<strong>Princess Juliette of Greycastle<br/>Her Quarters, then the Archery Range<br/>Day 2, Morning</strong><br/><br/>Juli awoke well before dawn but spent several minutes just lying in bed, thinking. It was hard to believe the previous night had not been a dream. The royal was both embarrassed by her own recklessness and yet still overjoyed. How she wished that her relationship with Olivia did not have to be secret. That the lovely noble could be asleep beside her even now, and then they would awaken together for breakfast and would finally have the chance to really talk. As incredible as it had been to explore Olivia’s body, exploring how she thought and who she truly was was just as promising. There was always the chance Juli would learn something she would not like, but she refused to believe it would be anything bad enough to undermine her intense affection for the sweet Nydewian.<br/><br/>Juli called for some servants to bring in some hot water so that she could quickly wash up. She then dressed in her soldier’s uniform—not that the Ghosts had had a standard outfit—which was so much more comfortable than the previous day’s dress. The officer had always believed in the importance of mobility, so her armor was light, mostly leather with metal protecting a few key areas. There was plenty of exposed skin as well, and the outfit made her lithe form much more clear than the dress had—all in all, she actually felt more attractive this way.<br/><br/>The princess had a half hour or so free, and eagerly started in on Olivia’s book. There was so much to discuss! But the moment Juli had been dreading came when her bodyguard Nira arrived, and was predictably furious. Juli had given the girl the “back to base” hand signal as she left the banquet with Olivia—in essence telling Nira to disappear for the night. “What’s gotten into you, Major?” the younger woman asked without preamble. “You were all over that Nydewian last night, it was so obvious to anyone who knows you. Marius saw it from across the room!”<br/><br/>“Fine, fine. I’ll admit, I was caught up in the moment and was less discreet than I should have been,” Juli told her. “But most of the people in that room hardly knew me or weren’t terribly observant anyway. Don’t blow it out of proportion.”<br/><br/>“You were wandering around with that assassin too. All these foreigners are potential hostiles, and you shouldn’t forget it! You’re putting yourself and the peace process in jeopardy.”<br/><br/>Juli scowled. “That’s enough. The assassin is dangerous, and I need to keep tabs on him. And he wasn’t going to harm me last night before the Nydewians came, not when everyone saw us leave the banquet hall together. As for Lady Olivia... pursuing her isn’t very sensible, but I’m still human. I can’t just walk away from how I feel. Is that understood?”<br/><br/>“Yes, Major,” Nira said irritably. But she knew better than to belabor the point. “Anyway, Marius told me last night to send his regards, but he had to go back home.” ‘Home’ was of course with the Ghosts—Juli knew that without a doubt, as she still missed her soldiers terribly. “He ‘deeply regrets’ not being able to participate in the joust or cheer you on in the competition.”<br/><br/>Juli nodded. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to him being so polite to me, not after the way things were.” Nira gave a slight laugh. “Anyway, let start the day. I’m just glad these games give me such a fine excuse to dress down.”<br/><br/>Juli gathered up her things and had a light breakfast with Nira before heading out to the archery range. There she got in some stretching and light exercise before practicing with her bow. Already a few servants and groundskeepers were hurrying about, getting this area ready for the competition.