𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚

𝘵𝘸𝘰

Evie spent the majority of her time sewing dresses and new apparel, trying to catchup on orders she had delayed during her grieving period, and trying to distract herself. Other times, she would busy herself with paperwork sent to her by Ben, not forgetting that she was still his Royal Advisor. They never talked much, preferring to communicate through Mal, but she still had to do her job well.

She had decided that she wanted to be happy. She knew that she would never forget about her beloved husband, Doug, but she also knew that he would want her to be happy. That was the one thing that kept her going.

She went shopping with Audrey, whom she had become good friends with after the whole fiasco. She fenced a little with Lonnie, though she knew that Lonnie always let her win, hoping to relieve a little of the grief in her own way. She helped Jane, who was pursuing a career of a research scientist, to chip in with a few of her ideas since she relatively excelled in sciences. She visited the Dwarf family, aware that if she had lost a husband, they would have lost a son or nephew too, and that was equally devastating. She hung out with Carlos and Jay, bowling, rollerblading.

However, the one most surprising was the times she had spent, or would spend, with King Ben. Mal was busy nowadays, with her new campaign taking off in various different parts of the kingdom, she was always travelling and hardly had any time to spend with Evie, or anyone else, for that matter. Not even her young son. It was hard on her, but it would only get better. Plus, she wasnt leaving forever. It was just for the beginning of her work, she would say.

With Mal gone, it was rather awkward between her and Ben at first, since Mal was usually there to bridge the conversations. Now, both realised that out of all their friends, they probably spent time with each other the least. Heck, Ben may not even know Evie's favourite colour and vice versa. News flash, its both blue.

It was only until one afternoon when Ben had taken a break from his kingly duties, signing paperwork after paperwork, did he leave the premises of his study to see what his son had been up to.

The 2 year old Max had been spending a tremendous amount of time with his godmother, and he loved her to bits. She had taken him shopping, and promised him a movie after their lunch picnic in the royal gardens, which was exactly where King Ben found them, though nobody had noticed his arrival.

Evie was watching Max running and failing to fly a kite, laughing at the antics of the squealing little boy, while enjoying a small sandwich, as Ben walked over and stared down at her sitting Indian style.

"Hey." He spoke casually, hands in his pockets, from behind her, making her jump.

"Oh, hey, Ben! Didn't see you there." Evie smiled politely, before her gaze returned to Max. As previously established. she wasnt as close to Ben as the others were, so she always chose to just mind her manners around him. He was a King after all.

At the sight of his Dad, Max ran over with his chubby legs and hugged his legs, before collapsing onto Evie's lap. He was generally a happy kid, calm and hardly threw any tantrums at all.

Evie brushed his hair away from his face and kissed his cheek, settling him down next to her, on the checkered picnic mat. He immediately grabbed an apple slice and began sucking on it.

Ben smiled at the sight and sat down beside Evie, which stunned her, since she expected him to just leave.

"Beautiful day out." He commented and leant back. She remained smiling, with her perfectly pursed lips, unsure of what to say to him. She just nodded and shifted her focus back to Max who was now attempting to crawl on the mat.

"Why are we so awkward around each other?" Ben asked in a teasing tone, though they were both curious.

Evie furrowed her eyebrows and shrugged, unable to find words that wouldn't offend him. "I... guess we just aren't close." She offered, attention still solely on Max.