[center][h1][b][color=DAF6C7]Ríoghnach "Riona"[/color][/b][/h1][color=DAF6C7]Location:[/color] Palace Corridor
[color=DAF6C7]Interaction(?):[/color] Anastasia [@princess][/center]
From the other end of the hall, Riona spotted Anastasia flanked by the royal guards as they escorted her. Riona bristled at the sight of the princess. Her muscles tensed and her face contorted into an ugly expression. The maid didn’t even try to hide her disdain toward the woman. She just kept marching forward.

All this must’ve puzzled the guards. Riona didn’t need to read minds to know why.

To start off, everyone working in the castle knew that the servants who worked above stairs had to wear specific standard uniforms. A simple, but neat and respectable attire that allowed the servants to blend into the background. Not whatever the stable hands wore, which was what Riona was wearing. The look clashed with the posh surroundings, and whatever came from outside followed her inside. The smell of stables, mud, dung, everything. Things any decent servant should know to leave outside. At least, not any sane servant who didn’t want to get “re-educated.”

Then there was the issue of etiquette. Normally, when a member of the royal court appeared, the servants stopped what they were doing. They kept their heads bowed until said member left the area. But here this commoner was, walking straight down the hallway, even in the princess’s presence.

Even if the dumb woman’s bad manners could be chalked up to her being one of the foreign noble’s servants (odd, since her face looked [i]so familiar[/i]), it didn’t explain the hostility. That expression couldn’t be aimed at Anastasia, could it? Impossible. Everyone and their mothers adored sweet, precious Princess Anastasia. Anyone who felt otherwise… well, something must be wrong with them.

The guards protecting Anastasia eyed Riona warily and edged closer to Her Royal Highness. Riona kept walking forward, staring at the princess; the woman-child who inherited King Edin’s hedonism and desperate need for attention.

Anastasia’s eyes were red and brimming with tears; the very picture of distress. 

[color=DAF6C7][i]Good.[/i][/color] Riona thought. The least Anastasia could do was feel miserable about what happened and feel the gravity of her actions. Maybe she’d finally understand what responsibility meant. 

It wouldn’t last long, though. No, it’d eventually be less about causing someone’s death and more about [i]her[/i]. She’d wonder what others would think and feel of [i]her[/i] now. Whether [i]she[/i] was less loved because of this mess.

Nobody would hold her accountable in the end, not really. Fans would flock to her side, comfort her, and reassure her that she wasn’t to blame in the slightest. They’d protect her feelings. Pretend she had little to no role to play in the incident and put the blame on anything, except her. Sweet, precious Princess Anastasia could do no wrong.

What grated Riona the most was that the princess probably believed that this was the first time something like this had ever happened. So much was shielded from Anastasia for “her sake.” They (her brothers and Wystan especially) needed to stop sheltering her like this. Stop treating her like a porcelain doll so she can mature and grow a heart stronger than glass. Ignorance might be bliss, but the princess needed to recognize and accept that her naivety caused more harm than good. Ideally, before she stopped giving a damn and completed her transformation into Princess Edin.

The distance between her and Anastasia shrank. One of the guards stood between the women after seeing that Riona made no move to alter her course. Seconds before he opened his mouth to order the maid to halt, Riona sidestepped. She greeted the guards with a [i]good morning[/i] and continued down the hallway as if nothing had happened.