It wasn't all that long before she was in the stall, Danzing turning his head to watch her as she stroked his neck, continuing to speak softly. He made no move to bite her, or show that he was unhappy, even the opposite. "Rhydar? Where could I find a brush?"
He went over to grab another one, then came up to the stall. He kept a close eye on Danzing while he handed the brush to Lily. "Here you go, milady," he said. A curious creature, Kaspa stretched out his neck to sniff the other stallion. Stallions were usually kept apart due to aggressiveness, but Kaspa was pretty submissive for a stallion, so he usually didn't have problems with others.
"Thanks you. Though, really, just call me Lily." She shook her head, flashing him a smile before setting to work brushing Danzing. The stallion eyed Kaspa, but a word from Lily seemed to soothe any uneasiness, and he instead stayed still, huffing at Kaspa.
Rhydar chuckled and gently pushed Kaspa's head away from Danzing. "C'mon boy. Let's get you in your stall." The stallion huffed, but let himself be led into the empty stall. He flicked his tail at Rhydar as he closed the door. "Pff." The prince scrunched up his nose and swatted at the horse's tail. "Brat," he said.
Lily pressed a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter at the two, shaking her head. It startled her, the level of comfort she was feeling with another person in the vicinity, let alone a man, but it was…nice. A nice change from the usual fear, and wariness.
Despite the attack, Rhydar grabbed a special bag of treats and dumped three of them on his palm. He put the bag back and held his hand out for Kaspa. The stallion nickered and eagerly gobbled up the treats, then nudged Rhydar's face affectionately. Rhydar chuckled and stroked the horse's face and patted his cheek.
"How long have you two known each other?" Lily asked, voice still soft to keep from startling Danzing. The way she asked the question was more the way someone would ask about humans, not animals, but it sort of fit her general personality.
"As I said earlier, I raised Kaspa. He's around 5 right now." Rhydar patted the horse's neck and leaned against the stall door to look at Lily as he spoke to her. "So five years, give or take a few months." He silently marveled at how calm Danzing was, as well as how easily she seemed to have bonded with the horse.
Lily nodded, a small and slightly wistful smile playing on her lips as she kept her focus on Danzing. "That's quite a while. Explains how you two are so close." She wrapped up the grooming, as the stallion began to get a bit fidgety. She'd made progress, more than expected, but he'd still have some issues. She did too. Slipping back out of the stall, she gave him one last scratch behind the ears.
Rhydar smiled at Lily, then remembered there was a ball to attend. "Ah, we best be going," he said, pushing off of the stall door. "Well, at least I have to be going. There's a ball to attend." He rolled his eyes. "Just another excuse for me to be passed around like some kind of marvelous teddy bear."
"Better to get it over with than prolong the torture." Lily pointed out with a smile, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear. "And then you can run right back here. I should probably get going as well, because I'm afraid your sister might try to kill me if I don't show up."
He nodded seriously. "I don't doubt that for a second. I know she'll chew my head off for bailing." He slipped away with a friendly wave, disappearing into the palace.
Cinthia paced her room, muttering to herself in a plethora of different languages, as if that would calm her nerves. I sorta did, but not enough. Just like Rhydar, she hated balls. She hated any party, to be exact. Too many people, too many chances of being touched. And then there was the matter of the missing brother. She'd flay him alive if he abandoned her to skip out on the ball.
Her skirts rustled with each turn she made, her bare feet soundlessly padding over the tiled hall floors. She and her twin had covered their eyes with light gray colored contacts, so they needn't worry about people pointing out their "flaw." She had also managed to coax her hair into letting her style it. The right side of her hair was braided into cornrows, the braids blending into her still tightly curled hair. Silver bands and other jewelry spiced up the hairstyle, having been braided into her hair during the agonizing process of styling her hair. She never let anyone touch her hair, as it was so stubborn and just impossible. Wolf sometimes compared her hair to a toddler throwing a tantrum. The sad part was she couldn't even deny it. The rest of her hair spilled over her shoulders and curled around her upper arms, while some strands fell into her face.
Lily was quick to make her way through the halls, carefully avoiding having to stop and talk to other people. She'd have to build up a bit of resolve if she wanted to make it through the ball. Her knocking on Cinthia's door faltered as a thought hit her. Would she be forced to dance with people? It would be rude to turn anyone down, but she wasn't sure she could handle that much contact, with no chance to break. Gods, this is going to end so badly.
"Come in," Cinthia called, still pacing her room. She didn't know nor did she care who it was at the door. If it was a servant—oh well. If it was her brother—didn't matter. If it was Lily—she didn't give two shits. She was dressed, it's fine. Who cares if a supposedly prim and proper princess is freaking out before a ball dedicated to her big brother?
Lily carefully pushed the door open, frowning at Cinthia's obvious anxiety. "Are-are you alright?" She asked quietly, forcing herself to take another step into the room despite the urge to immediately cower and leave. It would have been so much easier in the long run, but she found herself somewhat worried.
Cinthia stopped and looked up. "Oh, Lily. Hi." she ran her fingers through the part of her hair that wasn't braided. "Yeah, I'm alright. Just don't like parties. Too many people." She gestured to her uncovered arms. "Too much skin. I had to poke my eyeballs an hour ago to change their color. And don't even get me started on my hair." She grumpily blew a few strands out of her face—unsuccessfully.
((hsghjad my little sister's watching Sofie Dossi rn))
"Too many people is right." Lily agreed, shaking her head. "You can always stick with me, I guess, if that helps at all?" She offered, tilting her head as she raised an eyebrow. She had issues with her own hair, but not to that extent. Mostly she just never remembered to pull it back.
((She's a really good dancer and contortionist))
"I'll be glued to the snack bar, but feel free to join me and my sad excuse for a date." She lifted her head to look over Lily. "If he ever decides to show up." She had been asked by the head spy to accompany him to the ball. They were actually childhood friends, so all formality between them was simply for the public eye.
((Her videos are pretty funny too))
"I'll take you up on that." She said, brows drawing together in confusion as Cinthia looked her over. "Your date?" She shoved her hands in her pockets, unaware of the straw bits clinging to her clothing.
"Demitri Maddex, the head spy of the palace." Her eyes dropped to Lily's clothing, and her lips twitched up slightly. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were hanging at the stables. And how convenient it is that Rhydar happened to go for a ride today. I do hope you two were behaving yourselves."
She blinked in confusion, before her eyes widened. "Gods-we weren't-I ran into him as he got back, but-" She shook her head, tugging a hand through her hair. "I went out there to, admittedly, fawn over the horses."
She broke out in a grin. "You're too fun," she cooed, then clasped her hands together. "Right. Ball. Dress. You need to change." She ushered for Lily to head over to her room to change into the dress they had picked out. "Let's go, let's go, let's go! I need to do your hair and makeup." Nevermind the fact that she had no makeup on herself.
"Makeup? I-do I need to wear makeup?" She asked, frowning as she allowed Cinthia to shoo her back to the other room. The dress was where she'd left it, on the bed. She looked around, obviously unsure how to start.
"No, but at least let me darken your lashes and line your eyes with some kohl. It'll bring them out more." She didn't force Lily to let her do it, as her tone was more pleading than demanding.
She sighed, fiddling with her sleeves as she nodded. "Alright, alright. I'm not sure why they need to be 'brought out' any more, but if you say so."