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"Remind me, who is this aristocrat again?" Rachel whispered to the attendant sitting with her in the carriage.

"The esteemed inheritor to the most profitable law firm in Cabalton, your highness," the leopard replied curtly as he watched the Financial Commons flitting past the window.

"Yes, but what can you tell me about him?" the princess insisted as the shops and offices rushed beside them, "What is he like?"

"I expect he is like his father," the attendant replied with a small frown, "After all, that is the way of aristocracy."

"You will tell us what you know about his father then," Rachel replied with irritation, hoping that invoking her royal position would encourage more helpfulness, even though she wasn't crowned yet.

The leopard didn't appear too bothered, but he at least looked at her as he continued, "At the risk of being injurious to a highly respected family, the boy's father is a ruthless purveyor of his opinions and his craft alike. He is fiercely intelligent and has earned for his business a superior purpose in our nation. Thus, he has likewise earned the right to offer his son as your suitor," the attendant's arrogant look softened slightly,

"I fear that this boy will not be appreciative of your royal authority, because his father has made it all but clear that marrying into the Imperial family is merely a mark of status to further his own position."

The thought of having to eat lunch with someone like that saddened Rachel, and she couldn't help but flick her tail anxiously as the carriage pulled up to a fancy restaurant and stopped.

The driver hopped out and quickly opened the door for the princess, offering his paw to help her down as the leopard got out on the other side.

"Thank you," Rachel nodded to the driver and turned to the approaching attendant, "And thank you for being honest with me, Mr...?"

"Linus, Sir Linus, your highness," the leopard replied with a hint of annoyance. "My apologies for avoiding the introduction, but...the rhyme, you see?" He seemed remarkably off put.

Rachel held back a snort of laughter as she put her paw on his forearm, "You were going to chaperone me without ever introducing yourself just because it would rhyme, Sir Linus?"

"I'm just a functionary, I didn't think it would matter," the leopard muttered apologetically as he resumed his haughty pose to lead Rachel into the restaurant, "Now if you would allow me, I believe your suitor has already arrived." he held his arm up and began walking her gracefully to the restaurant. "And please, do not hesitate to call on my services if this lawyer's son becomes too...brash, your highness," Linus added in an undertone as he touched the hilt of his shortsword lightly.

Rachel smiled appreciatively and squeezed his forearm, but she didn't want to have a bodyguard rescuing her from a yet another meal with some arrogant whelp. Hopefully the food would be good at least...

"Her Royal Highness, the Princess Rachel of the Imperial Family, prime heir to the Crown of our great Empire," Linus announced loudly as they entered the private dining room of the restaurant.

"And this is the first son of the Family of Roarch, Master Phillip Roarch, esquire," a muscular doberman in an expensive suit called gruffly from the table. He stood and made a bored gesture to the young man sitting next to him.

The beige-furred tamaskan had been staring at Rachel with an awed expression and quickly stood before inclining his head, "It's...It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty." he stammered quietly as he looked at the floor.

"You will address the princess by her proper title of 'your highness,' Master Phillip," Linus scowled as he pulled the opposite chair back for Rachel, "And I will refrain from pointing out that this is your duty to seat the princess as her suitor."

"Oh, hell..." Phillip gasped and tugged at the lapels of his jacket, "My sincerest apologies...Your Highness. I'm...afraid I'm not...I wasn't told--"

Rachel held up a paw as she took her seat, and smiled at the nervous lawyer while his chocolate-brown eyes darted between herself and the door like he wanted to run away, "Please take a seat Master Phillip. May I just call you 'Phillip'?" she asked gently.

"Of...c-course, Your Highness," the tamaskan tried to say graciously as he missed his seat and stumbled to get back into the chair, "Bother all...bother..."

Rachel's mouth was pulled tight as she held back from laughing. This handsome, soft-spoken, and remarkably clumsy young man was pretty much the opposite of what she had expected. She almost couldn't help liking him already.

"Please call me Rachel, and don't let my relentlessly critical escort cause you distress," she said with a casual smile at the proud leopard. The corners of Linus's mouth flicked up almost imperceptibly as he began to walk out of the room.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Verner," Phillip stuttered at the massive doberman who had so far held the same expression of bored irritation as though it were chiseled onto his face, "I think...I can manage from here."

The gruff bodyguard bent low to whisper something into Phillip's flattened ears. The boy's eyes widened in fear and he shook his head violently as the bodyguard lumbered after Linus. Rachel regarded him curiously, but didn't think it proper to ask for an explaination right away.

"So, Your High...er...Rachel, have you ever b-been to this restaurant before?" Phillip asked tremulously as his large, pointed ears shook over top of the menu he was trying to nonchalantly hide behind.

"I'm afraid not," the princess choked out as she tried to refrain from giggling, "I don't get out of the palace much, and when I do it's usually not to the Financial Commons."

"Of c-course not...stupid of me..." Phillip bent the menu closer to his head, "I'm sorry...bother everything..." he muttered frustratedly as his ears quivered faster.

"Phillip, give me your paw," Rachel giggled as she reached across the table with her palm up.

"W-what?" he peeked over the top of the paper with eyes that seemed close to tears.

"Give me your paw," she said again with an encouraging smile, "Consider it a royal demand."

The young lawyer gingerly reached over and laid his paw in hers, "Okay..."

"Now then, this feels much more friendly," Rachel smiled as she felt the coarse fur on the back of his fingers, "And why don't you tell me what you really do since it's obvious you are not a lawyer."

"How? How did you know that?" Phillip stuttered in astonishment, "Oh...It's because I'm rubbish at this, isn't it?" he whispered in sad realization.

"That, and I can see you work with paint rather than ink," she chuckled as she held up his paw, there were speckled clots of dried colour in his tan fur.

Phillip almost tried to pull away, but as he looked into the soft orange eyes of the beautiful princess in front of him, he relaxed slightly instead, "I...I wasn't supposed to say anything about that," he whispered and lowered his head, "My father expects me to a lawyer just like him...but all I've ever wanted to do is draw and paint..." He looked at her unsure.

Rachel nodded at him to continue.

"There's...so much beauty around us in this city, and I feel like I have to show people what I see," he said with more confidence, "But all my father wants me to do is work in his office and study court transcripts until I learn how to make more of the useless things myself," he shook his head sadly, "I'm afraid I'm a bit of a disappointment to my family...I think he's hoping I'll marry you so that he doesn't have to explain why I'm not going to be the next executive of the law firm..."

"That's rather presumptuous of him on your behalf," Rachel chuckled.

"Oh, cor...I didn't mean it like that!" the anxious tamaskan balked and pulled back his paw, "No, no, no...that's just the way he thinks! I wouldn't...oh bother..." he slumped in his seat and accidentally knocked over the silver bell on the edge of the table.

"Phillip," the princess laughed with happy authority, "I need you to stop treating me like I'm a bomb that's about to go off," she smiled at his puppyish look of abashment, "Because...I think you're the first suitor I could actually stand marrying some day." She winced slightly as she felt her undergarments tightening and she quickly tried to think of her latest mathematics lesson.

"I...I think I rather like you too," the young painter whispered, "They didn't tell me how pretty, and kind, and..." he blushed hotly as his ears began shaking again, "You're not like how I expected at all..."

A sharply dressed waiter who heard the fallen bell opened the doors before Rachel could reply.

"Well, Master Phillip," she smiled warmly as the earnestness of his complements wound in her head, "What would you recommend for an especially ravenous princess?" She narrowed her eyes at the waiter who had looked at her in confusion.

"Er..." Phillip's gaze darted to look at the waiter briefly, "The halmette Ricconia is my favorite, but I wouldn't want to..."

"Marvelous, we'll have that and salads to start, with a bottle of your best red," Rachel quipped as she snapped the menu shut and patted it on the waiter's arm.

"Begging your pardon, Your Highness," the waiter said with a bow, "Our chef has prepared a wide selection of our finest dishes for you meal with the young master. I believe the menus were provided to you mistakenly," he shot a hard glance at Phillip who was starting to retreat back behind the menu he'd asked for out of habit.

"I am not used to having my orders questioned, especially in restaurants," Rachel replied with an irritated tap of her finger.

"Of course, Your Highness," the waiter bowed nervously and backed out of the room.

Rachel looked over and saw the young painter shaking again from behind his impromptu shield, "Now listen," she said jovially, "Every day I have to eat what some chef says has been prepared specially for me, and I would much rather have this feel like it's an actual date rather than some trumped up formality. What do you think?" She finished with her head cocked slightly.

"Um...I think," Phillip replied as he revealed a nervous smile, "I think that was rather funny...what you said about ordering in restaurants," he coughed a small laugh.

"That's the problem with living in the palace, nobody ever lets me make lame jokes," she chuckled as she saw her suitor smile more widely, and noted the gentle sheen of his sparkling teeth.

"Tell me what it's like...oops" he tried to casually lean on the table and managed to flip his bread plate up against his elbow, "Tell me what it's like to live in the palace, it must be amazing," he said hopefully as he put the plate back where he thought it belonged.

So Rachel told him about the days of study and court etiquette, the nights of pompous dinners with foreign dignitaries that always took forever because of all the ceremony, and the occasional travels across country that never seemed to come often enough.

As they began eating their lunch, she told him how as much as she wanted to be a proper princess, it seemed rather false, in a way, for all the posh glorification of royalty and decorum. She explained how she was worried that she was going to be queen of a country that only saw her as a nominal figurehead, and she almost explained the secret that made her feel incapable of becoming a queen at all...

"--But another reason I like you," she smiled at Phillip, "Is because I feel like I'm something of a disappointment to my family too..." her smile jerked down as she realized what she was about to say.

"I don't think I can believe that, princess," Phillip shook his head slightly, "It sounds like you just want to be a good leader for the people. I don't know much about royalty...obviously...but I would much rather have a queen who felt like her duty as ruler was more important than dull ceremonies and big fancy balls."

"What did you say?" Rachel gasped.

"Um...just that I think you feel responsible for more than just chintzy ballrooms and that...I didn't mean to say that they weren't, if they are actually important...I just...um?" Phillip began to retake his earlier nervousness.

"Oh, heavens," the princess chuckled and unclenched her legs slightly, "No, I thought you were talking about...But it's not important," she took a bracing sip of wine, "That's very sweet of you to say about me, really." She felt a strange connection with this clumsy, good-looking painter and it was starting to make it difficult to concentrate. "Now you tell me just what is in this excellent halmette Ricconia, I don't think I've had anything like it."

Phillip smiled as he looked down at his plate, "That's a recipe from Riccon, where I was born. It's a pretty simple pasta dish, but they make it so well here. They stew the tomatoes longer, I think...anyway, the rest is mostly just spices and vegetables from my homeland," he pushed some of the noodles around thoughtfully, "It sort of reminds me of my mother's cooking."

"She not...?" Rachel asked gently.

"No, no" Phillip replied quickly, "She lives back in Riccon, my parents don't really get along too well..." he swirled his wine absently, "...but they did manage to agree that I should live with my father to learn his business. But, I'm not really that unhappy about it because I get to live and paint in this city, and...well...I got to meet you..." he blushed again as he drained his glass.

Rachel smiled affectionately and bounced a hind paw on the back of her calf. She had been courted by many chosen suitors, but he was the first one she felt like she could actually relax around, and the first one in a while with whom she felt any hope for intimacy. Phillip, not a bad name for a king...

"So...I'll get to see you again?" Phillip jittered excitedly to Rachel while Linus described the time he should meet the princess at the palace.

"Yes, Master Phillip, as I have just finished explaining; you will arrive at the Imperial Palace this Saturday for an afternoon of activity as planned by Her Highness. I do hope you can muster yourself to show a little more...dexterity at the palace than you do with restaurant chairs?" Linus intoned with a small roll of his eyes.

"Of course, sir," the young painter nodded with a set jaw and slightly quivering ears, "I'll be really careful...I'm...looking forward to it..."

"hmm, Yes, I can tell," the stuffy leopard droned as his mouth pressed down forcefully against a grin. At least the young princess was moving along with someone, even if it was this undignified poltroon. The matriarchs of the Imperium were entitled to certain...liberties regarding their spouses after all.

"Um..." Phillip looked nervously to Rachel as he whispered, "how do I say good bye to you?"

The princess giggled softly as she held out her paw, "You bow and kiss me here."

Phillip gently took her paw in his and pressed his lips to her orange-furred wrist. She smelled like lavender, he should paint with more violet when he got home. Maybe paint a whole field of lavender flowers...

"Ahem, that will do," Linus clicked his shortsword against his thigh.

"Right, sorry..." Phillip balked and stumbled back as he rapidly blurted, "I'll see you on Saturday and I like your perfume Your Highness sorry again!"

"Thank you, Master Phillip," Rachel chuckled as she curtsied, "I'm looking forward to it as well."

"So how was your luncheon, milady?" Erica asked hesitantly as she walked into Rachel's chambers.

"Oh, Erica, I wish you could have met him today," the princess giggled as she turned to her relieved servant, "He was just the most adorably skittish little thing. He literally fell out of his chair at one point."

"That doesn't sound like a proper suitor to me, milady," the servant girl said perplexed.

"No, no, that's why you should have met him. It's all going to sound terrible if I try to describe it. He's real, Erica, he's real and he's honest and he's an artist..." she sighed happily and sat down on her bed and felt a familiar tightness along her underwear. The real question was if he would accept her terrible secret...

"It warms my heart to hear you've finally met someone you like, milady," Erica said gently, "And I hope to see the same when he comes on Saturday. Just remember that you aren't choosing a man who's interesting, you're looking for the one who will be your partner in ruling the Empire. Being the matriarch of our nation is no small matter."

"Oh, what does the royal family even do anymore?" Rachel retorted with irritation, "The Legislature and the High Court do all the real work. Sometimes I feel like I'm just a representative for the aristocracy, and I'm not even sure why that needs representing."

"Such things are over my position, milady," her servant replied with a small shrug, "But I know that you will perform your duty as queen, and I hope this skittish artist you like so much is the one to help you. But even if he's not, I'm sure there's someone out there, just waiting to find you..."

Rachel nodded even as she disagreed. There was something different about this in-name-only aristocrat...If nothing else it ought to be amusing to seem him try to behave himself in the actual royal court.