Saying pleasantries to each servant felt like another stab to the abdomen. These people were her friends, the caring faces she saw day in and day out, every day of her short life. Even Simprina, the dimwitted lady-in-waiting, whose sole purpose in life was to make her life a living hell through newfangled death traps like corsets and the like...Maria knew that, if she hadn't cried before seeing them all, she'd not be even the slightest bit composed right now.<br/><br/>And that wasn't acceptable.<br/><br/>She was doing this for all the right reasons, so she should have been saddened in the slightest. It was for her people, the very thing she'd been brought up to do everything for. Her own needs came second.<br/><br/>So why couldn't she get this growing feeling of dread to leave?<br/><br/>Before she could really analyze it for herself, the party had all moved outside, her sullen steps leading the way, only to slow to a stop in confusion. The one saving grace she'd had was that all of her possessions would be with her, some part of her past to cling to while moving forward to the mysterious and frightening future.<br/><br/>But her carriage was nowhere in sight.<br/><br/>Her brow furrowed as a result of confusion, her eyes sweeping to see if it were on its way up or not, only to have her ideas shot down, virtually instantly.<br/><br/>"My apologies Mi'Lady, I requested the carriage wait a couple days before following our lead. Its mostly a safety precaution for you, but I would be a liar if I said it didn't make my job easier. Keeping track of a carriage full of royal belongings or utilizing my full attention on your safety? I opt for the later."<br/><br/>Maria listened to the explanation, not certain whether she felt happy or saddened by it. Having her belongings with her would have made her feel a bit more at home. It would have drawn out the journey, kept her from sealing her fate for just a little longer.<br/><br/>Don't get her wrong! She wanted to do right by her people...It was just taking a little longer to acclimate.<br/><br/>Turning her attention toward Durzo, she nodded in understanding and then wandered away from the group, taking a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. A few servants here and there came to wish her well, though most stayed far away.<br/><br/>She'd never felt more alone in her life.<br/><br/>It seemed like ages before they were finally on the road, but, at last, they were off. Her corset digging into her, she settled in, riding side saddle as all women were expected to do. Each trot the horse made, felt like a little less air made it into her lungs. Everything seemed further away to her, sounded like it were miles away rather than directly underneath her.<br/><br/>"So do you enjoy this life?" Unable to answer as the question hadn't truly processed, she tried to focus enough to wrap her mind around his words. "Pardon my nosiness but living in the woods has made me a bit...stranger to the life of royalty and its customs."<br/><br/>Her pause was long, her chest feeling tighter as she tried to draw in the necessary breath to formulate an answer. Eyelids fluttering, her grasp on her horse's reigns loosened. "I've...known...no other...li-"<br/><br/>No sooner had she begun her reply that Durzo had moved so swiftly. It was almost as if he were moving at the speed of light and she weren't moving at all. His sword was out, her corset suddenly loosened, and her chest heaved as heavenly air flowed toward her wanting lungs. After a few breaths, her brow furrowed, an angry reply forming in her mind, a bundle of clothes was tossed her way, confusing her still.<br/><br/>"Go change over there. Ill keep watch."<br/><br/>She'd never been so annoyed with someone under her employ. Someone ordering her around? The only one that did that was her father...and her teachers....and advisers......The more she thought about it the more she realized just how many people told her what to do. How little power she really had.<br/><br/>Sliding free of her horse, she struggled to keep her dress up while not dropping the bundle of clothing she now found herself carrying. No sooner has she gotten behind a tree, had her dress fallen, the corset hanging loosely around her frame until it too fell. Goosebumps forming over her skin as the breeze moved through her petticoats, she fumbled with the bundle, her eyes widening as she found she was to wear pants.<br/><br/>Women never wore pants. Twas unheard of. Here she was, going to meet her future husband, and the first impression he'd get of her was in commoner's clothes, and pants no less.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">Could this day get any worse?</span>she asked herself with a sigh.<br/><br/>Indeed it could.<br/><br/>No sooner had she pulled up the dreaded pants did an itch begin across her skin. The coarser fabrics were not something she was used to. Far from it. Her body was normally draped in heaps of silk and satin. Not something equating to a burlap sac. Wrinkling her nose in discomfort, she kept her chemise on at least, slipping her arms through the shirt holes before pulling the shirt down over her head. Grimacing at the leather boots, she pulled them on too, and set the hood of her cloak up to hide her hair as well as her features. She may be dressed in common garb, but her hair style, as well as complexion spoke to a life within walls, not under the sun doing labor.<br/><br/>Stepping out from behind the tree, leaving her dress there as it was ruined anyway, she fidgeted, trying to get used to the feel of the pants. Maria looked up at him, her eyes speaking to her discomfort, but her lips saying nothing, as she made to try and hoist herself back up on her horse.<br/><br/>"...Better, sir?" she asked, her voice much less constricted with the loss of the corset (the one loss she didn't lament.)