance. Although she was just a girl herself, [i]it[/i] was weak and smaller than she was. More importantly, no one was there to stop her. She could do it.

Riona climbed onto the bed and straddled the boy, careful not to put any weight on him until the moment was right. She slowly reached over to wrap her hands around his neck. All she had to do was clasp his neck and lean on him with all her weight. She’d watch him thrash and struggle, like [i]it[/i] did. She would stare him straight in the eyes, like [i]it[/i] did. And she would smile as life gradually left his body, like [i]it[/i] did.

Her eyes began to sting more and more every second, and her breathing became more ragged. She could do this. Regardless of [i]its[/i] form, [i]it[/i] was still the spawn of a vile monster. There was no need to feel sorry for [i]it[/i]. Riona prayed to her family for the strength to vanquish [i]it[/i]. But before her prayers were heard, the tears that could no longer defy gravity fell from her eyes onto Callum’s face. His eyes fluttered open and there was a moment of absolute stillness. 

Looking back on it, Riona still had the chance to strangle him then and there, but him waking up before she could do the deed startled her so much that she bolted out of his chambers. She waited for the royal guards to apprehend her for days, but that day never came. At one point she thought that the reason why the prince hadn’t reported her was because he was still in a stupor when he saw her. If so, he might have thought that she was a figment of his fever induced imagination.

Her wishful thinking, however, was dashed the next time they crossed paths. Callum recognized Riona almost immediately, but in an unusual turn of events, Callum confessed his disdain for his family, particularly his father. That shared hatred for King Edin became the foundation of their strange amity.

Ever since, the prince and the servant have been on friendly terms. Though Riona still struggled with the fact that he was a Danrose, she started to see Prince Callum as Callum. She learned to care enough about him to cover Callum’s tracks after his antics whenever she could. Her herbalism knowledge, which had previously been limited to more hazardous concoctions, expanded to encompass remedies for the times when Callum was too stubborn to tell anyone that he was feeling sick that day or when he hurt himself from more dubious activities.

Now, she was comfortable enough around him that when it was just the two of them, she allowed herself to lower her guard slightly. They would then talk like friends would… but they were not friends.

They couldn’t be friends. For both his sake and hers. 





To befriend him was a betrayal.