Leanna felt herself smile when she watched the exchange between Misses Grogg and Cole, she gave the kind lady another smile and was determined to keep her promise. She waved goodbye to Cole, "I'll see you tomorrow? Shall we meet at the same place?". Excited by her new appearance she felt safer running through the town and made it home in record time, meeting Marie by the servants entrance and running upstairs before anyone else saw her. Marie followed quickly afterwards, carrying a range of dresses; "Her Highness wanted you to wear the green dress if I remember rightly."
Leanna sighed, the green one made her look older, it was a dark green decorated in gold which always clashed with her hair. "Can we try the blue one on, please? I'll show it to Mother and get her approval" Marie sighed but agreed, hanging it up to straighten it out. Leanna then undressed and Marie helped her wash her hair and body. Wrapped in a very fluffy gown she was waited on while Marie dried her hair and braided it into one large French plait, then decorating it with silver gems. She was then given a small amount of paint to dye her lips with and an even smaller amount to give her cheeks a cute blush. The blue dress was very comfortable, with long sleeves and a full length skirt it really was Leanna's favourite.
It was a dark blue, like the night sky, and the bodice was decorated with silver inlays, all the stitching was in silver and the bottom had a beautiful embroidered pattern. Leanna twirled around and Marie approved, so she popped on a pair of cute shoes and headed downstairs, the King and Queen were talking among the newest Kings Knight and his rally. "Mother!" she said walking up to meet them, the King looked very pleased, but her Mother couldn't hide the disappointment, "Why did you not wear the green dress I asked of you?" Leanna sighed, "This one is much more comfortable, and I think it suits me!" The King laughed, "It certainly does my sweetheart."
"Yeah, it suits a childish girl like you" came another voice from behind her, "Targus!" she yelled, her brother appeared and gave her hug. He was much taller than she remembered. Targus was the eldest of the two and had been in another country for a large portion of his adult life, preparing him for his role as King when the time came. "Father why didn't you say anything?!" The old man chuckled, his wife having a small giggle herself, "There's no harm in a pleasant surprise is there, sweet child?" Targus looked very similar to Leanna, his hair was darker, however and cut very short. Atop his head he a small silver crown, he wore a military stile outfit of dark red and gold and a beautiful sword at his hip.
"Leanna, darling, there's something we wish to give you." he mother said suddenly as a young servants approached with a gold jewellery box, the Queen opened it and presented Leanna with a gorgeous little crown of her own made of silver and diamonds. "Come now, we must all head into town and present our news - don't worry Leanna you need not say anything." They each climbed into a carriage, Leanna sitting tight to her brother, joyful that he was finally home. It didn't take long for the cheers of the people to reach them, and they were escorted to a small platform, raised from the ground for these such occasions. The King took centre stage and waved, enjoying the cheers, "The people of Androa..." he began, "I have many exciting things to tell you..."
The crowd quietened down as he continued to speak; "First of all I am excited to announce we have new opportunities for all ages and all skills here at the castle. We encourage everyone in need to come to our open day as food and shelter is provided." He smiled sweetly and continued, "Secondly I am extremely proud to announce the arrival of my dear Targus! My son, your Prince, has returned from his travels and will be staying for the foreseeable future!" he half turned and gestured to Targus, who took a step forward and bowed before waving. Targus was truly charming and already the gossip rumoured concerning brides and marriage. Targus stepped back and smiled at Leanna, winking at her which made her giggle.
"Finally my precious daughter, Leanna. We are delighted to announce that Leanna will soon be of age where she will be visited by suitors from all countries. Please make sure they are all welcome in our Kingdom." Leanna blushed furiously, looking at her feet, a cough from her Mother told her otherwise and she snapped her head up, smiling and then curtsied, embarrassed by the coy noises the elderly women made. The King gave his closing speech, thanking every single person and then the family made their way home. Leanna got Targus to tell her as much as possible about his travels - about all the countries he visited and the things he learned. IT was incredibly exciting and it made Leanna want to travel - but, rather than on horseback, Leanna wanted to travel on a dragon's back.
She wondered briefly what Cole was up to, and if he was with Dramor and Azurite. She wanted to hurry back, but knew better than that - instead she stuck as close to Targus as possible, asking him more and more about all the wonderful things he got to do. Unfortunately he tales also included the true fear that people had when dragons were mentioned. Targus said how much he had really, really tried to make them see another side to the beasts, but die to constant hunting the local dragons were fearful and angry towards humans. And that made Leanna very, very sad.
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