Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Suji and I had been talking about slipping in this scene. >>; ))

"I know what you mean," Ana sighed enviously, "there are so many beautiful places here in the castle even though it seems that I never have the time to really enjoy them."

The two girls were eating breakfast in one of the small dining rooms reserved for the Dragon Knights, the same one Celia and Baran had eaten in the other day. Ana toyed briefly with the food on her plate as she continued talking. It seemed that she had finally made a real friend in the castle.

"Um," she blushed, embarrassed at her directness, "I don't mean to be rude, but I can't help but be curious... I overheard some of the other maids saying you are seeing one of the Dragon Fighters...?"

Ana nodded, obviously curious in spite of herself. "I, uh, well..."

They both sat in awkward silence for a moment while Ana worked out what she wanted to say.

"...How was it?" She blushed deeper. "I'm, I'm kind of... myself. You know," Ana got out, fiddling with the flower on her breast again.

"I... I don't know if he would mind," Ana admitted. Then, shooting a glance towards the closed door leaned in towards Celia. "Liozu," she whispered, the pink spreading up to the roots of her hair and over to her ears. "Now, um, tell me something about Baran!" Ana added quickly to give herself a moment to recover.

"I..." Ana turned her gaze from Celia's face to a spot several inches over and behind her head. "It's strange," she said, her voice almost confused. "I feel... I've dated other people before, before I came to the castle, but this is..." Ana bit her lip lightly, brow furrowed. "I'm not sure how to describe it. I wouldn't say he makes me feel 'warm'. It's like..." she tried anouther route. "Of course I knew who he was since I first came to the castle. I'd seen him around many times. I thought he was cute," she met Celia's eyes and giggled momentarily, "but that was it. In the past few days, however, it's like something has changed..." Ana's voice trailed off, her thoughts uncertain. "I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I'm the one who's changed," she finally concluded with a ghost of her nervous laugh. "I've never felt like this before. It's almost like I'm possessed."

Ana laughed, relaxing. "You think?" She rested both her arms on the table, breakfast pushed to the side and forgotten. "Hm." Ana half-smiled, feeling suddenly oddly clear-headed, as if the world had momentarily sprung into focus. "I don't know... Oh, why not," she giggled, turning pink again. "I don't mind."

"It's all right," Ana laughed, sitting up properly and clapping her hands in delight. "It's all right." She smiled. "I'm happy for you. You know," she mused, "I can't believe we only met today. I feel like I've known you for a long time. I, uh, I don't normally talk to people like this. It's nice." She glanced up at the clock on the wall, then stood. "I'm sorry," Ana started, "I need to get back to work. Can we... meet up again sometime? I'd like to hear more about Baran."

Before Ana had even got out of her chair, though, another maid came up to the table with a grin, handing over the three slender flowers and a note, which would be revealed to read: "What kind of jewellery do you like? Meet me for dinner."

"I don't know what you did to snare him, Ana, but the Earth Knight seems so much more... intense, these days!" Laughing, the maid fled the dining room for her own duties.


Humming in contentment at her quick thinking when she met one of the maids before leaving the castle and unconcernedly having snipped a few flowers from behind a tree (something more of deeper thought should be given later, but one does what one can with what one has), and scribbled down her note. She should spread her coming plan wide, after all.

Laughing, Empress grinned friendlily at the little girl skipping out from the bakery, who froze for a second, eyes darting around as if she was seeing something else, before she giggled shyly, waved, and ran down the street. Indeed, she was getting back into the hang of things. Children were always the trickiest to dupe when it came to her sort of possession, but it seemed she was making good speed in her adjustment to once again living in other people's bodies.

It was, nonetheless, not her preferred way of living.

Smirking openly at the jeweller whose shop she'd just entered, Empress laid her bag of goodies on the wooden surface.

"My good man, I have some rather rare jewels that I need to have worked into several pieces... I hope you will prove satisfactorily in what I want done," Empress purred at the man, keeping her usual disdain out of her voice and posture.

This would, most assuredly, be glorious.