The rest of Flora's week consisted mostly of taking care of the bird in the aviary. She would wake up early to go and nurse the bird back to health, leave for lunch, and return again to feed her medicine one of the keepers had made up. Although only the boy, Pell, had said anything about devotion of time and resources, Flora could tell the keepers also felt the same way. She had really hoped that Pell didn't get in trouble for telling her the truth. As far as Flora knew, he might have gotten a slap on the wrist for allowing someone not on their staff to take care of one of the phoenixes.
Dellon, after Prince Andrei was nowhere to be seen, had taking to treating Flora quite coldly. He rarely ever addressed her unless she asked him a question or for a task to be done. She had the suspicion that Dellon was the only one of the three keepers that knew who she actually was since anyone that had talked to her had always addressed her as 'my lady'. Flora couldn't complain though; it was nice being a tad bit anonymous. The way the Leostan royals had talked down on her didn't seem to be a fringe opinion of those in power here. Flora feared that many of the citizens looked down on or even hated Pranians, but she wasn't much to talk since she had opinions of her own about the Leostans.
Thankfully, by the end of the week, the bird was doing much better than before. She was now moving about her cage and chirping more. The bird seemed to have an aversion to the keepers in which she would always hesitate before one of them handled her. This wasn't surprising to Flora, since one of them had slammed her wing in the door. She was still on the look out to see who had been so cruel, but had found no clues as of yet. At least the bird didn't seem to dislike Pell, because Flora found him quite endearing. He was a young boy that was eager to prove himself, wanting to be a full-fledged keeper soon. Flora also enjoyed the fact that it was easy to fluster him, since it was very cute to see him squirm.
With the bird feeling much better, Flora decided that it might be time to get some fresh air with her. She borrowed a guarder from the supplies and fastened it to her arm and up her shoulder so the bird would have something to hold onto. Before Flora opened the cage, she looked firmly into the birds eyes and asked, "if I take you out, will you promise not to use your hurt wing?" For some reason, it felt like the bird told her that she promised to stay still. Maybe the prince was right and there actually was something to be said about her spiritual abilities and the phoenixes.
Opening the cage slowly, Flora held out a leathered arm for the bird to hop onto. To Flora's surprise, she didn't even wait to climb out of the cage and onto Flora's shoulder. Feeling the bird's weight on her, she fully realized just how large these animals were, making the act of holding them on a raised arm alone all the more impressive. Even if she were a female, this bird still was larger than any of the birds back in Prana.
Flora felt a tickle on her neck as she moved across the room. Turning her head slightly, Flora saw that the bird was now softly nuzzling her neck with its beak. As she passed the door down into the staircase, Flora giggled, "you must have really hated being cooped up like that." A small peep sounded in response. "Don't worry, one of the keepers told me that you should be able to fly again in two weeks." A louder, more confident chirp sounded after that. "I can't wait to see you up in the sky, and I'll make sure that you don't get treated like that again."
Entering a nearby courtyard, Flora had to squint against the midmorning sun. The bird must have had to also, considering she ducked her head behind Flora's. She had been in a relatively dark room compared to this for the past week with no out, so it was not all that strange. The courtyard was large enough that they could walk around for a bit without looping around too much.
About ten minutes into their outdoor walk, a male figure approached Flora from where they had come. She was prepared for one of the keepers to get cross with her, but he wasn't someone she recognized from the aviary. In fact, the man was dressed in sturdy, but refined clothing. He had a familiar air about him, but Flora couldn't quite put her thumb on it until he was square in front of her. Those bright blue eyes and midnight black hair were unmistakably Leostan royal traits. Flora bowed as deeply as possible while still keeping the bird on her shoulder. "Good morning your highness."
Prince Osip studied Flora and her bird, a grim expression plastering his face. The prince barely looked like either of his brothers. His face was narrow and gaunt, nothing like the broad features of his older and younger brothers. It looked as if the man hadn't had a good night's rest in a long while. Still staring down Flora, he grunted, "good morning."
The lack of any honorifics was obvious, but Flora was going to continue as if nothing was wrong. "It's a lovely day out, isn't it your highness?" She was straining to create polite small talk, something in which she had never been too skilled with. He only stared at her with his sunken eyes flicking from her to the bird. When he didn't respond to her question, Flora tried again, "what brings you here your highness?" She gave him a soft smile to encourage him to either talk or leave.
Completely ignoring the question, Prince Osip questioned her, "why do you have a phoenix?" It wasn't as if his tone was sharp, because it was quite dull, but Flora got the impression that he was not pleased. Flora was getting used to the Usoros's attitude towards her anyway.
"Ah, you see your highness, she was injured a week ago and hasn't been outside since, so I thought it would be nice to get her some fresh air and sunlight." Flora reached up and gave the bird's neck a little scratch to confirm.
Prince Osip's mouth frowned as he demanded in a flat voice, "what makes you think you have the right to touch one of our phoenixes?"
Even with his unmoving face, Flora flinched backwards from the prince's words. Why was he so upset that she was helping a wounded bird? "I'm sorry your highness if I offended you, but she called out to me for help, so I couldn't just leave her." Prince Osip again just glared, his frown still in place. Flora knew that the Leostans considered these birds sacred, but if that was the case, then why would there be a problem with her taking care of one? "I am not the kind of person to ignore a soul in need your highness."
"You think that she called out to you?" His eyes subtly narrowed in on the bird. Flora nodded, but didn't speak. The way that the prince stood there almost perfectly still unnerved her. What was the deal with this man? "That is strange, however, Andrei did mention that you possessed spiritual abilities."
Shit. She had wondered if Prince Andrei had ran to tell his father about her abilities after the cocktail party. How much did they know? Oh gods, what if they knew everything about her ability? Flora could feel the color draining from her face as her mind reeled. How should she respond in a situation like this? Were the Usoros planning something? Wait, Flora told herself, there is no point in speculating. Despite the heavy feeling in her gut, she tried to play it off in a jovial manner. "Yes, I have found I understand her feelings a bit." Flora couldn't panic every time she thought someone was out to get her. She was on a mission, and she needed to stay focused.
"Andrei did say you had that type of magic, but you obviously didn't know how to utilize it properly." Prince Osip looked her up and down, still as death. If he were to ever sound as if he were mocking someone, Flora assumed his next words were it. "It's not surprising that a Pranian couldn't control their powers. I bet you don't even know what it is you can do." Then, making Flora's blood curl, Prince Osip's lips curled back into a wicked smile revealing his crooked teeth. "This is interesting."
Not knowing yet again in this conversation how to respond, Flora just smiled politely and replied, "yes your highness, unfortunately I am not that skilled in the use of magic." Better for her to appear as the demure maiden, unthreatening to the crown. At least the prince confirmed that he didn't know the extent of Flora's powers. Hopefully no one else in the Leostan royal family was privy to any of her skills.
"Naturally," Prince Osip had returned his expression to that of sullen neutrality. "I request that you come to my dining area tomorrow around dinner. I want to know more about my younger brother's fiancé."
He said it so matter of factly, that Flora couldn't decline. "It would be an honor your highness." A familiar sense of dread fell upon her as she smiled yet again at him. She didn't know if she could survive another conversation with the prince, but there was an opportunity there. Flora bowed as Prince Osip left the courtyard, not another word spoken by him. As the door into the palace closed shut, Flora looked to the bird, and could have swore there was a look of solidarity in her eyes.