The hairs on the back of Vera's neck were standing, thrilled by this situation as she was. Her Father had just recently forced a peace treaty with his bitter rival for the past several decades, and she was exploring the new kingdom, which she had been forbidden from for so long during the war. 

She had been told that the people were dirty, that the cities were scabs on the Earth. 

She found that none of that was true. 

Vera had learned over the course of two decades that many lies were told by those that didn't take the time to see them for what they were. Plus, she had been to the meetings about controlling the people, and what looked best according to the people. Her Father, King Hirbraum, had always been about playing all the sides. Vera, like her Mother, felt that luck was what led to most of the King's victories, but as he always said, "Victory is victory."

Approaching her father about anything directly always led to deflection. He had to be caught off guard to reveal anything to anyone. So, she had refused to ask him when she caught the whim to explore this new territory of his. She wanted to find out more about the people while incognito, so she had visited the Mages of the Court, first. They had quickly decided to help her, and sent her on her way.

Unable to dissuade the Archmage's assistant - a young girl about her age named Ana - from accompanying her, Vera begrudgingly accepted her company. Over the course of the endeavor, she was increasingly glad for the companionship. Not only had Ana proven invaluable for her expansive knowledge and skills, but she was funny, too. Jokes and witty remarks flew as swiftly and fluently from her tongue as the spells she so obsessively practiced. 

The journey to the new territory, now dubbed Hirland, was not too exciting. The sights that would have been beautiful had been devastated by decades of war, and would take many years to heal. Once they arrived at the capital, a large city known as Orland's Maw, Vera retrieved the foundation of her plan: an enchanted mask. It was the solution to her dilemma of being recognized in the city. 

Surely, the commoners who recognized the daughter of the King they hated could cause issues regarding her safety, and King Hirbraum would not be happy if he were to discover something terrible had happened to his sugarplum. 

The mask would lose its magic and become mundane after half a day, but would allow her to go unrecognized while not being suspicious for wearing an actual mask. Clothing had been an issue, as she had been unable to find something accessible that might befit a commoner or even a merchant. At the request of the Mages, she had gotten something worked out, but it wasn't the best disguise she could have made.

If only she had been able to get approval and had time to prepare. 

Well...she could have had time to prepare, but she was impatient. 

Impatience, curiosity, and determination were some of her more defining qualities. They were the qualities people referred to when they rolled their eyes and said to her, "You sound like your father."

She always thought they meant her pleasant voice and charisma. She'd never thought any less of herself to consider otherwise. Most of them were jealous, in her eyes. 

"Exciting, isn't it?" Vera asked Ana, as they walked side by side through the streets of the city, rounding their way to a merchant street. Ana, having been out on many ventures with the Mages, nodded her head politely. It was exciting for her, yes, but not for the same reasons. For Ana, it was because she was hanging out with THE PRINCESS of the kingdom of which she had been orphaned into. 

Ana's parents, refugees of the magic inquisition in their home kingdom of Ineria, had fled to the glorious kingdom of Vaeria for relief. They had succeeded in getting their daughter across safely, but had never been found afterwards. It was always assumed, and she had always been told, that they had been caught trying to sneak across the border by Inerian Inquisitors. The punishment for such a crime was death, and it was fulfilled immediately. 

Of course, the other reason it was exciting for Ana was because she loved to see new places, meet new people, and try new things. She was a sponge for knowledge, and was in love with learning. She would be a wise woman before she could ever take the time to look into starting a family. 

"Something on your mind, Ana?" Vera was casual with everyone. She had always been the one on top, and had not really felt true humility. She stopped for a moment, stepping to the side near a closed shop door and flipping her gorgeous blonde waves out of her frame of vision. Satisfied with the way it fell out of her vision and onto her shoulders, spilling down her back, she eyed Ana with eyes that felt like they were burning her all of a sudden.

Had Ana known better than to suspect magic from Vera, she would have thought that she was being scryed or otherwise interfered with in some arcane way. 

"Oh," Ana flushed from the sudden focus of attention and tried to act as if it didn't bother her. She failed, but attempted to deflect the concern, "Not really. Just everything, you know." She smiled weakly, coughing to change the subject, "Is it a strange sort of hot here, to you?" She looked around, hoping to avoid further eye contact. 

Indeed, the city was built into a giant crater said to have been there for millennia. Legend said that a war between gods had taken to the mortal realm, and a stone thrown by one had missed and struck the earth with such ferocity that the landscape was changed indelibly. Who won the fight, who threw the stone, and what resulted from the event is all variable depending on which regional church you attend. 

"Yea, it does seem to be quite different to when it gets hot back home. Sort of sticks to you and makes it hard to breathe. Perhaps the geography here has something to do with it." An observation Ana felt was perfectly accurate. She had a hard time remembering how different it was talking to someone who had an actual education, not to mention a royal one. 

"Anyway, let's get-Oh!"

"Ow! Oh no!"

As Vera had turned to start walking again, the door to the shop had swung open and a young woman had burst out with a dress. Their collision had been unavoidable, both of them unable to even make an attempt to avoid it. They crashed to the ground, and Vera was instantly upset. Ana started to move to help, but was hesitant due to the involvement of a stranger. In the aftermath, as everyone started to get up and collect themselves, the girl unknown to the duo started to cry, looking at the state at which she was now in. 

All three of them looked to her, including a small crowd that had formed from the commotion, and the sight was a classic tragedy. A pretty, young girl who had fallen and gotten her new dress all dirty, except she was wearing a pretty dress and carrying an even prettier one. It would take magic to get out the stains, literally. The cost to do so would cost half as much as the dress, by Vera's guess. 

Suddenly, Vera's heart panged with sympathy. Even though her clothes were dirty and she had also gotten wet, she was far better off than this poor thing. She moved quickly to help her up, motioning for Ana to help her with the task. Sniffling, the girl wiped her eyes of tears and quietly thanked them for their help. The small crowd that had gathered to ensure that everything was okay had dispersed.

Now, another figure had appeared in the doorway to the shop. It belonged to a woman who Vera immediately guessed to be the younger girl's mother. She had a typical homemaker appearance: hair in a messy bun, tired eyes, a polite smile, and eyes that warmed your heart just as much as her comforting voice.

"Everything alright, Angel? You girls alright?" She asked, looking from her daughter to Vera to Ana. The three of them nodded in succession as she made eye contact with them, and Vera felt the quiet strength in her. Her energy was maternal and loving to Vera's intuition, but something told the young Princess not to test her. 

"Oh, dear. Looks like Paula Rinnert will have to wait a bit longer for her order." She said, looking towards the dress. She noticed the mess on both the girls, too. "For all the work that goes into making dresses, I wish there was more magic to prevent this sort of thing." Ana and Vera both were somewhat taken aback by this. They had never considered magic for that sort of thing. 

"Come on in, let's get you two sorted out." She invited them in, and Vera and Ana stepped in behind the daughter. The two of them were blown away a single step in, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of quality dresses. They were all different sizes, shapes, colors, and styles, and all of them were handcrafted. That was big, these days, with the recent invention of the magic sewing machines employed by the kingdom's guilds of fashionistas and seamstresses. 

The love and attention put into each one was apparent from several feet away, and Vera couldn't resist a feel as she passed by a close rack. She wished she hadn't, because she wanted to stop for more. She only hoped she would be changing into one of these. 

"The living area is back here." The daughter opened a door in the back of the shop that led into a small kitchen area that spilled into a small living room turned bedroom. It was an organized mess, and Vera smirked at the similarity it bared to her room when she could get away with not cleaning it. 

Far smaller, of course, but similar. 

"How warm a home, thank you for inviting us in." Vera was genuine, though she chose her words carefully.

"Oh, don't mention it. These things happen, and it is important that we all help each other, right? We must pass on good deeds at every opportunity." The smile on the mother's face as she said this so casually really struck Vera and Ana both. They were surprised by the sheer quality of these people. For so long they had been at war with this kingdom, and to see the faces of the people they had blindly hated was surreal. Vera was realizing the truths of war more and more on this trip. 

She was sure her father would not approve of these results. 

"Oh, I'm Abrielle DuMonde, by the way, and this is my daughter Angelica. I call her Angel, sometimes, but she doesn't mind either." 

"I am called Sarah," Vera lied quickly, surprising the young mage beside her, "And this is Ana."

"Nice to meet you." Angelica offered meekly. 

"You as well. My apologies for running you over. I can be so clumsy sometimes!"

"Oh, I shouldn't have been in such a hurry rushing out the door. I was just so excited to deliver the dress to Mrs. Rinnert that..." She started to get sad again and her mother just patted her shoulder, shushing her sweetly. 

"Don't worry, sweetheart. We'll make sure to wrap it after we clean it so it doesn't happen again. Perhaps we should do it from now on. Come to think of it, how come we were not doing it previously?" At this thought, she was suddenly gone, back to the shop as a customer walked in.

The three of them were left to sort out the silence, avoiding eye contact for some time. 

"Um," Angel coughed to get their attention, "I'm going to change in the other room. Here, this should fit you, from looking at you." She grabbed a dress from a nearby messy pile of clothes that had been not yet been priced, and handed it towards Vera. The tension between them as Vera accepted it made her heart flutter a moment. What was this feeling? She would have to explore it later, as the girl was suddenly gone in the same fashion as her flowy mother, leaving her with a dress she was automatically clutching to her chest.

"Everything alright, my lady?" Ana asked in an attempt to snap Vera back to reality. It worked, and Vera shook her way back, looking to Ana with disdain, "Please, call me Vera. Only my servants address me otherwise."

"How about Vee?" This had Vera thinking for a moment, genuinely on the fence about it.

"Sure." At this, she stepped away, "Please, refrain from looking my way as I undress." Vera commanded Ana as though she were a servant. When Ana hesitated, blushing at the thought, Vera raised an eyebrow and caught Ana's attention with a spinning gesture of her hand, "Turn away."

In moments she was dressed again, asking for Ana to zip up the dress. To her shock, the dress fit Vera perfectly. It was incredible. Her own seamstress was not this intimate with her, nor this talented. 

She would have to discuss this problem with her father. 

"Oh, you're already changed." Angelica said, returning.

Vera turned and had to collect herself. She had not been prepared for such a change. The girl that had captured feelings of sympathy moments ago was now smiling brightly, demeanour changed as quickly as her dress.  

"I see it fits you, just as I thought." She continued, a little more comfortable in her own house now that she wasn't dirty and feeling gross. Vera was still speechless, absorbing the girl before her. The dress Angelica wore fit her to a tee, in personality and in physical form. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a bun that was admittedly cuter than her mother's, and she had bangs framing her face to accentuate her features. Among the finest of her features, Vera decided, her brilliant blue eyes stuck out the most. They were flecked with yellow-green and specks of brown and she was sure they could change color. 

"You look so much different than just a few moments ago..." Vera finally got out, stuttering over her words for the first time today. She mentally chided herself, hating such errors. 

"Oh," Angelica blushed, looking down, "I had my hair down and...yea, I don't know. My mother says I should put my hair up more."

"I agree." Vera replied automatically.

Angelica blushed deeper. Ana was subconsciously jealous, but didn't process it properly. 

"Didn't someone mention tea?" Ana asked, trying to change the subject to get away from this weird mood.

"Oh, right. Let me get that started. Sorry."

Sitting down at the small kitchen table at Angelica's gesture, Ana and Vera exchanged a few awkward glances before Angel saved them as she returned from putting the water on to boil. 

"So, what are you two doing around? Shopping?"

"Yea," Ana replied first and it was Vera's turn to look surprised, "She owes me a dress so we decided to see the styles of a different city's seamstress."

"We definitely weren't disappointed." Vera continued, not remarking on the comment that she 'owed' Ana anything. "The work you do here is incredible. Is it all your mother or...?"

"Oh, of course. I've not gained a portion of her skill with this yet. I'm just good at sizing clients, getting measurements, and getting them into something that looks perfect on them."

"I was going to say, this dress fits me like a dream! I'd gladly pay for it if I might wear it home?"

"I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind. She'd have to discuss the price, of course."

"Of course."

Anything to stay a little longer, Vera thought.