(I love the difference between Lilli's and Ollie's relationship and Reesha and Haven's lmao)
Ollie froze when the person infront of him pushed back their hood. Instantly, his eyes widened in shock, and for a brief second, he figured he was dreaming. There was no way the person infront of him was who he thought it was. Lilliana had been gone for years. But as she spoke his nickname, even he couldn't deny that it was her.
"Lilli? No way." He replied before a bright grin crossed his face, "My god you're back!"
He started to step forward to hug her, but faltered after a moment, realizing that she may have changed over the years. Still, his smile stayed, even if he looked a little embarrassed at her pointing out how bad he looked. "Yeah, I suppose I do." The years of staying to himself had taken a toll, but he didn't want her to focus on that. "But enough of that, are you back for good? How was it? You look different, but its a good different! You look strong, and confident."
(Right? They're so cute!)
"I know I do," Lilli said, miming throwing her hair over her shoulder, although her hood was still covering it. "I do look pretty amazing, don't I? I'm sure the guys won't be able to stay away even more now." She stepped toward him, and not bothering to think through her actions, hooked her arm through his and started walking.
"To answer your original question, yes, I'm home for good. As far as I know, anyway." She shook her head. "Not that I won't be glad to have actual comforts, but still, I'll miss the idiots I hung around with." She nudged him. "What have you been up to since I've been gone? Any girlfriends?"
Ollie smiled at her confidence, pausing for a moment at their linked arms. Quickly, he took it in stride and walked with her, adjusting the hood of his cloak on his head so that once again his identity was hidden. He nodded at her words, still floating on the happiness that Lilli was back. "Uh, no…no girlfriends," Ollie answered when she asked, dipping his head in slight embarrassment, "I've been pretty busy with my schooling and learning how to run a country. I toured the country for a month a few years ago, but other than that, it's been pretty routine around here." He purposely left out the fact that he rarely left his room, or that he had barely talked to anyone his age in the time she had been gone. Getting a girlfriend would've been a miracle with his avoidance of other teenagers. "What have you been up to? See any new places? Anything fun happen? Any boyfriends?"
"This all surprises me so much. I assume you've been holed up in your room this entire time?" Lilliana raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head with a smile. He hadn't seemed to change much in the four years it had been since she'd last seen him, and if he was still the same, he probably wouldn't have. Even when she was still living in the capital, he only left his room when he was summoned, returning books, or she physically dragged him out.
She shook her head. Her best friend was very strange. And introverted. How he ever could stand her was beyond her. "I've been living in the forest since you last saw me. I can't wait to have my own bed." She snorted. "Beyond training with Dark Elves for four years, nothing has happened. I haven't had actual human contact in years, it's horrible."
"Er…maybe," He admitted, wondering if it was the bags under his eyes that gave it away, or if it was his usual unease around people beside her. Ollie raised his eyebrows in surprise at her situation over the years. Living for four years in the forest, with limited privacy, and no bed? To him, it sounded like torture, but he knew, to Lilliana, it probably wasn't as bad.
"How were the Dark Elves? As bad as the stories make them out to be?" Ollie asked, his second question more teasing than anything. Most books painted the elves in a bad light, but he knew well enough that most beings weren't that bad. "No human contact doesn't sound horrible," He teased once more, a small smile on his face.
The Carroway girl snickered at his hesitant admission - she wasn't surprised at all - before answering his question. "They were awful," she said with the straightest face she could make, although since he couldn't see her face, it was kind of meaningless. He probably knew that she was doing it, though. He knew her too well. "Mean, sarcastic, snappy, and incredibly violent. Do you know how many fights they made me get into?"
There was a wordless addition to her statement that Lilli was the one who started most of the fights in the first place.
"You'd either love them and their solitude, or hate them for their big gatherings they had all the time. You should really just become a hermit. That's much healthier than locking yourself up in your room all the time. If you were a hermit, you could at least read outside in the sunshine without anyone bothering you." That, personally, sounded horrible to Lilliana, but hey, she wasn't suggesting this for herself.
Ollie rolled his eyes, replying easily, "Sounds like you got along quite well." Lilli could be mean at times, and he highly doubted she turned down any of the fights that she didn't start, and overall he could tell she didn't think the time with them was horrible.
"See, the only downside to becoming a hermit is first, I'd have much less room for books, and second, that you would probably come by and break me out of my peaceful solitude to go do something crazy," He nudged her lightly with their linked arms as he spoke, wishing that he wasn't a prince so that he could become some sort of a hermit. Sadly though, his father, and most importantly his sister, would never allow that.
"Quite possibly," Lilli agreed, smiling at him when he hooked their arms together. "You will never get a moment's peace, now that I'm here." She was quiet as she considered something. "Do you think that when I officially return, I should act innocent and pure and lovely, or should I continue to act like a demon?"
She was genuinely curious to hear what he thought. He would - hopefully - know the people in the capital better now than she did, and she wanted to see which would be the best way to take them by a storm. She was, after all, basically chaos incarnate. She needed to cause as much as she possibly could, to the irritation of Asephnu and the other Dark Elves.
He couldn't help but smile at her choices, shaking his head before responding, "I think it would shock everyone if you turned up as a lovely, likable changed person, and it would probably make you very popular among the capital. But then again, it would be absolutely hilarious to see the reaction if you come back as the same person as before, but with much more power." Ollie shrugged, unsure of where his legs were leading the pair of them. He didn't exactly care, seeing as he was more involved with the conversation at hand. "Either way, I know it will take the capital for storm, whether good or bad."
"True…" Lilli sighed, thinking of the options before her, before her eyes lit up - not that Ollie could see it. "I'll act all sweet and innocent. After all, they all expected me to be going to a school for ladies and learning manners. And anyone who decides to do something I don't like will face repercussions, but won't know who caused it! Imagine all the confusion I could cause." She smiled blissfully.
"I can see the gossip now, 'Lady Carroway is a changed woman, she's lovely now, but since she returned…anyone who wronged her suddenly finds themself with repercussions, though she denies that she had anything to do with it'' He joked, an old spark of joy in his eyes, one that hadn't appeared since Lillian had left. "You'll be the center of attention. Which means I'll finally be out of the public eye for the first time in a long while." Ollie knew that Lilli was aware of his hate of being in the public view, and in fact, he did most things to try to stay out of it. Having his best friend back would keep him in private for at least a week or two, even if it meant he would no longer be able to hold up in his room for days on end.
"But I thought that was your favorite place to be! Haven't you always been drawn to the spotlight, or was that me?" Lilliana laughed and pulled him over to a food stand, buying two steaming mugs of hot chocolate - the weather was cold enough that her hands were getting numb, and her breath was steaming out in front of her.
"What have you been reading lately?" She asked him, wrapping her hands around the mug, relaxing in the warmth.
(Do we do a skip?)
(Sure! Any specific time?)
He didn't hold back a tiny laugh and a roll of his eyes, shaking his head, "Not sure…I think you preferred the shadows, not the spotlight." Ollie was grateful for the drink when she handed it to him, the heat from the hot chocolate was much different than the cool air outside. "The question is, what haven't I read recently," He started, shrugging as he wracked his brain, "I suppose a little bit of everything…trade papers from a random merchant, Lord Lind's; Analysis of the Workings of War…a few fiction books…anything I can get my hands on that I haven't reread several times."
Ollie glanced at her, wishing the hot drink in his hands would cool down soon. "I assume you still avoid books like the plague? Or has Lady Lilliana changed her reading habits?"
(Hm… maybe we can have there be some sort of ball, maybe for Christmas or the holidays and something?)
"Trade papers?" Lilliana looked at him incredulously, almost forgetting she was holding and barely avoiding slopping hot liquid over her. "Why would you read those? They sound so dull!" She shook her head, not able to believe that her best friend would sink this low.
As she was engaged with navigating her cup so that she didn't spill it over herself, or anyone else, she answered his question. "I can read in Elvish, now. So I had to read books, but I tend to avoid them if I can, yes. I can never sit still when there's something else I could be doing."
"Lili, I'm being taught how to run a country…if the role comes to me that is," He explained, though a soft smile pulled onto his face, "Though, some of the papers are pretty interesting. Have you seen some of the things they bring into and out of ports?"
He seemed very surprised to learn that she could read in Elvish, but as he thought about it he realized he was almost more curious than surprised. Maybe he could get her to teach him. Knowing Lilli though, she would be swept up with everything but books for quite a while. "What else did you learn while you were out there?"
Lilliana considered his second question, realizing that if she got into trade with him, their one-sided conversation would go on for hours. "I… well, I learned a lot of physical stuff. Like fighting, that was really fun. There was some archery and medical and fighting tactics, as well as tracking and wilderness survival. Those were all really cool." She smiled wistfully. "The only part I didn't like was the manners part. Since I was supposed to be going to a school for ladies, I had to learn some of the manners that came with it. Tea etiquette, the right way to walk and bow and hold my head…" She rolled her eyes. "That was the worst. It. Was. Awful."
Ollie normally wasn't very perceptive to people's moods, but he could easily tell that Lilli was happy to have learned all of what she said. Besides the manners. Everything she listed was practical and good to know, even if she never had to use it as a noble. He chuckled and took a small sip of his drink, "I can see why you didn't like that. It sounds awful. Did you learn to dress like a lady too? Or are you still going to be scolded for what you wear by all of the ladies?"
Lilliana made a face, remembering the endless yards of fabric and the fashions and the jewels and the lace and the ribbons… she shuddered at that image and took a long drink of her hot chocolate, perhaps forgetting that it wasn't alcohol. She choked, sputtered, and barely managed to restrain herself from spitting the scalding liquid all over her best friend.
She composed herself, and then cracked up. "Sorry," she said, once she had regained her composure. "There are so many terrible memories of dressing like a lady. Did you know that corsets are becoming a fashion now, among the ladies near where I was? It was awful."
He laughed at her reaction, a true laugh, though he did look slightly worried when she choked on her drink. "Are they really?" Ollie asked, sipping at his drink while hiding a small smile, "They're not nearly as in fashion here anymore, but they're still seen around at some of the more formal events"
Ollie stepped around a gaggle of young girls walking towards them, ducking his head to hide his appearance. "I take your reaction as you're not going to be the height of fashion around the capital?" Not many people in the capital would recognize him when he was out in the streets, but he wanted to be careful. He didn't want to waste any time catching up with his best friend to people who wanted to meet the Prince.
"Oh, I definitely am," Lilli said dismissively, onyx eyes following the group of girls as they walked past. None of them had taken any notice of the two friends sitting there, but still, something about them aroused her faint interest. "Just because I hate fashion doesn't mean I'm not going to follow it. I'm one of the most powerful women in the kingdom, I need to act like it." She turned back to her friend and flashed a blinding grin. "Without letting anyone know what I'm really like, of course. Acting innocent is probably one of the most fun things ever."
"Is it really that fun?" He questioned, a playful grin passing over his own face, "More fun than causing trouble?" Lilli had clearly not changed much in personality over the time she was gone, Ollie was figuring that out quickly. She had grown much stronger, much more confident, but she seemed to still be wild and carefree. "So when is the official return celebration going to happen? I assume your family is going to have something to celebrate their daughter coming home as a changed woman?"
Lilliana hesitated for a moment before answering. "You're right. It's not quite as fun as causing mayhem." She shrugged. "I don't know when they'll have it. I'm not officially supposed to return for another two weeks, so probably around then." She groaned and tossed her head back, almost jerking her hood off before she quickly pulled it back up again. "I don't like balls," she complained.
Ollie chuckled and nudged her with his shoulder, "Don't worry, once the focus of the ball turns from you to partying, you can hang out with me." Knowing the capitol and the nobles, the ball would be to celebrate her return for all of an hour or so, until the alcohol kicked in, and then it would just be a glorified party. Ollie wasn't one to drink -even if no one was going to stop him from doing so- but he wasn't sure if he wanted to be the only sober one. "Do you plan on making an early appearance, or are you going to lay low for two weeks?"
"I might just do that." Lilli glanced up at the position of the sun, measuring it with her onyx eyes, before glancing at her best friend out of the corner of her eye. "I'm definitely going to lay low. What would be the fun in pretending to be innocent beforehand? It takes up too much energy."
She finished the last of her hot chocolate and threw the cup away, wiping her mouth with her hand. "Will you be visiting me while I'm stuck at home, waiting for the ball?" She asked. "I need someone to keep me sane, and you know how Mom loves you." Aeriana Carroway was a very strong woman, having to deal with five chaos children - any time she could spend with someone who actually used common sense was wonderful.
Ollie shrugged, swirling the last of his hot chocolate around in his cup, "Maybe." A light smile appears as he continues, "I haven't stopped by in a while, there's probably a good chance I'll be talking with Mom for a while." With his father, the king, never marrying, Ollie and his sister never had a mother figure. Which was why he quickly deemed Mrs. Carroway his mother when he first became friends with Lilliana. Even if he didn't spend much time around the Carroway household without Lilli around, he did enjoy talking with her mother whenever he got the chance. "I'll try to stop by at least a few times." He didn't want to mention how much effort it was going to take to get him out of his room, even with his best friend back in the city. But he'd give getting out of the palace an honest effort.
