shiningboxofjustice | Open Shipping Meme

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Open Shipping Meme

OPEN SHIPPING MEME

Leave me a comment with one of the characters on my muselist and a prompt! Freestyle it, or use one of the following memes to help you come up with something.

No smut in this post! That goes here.

Arranged Marriage
Fake Marriage
Intimate Bathing
Love at First Sight
Love Confessions
Marriage Life
Mistletoe
Morning After
Proper Courtship
Rescue Romance
Settled Down Shipping
Slow Dance

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Xander shook his head. Helping Olivia would be the polar opposite of trouble for him. "It's no trouble at all. I'm more than happy to help. And all the more reason to do so if all you have are the clothes you're wearing."

However, Xander had to wonder how Olivia got here with just one set of clothes...especially clothes like dancer's clothing. He just hoped she hadn't traveled her on the surface of the city.

"Let me help." He offered her a hand.

Olivia hesitated... but eventually relented. It'd be rude to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when the horse was this good-looking.

... That sounded better in her head, really.

She bowed her head low. "I can't thank you enough... my name is Olivia."

"Olivia..." Xander couldn't help but think it was a lovely name. Fitting for such a lovely woman.

"And my name is Xander. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Another sign that she clearly wasn't from around here - the name didn't register anything at all. She had no idea she was talking to a crown prince - she just thought it was a handsome name for a handsome man, and she dared to smile.

"Yes... you too, Xander. How can I repay your kindness?"

Xander waved a hand dismissively. "You need not worry about that. All that matters is that you can get on your feet."

He wasn't sure what to do first, though. But then he noticed that his stomach was feeling empty. That would be as good a place to start as any.

"Would you care to join me for a bite to eat?"

Olivia blinked once, then felt the weight of her satchel in one hand. Yes... yes, there was enough to afford a nice meal, thank goodness.

"Um... well, if you'd like. I could eat anything, so please don't fret too much."

Xander would see to it that Olivia didn't spend that money on a meal with him. He was planning to pay for the whole thing.

"Perfect! Then let's head into the tavern right here. It's been ages since I ate anything from the kitchen here."

With that, Xander walked over and held the door open for Olivia.

"After you."

"Thank you," she said again, bowing her head and walking toward the door. It was a nice enough place, and thankfully it wasn't too crowded. But once the two of them were inside, she couldn't help but noticed that they were getting stares - specifically, Xander was. The crown prince of Nohr! And... was he with a woman?!

Of course, Olivia had no idea she was with someone so famous, and she rubbed her face, wondering if they were staring at her. Did she have food stuck in her teeth? "Oh dear."

"Pay them no mind. They won't do anything." Not while the two of them were there, at any rate. But this would be sure to get the rumor mill grinding. Xander didn't really care what people said about him; he was used to people gossiping about the Nohrian royal family.

So, for now he showed Olivia to a table in the corner, where she could sit facing away from everyone else in the tavern. Xander would sit opposite her.

"It's all right." Olivia replied as she took her seat. "I guess it's something you can't help when you're an outsider. I've been to a few different lands, but I'm still not used to it." A helpless shrug.

Xander knew full well that that wasn't the case here. Well, there may be the random man in there seething with jealousy (after all, who wouldn't, with such a gorgeous woman with him), but most were looking at Xander. And he could handle it. He wasn't here to give a speech.

"Everyone will return to their business in due time. People tend to have fairly short attention spans in their everyday lives. Now, what would you like to eat? Feel free to order anything on the menu."

No surprise, Olivia was leaning towards whatever was cheapest - but also nothing that would be too fattening. A dancer had to keep her figure, after all.

"This will be fine," She indicated with a point of her finger, the smallest. "But it's all right if they remember me. In my line of work, word-of-mouth is very important."

Xander looked at the item Olivia pointed at and frowned. "That's all? Are you sure? Money is no object, so don't feel concerned about it."

Sure, a dancer had to keep her figure, but she also had to eat a sufficient amount.

"That's kind of you to say... but, like it or not, money is an object." She shook her head. "You are very kind, sir, but you're still a stranger. For all I know this could be what you've been saving up for months, or you worked very hard for it, or..."

She hesitated, not really wanting to say this next part, but it had happened once before. Thank goodness Basilio had been there, but he wasn't now, and she was on her own. "Or you might try to buy me."

That last bit caused Xander to pause. Buy her? What in the world?

There was only one reason why she would even float such an idea in front of him. It must have happened in the past. Though, it would make sense if she ever ran into someone unscrupulous enough to attempt to do just that. A woman so beautiful would attract much unwanted attention. Too much beauty can be a curse.

"...I'm sorry. I can't imagine what must have happened to make that something that happened to you. I apologize for overstepping my bounds."

Olivia shook her head, a small smile returning to her face. "It's all right, it's not something I usually bring up right away. As you can imagine." A little chuckle. "But weirdly enough, it's a happy story... You see, a good man named Basilio saw what was happening and immediately put a stop to it. He was the Khan... sort of like the king, the leader of the land. And there wasn't going to be any slavery if he had anything to say about it." A louder giggle this time, remembering his voice.

"And it was thanks to him I had a good home... he also taught me how to defend myself with a sword. Truly, I owe everything to Basilio. So to make sure his victories were never in vain, I do all that I can to take care of myself."

Olivia's story gave Xander some relief...but also there was a hint of jealousy. However, it was easy to notice that she was by herself, which meant that whatever her relationship to this Basilio was, it wasn't romantic.

"I see. In that sense, you're very lucky. There's something to be said for having someone watching out for you." That was one thing that Xander missed, with the way that his father had changed after Queen Arete's death. Not only that, but he had to take on that role for his younger siblings.

"I find that's much the approach that I take to my younger siblings. Over the past several years, I've become someone they look up to and seek for help."

It was possible this man could be lying about having siblings in order for Olivia to lower her guard... But that seemed like a stretch. So she smiled, deciding to test this for herself and get some details.

"I'm an only child," She said first before prodding. "What are your siblings like? Are you the oldest out of all the children?"

Talk of Xander's siblings would always get him to smile, no matter how detached he tried to be. Being before a beautiful woman only exaggerated that feeling.

"I am the oldest. I have two sisters, named Camilla and Elise, and a brother named Leo. They're all quite outstanding in terms of personality, I've found. Camilla is very maternal and affectionate to her younger siblings. Leo is by far the most intelligent of all of us. I'd even go so far as to say he's a genius. He tends to overcompensate for his image a bit, though. And Elise is the youngest, and the most childlike. But that also means she has an innocence and perspective the rest of us lack."

Even the tone of Xander's voice was affectionate. It was clear that he loved all of his siblings very much.

This was supposed to be a test, to see if this man was coming up with lies or telling the truth. But there was no hesitation to his voice, there was love and adoration, and extra details that a con-man wouldn't need to add. Olivia smiled, hands on her lap.

"Where are they now? Back home, waiting for you?"

"I wouldn't say they're necessarily waiting for me. We all have things to take care of."

It was very likely that Leo was studying in the library, Camilla was taking a bath, and Elise was having a tea party with her retainers. Their elder brother was likely not on any of their minds at the moment.

"But they're all probably at home. I don't believe any of them had plans that required them to go out. I'm the only one."

Which meant he had plans. Olivia blinked catching onto that. Had she inadvertently interrupted some important work he was doing? She could only hope it wasn't terribly necessary, or she'd never stop feeling guilty.

"So what about your plan to go out...? What were you doing here, exactly?"

"Oh. Ah, I simply wished to enjoy the festivities in town today. Nothing particularly important."

Somehow Xander could sense that Olivia was worried about intruding on his plans. Fortunately, the plans were very lighthearted. And this was more important.

"You're free to join me after we eat, if you wish."

"What?" Another surprised outburst, even if it was a quiet one. "You've already done far too much for me."

"To be honest, it's something to do for both of us. You see, I would very much like the company." It would also help him get to know her better, which he is dying to do. He wants to see if this can develop into something more. And if it doesn't work out, then it's simply a case of "nothing ventured, nothing gained."

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delicate_dancer - 2017-10-03 23:03 (UTC) - Expand

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