||Beefsteak || DSMP ||

4. Honey

Belle's POV
I held the doorframe, watching Anita's calm face as she rested.
She'd not slept one bit and I could tell by the deep bags under her eyes and quill still in hand as she snored.
I took her tools and put everything on her desk, placing the crown on a chair and shutting the door gently.
I went back down the stairs, eyeing my red hood that made me look like an assassin, then in the mirror, to my all black legs, top, gloves, and boots.
I already looked like an assassin.
I smiled and bagged a piece of bread before walking out the door and to the contraption covered in the red dust.
I realized that my clothes weren't staying clean for this, peaking my head through the door and deciding to start from the outside.
Next to the steps of the van, a bucket filled with water and a sponge laid, a note with a crude smiley face drawn leaning against the bucket.
I grabbed the sponge and kneeled next to the step, ringing it before starting this long process.

Anita's POV
"No! You got off without anything!" I heard from downstairs, before loud steps got closer.
I swung the covers off and quickly grabbed my crown from the chair, quickly putting it on my head.
As I predicted, Tommy didn't knock before dragging his friend in by the horn.
"Hey! Let go of him!" I argued before he could say anything.
"He's why we're the ones who are in trouble!"
Tubbo yelled back "No!"
"You said 'go ahead and make it, I don't know what that would make either' and-"
"And then you actually did!! That's not on me!" Tubbo whined.
"Let go of his horn!" I yelled.
Tommy glared before releasing his friend. "Why are you so bent?"
"My people's horns are sacred. It's not honorable to take advantage of someone's horns." I said with my nose turned up.
Tubbo smirked. "Yeah, it's not honorable."
"You're still why I'm grounded!" I turned.
He frowned again.
"An eye for an eye. I'll be back." Tommy said with an intense stare, leaving quickly.
"Where are you going??" Tubbo called after him.
"You'll see!"
I blinked at Tubbo, whose face was contorted in fear.
"Eye for an eye, I guess." I shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah.." he sat at my desk, kicking his feet in defeat. "So, where are you from,
Princess?"
I swallowed hard.
"I'm from Funtaura. We're a mushroom farming kingdom."
"Makes sense."
I chuckled, sitting down.
"Where's that?"
"Three days..." I pointed to the side of the wall that we'd fallen down the hill. "That way."
"Oh! Right.." he nodded. "May I please ask what happened..?"
I crossed my arms, hugging myself.
"I- well- I was at the horse stables when the attack happened. The palace was up in flames before I even realized. The invaders found me and chased me into the woods.. The stable master, my uncle, helped me hide for a few minutes. After a while Belle found me and we began running. It was all so fast that I still haven't really, you know, grasped it.."
I blinked back tears and looked back up to see sympathetic eyes.
"You're very strong, Princess." He said gently.
I smiled, a tear falling just before I could catch it. "Thank you.. please call me Anita. Belle's such a stinge about my title."
"Oh- then you're very strong, Anita."
I scoffed, a huge grin across my face as I dismissed his effortless kindness.

Belle's POV
I stood, wiping the sweat from my brow as the floor and seats of the van were now their original color.
I went to dump the bucket and then refill it at the lake, but I'd been aware of eyes on me for a while.
Just as I turned back around, a new face was right in front of me with a huge grin.
I jumped back, my bucket falling.
"I-"
"Hello and welcome, stranger." He said with confidence.
He swung his arm around my shoulder, leading me forward.
"So, I heard you came here under the current president's orders, am I right?"
"Yes- wha-" I pushed the stranger away. "Who are you??"
"The next president. Quackity. Now listen-"
I was already grabbing my bucket and walking away.
He cut in front of me. "Woah, woah!"
"I'm busy."
"Doing the thing that the harsh president ordered you to do? On land you don't even belong to? Seems a bit unfair."
I hate politics...
"Actually, I volunteered to clean this up. It's my fault that this happened."
"Of course-" he registered my response. "You did..?"
I walked around him, but he bounced back and followed beside me.
"That's very admirable. You seem like someone who values integrity, hm?"
I didn't want to engage, glancing to see him with open arms and a questioning grin.
I sighed, adjusting the heavy bucket in my grip. "Yes..."
"I do too! What a coincidence! You know, Wilbur and I go way back and he's well- let's just say he's not a man with much integrity."
"And why's that?" I asked blankly as I returned to the van, scrubbing it.
"You see, miss..?"
"Belle."
"Miss Belle, like you and your friend, I was once new here. Coming from a close kingdom. And you wanna know how the president welcomed me?"
"How..?"
"He didn't. No, he said that the walls should stay closed to those that aren't true citizens, when his son at the time was the only person born in the young country."
I furrowed my eyebrows, looking up at him. "Really?"
"I swear by it. I just want to help this country grow into everything it could be, and not just keep it the way it is."
I paused. "Look, even if I wanted to, I can't vote in a country I'm not a part of."
"You're working here, living here. I'd say you're eligible for deciding what your future here would look like."
"Thanks, sir, but I'm not planning on staying after I finish this."
"Oh? Then where to?"
"We're-" I thought. "I don't know yet."
He smiled. "I see.. well, I'm always close if you need anything." He said, placing a political pin in my hand and giving a finger solute before heading in a different direction.

Anita's POV
"And my brother— oh! He was 3 and looked 1. His first words were 'Anita' and 'stinky' so that was fun." I continued to tell Tubbo about my life, a new person with wonder at every word I spoke.
He laughed. "What's the hat about?"
"Oh! I get a new one every year, it means I'm older."
"Like a birthday?"
"A what?"
"You know, celebrating the day you were born?"
"You people keep track of that??"
"Yes?!" He laughed in disbelief.
"So- everyone's "birthday" is celebrated? Like, every year?"
"Yep."
"That'd be so much celebrating all year!"
"I guess! When were you born?"
"Goodness, if I know.."
"Well.. when is the.. uh- crown ceremony?"
"Oh, that happened three days ago actually."
"Then happy late birthday."
I shrieked happily. "God! This place is so fun and new and- and- wonderful! Once I'm not grounded you'll have to show me everything!"
He followed my frantic behavior calmly. "Of course, Anita."