he squints at her, attempting to search vera’s features to decipher whatever messages she’s trying to give him. are his abilities good? or are they bad? teddy understands a couple different languages, however he is not yet fluent in vera myeong. he’d like to learn. in order to do that, he’d have to spend time with her, and she’s making that difficult to do. he rolls his eyes, giving up on figuring out the statement entirely as he’s being brought into the cottage. teddy wasn’t expecting her to tug him inside, but he was even more surprised when she pulls him into a hug. a contradiction to how she’d been treating him, to how everyone has been treating him. there’s a fleeting moment where he hesitates to reciprocate. it’s not very often that he’s put into this situation. he should take advantage of it. teddy chooses to relaxes into vera, his hands pressing onto her back. it wasn’t until they were in each other’s embrace that he realizes how desperately he needed this. the suppressed anger from his fight with céline has disappeared and the thought of failing the mock trial hasn’t crossed his mind since he arrived. it give teddy hope, maybe ( just maybe ) he can fix the situation with vera. this is progress.
slowly, but surely, teddy wanders into the kitchen–––– looking around vera’s place as he does so. it’s much cozier than where he been staying. there were pops of color throughout, pictures on the walls and blooming flowers on practically every inch of the counter. the perfect hide away for someone who prefers to be alone. it’s obvious why vera would decide to live here rather than where the rest of the love club has found shelter, the outskirts of town is the quiet safe haven. once he finishes scanning the surroundings, teddy reaches for the cup of tea. he manages to stay quiet long enough to let vera describe the reasoning behind her question. and he can’t help but find it amusing. teddy takes a sip before telling her the honest truth. “ you were the future queen, at a bar, drinking beer out of the bottle, ” he smiles to himself, fondly remembering their first encounter at the abbotsford. from first glance, teddy knew they’d be friends. nonetheless, it isn’t the whole story and he realizes he must clarify. “ you’re about to rule a country. it didn’t stop you from having a drink outside a random bar by yourself. i figured you’re either dealing with a shitty chapter in your life, like myself, or you’re the worst princess belvan has ever seen, ” he taps a finger to his chin, finding a chance to tease her, “ jury’s still out, by the way. ” tea cup is pressed to teddy’s bottom lip again, the steam softly hitting his skin; as well as clouding his judgment. his comment could be taken to heart, yet he doesn’t take the joke too seriously. why would she entertain the idea of being a bad princess? teddy believes she’s the opposite. “ i guess i recognized myself when i saw you. and i could’ve used a friend, so i made a friend. ”
there’s a particular day at the belvan palace vera thought about sometimes. sun high in the sky, weather at that beautiful point where the country was blessed with the warmer spring days, flowers 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 after a long winter, color poking out amongst the bare trees. some royals had brought their children to scurry in the palace’s private gardens. vera was content sitting at a bench on her own, looking after her newborn baby brothers in the carriage beside her rather than try to play with kids her age who pretended to care about anything about vera beyond her title. queen ara had sat beyond vera, taking a moment to close her eyes and soak in the rays of sun. “ i know your father tells you to be weary. i know he insists on teaching you that trust is above love, that having skin plated with armor will ensure your security and survival, but my dear, do you truly believe i would have gotten to where i am now without a little bit of 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 ? ” queen ara had beautiful eyes, warm and nearly golden that day in particular. she gazed upon the kids playing without vera. “ maybe not today, but one day you’ll have to make choices that make you uncomfortable — do things that make you question who you are. it is in those moments where we gain the opportunity for the most 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉. the phoenix represents us belvan people, vera. we always rise again. ”
vera missed her mother every single day. what would she say now, if she were standing in the kitchen with teddy and vera ? what guidance could she offer vera to both protect herself but also seize an opportunity to make a friend. vera had been 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅 in her own ways many times, though being so bold as to choose to trust made vera’s heart twist in her chest every time.
her eyes remained on him, mind going a mile a minute as she took in his words. how did she tell theodore that every chapter of vera’s life was kind of shitty ? she searched his face after he finished his explanation, taking a small pause. vera myeong was an expert at pushing people away. but empathy ? compassion ? teddy was simple — he was just there, nothing deceptive about the quirk in his lip or the softness of his eyes. trust was a concept so foreign to the princess. and yet maybe there wasn’t a 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒅𝒆 to her back right now, maybe teddy chose to trust first because he was being truthful. and maybe vera was strong enough to take a risk.
“ i’m sorry. for giving you the cold shoulder the past week, ” vera’s voice was soft yet careful, her eyes not leaving his to show she meant her apology. “ and 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖. for the night with the other northridge students and — me reaching a low point. you helped me that night. truly. ” maybe it was okay to grow into trust. maybe it was okay to build a friendship up unexpectedly. vera took a few steps towards him and took his hand very gingerly, slender fingers wrapping around his softly as she squeezed a little, her touch 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 and a small private smile on her lips. she pulled her hand away, cupping her tea once again. “ now what was this with céline ? are you two going to be alright ? ”
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