Rosalie growled at Valor’s remark that he didn’t<span style="font-style: italic">have</span>to do anything. He agreed to help her, nonetheless, although he made it quite clear that it was by his own choice and warned her to remember that. She wanted to snap at him, and the pain in her leg make it harder to control that desire, but she thought better of it, given that she would be in a bind if he chose not to help her because she lashed out at him. Instead, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and looked away from him as he told her he need to raise her dress.<br/><br/>The thought of him removing, or even touching her clothes, let alone her leg was revolting, and she almost hissed at the idea, spitting on the ground at the thought. “Yeah, yeah, I got it,” she grumbled when he reminded her that it would hurt. She didn’t need him to tell her that, and while some might appreciate the gesture of forewarning, she did not.<br/><br/>She visibly winced at his touch against her leg, but her expression quickly turned to a grimace as she bit back the pain that came with the bone twisting back into place. She let out a pained growl as the bone mended itself, the tissue knitting together to close heal the damage to the overlying tissue. She had been so focused on her own pain that she hadn’t noticed the approach of a third person, either.<br/><br/>It wasn’t more than a moment later when all of the sudden Jalice appeared seemingly out of nowhere, his fist colliding with thee side of Valor’s head with a loud<span style="font-style: italic">crack</span>, sending him careening through the air before slamming into a tree with an equally loud<span style="font-style: italic">thunk!</span>It took her only a moment to realize what was happening. He thought… She clicked her tongue, feeling annoyed that he would believe even for a moment that such a thing could be true. The notion was absolutely ridiculous! Beyond revolting!<br/><br/>At the same time, though, she couldn’t help but feel some twisted happiness at the fact that he cared so much about her that he would lose his head at even the thought that such a thing might be true. She couldn’t help but smile with some weird satisfaction. A better person might have stopped him by now, told him that he was wrong and prevented him from harming the man who she admittedly despised, but who had also helped her twice today.<br/><br/>Instead, she stood there, still not putting any weight on her newly healed leg, until things escalated. Jalice’s claws ripped into Valor’s chest, and in response, Valor had responded by slamming his fist hard into his brother’s abdomen. That was all it took to make her act. Suddenly, her body moved and she slid between the two, holding her arms out to either side. “Enough! Both of you, stop it!” she chided them harshly with a commanding voice that might have led one to believe that it was she who was in charge, despite both men’s status as princes.<br/><br/>“Jalice, it isn’t what you think!” she told him, her voice harsh but somehow also pleading for him to believe her. “I broke my leg. Your stupid brother was just helping me!” she insisted, trying to clear up the confusion. “And you!” she turned her attention to Valor, “Lay another hand on him and you will lose it!” she warned, apparently completely forgetting how he had just helped her. In reality, though, at any other time, she would have threatened him with loss of life rather than limb, so in her own way, she was being nice.<br/><br/>Turning her attention back to Jalice, she knelt next to him to make sure he was okay, wincing she put pressure on the newly healed leg and was reminded that it did, in fact, still hurt. “Are you okay?” she asked, her voice softening only a little thanks to Valor’s presence. Again, a better person might have checked on Valor first, given that his own injuries were more severe, and that he had healed her only moments before. Rosalie, though, cared for more about his brother, and no misplaced sense of honor would ever overshadow that.<br/><br/>Any other day, she probably would have left Valor bleeding, maybe even secretly hoping he would stumble off somewhere and just die. She was not without honor, though. He had helped her when he didn’t have to, and she was not fond of the idea of owing a debt to the likes of<span style="font-style: italic">him</span>. Once she had ensured that Jalice was okay, she would stand and turn to Valor, clicking her tongue in disgust before crossing over to him.<br/><br/>Reluctantly, she reached out a hand and placed it over the place where his brother’s claws had ripped through shirt and flesh and healed the cuts across his chest. “We’re even now,” she informed him before turning away from him and back to Jalice. “We should get back,” she informed them, taking a deep breath and confirming the distinct scent of humans in the air.<br/><br/>--<br/><br/>The remainder of the journey was relatively uneventful. Aria stared down at the piece of paper in her hand for a time before rolling it up and tucking it away. They would be arriving soon. She felt nervous, as was only natural, but all at once, she also felt relieved to get out of this stuffy carriage.<br/><br/>She frowned just a little as she stuck her head out into the air. She didn’t know why, but the smell of blood wafted through the air, carried on the breeze that came from the forest. It was a strong enough scent that she recognized it, but evidently not strong enough that anyone else seemed to notice at all.<br/><br/>She wondered about this, but only briefly, as sure enough, they were soon arriving at their destination. She took in the scenery, noting how different it was from their kingdom. From the landscape to the architecture, everything seemed so utterly foreign. Even as the came to a stop and she began to exit her carriage, she began to feel overwhelmed.<br/><br/>Once again, she felt the weight of the situation weighing heavily upon her, but this time she had no time to dwell on these thoughts, no time to process everything she felt in that moment. As the carriage doors opened, a hand waited for her, to help her out of the carriage. She took it and stepped out of the carriage with all the elegance and grace one expected of a princess.<br/><br/>Despite whatever anxiety and doubts she held her head high, her presence giving off the commanding grace of royalty, softened only tad by the calm and elegant air about her. She held loosely to the long white dress she wore, preventing it from dragging in the dirt. Her usually loose white hair was tied back in an elegant fashion that perfectly suited the tiara the nestled among it atop her head.<br/><br/>Her astute purple gaze scanned the entourage that spread before them; many vampire lords from each of the five houses greeted them. It was a sight that likely would have—and perhaps should have—instilled fear into the hearts of most humans, but the young princess neither showed nor felt such emotions. She briefly wondered when it was that she would meet this mysterious prince, if it would not be until the moment that they were wed.<br/><br/>She also found her thoughts wandering about Valor, about who he was and if she would really see him again. She’d never asked him about who he really was, about his title of lineage, so she had no reason to believe she would see him at this event. Some part of her didn’t wish to, as she thought that would only make this even harder, yet some part of her still hoped she would. Perhaps she really was a fool after all.