Lilli grabbed Adder's hands cheerfully.
"I have an idea! Today, we should go shopping."
"Eh?!" Adder exclaimed.
"Well, your birthday is coming up, so I thought we could go out and buy stuff we like!" She beamed.
"Uh, sure I guess? Wait- "we"?" He raised an eyebrow with silliness.
Lilli fidgeted a bit. She grabbed the edge of her dress and twirled side to side ,"Well…" She said, putting her finger up to her mouth," I might have wanted to get a couple things, maybe a present or two for you." She winked.
Adder grabbed her by the wrist and started to walk quickly, making her trip a bit. "Let's go then!"
"Ah! Wait, I have to get ready!" Lilli cried. Everyone knows you never take indoor clothes outside, even though Lilli did wish the whole world could see this adorable blue dress of hers.
Adder pffd, and then laughed, his crimson eyes scrunched up happily. " Etiquette always makes things so much harder. The sun might be down by the time you've got all your underwear, skirts, lace and all that other frilly stuff!"
Lilli was suddenly reminded of how much of a child the Prince was. She felt a bit annoyed. " You wouldn't understannd! Getting ready is half the fun." She chuckled.
It was true, at least for her. Even in her days as an assassin, she always put on what meager makeup she could find, and always picked her favorite brown or grey shade for her clothes. It was one of the little joys she could hardly find in that life.
"Alright! Whaddya think?" Showing off her new apricot dress, matching parasol, and adorable brown boots, Lilli looked at Adder and Rosie expectantly. She even glanced at Delaney, and gave him a cheeky wink.
Adder just stood dumb and turned red like a tomato. Rosie was too focused on making sure she had everything she would need for the shopping trip.
"You look lovely, my Lady, you look like my favorite fruit, an Apricot." Delaney said, his voice barely sounding happy at all. He was usually monotone like that, so Lilli took the compliment with glee.
"I never knew you liked Apricots, Sir Delaney. You look like you wouldn't like sweet things at all." Adder said, clearly trying to draw his attention away from Lilli. Lilli thought this was strange, and frowned, but said nothing. " I mean, I thought Nekomi couldn't even taste "sweet", just like real cats.
"Young master! Nekomi are hardly like cats at all! Don't make strange assumptions!" Said Rosie angrily.
Delaney's face appeared to twitch a little, and he laughed unexpectedly. " It's fine, it's really fine haha." He wiped a tear from his eye," Actually, he's right, for the most part, Nekomi can't taste "sweet" really. But for some reason, I've always been able to. My siblings used to tease me for it, actually…they called me "Dela the human". I used to get quite worked up about it—not that there's anything wrong with being human of course." He smiled sheepishly.
Rosie stared a bit, blankly. She looked like one of Lilli's old dolls, with their thousand yard stare. Then she smiled, in a fashion that seemed mischievous. The corners of her eyes and mouth perked, making for an almost devilish smile. "Delaney! I don't think I've heard you talk so much before, or express so much emotion. You're usually like a shadow or a background character, y'know?"
"Erhm…" He suddenly looked like he had shrunk back into his shell. He assumed a more neutral expression, eyelids drooping. He feigned disinterest and began to survey the area silently.
"I think it's great!" She got really close to his face, and he staggered back a bit. " You always look a bit uncomfortable like that— you are aware it's ok to want attention sometimes, right? You look like you belong in the spotlight anyway, now that I look at you, you're pretty handsome. Hm…Like, super handsome, actually. Such a beauty is a shame to hide." She chuckled. Rosie outstretched her arms to motion towards the street. "Behold, the gorgeous Sir Delaney!"
Some murmuring came from the street people as they looked on. "Nobility and their servants always have a screw loose," Lilli thought she heard one of them say. Lilli pulled her parasol close to make her face hidden. Should I execute whoever said that? No, Rosie is being weird.
Delaney pulled Rosie's arms down gently. " Thank you. Thank you very much. But try not to make such a scene…" His face looked like it would spasm, a tight smile gathering from his lips, vein bulging on his forehead. He must've really hated being the center of attention like that.
"Why haven't I heard you speak very much before Sir Delaney?" Asked Adder, who had slowly gravitated towards Rosie, and grabbed her arm and hid under the umbrella's shadow. It seems he, too, was getting a little nervous from the watching eyes at every corner.
"Well that's—" Delaney looked into the distance, and Lilli was sure he was probably looking at something in particular, far away. "I want to live a life I won't regret, because…" He glanced at Lilli. " You never know when you will lose it."
"Wow, so profound. I might just start crushing on you Sir Delaney." Rosie giggled.
"Rosie is so bold. It's almost scary," Lilli thought with a little chuckle.
Delaney had a weird expression, then turned to the road. "We've dawdled for long enough. Let's get on with our tasks." Then he assumed a more "professional and knightly" expression. Lilli gave him a pat on the arm.
. . .
"Oh my! It's the young Prince Adder! And his friend, the little Lady of Ionis Karst! What a pleasure to have you!" A broad-shouldered shop owner beamed, as Adder, Lili and the group entered, the door chiming with a bell noise. "What is your business at my shop? It isn't exactly a place I would expect some folks like you to be."
"Is there something wrong with that?" Lili said, her voice carrying authority.
The shop owner snapped straight. He seemed confident before, but now he stammered," O-Of course not! Such illustrious customers are most welcome! My apologies!"
Lilli just smiled reassuringly,"It's fine, now I suppose I should explain the purpose of our visit. You make and sell armor, yes?"
"That's right."
"How long does it take?" Lili looked at him seriously.
"Depends a lot. Priority, pay, materials…" He trailed off. "It can take months and I even had one order take two years." He scratched his big black beard. "What is it you need exactly, and its purpose?"
Lilli hesitated. What should she tell him? Lilli wanted Adder to have some protection from the dragon that would inevitably come crashing into his quickly approaching birthday party. But she couldn't say that, so what could she say?
"His Highness the prince wishes to have some extra protection against any assassins or hostile peoples when his party comes. It only makes sense, as he is making a public appearance for the first time, and could be targeted, naturally."Lilli said matter-of-factly. " Adder's mother has been a source of dissatisfaction, and people believe her to be weak and unsuited for her role. And thus, they see her only offspring being eliminated as something that would force Duke Dane to remarry. Then all the nobility would try to get someone they could control, and use to their advantage to fill the role," Lilli thought with a grim smirk. "Obviously assasination isn't the reason i'm doing this, but it's what this shopkeeper will think." Lilli would just let him think about it.
"Um, Lilli? Are you really serious? Isn't this a little too far? The guards will be working hard. Plus armor will be hard to dance in…" Adder tugged on Lilli's shoulder a bit. She turned and grabbed his hand, gripping it fiercely.
"Trust me on this Adder, please. I don't want to lose you." Not again, anyways.
Adder's gaze drifted to the floor. "I don't understand, Lilli, you've been acting strange!"Normally, you could've just asked to play with me in the garden. It's like—It's like you're a different person! It's scary…" He looked up, his gaze desperate.
Lilli was stunned. She was very used to the way she was, who she had become after what she had been through. She didn't think about anyone finding this strange, because it was normal to her. But now, she realized she practically was a different person than what he knew. It only made sense that he would be confused when she suddenly worrying over him like a child, when she too, was a child. Lilli dropped her hands to the sides of her skirt and gripped the fabric, and took deep breaths in and out. Lilli wanted to restart with Adder, and to help him grow up happily. She didn't want him to worry one bit. Especially on his first day out with her since her death.
She turned to the shopkeeper. "I've decided we'll hold this business later. I'll contact you."
The shopkeeper looked a bit puzzled, then nodded slightly. "Yes, Lady Lilli, I suppose I'll be seeing you."
"Yes." Lilli then grinned and grabbed Adder by the hand with intense energy. "Let's go, Prince Adder!"
Then the group went from shop to shop, stopping to look at all sorts of things, from dresses and gems, to swords and toys. They held fast to each other's hands the whole way. After a while, the clock struck noon, with a jubilant ringing of the bells in the great clock tower at the far end of the market.
"Lady Lilli, Look there." Adder was pointing, his voice steady and warm. He pulled her close from her arm.
"Hm?" Lilli was confused, Adder suddenly felt a bit different. More sincere. She looked to where he was pointing and saw a unique little shop, with all sorts of bows, necklaces and gems. But unlike most accessory or jewelry stores, every single thing was red or pink.
"Ooh how cute! It's very themed. I bet couples visit a lot," Rosie said enthusiastically.
"Couples?" Delaney asked quietly.
"I mean, red and pink are such romantic colors. Red is like a heart, and pink is— well, it's cute! So, Master Adder, did you want to get the beautiful and adorable Lady Lilli something from there?" Her voice was sincere, but had a hint of teasing.
Prince Adder didn't seem to notice. "I do!" He squeaked, his cheeks bright red.
"!" Lilli covered a smile with her hand. She figured Adder liked her at this age, but now she really saw it. She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter a bit. It was nice to know that they had felt this way about each other for so long. I feel a bit weird around him because of that, though… After all, Lilli was 28 years old, mentally. He was still very much a child to her. Sigh.She would try her best to act like she would've, for his sake. Lilli gave Adder a big hug.
"You're going to get me something?! Kyaa! I'm so happy!" Lilli's hands moved and she started tickling him.
"Hey!" Prince Adder was hardly able to get a word in between giggles "Stop it! Heyyyy! Haha!"
"I'm just sooo glad I have someone as thoughtful as you! Hehe!"
"C'mon! Let's go already!"Adder pouted. "AH! STAHPPPP! Hehehehe! It tickles too-much-ahahaha!"
"Pfft."
"Don't laugh, sir Delaney! It's not funny!" Adder cried.
"Alright you two, break it up. We can't be here all day. It's already getting late." Rosie said, voice still full of cheer.
Lilli gave her a smirk "Who says, huh?"
"Alright you little-"