“We have some of it,” Rosemary whispered, checking over the bag Cloudy had dropped on her bed. “Where’s the rest of it? Where’s the…” she glanced at the half-open door and Coat standing there pretending not to pay attention. Cloudy wasn’t supposed to be there right now. “You know.”

“I’ll find out tomorrow. She might have it then,” Cloudy whispered back. More loudly, “What do you think of the wine?”

“If Petal recommended it, I’d trust it. I’m not a connoisseur like Rosewater.” Rosemary sniffed and shifted the contraband items back into the oiled cloth sack. Petals, some fragrant oils, but no candles. It took time to make candles. She knew that much from helping Roselyn with her work, and it took knowledge to scent different kinds of waxes. What she’d asked for…

“She’ll come through.”

“She will.” She trusted Rosewater explicitly in that. Even if she never told Roselyn who they were for, it would be a good opportunity for her mother to work with one of her friends. “Are you ready? This is big. Everypony is going to know where and when you’ll be going.”

Cloudy shrugged faux-nonchlantly. “Sure. It’s not like we haven’t been on dates before, you know.”

“Surprise dates. To a tea shop, a patisserie, a quick lunch after Dammeguard business. You haven’t had a romantic date that the two of you planned. With a walk on the beach and everything!”

“Please. We’re not going to be like Lace and Dapper.” Cloudy shook her head. “I don’t want to surprise the entire city with a marriage with no outward sign.”

“And that’s probably a good thing,” Dapper said, poking his head in, nodding to Coat, and closing the door behind him. “Good morning, ladies.”

Rosemary focused her magic on the charms in the corners of the ceiling, then stopped when Dapper shook his head. “Not a private meeting?”

“Not today.” Dapper fixed his attention on Cloudy. “This is a brave thing you’re doing, Cloudy. I got away with romancing Lace because I was one of the refugees from Roseline’s father’s purges, and she visited all of us quite often, talked to all of us, and let us know we were welcome.”

Cloudy glanced at Rosemary and settled down. “I don’t think Rosemary’s ever heard how you and Lace got together.”

“Not much to it. Much straighter forward than your relationship, even if it hinges on the same start.” Dapper smiled and settled in anyway, shuffling his wings as he settled on his haunches. “Day by day, she would visit us, and she always came to me last, so she could spend the most time with me. I was the ringleader anyway, so it made sense.”

“The ringleader of what?” Cloudy asked. “There’s nothing taught about the purges in Merrie.”

“Hardly surprising. It wasn’t a proud time. Seems like insanity skips a generation in the Rosethorn line, time to time. Anyway… crack downs, jailings for minor offenses, it got to be that we wanted to overthrow him. But before I could organize more than a few ponies, he sent the guard after us, tried to exile us post-defection, and got slapped down, and he died a few years later, by all reports raving insane and barely cognizant of the world around him.”

Dapper let his gaze linger on the far wall, his eyes seeing things Rosemary could only imagine. His eyes drifted to Rosemary and his smile came back. “But… back to happier things. Yes, I was the leader of our little group of exiles, and she put off our long talks as ‘gleaning what she could’ and ‘encouraging cooperation’ with ponies that knew much of Merrie’s internal politics. What we really talked about was… everything else. Our dreams as foals, what drew me to revolt and seek freedom. And… we meshed.

“Our dreams were so similar. A city united. Peace for all of us. Open friendships and even families across the river. All of her other suitors were either hardline against Merrie and the Roses or boorish to the point of making me fall asleep when she described them.” He grinned and cocked his head. “She actually thwapped me for fake snoring in the middle of describing one of them. She was… uncertain about who she would choose.”

Rosemary listened, rapt, glancing only occasionally at Cloudy to see she’d not heard some of this either. “So…”

“I’m gettin’ there. Let an old man prevaricate, young miss.” Dapper waved a hoof at her, chuckling. “She was barely out of fillyhood then. Just nineteen, fiery of heart and mind, ready already to take on the world with the power the stars had gifted her. I tried my best to counsel her as I settled into my new life as an exiled weather warden, but she would always come to me if one of her suitors upset her and vent, then let me calm her down and make her laugh.

“It was that, her laugh, beautiful and as rare as a rose blooming in Damme during winter, that made me dare.” He arched his wings. “By the stars, I was so sure of myself when she came to me like clockwork after the latest of her suitors had pissed her off royally, and before she’d even finished venting, I kissed her. I asked her to marry me, not them. I, with no house behind me, no prospects to bolster the family, nothing but the love I had in my heart for her.

“She stared at me, her eyes going wider and wider, starting protestations and never finishing them, before she said, ‘Now. It has to be now. Marry me today.’”

Dapper took a breath, his smile beatific. “And we did. She knew a clerk at the middle court who could convince a magistrate to do the deed, sign the legal documents, and we filed our union with the Treaty Office before anypony even knew anything odd was happening. By then, it was far too late for her father, for any of her suitors, to say or do anything. We’d been sealed to the sun. For life. And we’ve been together through thick and thin, raising a child, and ruling half of a nation, in wedded bliss ever since.”

Rosemary giggled. “I never would have expected her to be so impetuous.”

“She shows it on rare occasions, but she can be. I hadn’t expected it, either.” Dapper leaned to the side. “But all that said, I do think you’re doing it right. I don’t think the Primline dynasty can survive another shock like the one we put on it. Her father tried to disown me… and when that didn’t work, he tried, and failed, to disown her. He stepped down and cursed them for destroying his city, and welcomed them to the war. Putting a teenager in charge of Damme nearly saw the city rise up again and overthrow us.”

“Like they did to overthrow the Primfeathers,” Cloudy said softly. “Why isn’t that in the histories?”

“It’s not history yet, young lady. Everyone involved is still alive. If you want to read about it, I can show you philosophers and prevaricators that are still discussing it, but it’s hardly the talk of the day anymore.” Dapper waved a hoof and shook his head. “I’m talking about you four. Be as open as you can be. When you can be. Don’t just throw things at the city and expect it to work. It almost didn’t for us.”

“What about when it comes to Cloudy and I?” Rosemary asks. “Or Cloudy and…” She glanced at the door.

“Fine, fine…” Dapper extended a wing towards the charms. “Go ahead.”

After Rosemary had empowered the gems and felt the outside world mute into silence, she finished. “Or Cloudy and Rosewater. Or, if things go well, Collar and Rosewater.”

“Stars, you do ask the hard questions.” Dapper rubbed his chin and stared past her again. “I guess, maybe sometimes you do have to throw a surprise kick to the chin.” He lowered the hoof after a moment, shrugged, and added, “But getting the city used to Collar marrying a full-blooded Rosewing will help. Most of the city doesn’t even think of me as a Rose anymore. They’re half right, but they need a reminder, I think.”

“At the gala?” Rosemary asked softly. “That would be a good time, wouldn’t it? When Roses and Prims gather together amicably?”

Dapper snorted a laugh. “You have been to a gala before, Rosemary. What’s amicable about standing on opposite sides of a very large room and glaring at each other?”

“Then make the difference. This year. This gala. Invite Rosewater personally. Formally.”

“She’s already expected to attend, though,” Cloudy said.

Dapper, however, was watching her with a small approving smile, and nodded, then tipped his head to Cloudy. “You are right. But we do have the ability to invite ponies as our special guests. Whether or not they’re expected to attend already hardly matters. The public announcement will shock everypony. Most of all the Primfeathers, Manes, and Coifs, but… and this is where we have to play it carefully how we word it. It will also infuriate Roseate.”

“In that case,” Cloudy said, glancing between them, “if their next dates go the way I think they will, have Collar write the invitation. Have it be him that invites her.”

“Oh, that is devious. Lace can disclaim foreknowledge, and it will look like she’s actually winning him over as a friend if not an ally.” Dapper leaned forward and raised a hoof to cover his muzzle, “Or even romantically.” He gasped and fell back to laugh on his haunches. “Stars, seeing my boy get rolled up in a Merrier romance is exciting to see.”

Rosemary glanced aside at Cloudy, swallowed, and pulled herself forward. “And what about me? I want to have the same chance to love him that Cloudy and Rosewater have, but I’m a prisoner. I can’t… responsibly… ethically try to court him. Can I? I don’t want him to feel like he’s taking advantage of me, or that I’m trying to make my place here easier.”

“That,” Dapper said more solemnly, “is something you will need to address with him. I know he cares for you a great deal, he worries that you’re enduring hardship you don’t need to.”

“This is hardly hardship,” Rosemary huffed, leaning against Cloudy and flicking her tail against the bed.

“Will you think that in another month?” Dapper shook his head. “You are a prisoner. A respected and well treated prisoner, but a prisoner.”

“You could defect,” Cloudy murmured in her mane. “You know Lace would give you a light sentence to cover the remainder of your ‘crime.’ Community service. Something outside if you wanted.”

“I could,” Rosemary admitted, tasting the idea of freedom, of being able to wander Damme as she wished, to sample the things she’d only smelled the after-effects of on her playing. “I could, but then Rosewater would have no reason to visit, and all of her old warrants would come into effect. She couldn’t visit without being arrested and tried by Lace, who would be required by law to give her a harsh sentence. Nor would Rosewater deny the charges for the ponies she did abduct as an agent of Roseate.”

Dapper looked pained, but slowly nodded and sighed. “And the only way to invalidate the prisoner of war protocols for arrests would be to end the war. Which, if she were arrested, and we wanted to vacate those charges, would mean either we go on the offensive again, or we surrender. Neither is something Lace wants to do. Conquest leads to instability down the road, and our ponies would never accept surrender. She will let the war go on and hope Collar’s children will see an end to it.”

“Then I am stuck. I won’t sacrifice my mother for my comfort. Nor will I do so if being uncomfortable for a while will end the war.” Rosemary nodded, took a deep breath and straightened herself. “But nor will I be a third wheel in my own marriage. I’ll talk to him.”

Collar tapped lightly on Priceless’s office door, and only had to wait a few seconds before the door opened to the usual scene of controlled chaos. Scrolls and scroll cases stacked in neat piles on every available surface save the central desk. Anypony looking in would think it the usual office of a trade advisor for a busy port city.

“You wanted to see me?”

Priceless glanced up, nodded, and flared his magic to silence the room. “Internal threat again.”

“Again.” Collar sighed, glanced at the chair beside the table, and pulled the cushion off it and sat on it instead. “What is it this time?”

Priceless gave the chair a meaningful glance, brow raised, and shrugged. “In part, it’s that. Your comfortability with Merrier ways, and the gossip about how easily you talk with Rosewater and Rosemary. It’s agitating some feathers.”

“Prim feathers?” Collar asked with a wry grin. “They don’t like that Rosewater and I get along during our public discussions.”

“It’s worse because it’s coming from gossip,” the spymaster said with a doleful sigh. He searched his desk for a moment, pulled out a triplet of scrolls, and passed them to him. “The birds I have listening in taverns and on the streets say she’s making headway in her publicly accepted goal of wooing you as a mate.”

“She’s not, if it’s any consolation.” Collar’s automatic rejection sent a twinge of conscience through him. “We’re becoming friends, though. We understand each other better than we used to, and if she gets to rise to power in Merrie, I truly believe the war will be over, no matter if she does succeed at romancing me.”

Priceless gave him a long, sobering look. “Friendship is the first step, my lord. Are you sure she’s not finding her way into your kinder regard?”

“My heart, you mean.” Collar dropped his head back and stared up at the ceiling, the dark stone of the former dungeon cell a reminder of just what this basement had been used for. “I can’t say that she isn’t absolutely. I care for her well being, and I worry that she’s more fragile than the rest of the world thinks. She is strong, yes, but strong like cold-forged steel. Strike at the wrong angle, and she’ll shatter.”

“You’re not wrong. I do wish that Lace would let me look at that little book she offered her. The one that caused her so much upset.”

“I don’t. It’s private, Priceless.” Collar hesitated when the older stallion gave him an incredulous look. “It’s between father and daughter,” he added reluctantly. “It shouldn’t be part of the discussion of her unless she decides to bring it up.”

Priceless’s regard changed briefly, studying him more intently before he nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. I’ll stop pressuring Lace to let me look. But. To the matter that I called you for. It wasn’t the gossip on that rag. It was the more worrying reports of Wing shopping around an idea to the middle court magistrates most often amenable to his causes. One that’s caused one of them to sit up and take notice enough to warrant a little sparrow to send a missive my way.”

“Do tell.”

“It has to do with prisoners of war now being housed in relative luxury in the Prim Palace. Word’s spread like wildfire that Glory is here, and some ponies are not happy about her being treated like the precious intelligence commodity that she is.” Priceless gave him a measured look. “I had a talk with her myself. Something I couldn’t have done if she was still in prison. It was enlightening.”

“Oh?”

“She didn’t reveal anything intelligence-related, but she did say you asked her for advice on how to get Rosewater to open up. And what advice she gave.”

“I see.” Collar sighed and nodded. “I did ask her. Because I care about Rosewater and her struggle. I want to see her succeed.”

“Even at romancing you?”

Collar winced.

“I see.” Priceless tatted a scroll on the table and rolled it towards him. “He’s not getting much of a positive response from the magistrate at large. Most of them view the disposition of prisoners of war a matter for the high court, as they should, since that’s how it’s been written into our constitution from the first days of the treaty.”

Collar studied the scroll and it’s limited information. There were names, but they were long-serving magistrates in heavily residential areas of the city, the areas that were most likely to view family as a sanctity of two ponies. But they were also generally more hardline anti-Merrier in general than the economic center of the city or the ponies that worked in trade-related sectors.

High justice, and the high court, was the realm of the rulers of Damme, and involved the prosecution of the war, detainment of prisoners of war, and their treatment. It was the same in both cities, a provision guided by the treaty, but not enforced by it, that the low, middle, and high courts be established after the Equestrian standard.

Low justice was typically handled by the Dammeguard itself, regarding citations and minor fines that didn’t need to go before a magistrate unless the pony wanted to dispute the case.

The middle court was the purview of crimes against the laws of the city, not of the war, and usually only involved citizens of Damme. Agents and citizens of Merrie who committed crimes were often relegated to Lace’s justice—or the justice of prior rulers, all of whom had been less forgiving of the crimes of commoners.

In Damme, the power of middle justice was held jointly by the commoners and lords and ladies of the city, with four justices appointed from the Lords, and four elected from the common pony. Wing, nor any of his direct family, were justices thank the stars, but there was a Mane and a Coif in the court system, and a Planter who leaned heavily towards traditionalism.

The common side of the court was heavily weighted towards Lace, with progressive ponies almost to a one being elected that supported the Lace Reformation, largely because of her overseeing the largest economic boom in generations had greatly endeered the common pony to her, so she held a fiat majority there, albeit a slim one.

It was in the middle court that the Reformations had faced challenges, all of which had died on the upwelling of support for them by a populace tired of the endless conflict.

Which may work against them in this case. If the war was to end, ponies who broke the law in Damme had to be held to the same standards, regardless of the city they came from.

“Support for the Lace Reformations is still holding steady?” Collar asked.

“It is. As long as trade continues to boom, and money flows through the city, I think most ponies are starting to accept that as just the way things ought to be done.” Priceless shrugged and leaned back in his chair, resting his hooves on the foreleg rests and staring up at the ceiling as he went on. “The support for your mother’s gambit is more or less ingrained in your generation, but older ponies are still wondering why we’re not pushing our advantage in numbers, our discipline advantage, and the current infighting between Roseate and her heir.”

“Especially with Rosewater effectively sidelined as long as the negotiations are going on.”

“That too.”

“Truth be told,” Collar admitted, “I enjoy her company. I regret that when Rosemary is returned to Merrie, we’ll have to see each other as enemies again.”

“Must you?”

“I doubt her mother is going to give her a choice. Either that, or she’ll defect.”

“Unless she has a child,” Priceless said softly.

Collar grunted and nodded. The idea of her having children… touched a nerve in him somewhere. He couldn’t picture what they would look like or the kind of pony she would marry. The idea of what she would need to do to have children… he closed his eyes and pushed away the faintly disturbing feeling rising through his gut.

Cloudy’s face appeared in his mind’s eye, her lips moving, a smile burgeoning as the meaning of her silent encouragement. She, of course, would encourage him to view Rosewater as more than a friend. So would Rosemary. His mother and father…

“She’s been seen more often with Dazzle around Merrie,” Priceless said into the silence. “He often accompanies her on lunches to a tavern her file says is owned by an old friend and lover.”

“Primrazzle Dazzle?” Collar asked, the twinge in his gut coming back stronger.

“Maybe you should encourage that relationship. He’s a Dammer with a family lineage back to before the treaty. The pedigree of their child would be what’s needed to truly start to unite the—”

“I don’t think they’re in love,” Collar said, breaking in before Priceless could finish. “Both of them follow the Principes. I’m sure they’re good friends, but when she’s talked about him, I haven’t gotten the feeling that their emotions run very deep for each other beyond that.” The twinge started to fade, and he relaxed minutely as it did. “I don’t want to put pressure on our friendship, either, by encouraging her to…”

He trailed off, wondering just where his thoughts had taken him, and why he couldn’t say what he wanted, needed to say. It was logical for him to encourage the relationship. It was the best way forward for Rosewater to become the heir in actuality rather than only apparently.

“I can’t,” he said at last. “I can’t push her away. I don’t want to damage our friendship by bringing romance into the mix and then pushing her at another pony. Stars above, can you imagine how a Dammer would react if I tried that? How Cloudy would react if I pushed her away and towards Rosemary?”

“She’d probably beat some sense into you,” Priceless said wryly.

“She would.” Collar let out a brusque sigh and scrubbed at his cheek with one hoof. “Why does friendship with her have to be so complicated?”

“Politics.”

“Well, rut politics.” Collar snorted. “I need an ale. Fancy stepping out for a few hours in your role as our trade minister to celebrate the record crop yields?”

“And to blunt the confusion?”

“That too.”

Priceless tapped a hoof against the chair for a moment, then nodded. “I could use one, too. Just promise me you won’t suddenly blurt that you’re in love with Rosewater, okay?”

“I can promise that.” The twinge came back only briefly this time.

Rosewater sat in the garden villa with a glass of wine swirling slowly in a spell, letting the dark red liquid slosh up almost to the rim in a cyclone of fragrance. It was a rich bouquet, but not too rich, and when she tasted it finally, swishing it around her mouth and over her tongue, the richness and tartness of it, hidden beneath the sweet, dry accompaniment of fermented grape was pleasantly biting.

She swallowed the mouthful and glanced at the bottle. Pomegranate Parade. Alliteration was ever one of Petal’s joys when naming vintages. “And this one goes well with sharp cheese?”

Petal nodded and glanced at the deep clay pot, the glazed interior squeaky clean, sitting next to her. “It’s perfect for fondue. But,” she added with a raised hoof, “that’s also contingent on what kind of bread or treats you bring along. Smoked salmon is popular.”

“No fish. I’ve already got fish cakes for the dinner portion.”

“Breads, then.” Petal glanced aside at her husband lounging on the sedan, watching both of them with his lazy smirk ever in place. Unchanged from when he was a foal watching Rosemary try and talk her way out of whatever trouble he’d ‘helped’ get them into. “It’ll go with a lot of breads except dark rye, so unless you’ve already bought some, I would recommend not getting any.”

“The restaurateur said dark rye was best with honey anyway,” Rosewater said. “I do already have some breads, and some he imported from Damme that are favorites with his sharper cheeses.”

“Then I think,” Petal said, hefting the bottle. “Give me some time to think. This will do, but I think maybe I have something better.”

“Oh?” Rosewater’s ears perked. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Only if you tell us who this outing is with.” Petal waited for a few seconds and waggled the bottle, sloshing the wine. “Very well. We’ll serve this bottle for dinner, and Seed and I will wrap you a surprise for your… outing.”

Date. Petal may as well have blurted it out. Rosewater swallowed.

“And you won’t tell us who it’s with?” Seed asked in a lazy purring voice.

“It could be by myself, you know,” Rosewater shot back. “I could just want a night out watching the stars in the cold and remember how Carnation and I used to watch for shooting stars while Rosemary chased fireflies.”

“I don’t recall you and Carnation ever sharing fondue,” Petal muttered. “Or wanting to pair it with wine. Or,” she went on, one brow arched, “after visiting a chocolatier and making Rosejoy and her crowd even more agitated.”

“And she still won’t share what she bought there,” Seed whined, rolling over on his side and swatting towards her with a hoof. “Come on, auntie. Give us something or we’ll start making up romances for you.”

“I bet it’s Collar,” Petal purred. “The whole town is talking about how well the two of you get along in Damme.”

“Gossip,” Rosewater said with a huff. “We talk about what I can do to pay an exorbitant herdgild.” She glanced at Seed. “Did you know that the more prominent the family is, the higher the price?”

“Only makes sense,” Seed said. “My lazy hide would only get maybe a couple buckles.”

“And Rosemary is the niece of the ruler of Merrie,” Petal said, nodding and sighing. “Alright, fine. So maybe it’s not Collar and you’re playing nice because it’s the only way not to have to pay a princess’s ransom for her return.” Her tone said she didn’t believe it, and the way she gave Rosewater a hard stare said she as much as guessed that it was Collar. “But I’ve also seen you when you come back from your negotiations. You’re lighter on your hooves. You’re happier.”

“Because I get to see Rosemary again. However brief.”

“Stop hiding, auntie,” Seed said uncharacteristically forcefully. “It’s not only that, else you’d return to depression after a few days. You’re planning something.”

“I don’t see any reason to deny that.” Rosewater chuckled and clucked her tongue. “When am I not planning something, nephew?”

Petal grunted. “She has a point, love.”

“She does, and I do, too.”

“Have you given a thought that maybe I’m planning a getaway with Dazzle?”

Her friends exchanged a long glance, communicating more by silence than most could by paragraphs before Petal shrugged and Seed grinned.

“That could be.” Petal flicked an ear and looked over the wine bottle again. “But if that were the case, you’d have asked what his favorite wine was, not what wine would go best with a soft, sharp cheese.” She hefted the bottle. “It’s not this, by the way.”

“Okay, so what is Dazzle’s favorite wine?”

“You’ll have to ask him,” Petal said, a touch snippily. “He’s not given up which is his true favorite, though he samples enough.”

As if called, or because it was almost lunch, Dazzle poked his head into the room. “My ears are burning. I take it Petal’s complaining that I’m not a good wine taster again?”

“Ah. There you are.” Seed popped up to his belly and flicked his tail. “Are you and Rosewater planning an outing?”

“Brat,” Rosewater growled.

“We weren’t, no.” Dazzle glanced her way, his smile brightening as she met his eyes. “But I wouldn’t say no to a night away from the city with her.”

That look in his eyes, hopeful and happy to see her, willing and wanting her to open up more to him… it hurt. Yet she couldn’t lead him on in the same way Collar said he didn’t want to lead her on. She turned her attention to Seed and flicked an ear at Dazzle.

Her impertinent nephew’s smile dropped, and he nodded. “Come on, Pet.” He pushed himself up with only a glance between his wife and Dazzle, then slipped out of the room.

“Dinner’s in an hour, you two,” Petal said lightly, her eyes on Rosewater’s telling her not to hurt him.

I won’t.

As soon as they left, Dazzle stepped closer, concern in his eyes and his stance tense. “Rosewater?”

She took a deep breath, silenced the room, and sat facing him. “You know I like you,” she said softly. “Quite a lot. I’m incredibly grateful for all the time I’ve been spending with you.”

“I do.” Dazzle’s smile faded into a faint frown as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. She didn’t back away from it, welcoming the gentle caress of lips. “And I like you. I like you especially when you’re letting yourself be you.”

Not love. Rosewater let herself relax a little. “You know who I’m seeing, right? Who I hope to court for marriage?”

Dazzle’s ears flickered briefly. “Ah. I suspect.” He turned, back up half a step, and sat beside her to lean his shoulder against hers and rest his cheek just below hers. “I could love you. I could. But I have a feeling you have your eyes set on the other side of the river. Collar?”

Rosewater froze for a second, then nodded. “Collar. And Cloudy.”

“He’s a good stallion,” Dazzle said softly. “I trust him explicitly. But I also know, from what I’ve heard, that he’s very much in love with Cloudy. And very much a devotee of the Tussen Twee. By requirement if nothing else.”

“I know.” Rosewater leaned back against him, dipping her head to rub her cheek against his. “I’m worried about hurting you.”

“Don’t be. I’m a free-floater, Rosewater. I could love you. I could love Bliss and Roselyn and Petal. But I don’t know.” He nipped her neck lightly. “If you weren’t pursuing Collar so openly, I think I might have put my horseshoe in front of you and asked you to walk with me.”

“Openly?” Rosewater cocked her head to the side and glanced at him. “I’ve not been open with my affection toward him.”

“You’re happier after you see him, and you’re excited as the day you’re meant to go back to Damme to negotiate gets closer.” Dazzle leaned away and glanced at her. “You’re falling in love. And ponies notice. They put together the signs and do the addition.”

“He just wants to be a friend,” Rosewater protested without much conviction. She wanted to be more than friends. She wanted to see his eyes light up when he saw her. She wanted to feel the warmth of his embrace in the open air and not care if anypony saw, or what anypony said. “I want… I want to love him, Dazzle.”

If Dazzle was hurt by that, he didn’t show it. Why should he? He’s a follower of the Principes now. He loves many, and hasn’t admitted his love for me.

“I feel,” Rosewater said softly, “like sometimes I’m…” The words stayed frustratingly out of reach for her, almost there. “Like I’m… playing. At love. I have honest feelings for him, and I could love him. And he’s been kind, supportive, gentle with me. We talked long into the night last time, sharing stories about growing up and growing into—” Rosewater broke off, her lips wrapping around the word ‘motherhood’ before she’d even had half a chance to think about it.

“Into?” Dazzle leaned to the side and studied her frozen expression for a moment before kissing her cheek. “It must be another one of those secrets Petal keeps complaining about.”

Rosewater closed her mouth, nodded, and looked at him. There was understanding in his eyes, and a hesitation she’d not seen the first night they’d made love. She kissed his lips lightly, ducked her head and pressed her cheek to his. “Thank you for being so understanding, Dazzle.”

“You’re more distant,” he whispered in her ear. “Because Collar doesn’t embrace the Principes like I do.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “I worry that he’ll be… distant. If…” She swallowed. “If we have sex. Again.”

He leaned away from her, stood, turned, and sat again facing her. “I don’t need sex, Rosewater. I need you to be here with us. I need you to let go of worrying about what it looks like and be open and free.” He smiled and raised his hooves to cup her cheeks. “Besides, how long does it take you to let go of those worries before a date? Do they still cling to you even while he’s sitting across from you or walking with you?”

Rosewater nodded. “Sometimes. Stars, our first date was almost a disaster because I worried myself into… a pointless tizzy.”

“Then let go of them. Be yourself. Everywhere.” He kissed her lips lightly. “Let go of worry.”

Rosewater leaned forward to cross horns with Dazzle, resting her forehead against his. “Then… come with me. I have something I need to tell Seed and Petal, too. And you and Bliss.”

They deserved to know about her true relationship with Rosemary, and the reason she was negotiating for her release. They were as good as her family, and they didn’t deserve to be treated like suspects who might spill the information to Roseate.

It wasn’t a long explanation, nor did any of the four ponies present interrupt her as she haltingly explained what she’d told Collar on their last date. With him, he hadn’t had the years of knowing her, of built up ideas of her to tear down and rebuild, and, in the end, it didn’t matter. None of them challenged her motherhood. Seed actually beamed at her and bobbed his head almost the entire time, like he’d known, even if the legal reality was new.

And he probably had. He definitely had known.

Petal started to ask her questions a few times, but stopped herself with a glance at the grinning Seed, and settled back. Bliss covered her muzzle and stared at her, then at Dazzle, who seemed equally as surprised.

But it didn’t matter when she finished with, “She’s my daughter. Legally and in my heart. The only reason I haven’t told any of you is… it’s become a habit to keep it secret. But it will come out. Sooner before later, I would imagine. And you, all of you, deserve to hear it from my lips and not from gossip.”

Silence hung about the small room, warded against sound with only their breathing and the shifting of cushions under rumps.

“Because you’re family to me,” she continued. “This garden is family, and this is my home. Even if I tried to hide from you all for too long.”

Seed was the first to stand and embrace her, his forelegs crushingly tight around her neck. “Welcome home, aunt Rosewater.”

It was the first of the floodwaters as Petal rose and joined him, less punishing in her embrace, then Dazzle, and Bliss, surrounding her in a warm cocoon of love and acceptance.

I’m home. The tears came then and they held her while she cried.

Author's Note

This is an important turning point chapter for Rosewater, as small a place as it has now, it's how it changes her going forward that's more important. It will grow quickly as time goes on. That feeling of home, and that home being not only large, but well-populated with ponies that care about her. Not the emptiness of the Rosefire estate, but a home full of life and love and encouragement, and a new core of ardent supporters who know the truth.

Midweek post. the next chapter won't be tomorrow, but on Friday like normal (... again).