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everyday princess karla came to the inn.

she would come in with any gift for gwendolyn, but out of all of them, gwendolyn loved the flowers.

petunias, zinnias, peonies, and marigolds.

but her personal favorite was the roses gifted to her. she planted one in the center of the garden, and kept the others in a glass vase right next to her bed. sure, it was corny to do that; but since she was getting courted by the princess, she would enjoy it. from the day they met from now, the icy winter had mellowed out now into hot, summer days.

familiar footsteps crossed the stone pathway, and already gwendolyn knew it was princess karla.

"morning, karla!" gwendolyn called from her garden, not looking up from her work.

the princess hopped over the fence effortlessly. "good morning, gwen. what are you working on today?"

"just some labor work, picking out some plants and whatnot."

"would you mind if i lent a hand?"

gwendolyn lifted her head, finally looking at karla.

she wore boots and cargo pants, a silver belt lazily wrapped around them.

but one thing caught her eye; a beautifully toned abdomen, abs shining under the sun.

okay, wow, that's... hot— no, that's...

even when she tried to pull her eyes away, a full set of boo—

no. cut it out.

"excuse me, gwendolyn? has the heat gotten to your head?" karla's lips formed into a teasing grin, voice laced with innocence. "should i take you inside?"

"sorry, i... uh.." gwen swallowed thickly. "let's just start over here!"

she tried to block out karla's laughter, but could only feel her face start to burn up-- not from the heat.

gwen pointed at the bed of plants. "these carrots should be ready. could you take them out for me?"

the princess knelt on the ground near the plants. "uh, these, right?"

"yep, right there."

karla bit her lip. "aren't these just weeds? i don't see any carrots."

"nope, not weeds at all! i planted them myself, i'm sure."

"i just... grab it out?" karla's hand lingered over the green stems hesitantly.

gwendolyn smiled. "here, i'll help you."

she grabbed the spade sprawled out onto the ground and slowly dug it into the soil around the vegetable's root gently. "you've got to make sure the soil is lose before you start."

"oh, i see," mumbled karla. "now do i--"

gwen took a hold of the princess' hand, wrapping it around the stem. "just pull up now, and you're done!"

although she heard gwendolyn's instructions, her mind was focused on the warmth on her hand. it was such a simple gesture, yet she felt her face burning at the touch.

it's already embarrassing that i don't know how to do this, and now she's making me flustered! karla thought.

gwendolyn's sweet voice had interrupted karla's thoughts. lightly. "uh... karla? the carrot..?"

the said girl rapidly blinked her eyes. "right, right!" she tugged the carrot out of the ground with little difficulty. "give me some time, i should get this done super easily."

"really, you can?" gwen clasped her hands together. "it would be amazing if you could get all these carrots, i would really appericate it!"

"i've got it all covered."

▢▢▢

she did not have it covered.

after a whole hour on her knees, harvesting carrots, her back felt like it was about to break.

god. why did i say that?

thirty minutes ago, gwendolyn had gone back inside and still hadn't come back. of course, karla had offered to help on her own accord, and she didn't expect gwendolyn to stay outside the whole time, but...

it was burning hot outside, and with gwen's company, the heat wasn't as bad.

their conversations varied from embarrassing moments in their life (gwendolyn throwing up in public and karla tripping up the stairs) to their most-hated subjects in school (both said english), which somehow trailed to their favorite seasons.

right as karla was bound the change the subject, gwendolyn had dashed inside.

so there she was: blazing under the hot sun.

karla rest her head onto her palms, sweat sticking to her skin. "i'll go back inside if she's not coming back out," she frowned. "but i wanted to talk with her more..."

luckily, to the princess' surprise, the freckled girl pushed open the backdoor. "karla? y-you're still out here?"

karla lifted her head quickly. "yeah, i was just about to go inside, though."

"gosh, you should've went inside a long time ago!" gwen's eyes gazed over to the mountain of carrots. "and you got all of those carrots?"

the princess attempted to speak, yet before she could, gwendolyn took hold of her wrist and dragged her inside.

a wind of cold air whipped against her face, instantly relieving her of the hot agony she was in.

"sit down, please! i didn't know you were going to be out there for so long!"

karla smiled and took a seat on the barstool. "i told you i had it covered."

"it's good to take breaks y'know." gwen placed a glass onto the counter with ice cubes. "this lemonade should cool you down."

out from the clear pitcher, the lemonade streamed into the cup, slipping through every crevice of ice. right before the liquid touched the bim, karla grabbed the glass quickly and started drinking.

it was excessively sweet, the taste of lemons barely remaining. karla wasn't a true fan of sweet things, yet she continued to drink.

empty silence followed as karla drank until gwendolyn spoke.

"again, thanks a lot. you got way more done than i did." she paused. "also, uh... i have a question."

"mhm?"

"you— are you still.. uh... courting me?"

karla nodded her head, placing the (now empty) glass down. "i am, yes."

"oh, wow. really, you are?"

"of course i am." karla raised an eyebrow. "did you think i stopped?"

"it may sound dumb but... yeah, i did. i thought you would stop and get bored of... well... me."

"gwendolyn, listen." karla stood up, walking over to the girl around the kitchen corner, almost towering over her.

"y-yeah?"

"unless you don't like it," she lent down towards gwendolyn's ear. "i have no intentions to stop."

gwen swore her heart stopped beating for a moment. "oh, i see..."

"gwendolyn, listen to me." karla's brown eyes connected with gwendolyn's. "would you want me to stop?"

the freckled girl squirmed under the intense eye contact. "well, i..."

the princess, usually calm and collected, silently fretted while waiting for the answer.

god. what am i doing? this is insane, i'm insane. what if she says no?

soft, pink lips pecked against her cheek.

"i really don't want you to."