Stolen Time: The Bells of Prison

Once again, Edelgard awoke at dawn and ran through her morning routine with Juliane. As they sat brushing Edelgard's hair out, Juliane spoke. "While I do trust Hubert to keep you safe, it doesn't mean I'm not nervous about letting you go out into the city. It's your first time essentially by yourself... It's so incredibly nerve wracking to have you go out like this. Plus, Ueli's a falconer, not a warrior... I've known him for years and he really doesn't know the first thing about combat. Tobias always at least had some shadow guards with him when he went into the city with you. But with Hubert's father having turned against us, I can't convince him to send any with you." She heard Juliane sigh. Yeah, she was used to those guards shadowing her and her family everywhere they'd gone, at least before the Insurrection. There were some loyal to the individual members of the royal family, but most of them listened to Hubert's father. "I trust Hubert with everything that I am." She really did. He was as loyal as a vassal could get, really. She couldn't imagine life without him and she didn't want to. Even being apart from him for small errands was really difficult especially now. He was one of her best friends and really one of the only people that wasn't blood family that was in her close circle. She hadn't really met any other noble children during her childhood that she'd befriended... For the most part, she was kept to her family since that was generally seen as 'enough' for the Imperial princess who wasn't in line to take over the throne. "I know, but it's just hard without our shadow guards being loyal to us.. I still can't believe that Hubert's father is such a traitor." Juliane shook her head and Edelgard sighed. Yeah, she couldn't either... Hubert was her vassal despite everything... She'd had older siblings in that age range, yet he'd basically been given to her for some reason. Again, she would not trade him for anything in the world. She'd just always thought it was odd that he was basically given to her instead of one of her older siblings, considering the age gap between them. Still... She really did care about him and she couldn't imagine him being loyal to anybody but her. They finished up with their morning routine and she greeted Hubert as she left the room. They grabbed her meals from the kitchen, then headed down to the combat arena where she boredly went through her combat lessons. She honestly wasn't too fond of them, but they got her active. They weren't the droll needlework she'd been subjected to as a child. She missed her mother dearly, but she didn't really miss how strict Anselma had been... She liked being active, but Anselma had tried to teach her to be a 'proper lady' to some degree. She had never been 'proper lady' material, much to Ansemla's consternation. She was a good child, but she had always been a bit on the energetic side... Thankfully, that had been managed through getting her playing with her siblings and doing things like horseback riding lessons. They headed down to Ueli's house and he gave them a small wave. "Well good morning, Edelgard, Hubert. Are you ready to head down to the city?" Edelgard nodded. "Yeah." She still felt empty and hollow from having seen her siblings be the way they were. Everything felt awful. It was hard to be excited about much of anything even if the idea of potentially getting a puppy should've been incredibly exciting for most people. Though... Juliane hadn't said anything about her ending up with a dog one way or the other. She was glad... She didn't know much about animals, but she did enjoy being around them. Though that enjoyment was hard to muster up right at the moment. "We've already had the royal stablehands get some horses ready for us. I'm aware you have your own horse, but I figured it prudent to keep things as swift as possible. We can head down to the royal stables and pick up our mounts there." Hubert offered a half bow to Ueli which made his eyebrows shoot up. "So I'll get to ride one of them fancy royal horses? Never expected that. But I won't complain." Ueli grinned and turned around. "Annika, Helen, be back in a while!" "Okay, dear!" She heard Helen's voice from deeper in the house in the general location of the workshop where Edelgard's furniture lessons were held. What about the two younger ones? Oh well, it probably wasn't too important in the end. They might very well be outside playing, or getting their own lessons on stuff like furniture. They were at the right age where they could start learning. They looked between six and eight so it was a prime time to start teaching them about how to construct furniture. Their minds would still be easily moldable even if it wasn't the most fun activity for a child to learn. With that done, they headed out of the house and Ueli smiled at Edelgard. "Have you ever been out into the city, little lady?" She nodded. "Yes. Toby used to take me when I was little." An arrow pierced her heart at the memory. She would never get to have that again... She couldn't remember if he'd taken her out into the city in the small gap of time between her returning from Fhirdiad and the start of the Crest experiments or not. She knew she had journals from that period, but she hadn't checked them in so long... All she knew was that there had been a few months where she'd had time with her family again before everything went to complete and utter hell. "It wasn't a lot, but it was enough that I know a couple places in the city..." She just hoped she could remember where Erma's store was. Enbarr was a massive, sprawling city with over a thousand years of history. Trying to remember the location of one shop in the massive city would be difficult. She looked at Hubert. "Do you know where Erma's shop is?" She wasn't sure how well he'd know the city or not. He had had ample time away from her while she'd been in Fhirdiad, then while she'd been locked away underneath the palace. He didn't really go with them when Tobias had snuck her out of the castle to go down there. But maybe he would have learned where they frequented from one of Tobias' shadow guards or something… "Do you mean Sparrow Chocolates? If so, then yes. The best way to go will be to hit it on the way back. It'll be quite out of the way of the residential area where we're going. We'll have to make a wide loop through the city in order to hit both the breeder's home as well as Erma's shop. I already have the route planned out, Lady Edelgard." Hubert was always on top of everything. Apparently, he'd spent the time apart learning the city pretty much inside and out. Not that she was too terribly surprised by it. He needed to know the city in order to do his job effectively, so yeah, this really was simply expected of him. Maybe she could convince Mother Juliane to let her down into the city more often since Hubert knew it so well... She would appreciate being able to take excursions by herself. Juliane had given her a little bit of pocket money to buy some chocolates, so she wouldn't complain too much. "Thank you, Hubert. I really do appreciate everything you do for me." She sincerely could not express her gratitude enough. It was part of his job, but he still went well above and beyond what he needed to a lot of the time. They probably could've just grabbed a guard but he'd learned the city inside and out most likely just for her sake. He had figured out her favorite chocolate shop and how to get there. It was an i nsane amount of effort just to make her happy... He really was the best vassal that she could ever have gotten. She couldn't imagine someone more loyal or willing to stretch himself just to see her smile. Hubert dipped his head and they made their way to the royal stables where three horses had been saddled up and were waiting for them. Edelgard felt a little bit of heat rise in her cheeks since she was more or less riding a pony instead of a normal horse. It was incredibly difficult for her to get up on a normal horse due to her height. She could use a mounting block, but it was just easier when the pony was much lower to the ground. It was a type of haflinger so it was quite noticeable when compared to the high breeding of the other two horses. She glanced at Ueli but he didn't really give anything away. He simply tipped his hat to her. "Whatever you need, Your Highness." She was momentarily confused why he was calling her that, but they were in the presence of others. It was one thing when they were in the secluded corner of the castle grounds where nobody was liable to bother them. Few people had business with the royal falconer outside of the royal family. He got to live life as he wished as long as he didn't raise a hand against the royal family. As long as he retained his loyalty and did his job, not much was said to or against him, or at least so she figured. Once they were all mounted, she nodded to Ueli. "Lead the way." She had no idea where they were going. The city was such a large, sprawling morass she might never really learn how to get anywhere in it. Normally, she'd just hop in a carriage rather than ride on a horse herself. But, in this case, it was probably for the best. It'd help keep her more concealed than if they were to take a royal carriage. Still, if this breeder had worked with the royal family before, then she would probably be expecting a carriage instead of the heir apparent to ride up on a haflinger. She wasn't really sure if the breeder had had any dealings with the royal family directly before. She looked at Ueli. "How do you usually deal with getting dogs for the members of the royal family?" That...was probably a good question to ask, honestly. It sounded like he was the one to train them instead of the royal family themselves. Then again, it wasn't like he had any real duties outside of taking care of the birds and ensuring they were cared for. He would know how to best train the dogs for falconry rather than the royal kennel keepers. "Usually the family just tells me what they're looking for in a dog, then I go track down a breeder. I have a couple I work with in the city cuz they're specifically for falconry. The royal family only uses a few breeds for falconry, so they deal indirectly with your family. Most of 'em ain't never met a member directly, though; it almost always goes through me since I know who best to ask. So this'll be a first for Kinge. The family usually goes for pointers over all other breeds, so this won't be too out of the ordinary for her." Edelgard nodded. That did seem fair, she supposed. Ueli probably had to be an expert on both dogs and birds in order to be able to pair them well. Same with horses. "Will I need a specifically trained falconry horse or can I still ride Anni?" Another good question. "Eh, I'll have to train her up a bit since she ain't used to working with eagles. Or a red tail in your case for the time being. Once you're more used to Romy, we can start doing that. But you need to get used to raptor body language and such before we can rely on her. I don't trust a bird on a new person without major training first." "Okay. That makes sense." Every person was different, so learning to work with a bird of prey would be different for every individual. Especially when one knew nothing as she did. She hoped that she would learn to work with Romy quickly especially since she was already feeding off the fist. She really, really wanted to have Evelin for this hunting season, but she would probably be hunting with Romy instead. The bird wasn't bad, but she wasn't Evelin . Evelin had been trapped for two years and deserved to fly free again after so long. "I mean I could probably do it myself when you're working with Helen, but I doubt your little pony could support my weight. I mean no offense, Your Highness, but you are small. I really don't think Anni would be able to support me. You would need to ride her since you're the appropriate size." Edelgard did feel some heat enter her cheeks at his observation. But it was true. She was only 4'11" flat footed and about ninety pounds. She needed to put on at least another ten to twenty pounds before the doctors would really consider her any sort of healthy. She was at least gaining muscle mass due to her combat classes, but she still had barely any fat reserves… "I mean... You're right." She wasn’t an imposing figure in the slightest. Even Juliane was significantly taller than her at 5'5" and she wasn't imposing. But people always thought Juliane was much taller due to her reputation. She was unflinching in even the worst of situations and could handle a golden eagle despite her size. Katinka had been taller at 5'9" and quite the imposing figure. Nobody had really dared to cross her because she was kind of ruthless. Still, despite everything, she had chosen to flee during the Insurrection and had left her children behind... She hoped that she could convince Katinka to come back once she became Empress. Ueli scratched under his chin. "Well... I guess we could do some exercises with Anni if you wanted. I'd just want to put Romy on a creance before we did anything. You'd just have to hold your arm out and act like a perch while you sit on Anni. But we'd still need to get those two to spend more time together. I just don't trust you with Romy yet since you don't know anything about raptor body language or instinct." Edelgard nodded. "Entirely fair. What's a creance, though?" There were so many falconry terms that she was unfamiliar with. She was learning at a good clip, she felt like, thanks to Helen's various lessons with her, but they hadn't covered the term creance though. There was so much to learn. It was practically another language. "Basically a safety line. You connect it to a bird's jesses to keep it from flying off and losing it. You have bells, of course, but they're no good if a bird is high in the sky or just gone entirely. Romy's used to horses, but seeing a different sort of horse might throw her off. Birds can be mighty strange when it comes to change. I can put about any hat on around her, but I have a specific red hat that she don't like. For some reason, it makes her freak out. I can wear any hat around but that one. So she might not like Anni if worse comes to worst." Edelgard frowned at that. She was used to riding Anni as she had been with the horse since childhood. She had been relatively average height for a child, but the Crest experiments had done something to her body to essentially stop her from growing too much. She wasn't sure what it was, but it meant she could stay on Anni probably until the horse got too old and she had to retire. "I hope that isn't the case. Normal horses are hard for me to mount." Again, mounting blocks were a thing that she could use, but they could still be short as far as she went. She'd tried taller horses a couple times since leaving Juliane's room, but she just didn't get along with the others height wise. She needed a step to get up onto the mounting block in the first place, then even getting her leg over could be hard. She hated being so short. She couldn't even reach the second shelf in Helen's kitchen. It was frustrating and embarrassing to not be able to do things that normal people did. She would hate the chefs to see her in the royal kitchens like that . She could only imagine the talk that would happen if she were to attempt to cook in the royal kitchens and not be able to reach a cupboard. "Well, we'll see if we can't get Anni used to Romy and the eagles then. I'll work with her while you're with Helen during the day. I know you'd probably rather be a part of it, but I know how to train horses regardless of size. Okay? I won't get on her since I'd be too heavy. But I can at least get her used to seeing the bird flying and such." Ueli turned around and smiled at her before returning his attention back to the main road. They approached the main gate and it opened for them, letting them access the city. It didn't take too long for the city to open up to them like a flower opening its petals. Buildings of all shapes and sizes lined the streets while people walked and rode along the roads. She saw horses of every color and some people even rode donkeys. She had never really been up close and personal with a donkey before, but they were considered beneath her... Anni wasn't necessarily of super high breeding, but she was of higher breeding than most of the horses they were passing on the streets. She had still come from the breeder who handled the royal horses some way outside of Enbar Returning to the conversation, she did nod. "I would rather help out, but I understand that my education is important. I don't want to slack on learning furniture." Again, she'd mostly leave the making of it to Ueli, Helen, and Annika. She would never get enough practice in to be proficient at it especially once she did start going to court... She really needed to buckle down and start going because her time as Empress crept closer with each passing day. There was no set date, but her father wasn't in a great place from what she heard. She had heard more than enough rumors from servants that his health was failing him. So she might become Empress sooner than she liked. And she didn't want to be unprepared. She was honestly scared to take over… "Well, if you don't want to work with Helen one day, just let me know and we'll grab Romy and Anni then work with them, okay?" She could hear the smile in his voice which managed to make her crack a small one herself. He was a jovial man. He took pride in his work and obviously loved it with every fiber of his being. She was lucky to have such a great man as her teacher. She really still felt overwhelmed by everything, but he seemed to be able to make her feel better even at her worst. Helen was a good woman too. She wasn't sure what to make of Annika, but she hoped the girl was like her parents. She just didn't value herself which was depressing... Her parents obviously loved and adored her so very much. But that wasn't really her battle to fight. That definitely belonged to Helen and Ueli… "Okay. I'm looking forward to it." She managed another smile despite herself. Yeah, she was looking forward to getting Anni up to par for falconry. She really needed to buckle down and learn about it more... But today had a needed diversion too. They really did need to get her a dog if she was going to be mores effective with the sport. She had honestly never really been around dogs before... She had seen Tobias interact with his on the hunting expedition, but she really hadn't interacted with dogs before. All she knew about them was that they were 'man's best friend' even if it was was never really explained why. And if she hadn't been around dogs before, she had never been around cats . She didn't know the first thing about them. She did look around as they went through the streets, most people paying them no heed. Hubert, though, kept glancing around every so often, no doubt keeping an eye out for any potential harm coming her way. She sat between him and Ueli, Ueli in front and Hubert in back. In some regards, it was kind of strange to not have people acknowledging them as members of the royal family. People always fell over Tobias whenever he'd gone into the city with her. Now, nobody recognised her... But it had also been years since she'd last been out as well as her having changed. She wasn't sure if even Erma would recognise her...which was saddening. Hopefully the woman would believe that it was her... She hadn't seen Edelgard probably since she'd been a little girl. Eventually, they made their way through the city center and found themselves in the residential areas. Edelgard frowned. It was pretty muddy, the streets weren't paved,wild dogs and cats wandered the streets, and trash lined the muddy streets filled with horse dung. How did anybody live like this? It was disgusting. How could her father not care that these people were living in such squalor?Surely past emperors and empresses had cared about their subjects. She did. How could the royal family not care about their subjects? Without them, they wouldn't make money or even have food if not for their work toiling in the fields. Without Ueli, the family wouldn't have their eagles to hunt with. This....was really upsetting to see. They tied their horses to hitching posts and Edelgard made a face while they walked through the unpaved streets. She would definitely have to invest in making this part of the city better once she ascended the throne. Even the Seven wouldn't be able to stop her. She wouldn't allow anybody to stop her once she ascended. The power ought to stay with the royal family and not the random nobles that had stripped her father of her power. She had never seen anything quite this disgusting before. Ueli knocked on the door of a house. "Just a minute!" came from inside and a bedraggled woman answered the door a couple of minutes later. She had puffy, frizzy red hair tied underneath a scarf, no doubt to keep it in place. "Ueli! Come in! I can't say I was expecting you but you're always welcome here." The woman beamed at him before turning her attention to Edelgard and Hubert. "Who're these two?" "The reason I'm here. Let's go inside and talk." Ueli rushed the woman along with Edelgard and Hubert into the house, swiftly shutting the door behind him. "This is Edelgard, heir apparent to the throne. She's starting to get into falconry and I was wondering if you had any pups available or if you were planning to breed any pups soon. She's gonna need a good falconry dog for the upcoming season. For now, I'll have her hunting with Romy but if things go well...she'll be flying an eagle too." He seemed to not want to say which eagle. Which she couldn't blame him for. She really didn't want to reveal that she was flying her brother's mad eagle. Hopefully she'd be able to get the bird out of her frenzied state in the next few months so that way she'd be flying free again. The woman's eyes widened as she focused on Edelgard. "T-The Emperor's daughter?!" She dropped to her knees. "Forgive me for not paying you the proper respect, Your Highness! I didn't know!" Edelgard shifted uneasily and glanced away a bit. "It's okay, ma'am. You didn't know. I know most people expect Toby... Did you ever hear the news about my siblings?" She wasn't sure how much had been revealed to the public about the royal family's situation. Obviously, her father wouldn't want people to target her, but he couldn't exactly lie about who the heir apparent was either. The people really deserved to know who was going to be their next monarch. She didn't want to put too much on this woman either... If anybody knew too much about Edelgard, her life might be forfeit at some point to assassins or something... She was pretty sure Hubert took care of a lot of people like that, but she could never be sure due to how little he shared with her a lot of the time. "All that was announced to us a few months ago was that most of the royal children had passed away and one of the Emperor's daughters would be taking over. It was never made public which daughter." Edelgard nodded at that. She supposed that made sense. It would be much harder to have assassins be sent to her should her identity not be known. She was only thirteen, soon to be fourteen. She wasn't really strong enough to be able to fight for herself should something happen. She did have Hubert which she was grateful for. She didn't know what she would do without him. "I see. Well, if you could keep this quiet, I would appreciate it." She really would. She didn't need assassins coming after her. She was already mentally, emotionally, and physically drained from the literal torture she'd been put through. She was definitely recovering, but she... Well, after two days ago, she really had a lot more recovery to do. She had thought she was okay, but now after seeing her siblings, she definitely was not . "O-Of course, Your Highness. My lips are sealed." The woman looked panicked at the mere thought of Edelgard even saying something. Ueli offered the woman his hand. "Now, Kinge, do you have any puppies or are you planning on breeding at any point soon? Edelgard could use a pup soon." Kinge took Ueli's hand and stood up, then tried to smooth out her dress. "Yes, I actually have some eight and ten-week-old pups that are perfect to go now. Do you have the money to pay?" Edelgard got in her small coin purse that Juliane had given her. "How much do you need?" It was full of gold, silver, and bronze pieces. "They're expensive at six silver pieces." Edelgard picked out six silver pieces and offered them to Kinge. "Here you go." For her, even about six or seven gold pieces was relatively small pocket change. She was royal, so money really didn't have much meaning to her. She had mostly silver pieces right now, but she also had a fair few bronze ones too. It would be more than enough to cover just about anything she saw in the city. If worse came to absolute worst somehow, she had ten gold pieces if they had to be broken. She really didn't know why Kinge was saying that was so expensive when she was so used to having gold pieces. Kinge's eyes widened and she took the silver pieces in her hands gingerly. "Well, come out to the back yard and we'll see about which puppy will be the best fit for you. A good breeder will be able to match a puppy's personality to their handler's." They headed out to the back yard where there were several large, fenced-in areas with puppies and older dogs running about. They were mostly brown with mottled white coats and white chests. They were very pretty dogs and she smiled a bit as she approached them. Kinge then began to ask her a series of questions, some of which were pretty uncomfortable and deeply personal. She found herself practically in tears by the end of it and Hubert wrapped an arm around Edelgard. "You would do well to keep that information to yourself. Do I make myself clear?" His tone was extremely cool and she saw Kinge pale considerably. "Y-Yes, sir." There really was no telling what somebody with information like that might do to a member of the royal family. Or even sell that information off to be used for less than ideal things. She really felt like Kinge had overstepped some bounds, but Hubert hadn't stopped her. If he felt like it was going too far, he definitely would've stopped her. But apparently even he could see what she was getting at. Edelgard just didn't like talking like that... Part of her wanted to curl back up with Juliane as soon as she got back to the castle, but she knew she couldn't. Kinge went over to one of the pens and got in there, looking at the different dogs. She scooped up one of the puppies then picked it up and brought it out. It looked fairly sleepy and she offered the puppy to Edelgard. "I think Gerhard would be good for you. He's a fairly easy going dog and is keen to learn. He's keen to pick up on things and can already do things that a lot of the other puppies are struggling with. He'll need in-depth training, of course, but Ueli can handle that. I ain't seen a dog he's trained that ain't top notch." She smiled at Edelgard who nodded and took Gerhard. He was warm in a way she didn't expect and, despite herself, she smiled and held him close. She was quite sleepy, but she didn't mind. "It'll be a good match, I think," Ueli chimed in. "You always know what's best, Kinge. These Adrestian wirehair pointers are some of the best damn falconry dogs in the nation. You never fail to impress me." He smiled at Kinge who returned the gesture. "Now, Edelgard, I'll need to keep him with me for a while. Training at this young age is critical. I know you have the royal kennels and some of your siblings probably have their dogs there... We might wanna check them after we get back to the castle. Having an experienced dog to teach a new puppy is always great." She nodded at Ueli's words. Honestly, she hadn't thought about that. Yeah, most of her older siblings had hunted, so they would have their own dogs in the royal kennels. She was pretty sure Tobias' dog would still be there and that dog would probably know how to hunt with Evelin... Maybe the dog would even remind Evelin of being in the field somehow. It was worth a shot, or at least so she thought. She really wanted to see the eagle fly free again and she'd use whatever was at her disposal to do just that. "Anyway, we'll be on our way, Kinge. Thank you kindly for your time." He raised his hat to the woman who nodded. "It was good to see you again, Ueli. We should get together for drinks sometime soon." She smiled warmly at him and Edelgard rested against Hubert with Gerhard in her arms. What must it be like to have people to meet up with like that? She'd never really had any friends outside of her siblings and Hubert before. She didn't know what it was like to interact with people in her own age group. Even Hubert was three years older than her and lived in a world that would never be her own. Even Annika seemed older than she was and she probably had a ton of friends. She felt so entirely alone in the world. Ueli turned to Edelgard and took Gerhard into his arms. "I'll carry him while we ride. Then you can go visit your chocolate shop, okay?" "Okay." Her voice was quiet. Even with Hubert, she once again felt the crushing sense of loneliness that had risen a few days ago. She would never have her family back and Hubert lived entirely in another world from her. He was her friend for certain, but he had so many secrets that he kept from her that she really didn't know if he considered them close or not... Honestly, she wasn't sure if he considered her anything other than his liege. She really hoped that wasn't the case... She really did need him. He offered her support when Juliane wasn't able to give it to her and was constantly in her shadow. She really did hope that he saw her as more than his ruler. They left the house and Hubert took the lead in their little chain of horses. Of course, he kept a close eye out for them as they left the residential area and headed back into the main city center toward the shopping district. It didn't take too long for warm scents from bakeries to start drifting around and Edelgard picked up a little bit. She now remembered Tobias taking her into a specific bakery for lovely, warm sweets and other things. Honestly, it'd been so long since she'd had major sweets like that she almost couldn't remember what they tasted like. She remembered brownies, muffins, cupcakes, cakes, and other things. She just wished she could remember which bakery Tobias had taken her to. Though maybe… She looked at Hubert, even if it was from the back. "Hey, Hubert, did you ever learn which bakery Tobias took me to a lot?" Somehow he'd managed to track down the chocolatier that she loved so much. If she could remember that bakery, she'd give them some business today. Or if he knew. She had been too young to really care about trying to find her way around the city. All she could remember was being extremely excited to go out into the city. She didn't remember street names or even important landmarks. All she knew were the faces of the people of the places that Tobias had frequently taken her to. Hubert turned to speak to her for a moment. "Ah, yes, Lord Tobias' favorite bakery was Dripping Drizzles. Would you like to make a small detour there? It's not too far away from Sparrow Chocolates." He held steady on the reins, trying to keep his horse on track. Edelgard looked over her shoulder at Ueli. "Would you mind if we made another small detour?" She didn't want to delay them too much, but it just sounded nice... Now that she was really thinking about it, stocking up on sweets was sounding lovely. She had had a couple of small desserts since being freed, but she hadn't had anything major or consistently. She might have to rectify that by visiting the royal bakers. They would know how to make top-notch sweets. Plus, they did have the royal chocolatier. To her, the royal wasn't as good as Erma's sweets, but if she wanted something, it would quickly take care of her craving in a way without having to spend an hour on a horse one way. "It ain't too far out of the way so I don't mind." Ueli smiled at her and she turned back to Hubert. "Okay! Lead the way, Hubert!" She smiled, actually excited for this. She hadn't had anything substantially sweet in so long that it was sounding really, *really* good right now. She was really glad Ueli was so willing to accommodate her. She hadn't been out in the city in so long. She wished she could spend the day exploring, but they really needed to get Gerhar back to the house. Maybe one day she could forego her lessons and come down to the city. She wouldn't mind learning it a little bit better. Of course, she could always send Hubert or some servant down to the city to fetch things for her, but she did like getting out. Juliae would at least be willing to let her go out if she had Hubert with her, though she might need a few shadow guards with her if she wanted to go out by herself.   They veered off the main road to a side road and eventually reached a small bakery called Dripping Drizzles. All sorts of sweets sat displayed in the window, making Edelgard smile despite herself. She could still feel the aching loneliness of everything, but it was hard to not be excited when she was going to somewhere she hadn't been in so long. She could remember Rochus being a kind man that took pride in his craft. He had been up in age during the last visit she could remember... She hoped he hadn't retired yet or anything of the like…   She dismounted and Hubert followed her inside the shop, the little bell tinkling as they entered. A man that wouldn't look out of place in a mercenary band stood behind the counter, his back turned. However, he did turn around and looked at them. "Welcome to Dripping Drizzles. I'm Rochus. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask." The man smiled warmly at them though some of the light in his eyes did fade as he looked at Hubert. Pretty much everyone was intimidated by him, so she wasn't too surprised.   "Rochus! It's me, El!" She went to the counter and smiled up at him. She knew it was probably hard to believe when her hair was different... Plus, she had grown up a bit in the years since she could last remember seeing him. She still remembered him clearly being a kind, warm man that truly cared about the people around him. He and Tobias had been close at one point. Tobias had still fairly compensated the man for whatever he bought.   Rochus looked at Edelgard through squinted eyes. "You look a fair bit different if that is you. Your hair--"   She nodded and sighed. "Yeah... I know. I don't want to talk about it though." She just really didn't. Hopefully he could understand. "I know it was brown when you saw me when I was little." It was just so incredibly traumatic to remember how and why her hair was changed to white. Plus, she didn't want to start disclosing the Crest experiments to random people. Plus, the less people that knew about the weakening of the Imperial line, the better. Who knew what would happen if the serfs and peasants knew the line had been weakened to essentially just a couple members? Anyway, why don't you pick out some stuff to take with you? It's been a long time since I've last seen you or that older brother of yours. How's he doing?" Rochus had a legitimate smile on his face, obviously trying to ignore Hubert's presence. Edelgard's smile vanished completely and she looked down and away. "Something bad happen to him?"       "Yes. I'll leave it there." She couldn't go about spreading the fact she was heir apparent to every peasant that had been important in her life. It was one thing when the person had a business relationship with the Imperial family like Kinge did. Rochus didn't, though. Yes, sometimes he sold things to Tobias and her, but that was a far cry from having a direct business relationship with the royal family on a consistent basis. They had just occasionally bought things from him for a fair price. "He won't be coming around anymore." Once again, her heart constricted in her chest. Saying it more just made it more and more apparent how true this reality was. She absolutely hated it. She wanted her old life back where Anselma could care for her along with all the other mothers… “Sad to hear. Lord Tobias was a good young man. Always paid me fair prices. Now, why don't you tell me what you want?" He motioned to behind the counter to where all the baked goods were displayed. She made her order which was probably more than she should've had... She wasn't sure if Juliane would be happy with her bringing so many sweets back... But she would share them with the woman if she wanted any. She'd just have to finish them in a couple days if not. Yeah, she was definitely going overboard, but it'd just been so long since she'd had anything like this… She paid the man for his wares and stuck the sweets in the bag she'd brought with her. She had anticipated going out into town, so she had brought something to carry her wares with her. It wasn't big, just large enough to hold some small items. Which was perfect for stopping at the bakery and chocolate shop. "Thanks, Rochus." She managed a small smile at him despite herself. She was glad to know he was still in business. She'd have to come down here again sometime soon. "Go on and get back to whatever you need to do, little lady. Have a good day, Your Highness." Rochus smiled at her and she bade him farewell. The scene at Sparrow Chocolates played out much the same with Erma not initially recognising her but she managed to convince the woman. After she was done in the chocolate shop, she hopped on her horse again and they headed back up toward the palace. She popped a chocolate in her mouth and smiled again despite the reminders that her older brother was never coming back. She really didn't have a huge sweet tooth, all things considered, but with her life so empty of sweets, it felt like one of the best things she'd ever tasted. And it was almost *too* sweet. She'd grown used to eating relatively small, kind of bland meals. The cooks were more worried about getting weight on her than anything else, so the meals weren't too elaborate. As long as they got something into her, they considered it success as did Juliane. So her meals had been bland, much like how Helen cooked. She should get back to eating more spiced meals... The sweetness of the milk chocolate was almost too much to handle. She did look at Hubert after she'd eaten it. "Do you think you can run these back up to my room after we get back?" She wasn't sure if she'd trust any old servant with a sack of sweets. All of it had cost her the equivalent to a silver piece, so she didn't want to risk any of it going missing. She knew she could trust Hubert to get it back to Juliane's room without incident. Hubert inclined his head to her and nodded. "Of course, my lady." "Thanks." She truly did appreciate everything he did for her... He could be cold and ruthless toward people, but he was always so kind and caring toward her. She sincerely hoped that he didn't just see her as his liege. It would hurt beyond measure if that was the only way he viewed their relationship... With that, they fell relatively silent again as they headed back up to the castle. They passed through the main gate and headed back to the royal barns. Hubert made his way off while Edelgard followed Ueli back to the falconry quarters.  She heard a clock chime in the background and counted the bongs. It was three now. She...really needed to eat again since she was past due. "I'm gonna go eat. What do you think I should do after that?" She could quickly feel her mood starting to slide away again and her expression was falling as well. She wasn't sure if she was going to be up to tidbitting or not. It was so hard to focus on much with the overwhelming sense of loss that she'd experienced the other day. She sincerely did not understand how Juliane retained her kindness and her sanity. Losing so many children had clearly had a negative effect on her father. She couldn't imagine what Karola and Augusta were going through either. She hadn't really had a chance to speak with them since their time was dominated by making sure the other three were cared for. "Maybe you should just stick with Helen today. You're obviously not in a great mood right now." If he could tell by looking at her face, that wasn't really great. She really was trying to not be able to be read, but it was hard. Then again, did she really need to hide her emotions when around Ueli and Helen? They were kind and didn't seem like the type that would use anything against the royal family. Then again, if they did attempt anything against the Imperial line, they would be out of a job. He seemed like a fine falconer, so she really hoped that would never come to pass. "Okay." She had been active so she kind of didn't feel like doing too much right now. With that, they headed inside and Helen started teaching her about furniture again. It was a little hard to focus today because she felt so alone and isolated. But she did her absolute best to keep her attention on the woman. Helen had seemed to sense something was off, so she was a little quieter, a little slower, and overall just more gentle in general. She really was glad that Ueli and Helen were so accommodating to her. They were legitimately kind and warm and the world could use more people like them. Once she became Empress, she would have to do something for them. They deserved a bit more than everything they had now. They obviously had a comfortable life, but even so... Commoners tended to not have much so she wanted to do something especially for them for their great service to the crown. She really did need to get to know Annika better, though... They would be working together in due time. But Annika seemed to be reticent to even being in Edelgard's presence if it wasn't dinner... Even then, she seemed so reluctant to say anything. This was going to be a headache to try to figure out. The rest of the day passed by relatively quickly and quietly for Edelgard while she learned under Helen. She knew she would probably never use this information but she just wanted to know it... Knowing how to maintain equipment at the very least would be important. Plus, if something happened and she needed to make jesses or something because one had snapped or gotten snagged and needed to be cut... Yeah, knowing how to do these things was important. Of course making a hood in the field wouldn't really work as those required molds, but it was still nice to know how to make them. After they finished up, Helen put a hand on Edelgard's head and she looked up at the woman. "Feelin' any better than yesterday? Think you'll be able to handle some meat tonight?" "I can try." She wasn't sure what she was feeling. After having eaten the chocolate, her mood had dropped significantly and she just felt rather numb. She really didn't feel anything at all. It was strange to feel like this when she couldn't remember anything like it in the memories she did have. She was usually fairly happy and chipper. Of course, Anselma punished her sometimes and that left her feeling down, but this was different than that. She felt down afterward. Now, she was numb. It just didn't feel like much of anything. She really didn't know how to describe it. "If not, just let me know and I can handle it." Helen smiled and Edelgard gave a small nod. She just... She didn't know how to put this to words. She followed Helen into the kitchen where she was put through her paces again. She could feel that her cuts were getting a teensy bit better than before but she was still awkward and uneven with the knife. She could only imagine how nobles would look down on this sort of cooking... They were used to beautiful dishes that were as much a feast for the eyes as they were the body and even soul sometimes. This didn't take any time to look pretty. And it was pretty bland compared to some of the fancy dinners she'd had during high events as a child. But it was hearty and filling (even if she only ate a small amount at any given time). Yes, it was bland but it had its own unique flavor. She didn't mind it terribly since she couldn't really handle heavy seasoning any right now. Most of her meals were light on spice and flavor in general. It was just far too easy for something to upset her stomach and put her off food for the rest of the day. So she really didn't mind this much simpler, commoner cooking. Oh right... She did need to ask Juliane if she could get a raise for them because of their kindness… After the quail had been butchered and broken apart, Helen handed Edelgard some of the breast meat and had her cut it. Her stomach did churn a little bit, but it wasn't enough that she'd been turned off from eating entirely. Helen smiled at her. "There you go. That's a good girl, Edelgard." Eelgard managed a small, fragile smile in return. She was doing her absolute best to make sure everything was okay and that she wouldn't wretch up all of her other meals. She really wanted to not make it seem like she was being unkind or ungrateful to Helen and Ueli. They had opened their home to Edelgard when she could have possibly found some sort of fault with them that might have made them lose their place. Then again, replacing Ueli with a falconer just as good would be difficult... Not many falconers were knowledgeable about eagles in the way Ueli and Helen were… They sat the table and settled down at the table, Edelgard glancing at Annika. The older girl looked a bit unnerved and didn't meet her eye. Yeah, she did have good reason to be nervous around a member of the Imperial family... But she really had nothing against Ueli and Helen. She had nothing against Annika. She wanted to get to know her legitimately. But she really wasn't sure how to do that... Annika seemed like a nervous, flighty horse. One wrong move and she'd run away, far into the pasture where she'd be difficult to get to approach again. She really had no idea how she was supposed to handle trying to get to know her. "So you got your own puppy, huh?" Helen asked. Edelgard glanced at the woman and nodded. "Yeah. Kinge...did kind of put me through the wringer to figure out which puppy would be best for me." She really hoped that the woman would never use that information against her. It was extremely sensitive and could easily be used against the royal family if it got out. But Hubert had made his point clear, she felt, but he generally did that. By this point, he really knew how to intimidate people through and through. It was really clear he would follow through on his threats if he ever learned the person stepped too far out of line. Part of her kinda wondered how many people he'd already made disappear but at the same time...knowing that would also possibly upset her. "Ah, yeah, she does that whenever we have to get a new dog. But she knows her dogs through and through and her matches are rarely ever bad." Helen smiled at her gently. "Ueli needs to run to the royal kennels after dinner, so he'll be heading back with you." "I've never been to the royal kennels before. Could I go with you?" She looked at Ueli. If that was where Gerhard was going to be staying once he was trained, it'd be pertinent to know where the kennels were. She'd want to visit him sometimes whenever she could. Though, in due time, she would need to start attending court... She was the last child of House Hresvelg. Yes, Eckhart, Alina, and Tobias were alive, but they were hardly living. Tobias' once thick-set, muscular arms were now mere twigs. Alina wasn't in much better shape. She hadn't paid too much attention to Eckhart as Tobias had been the main focus of her attention. But she doubted he was in any better shape... She was slowly putting on some muscle and fat, but it was hard for her to put on too much with as suppressed as her appetite was. Had the slitherers done something to her to make her not want to eat? The thought made her frown but she put it to the side. "Sure you can. I'm gonna go get Lord Walther's dog. That dog was one of the best damn ones I ever did train. Not to say that Lord Tobias' or even His Majesty's dogs aren't fine but... Aloisia was just one of the snappiest, most responsive dogs I ever did train." Ueli stroked his stubbly chin and Edelgard tilted her head. She wondered what was so special about Aloisia. But maybe she would find out once they got in the field. She wondered why she couldn't just use one of her siblings' dogs... It was kind of callous, but they were dead . It wasn't like somebody in the grave needed a falconry dog... But, then again, maybe it was best to train a puppy. She would learn the dog's behavior and the dog would become molded to her as well... Maybe it was just for the best. She didn't know. Ueli would know best. "What makes her so special?" Hopefully it wasn't rude to ask that. She just really wanted to learn whatever she could. And if she could learn about falconry dogs too, that would be good. "Dunno. She's just hypersensitive to basically everything around her. She picks up on the slightest change in the environment around her. I hope Gerhard is like her, but I ain't never seen a dog like that in the time I've been a falconer. She's truly once in a lifetime." Edelgard nodded. She really didn't know about dogs. Aloisia sounds really special. She hoped that Gerhard wouldn't be a bad match for her while they were out in the field... They did have months until the falconry season was upon them. It would give him time to grow and learn from Aloisia as well as Ueli and maybe even Helen. She seemed like a stay at home mother, though. She wondered if Helen went out into the field or not... It was a good question. "I can't wait to get Gerhard trained up then." Yeah, she was looking forward to her first falconry season. It was going to be a good time. Well, assuming, she could learn to dispatch prey. That was going to be her biggest issue... She could rely on Ueli as he said that her father and Juliane did but she'd really just rather handle things herself. She had managed to handle the quail breast without too much issue tonight, so she hoped that she was on the way to being able to help with evening feedings. "I'll see what he's like here in the next few days. But you can spend time with him too. He's technically your dog, so you ought to get to know him. You won't be providing him care, of course, but he's still yours. Unless you want to keep him in your room with you." Honestly...part of her wouldn't mind that. She didn't know anything about dogs, but a part of her wouldn't mind keeping him close. She felt lonely even with Hubert around a lot of the time. The royal wing just felt so empty without all of her siblings and mothers around. She'd felt the absence of the women upon returning from Fhirdiad, but now... She could really feel the absence of her siblings. It was so quiet. The wing had once hummed with energy, but now it felt like a ghost town. "I wouldn't mind that..." Assuming Juliane was okay with it. But still, Ueli would keep him for a little while during training. She wouldn't be averse to taking him once Ueli was thoroughly done training him. She wished she could have somebody with her all the time... Well. Hubert was there, but sometimes she forgot he was there because he was so quiet. He was good at blending into the shadows. That was great for his job and what he did, but it left her feeling a little lonely at times. She just really wished she could keep someone else close at all times that was a little bit more present. "I'll be training him for the next few weeks pretty intensively, but once I've laid the groundwork for him, I'll work with him when you're with Helen. Though I will be gone for at least a week pretty soon here to lay the groundwork of field work with him." Oh... She hadn't realised he would be gone. She felt her shoulders drop a little bit. She was already pretty fond of Ueli and the thought of him being gone was sad. She understood, but it really didn't stop the feeling from being there. But getting him into the field would be incredibly important to make sure he could actually do his job. And she wouldn't have Gerhard there either... Yeah, it was going to be a sad week for her. Ueli placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry too much, Your Highness. Helen's a fine teacher. She didn't start off as a falconer, but she's developed into a fine one. She can help you in the week that I'm gone. I trust her wholeheartedly to treat you kindly." She looked up at him and he smiled warmly. She gave a small nod. Helen hadn't started out as a falconer? She guessed she shouldn't be too surprised, but it was hard to imagine the woman not working with birds and doing furniture. She was so knowledgeable in what she did. She was glad that Helen would be an apt teacher while Ueli was gone. She wasn't as close to the woman as she was Ueli, but that week might change that. They had plenty of one-on-one time, but it was entirely focused on lessons and not much else. She hoped she could learn from the woman about falconry as well as she did Ueli. "Okay." Yeah, it was gonna be weird to not learn about the birds from him but she wouldn't be a picky student. Well... She could be a picky student. She basically could choose whatever teachers she wanted. If she didn't click with somebody, then she just went to Juliane and told the woman that the teacher wasn't good with her. She'd gone through a lot of teachers over the years. Anselma hadn't been fond of that policy, but she had told her father and he'd had other teachers replaced. Her father had spoiled her so much when she'd been younger, but now, she hadn't seen him in three months... She really hoped that she would be able to see him again soon, but Juliane hadn't promised anything. She really missed him... And he was in court or his room all the time, so it wasn't like she could approach him directly. They walked the rest of the way in silence and they approached a building set off the side of the castle. It had houses of all sorts, gated in. It looked sort of like Kinge's setup, but it was a lot cleaner and there were a lot more dogs. Ueli approached a man and struck up a conversation with him for a while until the man went to one of the small fenced-in-areas and came back with a dog on a leash. Ueli tipped his hat to the man then looked at Edelgard. "This is Aloisia,Your Highness." The dog sat and looked calm, not having any excitement. She just looked placidly up at Edelgard, her brown eyes showing a great deal of thought and intelligence to them, much like she saw in Evelin. She knelt down and looked up at Ueli. "How do I interact with her?" She had never been around a dog before unless one counted the distance from which she'd observed Tobias' dog those years ago on the hunting excursion. She really had no idea what she was doing when it came to interacting with animals. Even the birds of prey were so far outside of her comfort zone. "Just hold your hand out to her and let it sniff it." He smiled at her and she nodded, then did just that. The dog sniffed her hand and continued to look at her placidly, though her tail wagged a little bit. "Go ahead and pet her, Your Highness." She timidly reached up and petted the dog's head. She remained relatively unmoving, though Edelgard did jump a little bit when the dog's jaws opened. In a yawn. It wasn't an aggressive motion, just her yawning. "I hope I can be a little more open around dogs..." She was honestly kind of scared. She'd heard that dogs could attack people and maul or even kill them. Aloisia didn't seem like the type, but nobody could fully predict an animal's behaviors. Each animal had their own unique personality and mental profile. Plus, each breed of dog had a different temperament, at least as far as she'd heard. She knew she'd have to work with Gerhard at some point, but she really was just so uncomfortable around animals that weren't Anni. She'd been riding the horse since she'd been a little girl and felt comfortable with her. But dogs and birds of prey... She was so uncomfortable with them as of yet. She was trying, but she just didn't know how to approach these unknown mental profiles. At least Romy and Aloisia seemed pretty calm… "It'll be okay, Your Highness. Aloisia is a really calm girl. She'll make a good beginning partner for you. Plus, she should hopefully let you see how good dogs can be. She's sharp as a whip and knows a ton of commands through both hand signals and verbal confirmation." He knelt down in front of Aloisia and held his hand out. She put her paw in it and they seemed to shake hands. Then he held his hand vertically and she raised up to seemingly high five. Edelgard stared. She never knew dogs could do anything like that. Then again, she hadn't really known what all dogs were capable of. She hadn't been focused too much on how Tobias had interacted with his dog during the hunting expedition. She really had no idea what she was stepping into with these animals… "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, Your Highness. I'll take Aloisia home and get Gerhard's training underway. Until then." He tipped his hat to Edelgard and Hubert and then turned and left. She watched him go, Aloisia padding next to him. She snapped out of it a minute later and looked up at Hubert. "We should head back to our rooms." He gave a nod, then she looked around. She had no idea where she was in relation to the royal wing. "Help, please?" "Of course, my lady." Hubert bowed and then started to lead them back to the main part of the castle. She at least remembered where she was once they got to the main hall. It was a relief to be back on familiar territory. She headed back to the royal wing and parted ways with Hubert once they approached their normal spot. She made the short way back to Juliane's room where the Empress awaited. "Oh, El, I was getting a little worried. You're a bit later than normal. Is everything okay?" Juliane was already dressed in her night clothes, though dusk was starting to fall. It was around eight thirty now, so it made sense. She had probably already had her bath... Then again, Juliane was usually pretty good at waiting for Edelgar to get back. She was just considerably later than normal. She got back no later than seven thirty the past several days… "Sorry to worry you, Mother Juliane. Yes, everything's fine. Ueli took me to the royal kennels. It was much further from the main castle than I thought. He went to go pick up Aloisia to help train Gerhard, my new puppy. Did you already take your bath?" Honestly, she enjoyed the ritual of bathing nightly with the Empress and her brushing her hair out. If she had missed it, she could understand. It was getting late, so it was getting dark. They would need to use candles if they wanted to bathe this late in the day… "No, I waited for you to get back. I just got comfortable." Juliane smiled and Edelgard managed a small one in return. Juliane was such a kind woman. She really didn't know what she'd do without her. She may very well have lost her mind like her last three remaining siblings had. She still couldn't get the image of Toias out of her mind. His soft, distant voice rang in her head... She would probably *never* forget that. Even for all of her memory issues, she could sometimes remember things. And that would probably be forever burned into her memory. It was just one of the things that she could feel would never fade into the fuzzy ether of her mind. She nodded and they went through their normal routine, though dark had fully fallen by time they got out of the bath. Juliane dried Edelgard's hair and they sat by the light of the lanterns and candles as Juliane brushed Edelgard's hair out. "So how was it getting out into town again? I know it's our first time in a long time." Despite everything, Juliane's tone was soft and light, telling that she was glad Edelgard had gotten away. "It was nice. I wouldn't mind spending more time down there if you'd let me. Just making an excursion down there every so often would be a nice change of pace." She really had welcomed the change of pace. The past three months had simply been nothing but the inside of the castle. Plus, she hadn't been able to pick out anything she'd liked... She didn't make visits down to the royal chocolatier because she simply wasn't fond of the man himself. He thought children were annoying and that the Imperial children were all entitled. She knew she was privileged but she tried not to treat people any differently to each other than she would... It was just so hard to go down and find sweets when he was looming over her like she was going to steal something. "Maybe we can make a day out of it sometime, you, me, Hubert, and some guards. How does that sound?" She glanced over her shoulder at Juliae, then smiled and nodded. That sounded really nice. She and Tobias had gone down sometimes for a few hours here and there, but she'd never had an entire day down in the city. Plus, she could pick up more sweets from the bakeries she'd visited today. She always liked to go pick up some things... Plus, she could have them for snacks through the day. That sounded really good to her. "Okay. Just let me know when you want to do it. I know it'll take a few days of finagling your schedule to do so. It'll also let me give the head's up to Ueli." She didn't want to leave the man high and dry without any notice she wasn't going to be there for a day. He was giving her so much of his time, and the same was true of Helen. Oh, right. "Do you think you could give Helen and Ueli a raise for what they're doing?" They were feeding two nobles which was taking extra money out of their pockets. She didn't want them to have to worry about not having enough money to feed their own family…  "Hm? Oh, I can do that... An extra gold piece per month would probably go a long way for them." Edelgard smiled and hummed softly. She was glad it wasn't that hard to get Juliane to agree. The man was so kind and Helen was so willing to give. She didn't want to see them suffer because of her. Of course, one gold piece was mere pocket change to her, but she did understand that a lot of peasants would never see more than a silver piece in their lives. So to know Helen and Ueli would get what they deserved was nice. With that, they fell silent until Juliane finished brushing Edelgard's hair out, then they blew out all the lanterns and candles around the room. Edelgard tucked against Juilane, her mind tricking her into thinking she heard the skittering of the rats in the corners. But she buried her face in the Empress' shoulder and slowly fell asleep, her breaths soft, low, and even.