Survival - 1x1 RP

[Catramblish]

A short while after Annis started working, she could overhear a conversation between Cael and a customer, a middle-aged woman by the sound of her voice. Cael smoothly started putting Shaina and Fae's plan into action.
"The royal ball is in a week or so, isn't it?" Cael said conversationally.
"Oh yes! My daughter works as a maid at the castle, and she's ever so excited. Apparently princess Annis was being fitted for a dress yesterday, I wish I could see it! I've only seen her once, but she's such a beautiful girl," the woman responded, the smile obvious in her voice.
"Your daughter must be very happy, then."
"Oh, not at all, the little rat. She just complained about the princess being underdeveloped and having to refit the dress," the woman said, and snorted. "Complaining about an eleven year old being underdeveloped, honestly. I didn't start growing a chest until I was thirteen! Spoiled is what she is. Apparently there's even a rumour going on that the princess is barren!"
"That's horrible. She's still just a young girl, barely more than a child. The pressure on the royals is something else, I suppose," Cael replied disapprovingly.
"Oh, absolutely! When my daughter complained, I told her off immediately, I did. The last thing she needs to do is put more pressure on the poor girl. She's going to be our queen one day, it's not proper to gossip about her like that."
The conversation went on for another few minutes before the woman left.

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis was nearly moved to tears, having to choke them back considerably. She herself had just helped the woman out by finding the jars she needed, and she was very polite. She thought there might be hostility, whether the woman knew who she was or not, but she was doing very well. By the time she heard the conversation, she was sweeping nearby. She was... okay to be like she was? It wasn't bad? This was normal? She felt... almost relief hearing this. And, at the same time, she didn't fault the customer's daughter for thinking what she did. It was the older maids and nobles who were to blame, as they should know better.

[Catramblish]

Noticing Annis' state, Cael smiled gently and moved over to her, bending down so he was face to face with the young girl. "Maybe you're treated harshly in the castle, your highness, but when you move out here among the people, you'll notice that, in fact, you're quite popular. More so than your sister. They wonder about her, but they worry about you. They care, because you're their future ruler. The fact that you have non-human guards is seen as worrisome by many, but a good sign by even more. They believe that it shows you care about the oppressed, about the little people, like themselves. If you were to reveal yourself on the streets, it's possible someone might start crying. You're beloved, your highness, you just don't realize it."

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis nodded, knowing she obviously couldn't show herself right in the middle of the street. She wish she could, but she knew that, even if this crisis wasn't happening, it would still be dangerous. Still, she smiled. "I really can't thank you enough for this opportunity, sir," she said, bowing again. "I don't think I'd have a better idea of what people think if it wasn't for this." She looked to her broom for a moment, thinking about what the woman said, before looking back to Cael. "Do.. a lot of people think me being... me not... able to have, well... yet..." She couldn't quite get the words out, but she finished with, "...is okay?"

[Catramblish]

Cael snorted. "The only ones who care about that are nobles, and they infect the people working under them. If you were thirteen and hadn't had it yet, then people would be worried, but right now? It'll come when it comes, is people's general opinion."
A little bit hesitantly, Cael reached out and ruffled Annis' hair. "You'll do just fine, your highness. My own daughter didn't have her menarche until she was well into twelve years old."

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis smiled sheepishly to Cael, nodding again in gratitude before going back to her job. It was nice to know she had allies in the most unexpected of places.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was towards the end of the day, and by that point, Annis was tuckered out. She hadn't worked much before and, while she liked it, it still made her tired. At the same time, she felt very happy. From everyone that's come in and the subject of the princess heir was brought up, many reactions were appreciative and supportive, with the occasional neutral people or those who were just generally concerned, but for the right reasons. She took those concerns into account, filing them in the back of her mind for later so that, once she was queen, she could address them and people a servant to her people.

She put her last crate back in the back room and walked next to Shaina. "So how was your work for today, Shia?" She really did like the nickname for the girl, despite the different sound. However, it fit in a way. Maybe Shaina would let her call her that from time to time.

[Catramblish]

Shaina looked even more tired than Annis did, but managed to smile to her friend when the princess came. "It's not too different from my days off, honestly. I've come down here to help out a few times. Cael's not a mage, but he knows a lot more about theory than I do," she said, then grimaced and held a hand to her head. "I've had the worst headache all day, though. It just won't go away. My ears have been hurting, too." Shaina absently rubbed one of her ears under her hair. She guessed she was just coming down with a cold, as annoying as that was at the moment.

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis looked to Shaina with concern. She had no idea her best friend had a headache, and would've tried to do something about it, if anything, if she had known. Putting an arm on her shoulder, she smiled saying, "I can promise you a nice hot bath, hot tea of your choice, and a comfy bed to cuddle in with me when we get back. Okay?" She smiled encouragingly, knowing all of this might help her heacahe, but wouldn't necessarily get rid of it. Still, she wanted to help out her best friend and whatever cost.

[Catramblish]

Shaina smiled tiredly at Annis. "That sounds nice, but I don't think I'll bathe for long. I don't want to make things worse if I'm getting a cold, you know," she said, then leaned on her friend sleepily. "I'll definitely be with you the next three days of work. I don't want you to be alone." Shaina smiled gently. She was really proud of Annis for handling all this so well.

However, the next morning Shaina had an incredibly high fever, to the point where she couldn't even get out of bed. When the castle physician was called, he said that there was an actual risk to Shaina's life if the fever continued.

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis refused to move from Shaina's side once she heard the physician's diagnosis. She instead held on to the girl's hand, sitting next to her in bed, and cried. She didn't want Shaina to die or something horrible to happen to her. She wanted her best friend to live. She was the one who introduced her to everyone's kindness, to have her not be able to continue now would just be unbearable. She needed her friends now, more than ever. It was so unfair.

[Catramblish]

"Annis," Shaina said weakly, looking towards her friend blearily. "You need to go work. You have to. I'll be fine, I'm not going to die to something like a fever." She smiled as best she could, then laid her head down on the pillow again, breathing heavily.

Fae was about to object, being just as worried as Annis was, but hesitated. Annis working out in the town was important. Very important.
"Your highness, while it pains me to say it, you being here isn't going to help Shaina. You could give her your ring, the healing one, then I'll go with you and work. We can leave early, but both Shaina and I want you to do this," he said, his tone pained. He didn't want to leave Shaina, and he didn't want to force Annis away, but it was necessary. Annis needed to do this.

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis nodded, knowing that both were right. She stood up and moved to dress in another part of the room, putting on the same as before, before coming back. Before leaving, however, she did think Fae's idea was right. She slipped off her ring and put it on Shaina. The ring itself had special abilities to adapt to any size hand, so Shaina wearing the ring was no problem. "I'll be back before you know it," she said, stroking Shaina's forehead before leaving. It pained her to leave, but... she had a duty to complete.

[Catramblish]

While the second day didn't go as perfectly as the first had, with more people who supported Elise, or outright hated all royals, it still went very well. The shopkeeper was impressed by Annis' work at the end of the day, complimenting her work ethic. 'If we had a queen willing to work as hard as you, we'd be set,' was what she had said. Fae felt very proud for his princess, to the point where he even ruffled her hair, something he usually only did to Shaina due to status.
When they got back to the castle, Shaina's fever hadn't improved. The physician said that since Shaina was stronger than he thought, she'd most likely be fine if the fever would just go down. Fae could only grit his teeth and sit down near the bed, worried sick.

[analyrically_entangled]

Annis felt good about her day, despite the bad comments and even with all the compliments. It wasn't the same for her to not be able to look over and see Shaina there. She worried the entire day, and was relieved to be able to go home. She loved the work, but her best friend, she felt, was more important.

Annis, saw the pain Fae was going through and put a hand on his shoulder, bending down so they could look at each other. "I know you're in pain, but keep your spirits high, my friend. She... she needs us right now." Annis choke on the last part, but knew it was true. She felt just as Fae did inside, but even still, crying in front of Shaina wasn't going to help her. She needed her support. It took Annis the entire day to realize that, and to realize why going to work really was more important.

Annis sat down next to Shaina. "Hey," she started to say, stroking Shaina's hair. "How're you feeling?" As she stroked the girl's hair, she felt something... unusual. On each side of the crown of her head, she felt two... nubs? "Shaina," she said urgently, almost panicking, "Why do you have two.... bumps on your head?" She had no idea how else to describe them.

[Catramblish]

Shaina was barely conscious, she just looked at Annis blearily. "Iunno..." she mumbled sleepily. "M'ears an' butt feel strange too..." Shaina shifted as best she could, mumbling about lying on her back being uncomfortable.