If it were to be measured strictly by weather standards, this was already shaping up to be the perfect day. The spring sun shone brightly upon the village below — upon her village — and the flowers were all in full bloom, all their smiling faces turned towards the light. Achorus of delighted birdsong rung through the air which, to her elegant imagination, she found she could envision as a tender choir of angels, giving voice to her joy.

Vanessa was standing outside the entrance of her manor, garbed in her royal green dress; hands clasped together in wait. A cheery expression plastered itself across her pal face — and for good reason, she knew — her Prince was to arrive any minute now, and finally they'd be together forever.

She found herself with fondness looking back upon her wedding, though the excitement that it brought had been all but fleeting. It had been such a beautiful week, but of course it hadn't been made to last; her Prince had gone home not long afterwards, to gather his belongings in preparation for his new life with her, and even this slight absence of his found her fretting her poor heart away — oh, what if something dreadful happened? Just as it had with her poor old mother?

Ah, her mother... while she stood so elegant and composed, however, she still felt the terrible and aching sting of loss — oh, how unfortunate it was that the old woman just had to befall upon such a horrible accident... and not just that, but that she so cruelly had to pass down that awful title of Queen unto her! It made it exceptionally hard for her to match completely with her Prince, now, and "Queen" Vanessa didn't even have the same ring nor charm to it, even with all the newfound freedom it brought. Sacrifices, oh, she was always making sacrifices, even when people couldn't appreciate them...

She stopped short of frowning. Best to keep up appearances, after all; in the end, what her Prince called her was of the utmost importance, not what the rabble did.

Pulling herself back together, naught but a few moments later did the expected carriage roll up then did her Prince find himself let out of it, by the guards sat in the cabin with him. He was directed to where she waited, and when he saw her, he gave her a warm smile. She returned the gesture, but all her warmth quickly dissipated when she saw that he was trailed by a large and exceptionally furry black cat. She wrinkled her nose in disgust; what business did he have, forcing this mangy mongrel into her perfect fairytale ending?

"And what might that be?"

"A parting gift," replied her Prince, craning down to sweep the thing into his arms (and taking attention away from her, his princess, his Queen, who clearly was more deserved of it) and show it to her. "From my parents. His name is Crocus — isn't that lovely."

She narrowed her eyes. "I... see." She resisted the urge to say anything else or drop her composure, and instead only gave him another smile, only this one was ever so slightly more uneasy. Apprehensive. "Yes, that's a very nice name. Very... floral." For what it was worth, he didn't seem to notice and instead gently let the beast down.

"Anything for me?" She questioned, a playful lilt to her voice that hid the very real jolt of jealousy and self-contained anger that sent itself coursing through her body at the offense.

"I'm sorry, dear, I... I would've gotten you something, but... I..." he trailed off. Excuses.

She sighed. This intrusion could be better dealt with later, with a little bit of cunning here and there; the more she thought about it, the more confident she became. Yes, this situation would find itself remedied eventually. She would always get her way. "Oh, my love. Sometimes I feel like you just don't love me enough... but I can forgive you this time, dear," she said, entwining her hands with his and pulling him closer to her — "Obviously. It's a gift enough that you're here."

She pulled him into an embrace, but she couldn't help herself from glaring down at the cat over his shoulder.

It stared back, defiantly — through knowing amber eyes.