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Felice stood awkwardly in the castle's rose garden, feeling incredibly out of place in her borrowed silk dress. The morning sun sparkled off the dew-kissed petals, birds chirped annoyingly cheerfully, and somewhere in the distance, a harp was playing.
She was about five seconds away from chewing a hole in her hem from nerves.
"Ughhh… you're taller than I expected," a voice groaned.
Felice turned, startled. A girl her age stood a few steps away in a dramatically ruffled gown and combat boots—yes, combat boots. Her crown sat crooked on her head like it had been there since birth and she was tired of its drama. She had sharp features, bright green eyes, and a deadpan expression.
"I'm Princess Liora," the girl said. "I'm supposed to… entertain you or something."
Felice blinked. "Hi?"
The princess raised an eyebrow. "Are you always this tense or is it just a 'secretly powerful hybrid runaway' thing?"
Felice narrowed her eyes. "…you know?"
"Oh, please. This castle gossips faster than enchanted ravens. My mom cried over you for a whole ten minutes yesterday, and now you're family. So, yeah, I know."
Felice didn't know how to respond to that, so she went with a classic: "Oh."
Princess Liora rolled her eyes. "Relax. I'm not here to assassinate you, if that's what you're thinking. I'm actually just bored. You look like you could use a sarcastic best friend."
That… was not what Felice expected.
But somehow, the next hour passed in a blur of laughter, spilled tea, and snarky commentary about court nobles. Liora introduced Felice to her secret stash of moonberry cookies and taught her how to swear in Elvish.
By the end of their second pot of tea, Felice was wheezing from laughter as Liora recounted the time she turned a stuck-up suitor's cape into a swarm of frogs.
"I like you," Liora said suddenly, licking jam off her thumb. "You don't bow. Or pretend. You've got trauma, a sword, and freaky glowy eyes. That's princess material to me."
Felice laughed softly. "I like you too. You're weird."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," Liora smirked.
And just like that, something healed inside Felice—a tiny, cracked piece of her that had long forgotten what it felt like to have a friend.
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