Crown Princess Leonore, heir to the queendom of Dranath, likes women, obviously. The Queen Mother Carmilla marries her off to Sir Gabriel, obviously.
So when she finds out Sir Gabriel is a woman...
Dranath; queendom of mystique, bordered by jealous...
She woke up one morning with the uneasy feeling of one being watched. Leonore's gaze snapped toward the window, but there was nothing there.
The rustling alerted her to Gabriel getting up from an armchair in the corner of the room; the knight had been so quiet she hadn't noticed.
"And how long were you creeping on me?"
"Hilarious, Leonore. You don't like being woken up in the mornings." Gabriel stepped toward her side of the bed and looked down at her. "At any rate, you'll enjoy today's news. You can go to town—"
Leonore sat straight up, the covers falling away from her. Gabriel's eyebrows shot up in what looked to be distaste.
"What," said Leonore, pulling up the sheets to her chest to save Gabriel's delicate sensibilities. Ever since that night, she had been relieved in this regard. She even returned to sleeping in her sheer nightgowns, simply because they were much more comfortable and Gabriel always slept at the other edge of the bed, facing away from her anyway. "Don't tell me a little bosom upsets you?"
All but a blank stare from the knight, who said, "You can go, but not alone. You must always take me or Albert, and it would comfort me if you brought more guards."
"I don't want an entourage. It's tacky and obvious."
"It's safe—"
"No one knows who I am here. No one has seen the princess outside of the capital. I'm just another pretty woman."
"And that makes you only a slightly lesser target. I will make no compromises. Take the guards."
"One guard," demanded Leonore. "A big group will tell every unsavory character, Hey! Asset here! Please kidnap this woman!"
"One guard who is personally invested in your safety," said Gabriel, who was still a pushover whether she was man or woman.
"Albert, then."
"Albert or me."
"No, I think Albert's got it," she said, and Gabriel chuckled. "He can pretend to be my father."
"I can pretend to be your husband."
"You are my husband," said Leonore, and Gabriel's mouth opened slightly, like she only just remembered that.
"At any rate, I can't come into town with you today, so Albert it is." Gabriel turned around to leave.
"Why? Where are you going?"
"Believe it or not, Leonore, I have duties to fulfill. We can't all languish in a castle."
"It's a manor, not a castle," she hollered, getting out of bed to yell at Gabriel. "And you wouldn't let me leave!"
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One of the comforts she missed at the queen's palace was her chambermaids. She could manage to wash and dress herself alone, but she missed the company. Leonore knew she only really just missed her friends.
