~1x1 with baby blue~

[baby blue]

─── [♕] ─── 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ princess ♢ twenty ♢ location: dining room ♢

she held back a cringe at the mention of their argument this morning. she had hoped it wouldn't be mentioned, but then again arguments had been integral to their relationship before this moment. it was truly the only time the two talked, so hearing about his interests intrigued her. they hadn't gotten the chance to really 'date' each other between arguments and wedding planning, so getting to know him might be beneficial towards her going with her father's wishes.

"horseback riding?" she questioned. "have you been doing that since a young age?" her father hadn't let her ride after finding out her mother couldn't conceive another child. while she knew he loved her mother enough to never consider the thought of siring another heir with another woman, that didn't mean he was a good person. instead, he had limited the activities she was allowed to participate in, for her safety as he told her. she knew it some perspective it was, but truly she felt it was so she could stay alive long enough to go through with a marriage such as this one.

she popped a bite of the mashed potatoes in her mouth, nearly groaning at the flavor. if there was one thing she loved more than reading, it was potatoes, though she tried her best not to over-indulge. "my day was fine, i suppose. not much to say other than i finished my book from earlier in the day." at the thought, she felt a slice of pain through her chest. even just the reminder of the romance in books was torture to her, knowing that she might never experience it. even still, she had to do her best to make things with caspian work, even though she knew another argument was inevitable.

─── [⚔︎] ─── 𝚔𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ knight ♢ twenty-three ♢ location: dining hall ♢

her response was simple, yet he couldn't help but feel there was more too it. he couldn't blame her though, they had only known each other a few hours. it wasn't like she would share every little detail with him about her life or her feelings. even if she did, he wasn't sure he could give her the reaction she was looking for. he was terrible with emotions, likely why he was so hot and cold.

he stood from his crouched position as she left the table and headed for the kitchen. he made to follow her, though she exited shortly after, seemingly not even sparing him a glance. he watched her leave the dining hall, making sure he followed behind her. she might not even want his company right now, but to put it bluntly, him following her wasn't about her wants. it was about her safety and that would always trump what she wanted.

the princess ended up in the library and he watched her silently peruse the books. he could give her some space in here as he stood by the door. he continued to openly stare at her as she settled onto the leather couch near the bay window, her feet tucked under her. she looked someone peaceful in the sunlight, but he could sense something deeper going on. he wanted to ask again, but knew that she likely wouldn't give an answer, so he resigned himself to staying by the door and doing what he was being paid to do: guard/

[cronchbottle]

𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩
"Yes it has, horseback riding was fundamental to my childhood. There really is nothing like creating a bond with your horse, we still have my old girl Frannie. She receives a rather royal treatment for letting me learn how to ride on her and she is retired now with her age. Vixyn is my new horse, she's that beautiful Black forest Horse you can see out front. She usually roams instead of just staying in her stall, she has such an adventurous spirit." Caspian said as he smiled over the bond he had with his two horses. He reminisced for a second over his first time on Frannie, chuckling softly to himself as he remembered the clumsy little boy he used to be. "You should accompany me on a ride sometime, we have plenty of calm mares that you would be perfectly safe on." He offered, not knowing that she was never allowed to do such a thing when she was younger. "Or if you would prefer, I can have one of the old carriages hooked up to them to take us on a little stroll through the forest at some point." He offered after thinking for a moment.

He sighed happily as he scraped up the rest of his mashed potatoes off of his plate, they were one of his favorite delicacies after all. The chefs his father had hired were not ones to disappoint, their culinary skills far outweighed the ones throughout the surrounding countries. After he took his last bite he dabbed around his lips with his napkin, making sure no lambchop sauce lingered on his lips.

"I'm glad your day was alright, that's probably the best rating you've given your time here." The prince joked, a little twinkle behind his eye as he spoke. Although he was beginning to enjoy the others company, he still also enjoyed to give her at least a little bit of a hard time.

𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓪 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂𝓷

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩
As Rosalina read she did her best to ignore the fact that Kieran was following her around, everywhere. Of course her insufferable father had ordered him to watch her every single move which surely he did knowing that it would make her retreat into her room to escape his gaze. After a few minutes of daydreaming about what she would say to her father if she could, her attention shifted back into the book as it was finally getting into the good part, where the boy began to fully realize the powers of his own.

Rosalina's eyes flickered up to meet Kieran's, her crystal blue eyes sparkling as the sun hit them just right. "Something I can do to help you... knight?" She questioned, her head tilting to the side as she studied him closely. Was he staring at her because he had to, or because he wanted to, she couldn't really tell. However with a few minutes of debating between the two she assumed that he was simply studying her, just like how she was studying him right now.

[baby blue]

─── [♕] ─── 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ princess ♢ twenty ♢ location: dining room ♢

a small smile graced her lips once again. she could tell the prince was quite fond of horseback riding. she figured she could become quite fond as well if given the chance, though she hesitated. her father would have a fit if he found out she was learning to ride. she knew he was concerned for her safety, albeit for selfish reasons, but concerned nonetheless. shaking her head softly at his offer, her smile was a little tighter, though she hoped caspian wouldn't notice. "that's a kind offer, but i must decline. i'm not sure it would be a venture well spent on me."

she couldn't help but cringe a little bit at her phrasing. she felt she had made it sound as if his skillset wasn't anything spectacular, which is was, and hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way. she felt that they would lose any of the miniscule progress they had made if it did go downhill. at his suggestion of a carriage ride, she did perk up a bit. "a carriage ride sounds lovely, though maybe not in this weather," she gestured to the rain outside with a small laugh, attempting to lighten the mood.

"well, there were certainly things," she gave him a pointed look, "that made my time here difficult, but today hasn't been so terrible. i could never complain about a day where i can read to my heart's delight. do you have any activities you enjoy indoors? perhaps we could explore one of those with this weather happening outside. as much as i love standing in the rain, i imagine neither of us are too eager to be changing clothes again," she said with another small laugh.

─── [⚔︎] ─── 𝚔𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ knight ♢ twenty-three ♢ location: dining hall ♢

kieran watched her face while she read. he wasn't sure if she knew that she had such subtle changes
in expression, indicative of what was happening in the book despite kieran never having read it. if anything, he was sure he would find watching her read was likely more enjoyable than reading in its entirety. he had never been big on books as a child and certainly wasn't as an adult, though he could appreciate those who read. those who were able to escape into a world not their own. he often wished he could, just to escape some aspects of his own life.

he was drawn out of his thoughts when the princess spoke. he blinked twice, the only indication he had been surprised at her reaching out to him. he cleared his throat. "no, your highness. just thinking," he said quietly. he left it at that, not wanting any probing minds to inspect his own. he wasn't made for that type of emotional connection, or at least he didn't think he was.

"how's the book princess? i'm sure it's much more fascinating than anything i can provide you with." it was his best attempt to steer the conversation clear of him, but it still came out more blunt than he intended. he was sure she hoped that he could provide some emotional connection with her like she had made last night, but he was still determined to avoid it, even when he wasn't purposefully doing so.

[cronchbottle]

𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩
Caspian's eyes narrowed slightly, carefully analyzing the princess's mannerisms at the mention of horseback riding. He let out a small huff, not quite liking being told no after extending such a personal offer. He didn't exactly take anyone riding with him, in fact he only went out ever so often with one of the commanders, Spartus. "That's quite alright, I understand." He said even though he didn't exactly understand but he wasn't in the mindset to argue, not over this at least.

"Well of course, that wouldn't be enjoyable for us nor the horses." The prince said, chuckling a bit at the notion of going out in this weather. He eased back slowly into his more relaxed body language, grateful that Charlotte would in fact go on a carriage ride with him. "Look at us compromising, that's some progress." He said, doing his best to make the princess smile once more, he enjoyed seeing the little twinkle in her eye a smile produced.

"Well I must admit I am a little bit of an outdoorsman, so finding something to do inside is not exactly my specialty." The prince said truthfully, as a child the outdoors was the only place he could escape from his father as their relationship was rather turbulent back then. When he was inside he had more servants keeping an eye on him, reporting anything ungraceful that he did directly to his father. When he was outdoors he wouldn't have to worry so much about what he did as those servants were more of his friends as only the older more experienced servants were allowed to work inside.

"If you would like, I wouldn't mind putting on the library fireplace and reading a book of your suggestion. It may be good for me to spend more time with books anyways." Caspian suggested, offering the princess a small smile of 'I'm trying,' as he spoke. And trying he was, they could at least have one good night together before the arguing would start again as that was inevitable.

𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓪 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂𝓷

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩
Rosalina's eyes narrowed, looking deep into the knight's as she was searching them for answers. Thinking about what exactly? she pondered before making the assumption that he was simply finding something to report back to her father, her nosy, prodding father. She huffed and shook her head slightly, not wanting to get into an arguing match with the knight over her father's wishes. After a second her eyes flickered back to the book, she would like to get into a few more chapters before lunch if she could.

"It's rather interesting, Stephen King is one of my favorite authors. The way he can instill fear in me through simply reading the words on the page is such a talent. This is a sequel to the book The Shining, if you've ever read or heard about it. Not everyone can make an excellent sequel, I've been rather disappointed before, but never with King." The princess said, not realizing that she was beginning to ramble, something she did often when she got excited about a subject.

"You may take a book and read as well, no sense in just standing and staring at me all day. I can assure you I'm not that interesting at this time of day." Rosalina said, giggling slightly as she spoke to the knight.

[baby blue]

─── [♕] ─── 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ princess ♢ twenty ♢ location: dining room ♢

her body posture had tensed at his narrowed eyes, fearing that he would be mad about her rejection for riding, but quickly relaxed as he did. she thanked every deity she could imagine that her being agreeable to a carriage ride was enough to appease him. she was too tired to entertain another argument, though she knew she would had one been instigated.

her lips curled up in another smile at his admission. she hadn't expected him to be much of an indoors person, given every activity she had either seen him do or he had suggested were outdoors, though she was glad he was offering to explore her passion as she was his. compromise, he had said, was exactly what she was aiming for in this relationship. if not for herself, then for her father's ambitions, though she hoped that her father was not the driving factor in her sudden personality change. she wanted it to be of her own accord, though she knew she wouldn't have gotten to this point if her father hadn't visited.

when caspian suggested putting on the fireplace and reading a book of her choice, her posture straightened with excitement. a genuine smile crossed her face. "i think i'd love that," she said softly, but failing to contain her excitement. her mind raced as she began to think of her favorite books, pondering what he would like. she was a massive romance lover, but she wasn't sure if the prince would enjoy them like she would. she'd have to find one that had more action, though she considered a more traditional romance to let him in on her own desires with their relationship. "do you want to go now, or shall we have dessert first?" it was a small attempt to regain any composure she had lost in her excitement, though she wasn't sure if she succeeded.

─── [⚔︎] ─── 𝚔𝚒𝚎𝚛𝚊𝚗
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
♢ knight ♢ twenty-three ♢ location: dining hall ♢

"well i've heard of the shining, though that was the movie, not the book. it was a good movie for sure, but i'm more of an acti-" he ended his sentence abruptly. it seemed he would need a constant reminder that he wasn't here to be the princess's friend, rather that he was here to keep an eye on her for his father. and the king would likely have his head if kieran stepped a toe out of line. a small shiver raced down his spine at the thought.

the princess extended the offer to grab a book of his own and he stared at her inquisitively. was she always like this with her guards? he wasn't sure, though he found it hard to believe that he was her first personal guard. he pondered what had happened to her prior ones, though he wasn't sure he wanted to find out.

"thank you princess, but i must decline. my job requires me to watch you and if i get distracted with a book, things could happen that shouldn't." what would happen in the expanse of this library was beyond him, but he wouldn't be the one to fail on their first day.

[cronchbottle]

𝓒𝓪𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓪𝓷 𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓽

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩

Caspian's eyes lit up slightly as he noticed that he had made her smile once more, maybe this marriage thing wouldn't be so difficult like he thought. "Lovely, I think having dessert later would be good. I am rather full from that wonderful meal they prepared for us. If you'd like to have yours now that's quite alright, I will go and get the fireplace started for us." The prince replied, pushing back from his chair as he got ready to head to the library. "I will meet you there my dear." He said, smirking playfully as he bent down and placed a gentle kiss on her hand.

After that action he turned on his heels, taking long strides on his way to the castle's library. The library wasn't a place he had spent much time, but it might be good for him to spend more time there. The many books and pages could give him knowledge he hadn't accessed before, possibly more compassion as well. Time would tell what the future would hold for him, but there was a good possibility that change was in the air.

The prince switched on the fireplace, flickers of embers beginning to spark after a few seconds. It would take some time before it would come to a large roaring fire so he paced around the library, tracing his fingers over the spine of the books. Most of their collection was leatherback books instead of the paperback which produced that smell that booklovers all know and love.

𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓪𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓪 𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓵𝔂𝓷

✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩✩Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ✩

"The movie and the book are rather similar, except they added a bit more scary elements to the movie to drive more people to watch it. I must admit I do enjoy the movie a tad bit more," Rosalina replied, looking up at the knight, a small smile playing on her lips as she noticed he was opening up a little more. "More of an action guy?" She questioned, prodding for a little more information out of him. She would prefer having a friendly relationship with her knights, rather than it being a strict work relationship. Those were rather awkward as she hated being watched all the time with no idea of who was truly watching her.

The princess let out a small sigh once her offer was declined. She knew that would be the answer, but still she didn't exactly enjoy being told no, especially when it would mean her every move would still be watched. Her eyes flickered back to the book, shifting in her chair to position herself in a more comfortable position. She read a few more chapters before getting rather bored, placing the book down on the side table to look up at Kieran.

"May we do something, I must admit I am rather bored with staying in the castle all day?" Rosalina questioned, looking up at him with pleading eyes, begging for some sense of adventure. "A little horseback ride doesn't sound too bad.." She suggested meekly, also knowing that would probably be declined, but she was pleading for something outside to do. When she began to spend too much time inside, the princess would begin to feel suffocated, flighty, which wasn't good for anyone.