Her fingers were still shaking, not out of fear but because she was feeling so many different things at once and trying to sort through all of them. Princesses were supposed to be able to cope in these situations, to appear brave or to wear a smile no matter how trying the circumstances. She needed to get a hold of herself.

But as it dawned on her what Asch was saying - the words of the promise she had wanted to hear again for so long, the promise that, despite everything else, he had remembered and not simply thrown away - Natalia failed utterly. Even as she offered Asch what might have been a grateful smile, her eyes began to tear up and spill over.

She raised her free hand to dab hopelessly at her eyes. "...Asch. Thank you. You don't know how long I've..."