If you were to ask anyone in the ton about the Lady with a Fan, even an errand boy could give you an answer. That's the name Anastasia Bridgerton had built for herself to protect her family after their father's passing. As the oldest sister and twin...
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The gentle quiver of lashes disturbed the peace of her features, as Anastasia slowly blinked her eyes to adjust to the light. The dull mind of dawn seemed to have forgotten much of last night, simply wondering who the warmth beside her belonged to, as she curled deeper into its comfort greedily. Her sleep slipped at the sound of deep laughter, the 'pillow' she had curled into shuddering alongside it. Dazed, she slowly moved her gaze to meet the sparkling brown eyes of a familiar gentleman, filled with a new warmth at the sight of her innocence.
"Good morning," Nicholas chuckled, raising a hand to brush a stray lock of hair from her face. The tender gesture triggered the memories of the previous night to slowly return to her mind.
After she had wailed out her heart in Nicholas's arms, he had carried her back into the house, handing her over to Adele, who silently aided her mistress in changing out of her soaked attire and drying her wet hair. Adele asked no questions, simply relieved to see Anastasia showing any emotion at all, whether they be tears of joy or sorrow. Nicholas too had escaped to clean himself, only to find her drowsy figure awaiting his return with blatant anxiety.
She remembered watching his gaze soften, as he urged her to catch up on sleep, promising he would rather die than leave her side. Unfortunately, hearing the word 'die' simply agitated the woman more, and Anastasia recalled insisting he lay beside her like a child throwing a tantrum.
Now, awakening in his arms, the pieces of the past seemed to finally fit, and a newfound crimson quickly coated her cheeks.
Nicholas felt his laughter deepen at the sight.
"Ah, I see you have returned", The man feigned disappointment, "I must say, I've grown rather attached to the more childish side of you. I never knew you could be so adorable, clinging to my sleeve as you pouted and whined oof-".
The pillow smacked square across his face as Anastasia struggled to contain her rage-filled embarrassment. Chuckling past the cover, Nicholas pulled down the fluffy weapon to meet her eye lazily.
"This means war".
The past few days had been most desolate, so you could imagine Adele's disbelief at the sound of laughter echoing from within her mistress' room. Her gaze peered through a crack to find the couple chucking pillows at each other as they squealed and giggled like children. Adele had never seen her mistress laugh so freely. Not even with her own family. It just goes to show how much the lady trusted the prince, and if Anastasia trusted him, so did Adele.
With a smile on her face for the first time in months, the maid made her way to the kitchen, eager to cook a warm meal that she hoped would continue to maintain the smile on her mistress' face.
