Frustration. That was the main emotion that surged through every fiber of her being. Balls of crumpled paper littered the floor of the room, another joining the sporadic array as another was crushed and tossed over her shoulder without a care. It was useless, no matter how much she tried to force it, there was no idea. She needed to come up with a design for the new outfit for Prince Wilfred before the next ball. Not only did it need to be designed, it need to be sewn perfect and ready to wear and to his liking. Claude already forbade her from leaving her work room until it perfectly ready to be shown to the prince.
"You are not to leave this room under any circumstances outside of needs such as hygiene, feeding, and sleep! This is all because you squandered your time with distracting His Highness from his duties and he too now is behind! You are to shut yourself in and speak with no one until this outfit is ready, do I make myself clear?" She shuddered at the memory of the Claude's ire which she found herself frequently on the other side of.
Of all times to have a rut! I need ideas! I can't let him down…not after everything he does for me. Her hands dug into and messed with her hair as she let out a loud sigh of agitation. Why was she still lacking any idea? She glanced at the standing calendar on her desk and slumped forward on to the sturdy oak furniture. Almost a week now…this is ridiculous! At this rate I'm going to be scolded for sure, she silently groaned as she could picture the lecture she would get from an angry Claude. And he'll be disappointed in me. She bit at her lower lip as she imagined the look in Wilfred's beautiful blue eyes darken at her failure. It made her own eyes sting with tears as the despair of disappointing him piled on top of the aggravation she had towards herself.
"No, I can't just give up! I'm the royal designer and he chose me for a reason, right?" She quickly sat up and clapped her cheeks. "No more feeling depressed, it isn't going to help you at all right now! If anything, it'll just make this block even worse or create something that isn't him at all!" She puffed her cheeks and glared at the blank canvas before her with resolute determination. Grabbing up her pencil, the lead was poised to start marking up the pristine white canvas the moment an idea strikes.
Yeah, the moment the idea gets in my head I can start right away and not waste any more time! The sound of the clock echoed in the room. Any second now. The sound of birds chirping came to the window and left. Ok, seconds was a bit much…any minute now though! Any minute now an amazing idea will strike! She sat there still wait until she heard the distant bells marking the start of a new hour. She wanted to cry, there still was no idea.
She slumped in her seat once more as her hands dropped to her sides, pencil clattering to the floor. What was she supposed to do now? She wondered as she stared up at the lovely ceiling. The intricate yet delicate details of the molding framing the periphery of her vision. "Maybe Claude was right…I'm just wasting everyone's time here." She spoke aloud to herself. The hollow sound of her voice only echoed and magnified the anxiety in her cut as she questioned herself. "Maybe…I'm just being a burden to everyone…I mean I distracted Prince Wilfred from his work as well." She gnawed at her lower lip as she sealed the outside world from her eyes by covering them with her hands.
Her throat suddenly constricted and felt a little dry, her eyes stung with hot tears. This was not her, she knew that. She knew she could design and very well. Everyone always marveled at her designs and how well the suited the corned prince of Philip. The crowned prince of Philip, Prince Wilfred…I haven't seen him even longer than this stupid rut. The loneliness in her just grew at the realization. "Ugh, I can't think about that! I don't have a right to miss him when I can't even get my work done for him!" She scolded herself, trying to sound firm but she could hear the small cracks. "Besides, what kind of look could I give him? I don't have the right to see him especially now." She reprimanded herself in a soft mumble as she thought of the warm smiles he always gave her.
She practically fell out of her seat from fright at the sudden knock on her door, a sound she had not expected at all.
"J-just a moment," she shouted as she cleared her throat and straightened up her look as best she could and rubbed her face to try and scrub away the negative emotions from her expression. She practiced a few smiles, using the front facing camera of her phone from lack of mirror. They were terrible smiles, but at the third one she had to force acceptance of it being good enough and headed to her door. "Yes?" She opened the door after a deep breath and put on her best smile but was startled at her guest. Prince Wilfred?! "Y-your Highness, what are you doing here?!"
"Am I not allowed to be here?" He asked politely with a cocked brow, a small teasing smile on his lips. He had his glasses on, which meant that he had most likely been busy reading something not too long ago. From the look of his casual attire as well, she knew that he was not coming from some important meeting with someone either. The fact he could make such relaxed clothing look so refined and attractive was beyond any explanation, but it only made her only more aware of how frumpy and ridiculously messy she looked at present.
"Oh, no! That's not what I meant! You can go anywhere you want in the palace…I mean it's your family's palace after all!" She quickly covered up her mistake as she internally screeched at her luck of looking so terrible in his presence. The blush on her cheeks grew darker and spread from her cheeks to her ears and down her neck as humiliation piled on her emotions from earlier. This had not gone unnoticed by Wilfred at all. In fact, he found her slightly disheveled look adorable. Her hair was thrown up in a bun that was now messy, her shirt was simple with some childish mascot on it and her sweats a little too baggy for her. Mischief glittered in his eyes as he purposely stock of her appearance.
"You look comfortable." He hid his chuckle as her face only grew redder at his comment. She fumbled for words, flustered and half trying to cover herself with the door as she rambled about a late night and that she had ended up sleeping here by accident. He knew that was a lie, she had been sleeping here for several nights now. He saw the blanket and pillow neatly set on the sofa from the crack in the door. He had checked on her quite a few times on his free times but never dared to disturb her in case she was deep in designing. The wads of paper easily caught his attention as well, a small frown tugging at his calm and composed expression, his eyes hardening a little. "Since I'm allowed anywhere, excuse me while I intrude." He smiled and moved around her and let himself in the room. His gaze fell on her empty chair and all he could see was the sight of her moments ago in such despair. He had heard everything she had said, wanting nothing more than to just sweep her off her feet and take her away from her trouble but life was hardly as the fairytales made them out to be. It tore him inside to see her so depressed, not when he knew how bright and energetic she normally was.
"Ah, wait-uh, excuse the mess." She cleared her throat and quickly got to picking up the papers to properly set them in the wastebasket. Strings tugged at his heart as he watched until he could not anymore. Shutting the door behind him by leaning against it, he pulled her into his arms. "Y-your Highness?!" She stammered, the feel of his broad chest at her back making her tense up and be more aware of herself.
"I missed seeing you," he whispered in her ear as he rested his head on her shoulder. "I was on my back to my office when I just found myself standing here in front of your door again." He chuckled softly at the truth, but he was not about to admit how many times he was there checking in on her. "I thought that maybe you and I could both use a small break."
"B-but won't Claude be angry? He must be looking for you!"
"He won't be that angry if I'm in the palace. I'm not going to be staying here all day…though I wouldn't mind just sitting here and watching you work for a while. It would make a refreshing change of pace." He smiled at the thought but frowned at how tense she was. "Is my…being here…a trouble for you?" He turned her in his arms to get a better look at her.
Oh, that look is so unfair Prince Wilfred! Not only is your presence never a trouble but you giving that look just makes it impossible to say anything against you being here even if for your own good! She pouted a little as she looked at him. "You know you're always welcomed here…I like when you visit." She meekly whispered her response.
"Then why are you so tense?"
"Because…Claude said I shouldn't be bothering you since you have so much work to catch up and I have my work to finish." She obediently answered, unable to hide when he is looking so sincerely at her. She fiddled with her fingers a bit as she felt and heard him chuckle softly from how tightly he held her.
"Well he isn't here, and you didn't bother me. You never bother me…I spend time with you because I want to. So, you can relax, you won't get in any trouble. If he starts to lecture, I'll just distract him to get you off the hook." He winked at her, her shoulders finally untensing as she leaned into him and giggled softly at his plan.
"I guess…a small break isn't so bad." She mumbled, resting her head on his chest. The warmth of his embrace melted away all her loneliness and his fresh subtly floral scent washed away any anxiety that had built up over the time apart. She wished this moment could last forever, but it always went by so quickly.
"You're always so warm," he hummed softly against her hair. "I wish I could hug you all the time…but I know that's not possible." He sighed. "You nor Claude would let me get away with that…so I'll just settle for the clothes you make me and pretend it's you who is hugging me instead of them."
"P-Prince Wilfred!" She huffed as her cheeks burned bright once more at his words, but the smile belied the scolding tone she tried to take. That's it…something warm! Suddenly the idea she had been waiting for had come and her eyes widen with happiness. "Thank you, Prince Wilfred!" She threw her arms around his neck in a hug, surprising even the most collected prince that he is. "I really needed this, I'm glad you came by!" She smiled radiantly at him and all he could do was smile back and cup her cheek.
"I'm glad," he whispered softly and stole a quick kiss from her. "Now that you have an idea, I'll be expecting an outfit soon. I'm sure it will be as great as the others you've styled for me." With those simple words he left the room, leaving her a little dazed and confused. She had not told him she was lacking an idea, so how had he known? She tucked the question away to ask him later as she grabbed her pencil and finally began to sketch out the design.