1x1 with hollyglow and Consulting_Angel

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
He hesitated as Elsa spoke, watching her with uncertainty, unsure as to how this was going to go. When she said that she'd let them go, Ashton nodded in agreement. "Of course. Thank you, Elsa. Thank you," he responded, his voice just above a whisper, and sincerely grateful. He partly wanted to ask her - and the other girl - to go along with them, but he decided not to - it would be far too risky, and he was sure Erek would increase a search tenfold if Elsa was also missing. He glanced towards Jem, relieved, going along with him. "Yes... let's get going," he breathed out, still a little dazed by what had just happened. Ashton smiled, and looked ahead of them.

Loralei Waverly
While she had no doubt that Elsa was, hopefully, capable of defending herself - if through words, rather than physically - Loralei was still protective of her. She did not take kindly to threats, though she was glad that Elsa had placated things. She remained silent, as the other two were let go, and they left, letting herself get pulled aside by Elsa. She glanced to watch as the pirate and Ashton went on their way, then she glanced towards Elsa again. "I still find the two of them together to be unusual... but I like that you are merciful towards them," she commented. She smiled warmly towards her, reaching out to take her hand.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I shrugged, watching the two of them hurry away. "Well, I imagine that Ashton could get the pirate to do anything he wanted. Did you see the way the pirate looked at him?" I sighed softly. "Well, I suppose Erek has what he wants. I don't think either of us will stand for the marriage now, will we?" I smiled at Loralei. "Which means there's nothing keeping us apart now." I pulled her inside and started down the hallway, unable to keep the bright smile off my face, and was turning down the hallway to our room when I bumped straight into Erek. "Elsa?" My brother asked, curling his lip at Loralei. "What are you two doing out of your room? And where are your clothes?" I quickly stepped back into his path to keep him inside away from Ashton and the pirate, glancing at Loralei.

Jem Laceburn

I grinned at Ashton. "Well. Your princess is certainly something, isn't she?" I teased, squeezing his shoulder again. "Alright, let's see..." I looked around thoughtfully. "How about..." I jogged off towards the woods closest to us. "Ah! Here we are. Does this work?" I suggested, pointing to a hollow tree. "It's not much, but it isn't a bush." I glanced inside the tree, checking for any animals, and not seeing any, I looked at Ashton. "Does it work?"

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
"She's not my princess. Though she certainly is something," Ashton responded - he was definitely grateful for the fact that she'd chased after him and Jem, for example. He ran after Jem, towards the woods, and he peered towards the hollow tree. While it wasn't a bush, he still wasn't keen on having to squeeze into a plant of some sort. However, considering it might be their only other option (and bushes were definitely out of the question), Ashton nodded. "It will do," he agreed, with a dramatic sigh. Then, he glanced into the tree, before going inside it.

Loralei Waverly
"Hm... almost like he's wrapped him around his little finger," Loralei agreed, but she wasn't sure if it would be worth pondering too much more over it. And, she had to also agree, that it was certainly a good outcome for her and Elsa anyway. "Indeed - perhaps we should be thankful," she laughed gently, and followed after Elsa. However, when they bumped into Erek, her smile faded slightly - but she remained polite towards the prince, of course. "Good morning, your highness. We were just taking a walk... and happened to go for a swim," Loralei explained - that certainly wasn't untrue.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

Erek stared down his nose at Loralei. "I don't believe I asked you." I scowled at my brother, tempted to stomp on his foot. "Erek, I don't know what's going on with you. I love you. You're my brother. But I don't understand why you are acting this way. Ashton and I---we no longer have any intention of marrying, but this could have been arranged diplomatically. Now what will happen? Besides," I added, glancing at Loralei, "what gives you the right to speak to her this way? She is my friend, and I consider her to be my equal."

Jem Laceburn

I followed Ashton into the tree, smiling. "Well, this is interesting. Another small space. You know, highness, I feel that this is becoming a habit. Not that I'm complaining, but it's certainly going to feel odd to be able to kiss you without having to hide." In fact, it felt insane just to say it. After all, I'd essentially done nothing but hide for years. But if Ashton was a prince, if he was going to become king, then maybe...I almost couldn't let myself think it. But maybe neither of us would have to keep hiding.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
He rolled his eyes slightly, but he couldn't help but also smile. This certainly was starting to become a habit, that was undeniable. "Well, then, maybe you should get in some practice," Ashton responded, with a mischievous glint in his eye. Then, he added, picking up on how Jem was still referring to him, "And you are allowed to call me Ashton, you know. But not Ash, okay?" he tilted his head to one side a little, watching Jem's face.

Loralei Waverly
Taken aback, Loralei opened her mouth, but then she closed it. She doubted that being rude would help her case in the slightest, so staying quiet for the time being was probably for the best. She glanced towards Elsa when she started speaking, and she felt her chest warm as the princess defended her. Then, Loralei looked back to Erek, watching for his reaction. She was pretty sure that he had not been stood up to by Elsa before - at least, that was the sort of thing that she'd guessed.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

Erek took a step closer to me, looking really and truly angry in a way I wasn't used to seeing from him. I flinched, suddenly scared he might actually hit me. Then he seemed to regain his composure. His gaze softened. "I'm sorry, El. I suppose you're right. I just...I can't stand the thought of you being married off to some worthless prince. You're worth so much more than that." I frowned, ready to defend Ashton, but Erek was already stepping past us. "Put some clothes on, both of you," he called over his shoulder. I blinked, feeling even more confused than I had been.

Jem Laceburn

I laughed, and was stepping forward towards Ashton, when he mentioned how I kept referring to him. "I know," I sighed. "Maybe at some point. Although doesn't it feel nice to have someone call you highness with a voice filled with affection?" I raised my eyebrows teasingly, then paused. "Okay, whatever you want. Was there, um...is there someone else who calls you Ash?" I suspected I might know the answer, but I wanted to be certain, and I wanted Ashton to want to tell me.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
"Ohh, that's what it is. Affection," Ashton teased, and he placed a hand gently on one of Jem's shoulders. "You can keep calling me 'highness' if it makes you more comfortable, though," he added, "people might have to start referring to you as 'highness' as well, one day..." his voice trailed off, and he glanced down the ground for a few moments, before looking back to meet Jem's eyes so that he could answer his question, his voice a little quieter, "Yeah, only Charlotte is allowed to. I want to keep that sort of just our thing, y'know?"

Loralei Waverly
Startled at how angry Erek looked, Loralei had to draw in a lot of willpower in order to not put herself between Elsa and Erek, though she was genuinely concerned that the prince was going to hit Elsa. She was glad that this would not be the case, though, when Erek had seemed to calm down suddenly. Equally as confused as Elsa, Loralei glanced towards the princess, and she waited until Erek was out of earshot before she said, "That was... something..." she paused for a moment, before adding, "though I suppose we should go and put something on,"

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I took a deep breath and nodded. "It's odd. He's always had a temper, but not usually towards me..." I exhaled, suddenly feeling tears stinging my eyes. The biggest fight my brother and I had ever had was over who should get more dessert with dinner. It had never been serious. I didn't like this new relationship we had, where I was never certain how he would speak to me or what he would do. "You're right," I agreed, "let's get some clothes."

Jem Laceburn

I wrinkled my nose, unimpressed. "Ugh. No, we'll have to make it a royal decree that I won't be referred to as highness." I watched Ashton carefully as he lowered his voice. "I see," I nodded. "I expected as much. Don't worry, that can be her special thing, alright? Maybe at some point, I'll come up with a better name, but for now..." I tilted my head closer to his and smiled. "You'll just have to put up with highness."

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
"In that case, we'll have to come up with something equally powerful for people to call you," Ashton declared, because it certainly wasn't something that he was going to give up on easily. He then nodded slightly, pleased at Jem's understanding - though he'd never really doubted it. He smiled again, deciding to resign himself to how Jem was going to refer to him, and he tilted his head closer to him as well. "Well, alright then. I can live with that," he leaned forward again, and gently kissed Jem's cheek.

Loralei Waverly
Frowning slightly, sympathetically, Loralei took Elsa's hand in her own, squeezing lightly. "I'm sorry," she said, quietly, "perhaps he's not used to changes... y'know, with the prince and the pirate escaping, and seeing me with you..." she hesitated, and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to be blaming herself - even though she had a thought that her presence did contribute at least a little bit into this. Now, though, she had a different thing to focus on. "Come on, then," Loralei said, and she started walking down the corridor, still holding Elsa's hand.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I took a deep breath and nodded. "Probably. You're probably right. I suppose I can struggle a bit with change myself." I rubbed my thumb in circles lightly on Loralei's hand. Once we got into our room, I glanced at the closet and sighed. "You know, I could put some clothes on. But it feels like quite a lot of work, especially seeing as we likely won't even be around anyone for a few hours. I'm quite content like this." To express my point, I flopped backwards onto our bed, kicking my legs in a child-like fashion. "You're welcome to the closet if you like, though."

Jem Laceburn

"Yes, you'd better live with it, highness," I muttered, cupping Ashton's jaw in my palm and turning his head a bit to the side so our foreheads were resting against each other. I was opening my mouth again, but froze when I heard footsteps on the ground outside our hiding spot. Just in front of us, I could see a pair of guard's boots. I put a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing and, after a beat, did the same for Ashton.

(I'm so so sorry for my absence. I've been really stressed out by the end of school and just haven't had a lot of time. I'll try to be on more regularly now.)