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"Study the stars" He said, smiling sheepishly. "It's a little wierd, but I'm fascinated by them. It'll never help me in the future, but still." He said, shrugging. They began to approach the stable and he put on the stoic prince mask once more--something he hated he had to do--before leaving the horses to the stable hands. "Put her horse away with such care of a newborn, understand?" He snapped at the stable hands, the hands nodding and doing so. Caelan placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her to his study and shutting the door behind them. His face was back to it's normal self, his entire mood was in fact. "So, what do you want to check out?" He asked, his arms wide as he walked to his telescope and pointed it at the very visible stars. "Come see" He said, holding his hand out for her.
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"Stars. Sounds fascinating." Adele remarked, then grew quieter as they neared the stable and all the people. She followed Caelan into his office and followed his gaze to the telescope near the windowsill. She had seen telescopes before, and never up close. It was an incredible invention, she could tell, but Adele wasn't sure if she wanted to look through it. "How about you show me your favorite stars?" She asked, having no idea what terminology to use. She didn't want to embarass herself by saying something extremely stupid, so she left the talking to Caelan.
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"Sure" He said, opening his sketchbook and placing it beside the telescope. "This one I still need to name, but it isn't in any of my textbooks. A new star, can you believe it? They've always fascinated me and I got this telescope a few years back when my studies began to become serious..." He kept talking on and on about his stars, willing to answer any questions. He showed her all the sketches he had made of various stars and planets, explaining them in as simple of terms he could manage. "I'm boring you, aren't I? I'm sorry, sometimes I get carried away..." He muttered, apologizing sincerely and shutting his sketchbook before setting it on his bookshelf. "There's gotta be something you'd like to do before dinner?"
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Adele listened, fascinated, as Caelan told her about the new star he had found and showed her his drawings. She was getting a little overwhelmed with all the terminology, and knew that the prince was dumbing it down for her. That made her feel worse, but she knew there was nothing she could do about that. "No, no, I think it's incredible! But it's hard to follow along with everything, considering I have never done anything related to stargazing." Adele thought about what she wanted to do. "If it's all right with you, I'd like to go into town."
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"Of course." He said, nodding. He offered her his arm as he led her out of the placae grounds and into the calm town. There were merchants calling out their wares in hopes for a buyer wherever you turned, currency being exchanges with the royal T in cursive for the Thorne family initial on every coin. It was a large burden, bing king or even prince, but Caelan was determined to make the best of it.
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Adele took Caelan's arm and followed him into the quiet-yet-somehow-bustling town. She gazed around, looking for differences between the Night Kingdom and the Day Kingdom's towns. She didn't find much, except that the Night people wore darker clothing and seemed more imposing. But that last thing might be because she was new here. Adele gripped the prince's arm a little tighter. "How big is this place?" she asked, wondering how many people lived here.
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"We currently have a population of over 50 thousand, without including our army" He said softly. "Our army is quite large as well, though I don't know those numbers." He led her to a cart that sold sweets and bought her a few of his favorite treats and pastries. "We'll take these to our spot" He said softly in her ear, handing over the currency to the merchant and leading her to another shop down the street. He bought three new daggers, a red gem at the end of each's handle. "For you" He said, handing one to her handle-first. "Protect yourself well"
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Adele nodded at the numbers, knowing her kingdom had a similar amount, though probably smaller. Adele smiled when the prince bought the pastries. She loved sweets, and at home her parents only let her have them for dessert. They didn't want her to get spoiled. And she hadn't, she had just grown to love baked goods more. Adele was worried when they walked to a weapons shop next. Why would they need to go there? But when Caelan explained, she nodded, understanding. Then Adele paused. "Um, Caelan?" she asked quietly. "I... I've never been taught how to... defend myself. I don't really know how to use these." She continued, indicating the dagger in her hand.
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"I'll teach you. Everyone in royalty should know how." He said softly and quietly so nobody would hear him. "Let's had to our spot, yeah?" He offered after stopping in one last store--the grocery store, essentially--and bought them both lemonade.
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"Thank you," Adele said, quiet and sincere. "Sounds perfect. I can't wait to eat those desserts," She said, grinning. "Um, is there a place we can get something for me to keep the dagger in? I don't really want to be holding it all the time in public." Adele had seen some of the castle guards' daggers in sheathes on a belt, and thought maybe there was a leathermaker who sold them somewhere in town.
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