Snippet #2017937

Ellenae and Bell and Rue and Mayuri Shigan

"He is all yours, girls."

Bell was the first one to speak as their father and the prince took their leave, waiting until she was certain both were out of earshot to say a word. She stood, noting the long shadows and the sun setting, and raised her arms above her head with a long sigh. It had, perhaps, not been as eventful as it could have been, but they all had sat there for several hours and she had tried her best to keep herself composed and her posture rigid. It was coming back to spite her, she could tell, smoothing down her dress and glancing around at her sisters.

Her affair with the Retir prince might have been kept a secret from her parents, but it was much better known among her siblings - especially Elle and May, who had been involved in the negotiations the last time. She couldn't help but smile, reaching over to Elle to snag her hand and ruffling Rue's hair, planting a kiss in the dark locks.

"What did he say to you?" Elle asked, leaning forward to glance at the youngest in the group as they began to walk back to the palace, their pace languid. The darkening sky and the sun was casting fiery hues into the grass and the ponds, the majority of the bugs that had been out when they had come to the meeting, now gone. "I heard something... it wasn't our language. It didn't sound like it, anyway."

Meep! Rue, whom had before been stuck in a happy silence, suddenly started when Elle turned to question her. The littler girl stammered at first, her cheeks going red from her blush. She stared at Elle with wide eyes, afraid to answer, knowing that her sisters would probably take things out of proportion. He’ just said a few kind words; it didn’t mean anything more than that! “W-Well, he…he…” she started to say, trying to find a way to answer the question without lying or giving the whole truth.

"Leave her be," Bell said, "what was said between them is their business." Rue looked up at her eldest sister, shooting her a thankful look as she breathed a sigh of relief. At least for the moment, the crisis was diverted….

Elle tugged away from her sister's hand, gathering the hem of her dress up so it bunched in her hands and her legs were uncovered. She turned to face her older sister, a devilish smile on her face.

"You know what that leads to, right, Rue?" She said, her tone teasing, not meaning any harm in her words. The cavorting from the others caused May too look over, brought from her reverie just to see her sisters playing around. She smirked a bit, watching the proceedings from a ‘safe’ distance.

"'Their business' leads to babies. You'll get pregnant..." She made a motion with her hand across her throat, grinning over at Bell before snagging her dress up again. "...and die!"

Once again, Rue was forced to look at Elle. Also, like before, she was suddenly struck by embarrassment from her words. Her light blush, which had faded slightly, suddenly blazed back up in full, turning the brunette’s face a hot red. Just the thought of it! The prince and her, doing…that…oh, how mortifying! She hid her face in her hands and turned and pressed her front against Bell.

May, from her vantage point, tutt’d for poor little Rue, reaching a slim hand out to pat her on the shoulder gently.

"Oh, I'm going to get you for that!" Ellenae dissolved into giggles, taking off down the path ahead of Bell, who still continued at her slow pace. She shook her head and moved her gaze over to May, a smile rising onto her face. "Are you feeling better? I know you weren't so well when the meeting started," she said, pushing hair behind her ear.

May offered Bell a slight shrug of her shoulders, a wistful grin on her face as she looked up at the setting sun. “It’s nothing, Bell. It’s just that time for me, again. And-“ she added, quickly shooting a narrowed gaze and the back of Elle’s head “-I don’t mean that time, little missy. Don’t think I don’t see your wheels turning, over there!”

Elle turned back, one eye closed in a wink, and stuck her tongue out at May, wisely keeping silent. After that, she turned back to stare ahead, much as May had been. "What I wouldn't give for a good patch of sun right now..." Bell heard the blonde murmur, her head tilted back to glance at the sky. "Wasted a whole evening on that... bah."

May laughed, having overheard Elle as well. Reaching her arms up to stretch, she yawned and said “Morning, noon, night, I don’t care. I could use a good, long nap myself. Screw the time!”

Bell felt a slight movement against her front as the tiny princess nodded her agreement, her face still pressed firmly against her older sister while they all walked.