𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐕𝐘 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐍 ━━━━━ 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒕

• III

Dahlia woke to the smell of eggs. Her eyes felt heavy but they still opened. Her stomach let out a growl as she groggily rubbed her eyes. Home. I wanna go home.

Dahlia's heart ached. Her father must be worried. She heard rustling from the other side of the curtain and got up. There was no comb or mirror so Dahlia used her hands to try and tame her hair. She walked out to food on the table and Timothée sitting there, reading a book. He glanced up briefly before focusing back on the pages.

"Eat fast. We have things to do." He stated, biting into a red apple. Dahlia approached and gently sat down. She took one of the napkins and folded it over her lap. Timothée glanced up and let out an amused laugh.

"What?" Dahlia snapped.

"Nothing."

"It had to have been something, Chalamet." Dahlia looked very annoyed as she dug into her food.

"You don't have to be so formal with me, Princess," Timothée stated while shoving away his papers. Dahlia's face went red with embarrassment. "My first name is fine." He finished. Dahlia chose not to answer. She continued eating until she was all done. When she pushed the plate away, a little boy came running into the tent.

"Timmy! Timmy! I got my first bulls-eye!" The kid ran up and jumped on Timothée's lap. He let out a small groan of pain but quickly covered it up with a smile.

"That's amazing!" Dahlia was surprised to see the enthusiasm that Timothée had. She thought he was constantly grumpy with an occasional sarcastic remark here and there. The kid suddenly turned and saw Dahlia across the table. He tried to hide his face with his hands while also still staring at her.

"Nicholas, this is Princess Dahlia," Timothée said while ruffling the kid's blonde hair. He slowly lowered his hands.

"Hello." Dahlia smiled at him. He smiled back and got more confident.

"You're really pretty," Nicholas muttered. His cheeks turned red and his eyes cast to the floor.

"Thank you. You're very handsome yourself, too." She responded. He smiled and lifted his head. Nicholas got off of Timothée's lap and excused himself for disturbing them.

"Timmy? It's cute that he calls you that." Dahlia laughed. He turned to her and tried to suppress a smile and look annoyed.

"Don't push it." Timothée joked and stood up and walked to her chair, holding out his hand. "I think it's time we go, my lady." Dahlia grabbed his hand and stood up.

"Where exactly?" She questioned while following him out of the tent. They walked past many people doing various activities. There was a large open field where people were training. Some stood around fires making food for others. A group of children ran past then, giggling and chasing each other. Timothée guided her to a horse waiting at the edge of the camp. He turned to look at her with a small smile.