A/N: Don't forget to check out 100 Themes Revival for oneshots featuring this story :)
Aubrey: Yes. My death would be very bad indeed. A friend who lived near the theater offered to let me spend the night (as it is STILL raining), but I decided to brave it home. When driving in the rain at night, you must be very careful.
Raider: Haha...yes. There is something with Rosalina, and you get to see it now ;-)
TheRanger'sDaughter: Of the three, Caitlyn suffered most. Mason suffered literally, but the unknown got to Caitlyn. What you're seeing now is a mixture of anxiety and depression bubbling out at full force.
HammyMC: Ugh...I'm NOT a fan of winter. Where I am, the snow is more of the slushie variety and allergies flare like no other. I miss living in a place that had proper winter, with powder snow :(
Disclaimer: I am not John Flanagan.
"The wind is in our favor, Your Highness," the ship's captain said to Rosalina. She nodded.
"Thank you."
Rosalina waited until the Skandian man had moved on. She leaned forward on the railing and made eye contact with Carissa. She had two guards with her as a formality, but they'd been easily tempted into a drinking match with some of the Skandian sailors. Carissa was her only other companion for this trip. She and Carissa, each having only brothers, bonded like sisters since they were young. Rosalina trusted Carissa with every secret.
Carissa nodded and waved her hand. She was acting as a lookout for time being. It was high noon at open sea with no other ships in view. Rosalina opened a hatch and dropped below deck into a storeroom. There were just two ways to get in and out of the store room. One was through the hatch Rosalina had just dropped through. She slid a bolt into place to lock it. That would only delay whoever wanted below deck. The hatch was barred, so another person could easily reach through and undo the bolt but they would make noise and give Rosalina enough time to escape through the other exit, the kitchen.
The ship's cook had already been well bribed for Rosalina's purposes. Because of Jenny and travels associated with being a princess, Rosalina knew ships' cooks were rarely given quality ingredients to work with. In addition to a bribe of gold Rosalina had sealed the cook's silence with eight baskets of fresh produce from the castle's kitchens. She'd openly given them before they set sail under the pretense of their being a gift for the entire crew, however Rosalina had sailed on this ship before and had more than once bribed that cook. He knew the gift of fresh food wasn't for the crew's wellbeing. It was for him to keep quiet.
"Hello princess."
Rosalina jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder and faced Frey Seaseeker, the Skandian ambassador to Araluen and Hibernia. He was built like the typical Skandian; broad shoulders and taller than even her father. Despite living in Araluen the past five years he still had the Skandian accent and despite his job in courts he trained physically alongside the knights. He had striking blue eyes and dark blonde-brown hair. He wore Skandian clothing, or what passed as Skandian clothing considering they generally preferred to be bare chested with ripped leggings covering only the necessitates along with their trademark helmets. Instead, Frey wore a linen tunic underneath a sheepskin vest and trousers. Most Skandian sailors went barefoot, but because Frey was no longer a sailor by trade his feet were no longer accustomed to the roughness. He wore high Araluen-made boots laced tightly over his calves. They were similar to what the Araluen archers and cavalry wore. They were tough enough to keep other Skandians from mocking him, but sleek enough to fit in with what other officials in the courts wore.
Frey's job as a Skandian ambassador was to represent the oberjarl in treaties and negotiations as well as hear complaints against the Skandians who still raided villages. He organized wolfships to put in time as ferries between Araluen and Hibernia. Every ship that acted as a trade vessel had to spend eight weeks every year as a ferry. They were allowed to rent out extra store space for trade, but they charged a pretty sum for passengers wishing to travel. Generally one ship ran every twenty days, sometimes two. Skandians didn't like acting as ferries, but it was part of the agreement between Araluen that had extended to Hibernia. They got to hire their ships out to traders for minimum tariffs so long as they put up the flag marking the ship as a ferry for a total of eight weeks every year.
Rosalina giggled softly as Frey embraced her. When they'd begun their relationship it'd been little more than sitting with one another at diplomatic events and dancing at parties. It wasn't proper for the princess of Araluen to be with a Skandian, even if he was a diplomatic one. Frey did have several Skandian qualities that could turn people off to their relationship. He regularly outdrank every Araluen around him. He gambled weekly and spent a lot of time swapping stories in taverns with sailors, soldiers, and horse traders. William drank, gambled, and traded stories, as did Horace, but they weren't near as far in as Frey. Rosalina's brother and father didn't make conscious attempts to keep up and even top commoners. Frey did.
Frey pressed his lips against hers. She welcomed them. Rosalina's parents knew about Frey. He'd asked Horace permission to court her after meeting up after parties for passionate rendezvous became a usual thing. Of course, neither Frey nor Rosalina mentioned their meetings. Frey acted as though he were seeking her out for the first time when he approached Horace. Rosalina's parents, however, weren't fooled. They didn't approve of the relationship but they allowed it. Cassandra had been more open to the idea than Horace but Rosalina felt certain most of that had to do with the fact she was his only daughter. Rosalina pressed her palms to Frey's chest as he kissed her.
Her parents. The scribe who served as Frey's secretary. Ace, who had walked in on them by mistake six months ago. Carissa, who, like Frey's secretary, ran defense when they were together. The cooks on three separate wolfships. Those were the only people who knew of their romance. Horace and Cassandra had given them a blessing to see one another so long as they kept it private. Skandians in Araluen were still known for scandal and the last thing the royal family needed was unnecessary scandal. Horace and Cassandra had advised them to be discreet and to make their love public only if there was an engagement to announce. They hadn't outright given that order but the younger couple abided by it. They were just happy to have a blessing at all. Rosalina's unexpected mandated trip to Hibernia for her 'protection' lined up with the ambassador's meeting perfectly. Frey boarded the same ship as Rosalina without her parents' realizing.
"I brought you something," Frey whispered in her ear. Rosalina's heart raced. He pressed a rectangular box into her hand. As an ambassador to two allied countries Frey traveled a lot. He always brought her presents, and Rosalina loved being spoiled. As a princess she had access to luxuries other girls could only dream of and more than once a suitor sent her an expensive gift in hopes of wooing her. Frey was different though. He had taken time to get to know her and gave her gifts that actually meant something personally. Yes, most of the time they were expensive but they were also thoughtful.
Rosalina knew she was beautiful. She also liked to wear beautiful things. She turned heads when she stepped into a room and she liked that. It hadn't been hard to get Frey's attention however it had taken Frey a few tries to get hers. She'd been seeing a merchant's son when she met Frey. Then one night Rosalina went to surprise the old beau at home only to find him boasting about his 'conquest' to his friends. Frey won her over in the same night by leaving a red rose for her to discover when she returned to her bedroom. How he'd found her bedroom or known she was heartbroken that night she didn't know but dozens upon dozens of red roses later they were together.
Rosalina opened the box. Inside was one of the biggest pearls she'd ever seen set in a rose gold pendant. Rosalina was known for using roses in almost outfit she wore. Most of her clothes were either red, pink, or white to match the dozens of hair ornaments Carissa would sew fresh roses into every morning and afternoon. As a child Rosalina had hated her name. Other children called her 'Rosie Posy' as a taunt. Now as an adult she embraced it. After all, how many girls got to not only be a princess but by name have rights to exploit a specific flower?
"It's lovely," Rosalina gasped breathlessly. The pendent had to have cost Frey a pretty penny, so much that he hadn't been able to afford a chain go string it on afterwards. That didn't matter. Rosalina had plenty of chains it would look perfect dangling from. For now it had been threaded onto a soft pink satin ribbon. "Put it on me?" she asked as she turned around. Frey took it from the box and lowered it ceremoniously over her head. He kissed her ear as he tied the ribbon into a fancy knot at the nape of her neck. It was a knot a Skandian sailor would know by heart. He kissed her neck when he finished tightening the ribbon and she turned to face him. "How does it look?"
"It looks like it was made for you," he told her with a gasp of breath. Frey had grown up on wolfships. While he was a fair sailor he had never shown interest in minding ships for a living. He was, however, an excellent diplomat. The job of ambassador wasn't a coveted or widely sought after position among the Skandians and he hadn't had to fight too hard to be appointed.
Rosalina pressed her lips to his again. Then again. He gently pushed her to the wall and held her shoulders. Rosalina clasped her fingers behind his neck.
Above their heads the bars of the hatch rattled. "Oh I'm terribly sorry," Carissa's voice said, "I think I got my foot stuck in the hatch. Could you help me?"
Frey and Rosalina parted. That was their cue. They ducked and ran into the kitchen. With nods to the cook they slipped out the side just as they heard the clanking of the hatch opening from the storeroom. Frey turned suddenly and stole one last kiss from her. "One day we won't have to hide like criminals in the dark," he whispered before heading down the hallway.
"One day," Rosalina promised in a whisper to herself as she climbed the steep stairs that would take her above deck.
"That was close," Carissa told her as she helped Rosalina up the last few steps.
"Thank you for covering us," Rosalina told her. "You're a good friend."
"You'd do the same for me," Carissa shrugged. She smiled slyly. "You have done the same for me."
Rosalina grinned, remembering Carissa's eight month on-and-off again fling with a boy who they were relatively sure was Gabby's brother. Gabby's family attended several of the same charity events as Rosalina though Rosalina didn't personally interact with them. Carissa, however, was a step higher than staff yet still a servant and was free to mingle with whomever she chose when Rosalina was busy entertaining the higher ups.
The man had features that were strikingly similar to Gabby's and claimed his father was a merchant with his hand in many different crafts, as Gabby had described her father. He talked about having a niece and though he never said her name she sounded awfully similar to Clara, the niece Gabby produced when Elizabet needed a playmate. It'd never been confirmed though. Carissa hadn't felt comfortable asking Gabby outright if her lover was her brother and asking her lover if his sister was the blind healer hadn't seemed right either. To avoid awkwardness Carissa insisted they sneak around. It ended when Carissa discovered she was nothing more than a trophy for him, a trophy she ensured he didn't snare. Rosalina, being the friend she was, used her wit to set him up for public embarrassment.
Coincidentally, the next time they saw Gabby with her known brother, Royal Scout Roman, the two mentioned how distraught their parents were over how a second brother humiliated their family.