I think I'm a lady-in-waiting too! (if not, can I be one?) And Daisy, would it be okay if Cleo sometimes gets really annoyed with Ellenora?

Sorry, but my character already has the wind power. I don't believe my charrie had shown up when you posted.

Alright. Now this is the third time I'm restarting the writing process of this because every time I try to write, my computer shuts down on me... ugh.

Elizabeth~ 

At the very outer edge of the royal gardens, right near the edge of the River Sheen, there is a nearly perfect circle of willows with branches hanging low and thick enough that no one can see in from the outside. There, is where I keep my secret garden. My safe place. It is where I escape the world, to be simply a girl. Not a princess. Not royalty. Just... Me. It is where I love to practice my fighting skills (for every girl must be able to defend herself), tend to my small array of flowers (roses of various colours, mariposa liles, and a few exotic ones that my sisters brought back from their travels), and do everything that the world as deemed "inappropriate for a princess". After finishing my daily tending of the garden, I climb up to the top of my favourite willow, the one overlooking the river bend, settle in to watch the sunset. Another nice thing about my little kingdom is that all of the windows from which it could be seen happen to belong to my private wing of the palace, where only my Ladies (to whom I'm exeptionally close to) and I live. I am distracted from my thoughts by movement on the ground. Two girls are there. One of them I recognise, because I've seen her sneaking into the gardens before, but I've never felt the need to turn her in for trespassing. The other, I don't think I've seen before. I watching as the girls notice each other. One says something. The other raises her hand in a defensive gesture. I nearly fall out of the tree from surprise as a fist of water rises from the river. Apparently, the girl didn't expect that either. I see her turn directly towards me and run straight through the branches of my willows. Quickly and silently, I climb into the lower branches, but still high enough that she shouldn't notice me until I'm ready to be noticed. Slowly, the girl calms down, and appears to ntice her surroundings. I watch as she walks around my garden in wonder. "Are you alright?" I call down to her. She starts, looking around. Finally, she sees my deep teal gown in the light green branches of the tree. "Y-yes, Your Highness," the girl stammers, apparently shocked to see a princess in a tree.

I laugh, offering a welcoming smile. "No need for formalities when you're in my grove," I tell her, "Here you can just call me Elizabeth. Or Eliza, if you wish."

"Okay. Um, my name's Aibhilin. Most people call me Ave," the girl says somehwat awkwardly.

"Oh, you're Beatrix Buckmaster's girl? Interesting. Do you enjoy your trade?"

And we continued talking for a few minutes, before the girl rather abruptly said, "I need to go. My master is going to be very angry at me for disappearing for this long."

"Oh! Right. I apologize, I forgot. Will I see you around here again anytime soon?"

"It's a possibility. We'll see."

I nod, we exchange goodbyes, and the girl leaves my sanctuary.

Then, I head back to my own home to prepare for dinner. Back to being a princess. 

__________________________

Hopefully, I didn't control your character too much. Sorry if I did! You can change the way things happened a bit if you want to. 

Elizabeth~

A few hours later, my ladies and I are nearly done preparing for dinner. Out of the blue, my cousin asks, "Who were you speaking to, Libby?” 

“Who are you referring to, Elle?” I reply, trying to sound nonchalant. Secretly, my heart beats just a bit fast. I'd forgotten that she could have seen me trough the window, or from the balcony.

“You know whom I speak of. The girl. Earlier, in your garden.” 

I decide to distract her from her query. “Lady Hartsworth, what do you think of this shade for tonight’s dinner?” I hold up a vibrant shade of sea green for my dress.

I hear Elle sigh, and know that she's given up. At least, for now. She'll be back with her question later. I turn to look at the mirror, where a maid is doing my hair in an elaborate rose braid. I glance at Elle from the corner of my eye, and see that her hair is being done in the same style. But to Elle apparent dismay, Cleo’s hair is too. 

“Isn’t it lovely how we’re all matching?” she giggles. 

“Yes, Lady Hartsworth,” Elle replies, sounding rather annoyed.

“Just Cleo will do,” Lady Hartsworth says, rather brightly.

I see Elle openng her mouth with a sharp retort, so I quickly say, "What do you think, should we each put a rose in our hair as well? They can be pure white roses, to show our love of York!" as I'm saying this, I give Elle a warning glance. I don't want trouble arise amongst my ladies. 

A fews minutes later, the last few finishing touches have been added to our outfits, and we head out to dinner. As we are walking, I see the blacksmith's apprentice- I believe his name is William Turner- wandering the halls, looking a bit lost. I tell Cleo and Elle to go on ahead of me, and waited until they'd turned the corner before approaching him. "Hello. Are you lost?" I ask. 

The boy turns to look at me, then bows, realizing who I am. I always found formalities within society vaguely annoying, and I wonder for the thousandth time why they were created as I return a small curtsy. "Not quiet lost, Your Highness. Just trying to find a specific person. His Grace, Richard of York, to be exact. I'm meant to deliver an order of weaponry to him, to help fight the war." William says, and a tingle of warmth fills me at the mention of my dear brother, the only one left of my mother's three boys. I smile. "Of course. He should still be in his rooms. The king quite enjoys making an entrance. Here, I can take you," I reply.

As we walk through the grandiose halls of the palace, I make conversation with him. Just as we turn onto the hall way of Richard's rooms, I ask, "Is this your first time making deliveries directly to the palace?"

"Actually, yes, it is. Typically, I'm asked to leave it with the guard at the gate, but times are getting more difficult and people less trustworthy, as His Majesty's cousin manages to station spies all over the kingdom."

I nod, "Ah. Of curse. Smart move. So does that mean I'll be seeing you around here again? I've rather enjoyed this conversation," I inquire.

"As you wish, Princess. And as duty calls." the two of us laugh together. Then, we reach the door to my brother's room. I hear raised voices through the door. 

Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm really bad at keeping the character names straight sometimes.