Set on: Canon Divergence in where no one is a tree and no one is stuck with trolls in the middle of nowhere.
Cheers for you
The castle was filled with the murmurs of the servitude and the nobles and warriors that filled its halls, rooms that not so long ago had been filled with swords and armors diligently cleaned away and promptly filled once again with furniture and paintings, most of them a memory of the old days.
In the farthest wing of the castle, in a room that its balcony led to an incredible view of the forest that surrounded Arborlon, a big ceremony was taking place. The reason of why the castle was indeed filled to the brim by servants and nobles alike.
And as Eretria tried not to fall asleep as yet another member of the elven council talked about the achievements their little party of three had managed to do just in time before the demon hordes attacked the Elvish city, she glanced at Amberle who was standing as tall as she was at her right side, eyes locked on the elderly council member but glazed, clearly as interested in the droning voice of the man as she herself was.
"And last but not least…" The member added, eliciting a small groan from the rover girl who between the clothes she had been forced to put due to the heavy etiquette of the castle and the long, overly presumptuous, speech she was finding herself at the brink of jumping forward and shut the boresome man with a very well placed punch.
Idea that disappeared from her mind the second a stifled giggle reached her ears, Amberle having certainly heard her groan and correctly guessed her distress.
"Are they always like this?" Eretria asked after blushing appropriately, looking at her hands for a second as she tried to adjust the weight of her body, the silk-like dress she wore making herself feel far much more naked than the moment the princess and herself had shared on that awful bath at Pykon.
(Which that could probably be due to the fact that when she had stepped outside the room she had been given to with her dress on Amberle's eyes had seemed to burn)
"Worse" The princess responded making the girl look back at her, the ghost of a smile on the elf's lips, the jewelry she wore on her ears glinting as she tilted her head to her right, pointing subtly at her uncle who was also trying to remain asleep seated on his throne, silver and white adorning his head. "But I think we will be free of this soon"
Just as Eretria started to roll her eyes, doubting what the girl had said, Ander stood and coughed politely, effectively shutting up the other elf's voice.
"As interesting as this is" He started with a placating smile "I'm sure that our three heroes would like to eat something after so many weeks of traveling"
Both Eretria and Wil, situated at the rover's left side and who had been basically sleeping the whole time, nodded earnestly as Amberle smiled at her uncle. The elf, in return, winked his right eye at her before taking a step towards them, the doors of the room being opened promptly by servants who quickly put together an incredible light-looking table with food Eretria had never heard about before.
"Told you" She heard Amberle whispering at her side, the elf sitting as soon as Ander did the same, the member of the council and a few selected guards doing the same. Eretria looked at Wil who was already shoving food on his face and mumbled her approbation. As she seated the texture of the dress against her skin made her feel uncomfortable, a sensation that must have been obvious on her face because the elf princess looked towards her and put a hand on top of Eretria's, squeezing them slightly before turning towards her own food.
"Before all" Ander said in that moment, his eyes seeming to glow and his words slightly slurred for what Eretria could distinguish "I would like to thank my niece for everything she had done. Our family has certainly changed since the day you first left Arborlon but it was your strength what first made us begin to believe. I salute you Amberle, and I wish for you to have what you deserve in life. Starting with the relationship you so happy seem to be with."
Eretria saw Amberle's frown beginning to grow.
Amberle saw her uncle's fuzzy happiness and smiled politely not knowing what to say.
Wil kept eating.
"So cheers for my niece and her girlfriend. If something this war has taught us is that race should no matter to us anymore!"
The clamoring repetition of the king's last words resonated through the room as the rest of the ones eating around the table murmured their conformity. Amberle answered the words with another polite nod and a blush that seemed to just grow when her uncle nodded at her, proud and confident as ever.
Eretria though found herself unable to say anything.
"Amberle?" She finally whispered, men and women around her catting merrily around them. "Amberle?" She repeated when the elf princess seemed to not have heard her.
When the princess finally turned, ears and cheeks still flushed pink the rover girl found herself biting her lower lip as she tried to find the words.
"Have your uncle said that we are together?"
The whisper was said far more louder than what she had imagined but it didn't seem to drag any attention from the elvish nobility around them. After a tensioned silence the girl in front of her sighed.
"That's what it looks like"
"Should we tell him that he is mistaken?" Eretria pushed. Eyes focused on the glass in front of her, voice far more steady than what she would have imagined.
"I… is he?"
The question made the rover girl to stop and look at the now more than ever red princess, eyes focused on her the whole time though. With a slowly forming green and her heart beating madly inside her chest Eretria found herself shaking her head.
"I have never lost a dare" She said, trying to sound as calm as she would like to be "And this looks like one"
Amberle smiled, open and confident as her eyes seemed to glow.
"I like your way of thinking"
And oh, yes, she did.
