Heather flopped down on her and Smalls' bed. "I'm exhausted," she groaned.

Smalls chuckled and sat next to her. "I know," he whispered loudly. "You've been saying that for the last two hours."

"And it's no less true now," Heather replied, pulling herself up to lean against him. "You're at least a little more used to this kind of thing. I've never been to a ball in my life. I've never seen a palace before and have no idea about etiquette."

"Hasn't Heyna been helping you learn?" Smalls asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Well, yes," Heather admitted, "but when she is leaning over me all the time it doesn't exactly help me. I'm pretty sure I said and did the wrong thing at least twenty times tonight."

"Really? I didn't notice," Smalls said, putting his arm around her.

"She did," Heather replied, leaning into his arm. "She didn't say anything, but only because we were in a public setting. In private I would have gotten a lecture for sure."

"She's only trying to help you learn," Smalls said. "I know she can be a bit tough at times, but give her some grace."

"I know," Heather sighed. "At least, my head knows. But the rest of me doesn't."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, this is the second ball I've ever been to, so I'm not much more experienced than you."

"At least you've had Uncle Wilfred teaching you your entire life."

Smalls smiled and shook his head. "I think you need to get to sleep and take a fresh look at this in the morning. You're not usually this pessimistic."

"Maybe you're right," Heather conceded, hiding a yawn behind her hand. She made her way under the blanket and Smalls lay down next to her.

"Don't worry about tonight," Smalls said. "You know you don't sleep well when you worry and you need a good night's rest after today."

"How can I not worry? I did everything wrong this evening."

Smalls shook his head. "I don't think so. Plus, I overheard some rabbits commenting on what a wonderful party it was and how well you did putting it on."

Heather turned on her side to face him. "Really?"

"Really," Smalls replied, rubbing her hand in his larger one. "There's nothing to worry about."

Heather nodded, feeling a little bit better. "That helps."

"Good," Smalls said, kissing her cheek softly. "Now, you need to sleep. Good night."

Heather squeezed his hand. "Good night." Within two minutes she was sleeping soundly. Smalls leaned over to press another kiss on her forehead before settling in to go to sleep himself. It really had been a busy day – for both of them.


This turned out a little different than I had originally thought, but I like it. I was planning to show Heather learning etiquette and everything she needs to know as queen, but that required a bit more thought, so I settled for her ranting instead. :) I'll probably do the other idea sometime soon, though.

Prompt: (I keep forgetting to put this here) Write a story about Heather adjusting to palace life.