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Maevis was impressed with Skye’s negotiating skills, but her father was Lucas Moonstone. She managed to bargain Athena down to a small fortune instead of every cent she had. Skye still needed to discuss payment with Sven. She didn’t foresee an issue with him wanting to work with his daughter; only the opposite.

The princess not only promised to pay Athena, but swore to come to her for armor whenever she started her training. Skye had explained how she already had weapons; two short sword dragon blades. After describing them, she promised to bring them by for Athena to look at. Skye’s words had caused her jaw to drop and her hands to fidget as she imagined examining them. She nearly jumped for joy at the offer and proclaimed; “You’re not bad for a noblewoman!”

When Skye told Athena that she was a mage, and joining the trials next year, she’d been shocked. She’d never expect such a dainty woman to want to go into combat. She knew better than to stereotype, but couldn’t help it. The princess was everything she thought a princess would look like: beautiful and petite in height and weight. Nobles had a tendency to turn their noses up at her, and not just because she was usually taller than them.

Athena knew she looked like a man in her stature, but it didn’t bother her much now. Her mother and her entire side of their family were all stocky and tall. Due to it, she was made fun of often when she was young for looking like a boy. Learning her father’s work required short hair and strong arms. Being stronger than most of the boys made it easy to defend herself, but hard to make friends; let alone find a partner..

Skye, Athena, and Maevis discussed possible solutions, while Ralph and the guards kept an eye out for the heckler from before. They hadn’t seen him since they’d left Helms Smitty, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t around. Ralph had periodically ran laps to see if he was out hiding, but the snow made it difficult to tell.

The light, fluffy flakes from earlier were now giant globs that stuck to everything. The winds kicked up occasionally, making howling noises as it blew by the cozy shop. The guards and Ralph were not happy they had to deal with the weather on top of a possible threat, but nothing could be done.

Skye looked out the windows and grimaced. She was used to the cold and snow due to living in the north for so long. The humidity of the blacksmith shop was what worried her. Going from nearly tropical conditions to full-blown winter ones, nearly guaranteed a head cold. They would be leaving for Moonstone Castle in a few days, and she didn’t want to be sick during the holidays.

Skye turned away from the window; “Do ye have any winter gear by chance? We didn’t dress for a blizzard.”

.....

Athena thought a moment; “I have reinforced long johns that I’ve been making in bulk, for the soldiers. A tailor friend sews the clothes, and I coat them in a special material I reinvented,” Athena looked proud as she’d spoken.

Maevis fluttered close to Athena; “What does it do?”

“It helps to retain heat, and it make them nearly waterproof; so long as you don’t jump into a lake,” Athena quipped.

The way Athena explained it; the method of waterproofing the garments started with the stitching. Her friend used the tightest, finest stitch she could manage. After that, Athena coated in it refined beeswax with a few additional components she refused to share. She reminded Skye of a chef guarding their prized recipe.

As Maevis and Athena chatted, the three women went to the back of the shop to retrieve the long johns. It was hotter in the back, and Much more humid. Skye could feel her hair fluffing up something fierce. She put her hood up to stop it from ballooning out, but it didn’t help at all. After a good laugh at the princess’ expense, the blacksmith offered her a ribbon to tie back her hair with.

Due to her years of making armor, Athena could eyeball the size of people quite accurately. She’d been a little off with Ralph’s sizing, giving everyone a good laugh. Maevis was too small, so the only thing she could do was huddle inside of Skye’s hood. The sun was nearly set by the time everyone had dressed, and Athena had been paid.

Skye decided to begin Tidas’ armor after they returned from visiting her family for Yuletide. That way, the princess would have a little extra time to finish reading the Roland Snare journal. She knew what she needed to, for making the armor. Skye wanted to see if there was a way to simply reinforce the leather without hardening it. After explaining her idea to Athena, she’d had her own theory on how to go about making it.

Athena crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned against the edge of a table; “Why don’t you run experiments? See what would work best?”

Skye sighed with a dejected expression; “We don’t have too much of it, so I don’t have the luxury..”

“Too bad! I would’ve loved to have played with it a bit,” Athena handed Skye a piece of paper; “I need you to write down your measurements and expectations for your armor. How durable you need it, maneuverability, all that.”

“Sure, but I won’t get it back to you til after Yuletide,” Skye remarked before explaining her trip.

The sun had set by the time everyone had dressed and left. Skye was utterly grateful to Athena for selling them the suits on short notice. The wind stung her face painfully as the pieces of snow pelted her. Maevis was in her hood, against the back of her neck; trying to keep warm. Skye’s hair was thick, but the wind cut through it like a knife in warm butter.

As the group braved the bitter cold, Skye moved slower than her guards on purpose. She and Peggy walked closely behind Ralph in a single file line. He knew what they were doing: using him as a human shield against the wind and snow. It reminded him of his wife and children, who would do the same thing to him during similar situations.

It didn’t take too long to reach the palace. As much as Skye wanted to warm herself, the silhouette she saw in the doorway made her hesitant. Tidas was waiting for her to return hours ago, and had been worried due to the snow. He knew Ralph would’ve sent someone to notify him if something had gone wrong.. But he was still irritated with how long she’d been gone.

Ralph approached the prince with trepidation. He could tell Tidas was angry, but it wasn’t anything he could’ve helped. They needed to basically go from one end of the marketplace to the other, to find someone able to help. Plus the incredible amount of time that the princess had spent in three separate bookstores; it really wasn’t something He controlled.

The two guards looked to their captain nervously as they recognized the Commander. Ralph smiled to reassure them; They had no reason to worry.. He told them to simply keep going straight to the main guard station, and file their reports for the day. After that, they were released for the night.

Ralph stood and bowed before the prince as everyone else filed past him; “Reporting, sir. Everything went well. We had a little trouble in the beginning with the crowds, but Princess Skye handled herself well. A heckler followed us for a bit, but..”

As Tidas listened to his guard captain’s secondhand tale, his eyes followed his wife. It seemed like every time she was out of his sight, she got involved in something dangerous. The levels varied incident to incident, but there was always something. It was almost like she attracted it wherever she went.

Hearing the full story made Tidas feel a little better. The heckler’s rage must’ve either shifted to the blacksmith, or simply wasn’t intense enough to withstand the storm left in his wife’s wake. Ralph had kept his senses open as they’d walked back, but nothing had seemed out of the ordinary.

Skye was chatting with Peggy and Maevis when Nicolas, Magnus, and Marie came walking down the main hallway. They greeted the other group as they merged in conversation. Peggy bowed, then excused herself to begin preparations for the princess. Skye thanked her loyal servant before talking about their shopping trip. She practically went off on a tangent about the various books she’d picked out. Marie was asking random questions when her nephew interrupted.

“I think it’s nearly dinner time, but Skye still needs to wash up and change,” Tidas had wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist as he’d spoken.

“Why? I didn’t get dirty, did I?” Skye asked as she pulled away from her husband’s hold to look for any stains or messes.

“Not dirty, per say; but the bottom of your dress is soaked,” Tidas pointed to the darkened hem line along the bottom of his wife’s dress.

“Well it was either drag me dress and keep the wind off me legs, or hike it up to keep it clean.. Ima the sensible type: rather feel warm than cold,” Skye shrugged her shoulders as she finished.

The group agreed to meet in Marie’s quarters for dinner, then went their separate ways to get ready. Maevis went with Nicolas, Marie, and the king since she didn’t get wet, just very cold. The royal newlyweds headed to their rooms in silence. Skye couldn’t tell if Tidas was actually angry at her, but she could definitely tell that he was annoyed by the situation.

After entering their room, Tidas closed the door, then turned to hug his wife with the strength of a bear. The prince had been so worried that he was literally arguing with himself about sending search parties out.. that was when they had returned. It wasn’t Skye’s fault; he knew it. But the sentiment didn’t stop the darkness within him from spreading...