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Dawn’s working hours were always the same, starting at six in the morning and finishing at six in the afternoon, not a minute more or less. Even the tavern workers abided by this, the lanterns being blown out as the sunsets. Gem, after her unusual ascension to the throne, knew this better than everyone: there was just no shop, person or bee on the streets during late nights, and she made sure to keep that tradition alive.
And that’s why Katherine is at her village house’s doorstep, still on her monster hunter attire.
“I can’t believe you are forcing me to do this.” Katherine says in the middle of a yawn. Her battle axe is loosely being held in her fist, her other hand on the straps of the bundle that she put on her back.
“I’m not forcing you to do anything, Katherine.” Gem rolled her eyes, giggling as Katherine pinched the bridge of her nose “If I am not mistaken, you offered to help with the candle-making today.”
“Yeah, but… this early?”
“It’s the best time to start getting productive!” Gem nodded, starting the path to Dawn’s candle shop “Once we enter the first hour or so, we’ll be on a roll, you’ll see!”
“I am not even used to waking up before the terce.” Katherine remarked, following her “Just so you know.”
“Oh, I’m sure.” Gem smirked “With your monster hunting and all…”
“I can hear your smile from here, Gem!” Katherine laughed, “My monster hunting business is better than ever, if my board is any indication.”
“Didn’t someone put Pirate Joe in there?” Gem pushed open the door, waiting for Katherine to pass through before closing it behind them “Did that ever get sorted out?”
“Oh, I wish . I’m convinced he put the request there himself to make sure I am thinking about him” Katherine settled the bundle on one of the counters, as Gem laughed.
“Would he even try to that extent?”
“He’s been trying so hard that I don’t doubt it.”
Gem hummed, starting the fire in the stone stove and taking the bee wax pots from the cabinets, starting the melting process.
“You are lucky GlimmerGrove had so many spiders yesterday.” Katherine continued, taking the string out of the bundle “I would have gathered some from the spawner, but it was a nice way to make sure we could have some extra.”
“Really?” Gem looked over her shoulder to see Katherine nod. She turned back to the task at hand and opened the barrel of water nearby, filling the bottom one of the heating pots with water and taking the wax to fill the rest of it. “That busy of a night?”
“Oh, not at all, actually!” Gem could hear shears periodically, probably from Katherine cutting the string “Besides the spiders, there were just some zombies. Very slow night, really.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, Gem stirring the wax and Katherine preparing the string. In quiet hours like this, Gem let her mind wander. Dawn is lively and busy already, the sound of villagers running around outside. If she tried hard enough, she could maybe hear the vendors selling their products, the faint and distant music of the tavern and, even, the buzzing of the bees. And yet, right now, she prefers to stay nowhere else but here.
Which was unusual, to say the least. Since her coronation, Gem has been running around from all corners of Dawn, trying to make sure the citizens are being heard and the kingdom is flourishing. She has no previous experience on how a royal should act or look, but winging it seems to be doing the job for now. And she loves Dawn. Loves the people that she’s seen ever since she was a little girl, the small traditions, the simple yet full of live streets, even the usual bee stings had its charm to her.
But, being here with Katherine was new. Thrilling, even. Katherine is the only other ruler who is also a princess, and although she was intimidated by the other long royal lineage, Katherine was nothing but nice and kind. Their first meeting was unusual, and Gem can’t really say she was awake enough to remember exactly how it went. But she surely remembers Katherine in a leather short dress, battle axe held high in the air, laughing as she cut through zombies and creepers. In her opinion, Katherine looked radiant, her brightness at the moment rivaling the one of the sun.
And, now, here they are: working together, Katherine’s not-so-secretive-secret show openly in the shop.
This partnership was Gem’s idea, really. Even if after Sausage’s ball the two of them promised to keep in touch, Gem grew anxious. Katherine was a princess since birth, she surely had other royal contacts, who certainly were more dignified than peasant-turned-princess Gem, who had no clue about what she was doing. The alliance was a quick idea, Katherine could provide the string and Gem would provide the wax, both could share the profits. And their contact would remain.
Gem looked down at her wax, thinking the plain wax wasn’t really fitting today. She turned to Katherine, lowering the fire a bit as to not burn the mixture, and-
Oh.
Katherine was looking down at the counter, untangling some of the string who, somehow, became a jumbled mess. Her hair was full of dust and dirt from the rough night she had, the bandit mask was pulled down to her neck, hanging loosely and making the frown on her face visible. None of this was really new to Gem, she was aware of how messy hunting could get and that Katherine was easily frustrated with small but bothersome tasks.
Yet, as the sun streamed in through the window, enhancing Katherine's form, Gem thought she had never seen no one as beautiful her whole life.
She inhaled sharply, suddenly feeling out of breath. Katherine turned to her, frown still in her face, and tilted her head.
“Gem? Is everything alright?”
Gem blinked, nodding.
“Yeah, yeah, uh…” she looked around at the mixture and then faced Katherine again “I was just going to ask you to get some dye from the cabinet for me”
“Oh! Sure, of course!” Katherine smiled, immediately turning to be cabinet “Any preferences? I know you really like the yellow and orange candles.”
Gem blushed, opening the chest that held the candles for sale.
“I’m not really looking for Dawn’s candles today.” she rummaged for a bit “Maybe some pink? These are pretty low on our stock.”
“Ooh, yes!” Katherine brought the dyes over to Gem “These are gonna look so pretty!”
“Yeah, yeah.” Gem laughed, still a bit embarrassed. “We do make some pretty great candles, if I do say so myself.”
Katherine laughed as well, handing Gem the dyes. Gem went to take them, but Katherine didn’t let go of them.
“Uh… Katherine?”
“Gem.” Katherine said, eyes fixed on her hands “How long have I been in my monster hunter attire?”
Gem blinked, and thought for a second. She looked out of the window, noticing the sun was still reaching the second hour.
“I’d say an hour or so.”
“Gem!” Katherine said, a panicked tone behind her voice “I’ve been transformed since I got here?!”
“Yeah, pretty much.” Gem had to stifle her laughter at the face Katherine made, eyes wide and mouth on a thin line.
Katherine almost threw the dyes onto Gem, and as soon as she made sure Gem caught them, she went to the other side of the room to detransform. At this, Gem couldn’t help but laugh, the situation so casual to her.
Dawn’s working hours are always the same, but for Gem, when the sun shines through the windows as she laughs, she thinks that traditions can be blessings.