We were playing

"So uncle Nigel, how is everything at your estate?" asked Wura with a smile as she and Nigel walked through the halls arm in arm.

"Ahh well everything is fine over there my dear, at least more stable than before luckily for me to afford to leave everything in the care of my workers and come here" replied Nigel with a smile.

"I am glad to hear that, and I am also very glad that you are here, I really did miss you" said Wura as she smiled.

"And so did I my dear, it really bothered me to leave you alone, but I knew deep down that you would be just alright without me" replied Nigel as he smiled.

"Thank you, uncle, I really do not know what I would have done without you, you just made me feel so stable even though my entire world was crumbling at the moment" said Wura as that brought a bright smile to Nigel's lips.

"No thank you my dear for being so strong, I knew that I could never have been easy, but as the saying goes weeping may endure for a night, but joy shall come in the morning" said Nigel as he smiled.

"That really is true, but how is the harvest?" asked Wura as they made a turn to the right.

"Ahh well the harvest was good, better than I had expected there were no problems there, the only issue I see now is pricing correctly because the prices of goods nowadays has increased by double, it is merely unaffordable for most" said Nigel with a sigh as he shook his head.

"I know, and I m guessing that it has something to do with the increase of taxes" said Wura as she frowned, she knew that this would cause many problems and now the problems were starting to show their ugly heads.

"Precisely, everything is double the amount it was, and even though that barely affects us, it affects a vast majority of people in the Kingdom who were already struggling to make ends meet in the harsh conditions" said Nigel as he frowned.

"I know, and Liam had no choice, the consequences of the war included lots of money spent that is hard to get back, I honestly was hoping for the best, I did not expect the increase in tax to trigger an increase in everything else this drastically" said Wura.

"It honestly just worries me dear, many people are still misplaced without their homes, and the poor have nothing, no way to meet their needs" said Nigel as that just made Wura feel terrible, she knew that there truly were people suffering in the Kingdom, and she honestly wanted to do something to help, but she just did not know what.

"But may the Lord help us in these trying times as he has in the past" said Nigel.

"Amen uncle, I pray so too" replied Wura as she heard someone call her and she and Nigel stopped walking and turned back.

"My Queen, Royal Duke Nigel it is a pleasure to have you back in the Castle" said Lady Marli with smile as she bowed her head slightly.

"It is a pleasure to be back Lady Marli" replied Nigel with a smile.

"My Queen, the Royal Duke's room has been prepared I can guide him there if you wish" said Lady Marli as Wura remembered that they only had a few hours left before dinner time, and she had some things to take care of before then.

"That would be very lovely Lady Marli, Uncle I just remembered that I have something pending, forgive me but I have to go now" said Wura as she turned to look at Nigel.

"That is quite alright my dear, I understand go ahead do not let me stop you" said Nigel with a smile.

"Thank you Uncle please rest well and I will see you at dinner" said Wura.

"Thank you my dear, see you at dinner as well" replied Nigel.

"Thank you Lady Marli, I will see you later" said Wura as she turned to look at Lady Marli.

"It is my pleasure my Queen" replied Lady Marli with a soft smile as Wura walked away.

"Right this way" said Lady Marli as Nigel followed after her.

…

Wura sighed as she opened the door to her room and walked in when she saw Nora arranging her dresses with a huge smile on her face.

"My Queen you are back, welcome how was your picnic with his Majesty?" asked Nora as she smiled.

"It was lovely Nora, thank you" said Wura with a smile as Nora smiled and her eyes trailed down and she gasped.

"My Queen what happened to your dress?" asked Nora in shock when she saw how dirty and muddy the bottom of the dress had become, it was not like that before she had left.

"Oh this, well my wonderful husband thought that it would be funny to push me into the mud" said Wura as she scoffed.

"What kind of mud was it? It is so dirty" said Nora as she shook her head, she really liked the colour of this dress it was beautiful, but now it was ruined.

"What were you even doing next to mud in the first place my Queen?" asked Nora.

"We… we were playing…" replied Wura in hesitancy as she said the word playing rather strangely.

"What sort of game were you playing?" asked Nora in confusion as Wura cleared her throat, not wanting to specify, but her silence and hesitance was more than enough for Nora to be able to read in between the lines as she turned red from the mere thought.

"Ahh… th… that kind of playing" said Nora as Wura shook her head in embarrassment.

"Outside??" asked Nora in confusion and Wura felt even more embarrassed.

"Do not even remind me, I knew it was a bad idea I should not have let him convince me" replied Wura as Nora stifled a laugh and Wura found herself laughing as Nora laughed as well.

"Well let me help you out of that dress my Queen and run you a nice hot bath" said Nora as she smiled.

"Thank you Nora you are the best" replied Wura as she smiled.

…

Wura felt relaxed in the tub of hot water as Nora washed her hair. Wura did not fail to notice how extremely happy Nora was, she would smile every five seconds, and she was especially giddy today.

"Nora what happened? Why are you so happy?" asked Wura as she looked at Nora.

"My Queen, I have something very important to tell you" said Nora while smiling as Wura nodded her head in curiosity, she wanted to know what made Nora so happy.

Nora smiled and took a deep breath before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Mero… asked me to marry him" said Nora as she bit her lip waiting for Wura's reaction.

"What???!!" asked Wura in shock, but it was not the bad kind of shock but the good kind of shock.

Nora just nodded as Wura stared at her in surprise.

"When??!!" asked Wura.

"This morning right after you went out with his Majesty" said Nora.

"Oh my… and what did you say???" asked Wura in anticipation as Nora paused dramatically, but not on purpose, she was just so bubbly today.

"I… I said yes" replied Nora happily as Wura squealed excitedly and waved her hands up and down as that caused water to spill out from the bath unto the floor.

"Oh my goodness Nora, I am so happy for you, this is so wonderful to hear!!" said Wura as she stretched out her hands and brought Nora into a tight embrace forgetting that she was really wet right now, but Nora did not seem to mind her clothes getting wet as they hugged.

"Thank you my Queen, if I am being honest I was really shocked when he asked me to marry him… I was beyond surprised I just stood there blinking at him, I did not expect him to ask me to marry him…" said Nora as smiled and Wura broke the hug.

"Well I am not surprised at all, you two are in a relationship and it is going on very well" said Wura as she giggled and Nora giggled.

"I said yes… once I regained my senses and he gave me this ring" said Nora as she showed Wura the golden ring on her finger.

"Oh my, how could I have been so blind not to have noticed that ring on your finger??!! It fits you perfectly, it is so simple and yet elegant just like you" said Wura as she admired the ring.

"Thank you my Queen" said Nora with a happy smile, if there was some she truly cared for their opinion It would be Wura.

"Oh good lord, I was not expecting this today, when is your wedding? We need to start planning the wedding right now!! Did you two decide on a date yet?" asked Wura.

"Well we did discuss it barely and we concluded on the end of the season, before winter starts then we will no longer be able to get married until the winter ends" said Nora as Wura scoffed.

"You believe those midwives tales as well, but Liam and I got married during winter and we are perfectly fine" replied Wura.

"Ehhhh…. My Queen with all due respect, no… your marriage was not fine in the early stages" replied Nora as she shook her head violently as Wura laughed not offended at all by what Nora had said, it was the truth after all, and Nora had seen everything first hand.

"That is true, but that was because we were not in love with each other in the beginning, now we are, getting married in winter had nothing to do with that" replied Wura.

"That may be true my Queen, but I beg to differ, I do not want to take any chances, better to be safe than sorry" said Nora.

"Oh that is true Nora, you are right, anyway I am going to help you plan this wedding, I need to call Lillia to make your dress and oh I need my Aunt Tessa over as well, she is the best at planning events, oh I cannot wait, you are going to look so beautiful!!" said Wura as she giggled and Nora laughed.

"Except you do not want me to plan anything on your behalf?" asked Wura.

"Of course I do my Queen, I would be honoured if you take care of everything" said Nora as Wura squealed again the mere thought of her very dear Nora getting married brought severe warmth to her heart.

"Thank you Nora" said Wura.

"Wait… has Mero asked for your hand yet?" asked Wura as she gasped remembering something important.

"To my surprise he told me that he did, he approached my parents some days ago and he asked my father for my hand and he agreed, I was shocked because I went to visit my parents yesterday and they said nothing about this at all" said Nora.

"Mero is really organised, it is one of his many traits" said Wura with a smile.

"But wait… do you truly love him?? Or are you doing this because of pressure? If so let me assure you that you do not need to impress anyone, you need to be happy for yourself" said Wura in concern, she really did want Nora to be happy.

"Initially my Queen I did not love him, but now I have developed some feelings for him" said Nora with a smile.

"Feelings deep enough to sustain a long term relationship? Because let me tell you Nora marriage has its ups and downs, without true connections or emotions it is hard to maintain" said Wura.

"Sometimes you find yourself wondering what your life would have been if you had not made the choice you did" said Wura as she was speaking from experience, she really wanted Nora to be sure and not make a mistake.

Nora just smiled and held Wura's hands in hers.

"I know my Queen, I am sure of my feelings I really am, thank you for your care and advice to me my Queen, I really appreciate you" said Nora sincerely as Wura smiled.

"I should be the one thanking you Nora, without you, my life here would have been so boring and lonely" replied Wura with a smile as Nora smiled.

"My Queen we will be running late for dinner if you stay in the bath any longer" said Nora as she quickly remembered that they had somewhere to be and Wura laughed.

"You are right I should get out now" replied Wura as she laughed and Nora laughed.