Aelia didn't speak again, busy trying to live in the moment and remember every tiny detail. That way when she was stuck in goddess knows how many meetings, she'd be able to have something to look back on and smile. So the peaceful silence that ensued after they spoke made Lia feel more at peace with her future. Perhaps she'd never be able to return again, but that was okay if she only had these memories with her.

By the time they'd made it back, Aelia was much calmer and content. Ava's help was very sweet, and probably needed as it seemed that Lia was quite clueless when outside of the palace walls. When Ava huuged her, she practically buried herself in the other woman's arms, she smelled like the air right before a storm, which was somehow quite comforting in Lia's mind. When Ava spoke, Lia listened carefully and nodded her head in understanding. Once the two pulled away, Aelia smiled and said, "thank you. Thank you so much." Lia couldn't bear to say goodbye, so instead she turned away and walked off, hurrying through the less crowded streets, rushing to get to the palace that she could hardly consider a home.

~~~~
Ts?

yes - to the night where lia almost gets assassinated?

Sounds good to me. This is gonna be lovely.

~~~~~~~

The night had started out well enough, Aelia had been right to believe that she would be insanely busy this season, most everyone was. Young nobles from across the world were flooding to the palace, all to try and court Princess Aelia. Of course there were women there too, trying to gain the attention of one of Aelia's sutors in order to find themselves a husband. Aelia had befriended some of the less snobby ladies and had became a sort of matchmaker to her father's horror.

Of course he wasn't really mad at her, as he was happy she was helping people, but he also wanted her to focus on finding a suitable husband. In fact, he'd even given her a list of men that he considered good enough for his daughter, and although it was supposed to be a sweet gesture on his part, Aelia disliked it greatly. She understood that the man she'd marry had to be of a certain rank, but the fact that her options were even further limited by her father upset her. Aelia found none of the men on the list interesting, and most treated her like she was stupid, and grew afraid when she used a big vocabulary.

It seemed like people forgot that Aelia was the crown princess and was expected to carry out many duties, and had been prepared from a young age to do so.

After a relatively busy day, Aelia decided to take a stroll around the palace, within the safety of the walls of course. Her guard accompanied her as he always did, she enjoyed his company. He'd been her guard for many a year and she trusted him with her life, quite literally. Walking through the small wooded section of the palace grounds, Aelia felt at ease for once.

Which apparently had been a big mistake.

A muffled grunt came from behind her, and she turned around to face a horrific scene.

Her trusty guard was sliding to the ground, his mouth covered by another's palm, a sword driven through his stomach. Aelia's eyes drifted up to the person standing above her guard, shock making her movements slow and unsteady. A man glared back at her, with eyes that were such a fiery red she immediately recognized him. Lia did not give Prince Egan time to grab her, she simply spun around and ran, knowing full well that her screams would be drowned out among the partying that came with the arrival of all her potential suitors.

Luckily for Aelia, she knew the woods like the back of her hand, but things were different when she was wearing a nice gown. She actually did really like the light blue gown, with its silver details and flowers, but light blue really does stick out in the forest at night no less. The dress was screwing her over, and she knew it too. Knowing she had a head start on Prince Egan, Aelia paused to throw off her shoes in the opposite direction she was going, both to distract the prince and also so she could run without worrying about breaking her heel.

As the minutes ticked by, Aelia's heart pounding in her ears, she grew tired, stumbling over her long gown. The prince was gaining on her, and she was quite lost by that point, as the she was now inside the woods outside the palace walls, and this forest was unfamiliar to her. The trees whispered to her, but she couldn't understand them, and she was scared. Lia could not defend herself, she had been taught very little on that front due to the fact that there was always a guard with her. There had been no need to teach her something she'd never use.

Branches tore at her pretty dress, and she clutched the black tourmaline at her throat, a habit she'd picked up during the past week. The feel of the cold stone made her realize that she had one last hope, she just had to find a body of water.

It had been a good day at the market.

All of the bread and jams sold quickly, as usual, and while Ava did miss a certain presence, she hadn't expected to see Lia in town today.

Most nobleborn had been dressing up in their finery and jewels, and Ava suspected that Lia was no different. Being the daughter of some lord, she was probably at the big ball right at this moment.

Ava, though, was in quite a different scenario.

She had made herself a beautiful dinner, with fruits and fresh bread, paired with some meat that had been bought in town. It had been a feast for just her, and there were leftovers to spare, which would be covered and tucked away.

As Ava settled down in her comfortable chair, the firelight illuminating the pages of her book, paired with the warm purring of her cat, the witch found herself utterly and completely at peace.

I cant get over the contrast of Aelia trying not to die, running through the woods for her life, then to Ava who is having a wonderful night with an awesome book lmao.

~~~~~~~~
Apparently, having her head in a book most of the time had some benefits when it came to being outside. Aelia began to make her way downhill, knowing that gravity would pull water down, where it would make lakes and such after rainfall. Unfortunately, her gown was still dragging her down, and the steep hill she was precariously walking down was really testing how well she could balance in the big gown. Prince Egan was not far behind, she could hear him smashing through the brush and cursing at her and her 'stupid ball gown.' (Which Aelia found considerably rude since said ball gown was absolutely breathtaking and deserved to be treated as such.)

In the distance Aelia could see something reflecting the moon through the trees, the shine dragged her attention away from not falling and caused her to stumble. Without warning, she was tumbling down the hill, a cry of pain escaping her lips as she was cut by sharp rocks and slammed into trees. Once Aelia reached the bottom, she paused for a moment before forcing herself to stand, her head spinning. Leaning against a concerned tree for support, Aelia regained her bearings and hobbled forwards. Bile rose in the back of her throat as the ground swayed beneath her but she forced herself to limp towards the large pond shining in the distance, her hand clutching at her necklace.

By the time she made it to the pond, Aelia was exhausted, blood trickled down her forehead from some cut and her head pounded. The prince had caught up, and was not far behind as she collapsed at the pond's edge. All around her she could hear the cries of the trees, she couldn't quite understand what they were trying to say, but she vaguely understood that they were telling her to keep pushing. Thankful for the encouragement, Aelia turned her head towards the pond, tears flooding her eyes as she placed a shaking hand in the dark water.

"H-hey Ava, I don't know if this is working, but I really need your help. I might just be talking to a pond, which would suck since I'm probably about to die if that's the case," Aelia chuckled sadly, "but if you can hear me. Please help me." Just as she finished, Lia heard Prince Egan finally reach the clearing where the pond sat. He was laughing at her, and tears began to slip down her face as she turned around to face him.

"Well well well, I almost thought you were actually going to get away for a moment. Of course, you're a little to much of a princess to actually do that," Prince Egan chuckled darkly, approaching Aelia with his sword held carelessly at his side, he wasn't afraid of her in the slightest.

"Why?" Asa whispered, tears streaming down her scratched up face, mixing with her blood. Prince Egan straightened, raising an eyebrow, as if confused by her intelligent questioning. "Well that's simple, you don't deserve it, any of it. You're hardly even a princess. You're a bastard child, you never should have even gained the title, let alone become the heir of an entire kingdom. With you dead, you're brother will get it, and with his stupid, controllable self I'll be able to get everything I've ever wanted by using him like my puppet. A simple plan really." Prince Egan gave Aelia a wicked smile before continuing.

"Well, I believe your time is up princess," he spat out the word as if it were foul, "perhaps you'll turn into a little tree and be with your actual people." Egan raised his sword, and Aelia simply looked away, knowing that she could do absolutely nothing to stop him, and hating herself for it.

Water is the most common form of communication. It doesn't take much - a goblet of water would even work in a pinch - and can be done by anyone, if they know the right spell.
For those more connected to water, communication through it does not require spells or incantations. It simply requires a name, and the permission to use it.

Ava's powers, however, are able to do a bit more than most water-bonded witches.

So, when she heard her name - a little tingle at the base of her neck - Ava was instantly at attention.

She could place both the location and caller instantly, and before the message was even up, Ava was shrugging on her cloak and heading outside, the book long forgotten.

Ava could still hear all that was going on - the call had not been ended, which was good. She would need that call to be open in order to go through. The information could be processed at a later date. Right now there was only one thing that mattered.

One spell later, and Ava was smoothly moving from the surface of the pond to in front of Lia, throwing up an impenitrable shield of water, and stopping that wretched man's sword.

"Perhaps," Ava's voice was cold and cutting, "You should watch your tongue, slug," another flick of her wrist, and the sword went flying away.

Ava took advantage of the idiot's shock, and punched him in the face, her fist able to pass through the water easily, where his would not be able to, "Scram, you mumblesome, spineless beggar, before I slay you were you stand."

Ava paused, then turned to look at Lia, "Or I could just kill him now? Up to you - I'd say that's fair."

It took a long moment for Aelia to open her eyes, confused as to why the sword was taking so long to strike her. When she heard Ava's cold voice, her eyes shot open, a bit confused. Aelia didn't quite know much about magic, and had believed that 'calling' Ava hadn't worked. Relief flooded through her as Ava turned the tide of Aelia's potential assassination. Still, they weren't out of the woods yet, quite literally, and Aelia was still quite terrified, plus her head hurt like all hell.

Prince Egan stumbled away from Ava in shock, his eyes wide as her punch sent him sprawling onto the ground. Under his breath, me muttered a quiet, "by the gods, she's a witch!" Nymphs were one thing, especially one like Aelia who had no tree and was weaker because of it, but witches were a completely different enemy to have.

Prince Egan's land had once been entirely controlled by witches before his father had taken an army against them, very few men survived after driving the witches out, and there had only been twelve witches in total. Prince Egan knew he stood no chance against a witch, and that was pretty clear from the way he didn't dare stand up or try to run after his sword. Instead, his wide red eyes hardened into a cold glare directed at Aelia, causing her to cower under his harsh gaze. Ava's words pulled Aelia away from meeting Prince Egan's red eyes, and although she was still shaking like a leaf, her words were steady when she finally shook her head.

"Please do not kill him." Aelia's words caused Prince Egan to release a low chuckle, causing Aelia to turn to face him again, steeling her nerves before she spoke. "Do not misunderstand my words," Aelia's voice was cold, "you were not here to court me, that is quite obvious now, but you still need to be married in order to gain your throne, correct?" Prince Egan glared, his fists clenching, but one glance at the witch standing in front of Aelia made him rethink saying a word.

"I thought so, unfortunately that will not be happening any time soon. I, Princess Aelia Ianira Artem, daughter of his royal majesty High King Vitus Azrail Artem, banish you from the Kingdom of Lynsdor from now till the end of time. You may roam around your land and do what you wish there, but because you will never find a lady of real standing there like your father requires of you in order for you to ascend the throne, your brother will get it instead. I always preferred him to you anyways, now leave, and don't dare return. My father will not be nearly as forgiving as me." Despite being covered in dirt and blood, shaking like a leaf, wearing a torn ball gown, Aelia looked like the princess she was. The princess she'd been trained to be.

Prince Egan's face had turned red with anger, and his eyes almost seemed to glow a little, "I will not be forgetting this you measly little halfblood." With that, Prince Egan was scurrying away, though Aelia could steal feel his eyes on her even after he'd disappeared through the trees. Once he was fully, completely gone, Aelia began to cry, her entire body ached with pain and she was scared. What if he returned? And her guard! Her favorite guard who'd been willing to teach her all about the woods and told her of his adventures outside the walls of the palace, he was dead, and it was quite literally all her fault.

Ava sent the water back where it came, and turned to Lia, hesitating for a moment, then gently placing a hand on Lia's, flipping it to face upward, "Lia?" Ava asked quietly, then caught herself, "I... Uh, I mean.. Princess?" That would take some getting used to, "Did he harm you? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Ava did not bother to ask if Li- Princess Aelia was okay. She clearly wasn't okay. Ava wasn't even sure if she was supposed to be touching, and as she ducked down slightly to meet Princess Aelia's eyes, "You are safe now. I won't let any harm come to you right now. I promise."

A deafening silence roared around the clearing, and for a long moment all Aelia could hear were her own rapid breaths. The warmth of Ava's hand on hers pulled Aelia out of her panic, out of her dizzy head. At first, Ava's voice didn't sound quite there, it was muffled and distorted. Aelia forced herself to focus on Ava's musical, worried voice, and slowly realized what Ava was saying. It only made her cry harder. She was a liar! She had betrayed her only friend's trust by not telling her who she was, who she was destined to become.

Ava's blue eyes suddenly engulfed Aelia's vison, her breaths coming in panting gasps. She collected herself a little as Ava spoke, though her body still shook like a leaf and tears mixed with her blood slid down her face. "I'm sorry Ava, I'm so sorry. Please-please don't call me princess. I-He-" Aelia paused taking in a shaking breath, her normal slightly green skin slowly turning darker, and in the light of the moon she looked more green than normal. "Prince Egan didn't catch up with me until now. This is because I am a fool and rolled down a hill." Aelia's pretty gown fanned out around her, cut and torn and stained red with her blood. Her pretty curls stuck to her face, the blood and tears had dried in a few places, leaving her appearance worse for wear.

"Thank you, I-I...He would've killed me if you hadn't come. I would be dead. I would be dead right now." Aelia's eyes were wide with shock, and her speech was slurred and slower than normal. She didn't speak in the precise, pleasant way she normally did. Her voice was rather weak and faint.

Ava threw away any ideas of formality, and pulled Lia into a tight hug, pressing the other girl's head into her shoulder, "Don't thank me, darlin'. I'll protect you, alright? It's safe now. It's safe," she soothed, one hand rested protectively on the back of Lia's head, and the other secure around her waist.

"What do you want to do right now, darlin'? I'll bring you anywhere you want. I'll take care of you."

Ava understood why Lia didn't tell her about her true identity. It must be hard to always be seen as a princess first, rather than just Lia. She felt no anger towards her at all - rather, it was sympathy, and a fierce wave of protectiveness that Ava didn't know she had.

A smooth feeling rubbed across her ankles, and Ava looked down, even though she knew who it was. Randy was purring loudly, and although she couldn't get too close to Lia herself because of the wide dress, the cat instead rubbed her head against the soiled fabric.