[11]

Sitting on the wall of the stone bridge, in a purple dress that falls to her knees and black leather ankle boots, Astra hummed as she held her fishing line. The people of the city have slowly grown accustomed to the Vida, now Solace children, and their odd behavior, the older generation seeing them as a breath of fresh air compared to the stuffy, uptight families. "Your Highness, you escaped your guard again," A gentle yet raspy feminine voice said, Astra hummed as she pulled up another fish to add to her bucket. "Lady Lambert, very nice to see you, it isn't my fault they can't keep up, not like I cannot protect myself, finished with training?" She asked as she put bait onto the hook before tossing it back into the water, the young lady hummed as she leaned against the stone wall, eyes still trained on the young princess. "I am, may I ask why you are fishing? i understand it is a favorite pastime, but you fish here three times a week," She asked, and just as quickly as she cast her line, she was pulling up another fish. "Follow me and I will show you," She said with a smile, she quickly wrapped up her hook and line before slipping them into a satchel, and then she lifted the bucket, only for the older girl to take it from her.

Astra took her to a small butcher shop on the edge of the city, then she emptied the bucket of water and fish into the empty barrel just by the door. "Ah, your Highness," the large man said with a slight bow, a large bandaged hand to his chest as he gave a warm smile. "Six small bass, and three blue scales, the usual method of payment?" he asked, and the girl nodded her head. two small boys ran out past their father's legs to greet the girl, she grinned as she patted their heads. "Star! Star! look at what I made!" one said eagerly as he held up a comb made of fish bone, his brother grinned as he hurried to pull out a piece of paper, their names written on it and numbers scribbled out. "A lovely comb and you two have been working on your numbers and writing! how has reading been going? enjoying the books I brought over?" they happily agreed, their father returned with a bundle of jerky wrapped in paper, a small crate of eggs, and a bottle of milk. "Thank you, see you in a few nights," She said as she transferred the eggs to her bucket, then placed the jerky and milk into her bag. She then took Cleo to a small sick center, a physician's assistant greeting them in the front yard. "Your Highness, fresh eggs again, thank you, and here, the salve as payment," She thanked them, and once her bucket was empty they moved on to a small camp just outside of town. Men were working to build new homes, the expansion program also employed young men and women who had very little money.

"Your Highness, you returned?" A woman asked, clearly surprised a Noble, now Royal, would come out here. "Of course, here, Salve for sunburns and miner sores, and jerky for those who need it," The woman thanked her, eyes watering as she hurried to pass the jerky out to those less fortunate enough to afford meals. She then went to their last stop, a small bakery, she traded the milk for the old bread that no one would buy, and as they stepped out of the baker Cleo raised a brow. "What do you want with an old loaf of bread?" Astra looked up at her with a grin, she patted the satchel that held the bread as she started walking. "Half of this goes to fishing, it makes decent bait, and the other half I eat, not on its own, Papa cuts it into small chucks, soaks it in milk and egg, adds herbs, and stuffs fish with it before baking, it is very good, but you see why I like to fish so often?" The older girl hummed, nodding her head with a soft smile. "A very kind Princess, and very resourceful,"

Elios sat across from Pyro, his little brows furrowed as he stared at the black and white pieces on the board. "Dis will go here, taking your piece, and blocking my piece here," He said as he leaned over, then looked up with a grin. Pyro hummed as he pondered his next move, he wanted to be gentle with his new nephew, but he knew better than to let him win. In three moves he won, but he congratulated Elios on a good game. "You have gotten better, you took three of my pieces! that is much better than last time," he ruffled the boy's hair but kept his eyes from meeting the sad purple ones he knew were looking up at him. "Let's go see what sweets the cook has, yeah? and then we can go find Sophia, she should be done with her studies soon," That made the boy perk up, and they devised a plan to sneak the sweets out of the kitchen without being caught.

meanwhile, River and Geordo were at their home celebrating his finished book, in private.

"G-Geo! ah!" wood cracked and splintered, the bed's frame unable to withstand the force. River dug his claws into the man's back at the base of the dragon's wings, Geordo held his slender frame as he panted, a deep growl ripping through the air as he slammed into him. "My Light, so proud," His words slipped into his Draconic speech, but River understood each word, his cheeks flushing as he moaned.

Laurene sighed with a slight head shake, a small grin on her face as she fixed dinner. "Sounds like we will need to get a new bed, again, would you like to handle that this time? and I handle any ripped and or bloody cloth?" Gilbert grumbled, the memory of finding the ripped and bloody sheets after their first time still fresh, it was just last week, the day after they returned from a week-long camping trip. "I will handle the bed," She had warned him, but he didn't listen, he had only ever worked for humans, but she had worked for newlywed half-draconic couples before.