Three days pass, and while Elias continues his training, the day is a very special day for Stace. Her eighteenth birthday is here, and she hopes that she'll get some fanfare, but she is receiving none as it seems. Waking up at the break of dawn, she heads to the throne room where River is already sitting upon the throne. She rarely gets up before Stace does, so it's quite unexpected. Though it really shows how dedicated she is to her job that she would get up before dawn has even broken.

Walking up and getting in her spot after waving to River as a response to River waving at her, Stace is totally silent, as the room as a whole has this same unbroken silence. Though what is on her mind cannot be allowed to rest, as she wonders about her birthday. "Hey, River. Uh... Is there gonna be a party?" She asks River, not mentioning this 'party' being of the birthday kind.

River however, seems confused and not sure why she would be asking such a thing. "I don't know. Why? Was there something you had planned or something?" She responds after her brief moment of silence with a laugh. She really seems totally unaware, completely oblivious of what, and whose, day it is.

One could think of Stace's lack of mentioning it's her birthday as a test to see if she remembers. It's not like she would stop being her friend because of something like this, she just has curiosity. "River..." Looking away, she pops the question. "It's my birthday." She looks back at River. "Did you forget?" She asks her.

River gives a very over the top reaction, as if she had indeed forgotten. "Oh! I-I'm so sorry." Glancing off, she seems to be nervous. It's hard to tell if she is nervous because she's worried this could harm their friendship, or if she's nervous because she hasn't forgotten after all, but Stace is getting scarily close to finding out it's a mere act. "Sorry that I, uh... Forgot." She says with an uncomfortable laugh.

Despite being upset that her best friend 'forgot' her birthday, Stace decides to leave it be. After all, she doesn't want something like this to destroy the bridge that they already had to rebuild once. "You know what? It's fine. I am fine with that." She says, motioning her hands out to either side as if to be pushing this issue to the side so that it doesn't become too major of a problem in their friendship.

Being able to tell that Stace is still upset, River feels so bad for having to act like she forgot, but it's to cover up the party she is planning. She knows it's dire times, though a bit of fun is also necessary, as it helps build morale. She has a 'mission' to impart unto Stace, to get her away for a bit. "Stace, I'm sorry to ask after... I forgot it was your birthday. But can you go to Exalted Evergreen Bakery and get me one of those delicious pies they make? One of the Apricot varieties." She asks Stace to go get a treat for her, which also pains River to ask due to her 'forgetting' her birthday.

Although Stace is decently upset and trying to bury those feelings, she does not want to argue and instead goes along with it. "Fine. An Apricot Pie from Exalted Evergreen Bakery. Did I get that right?" She asks after giving a small sigh. When River nods, sweat visibly beating down her face from the anxiousness, Stace gives a thumbs up and starts walking to away to do as asked. She has noticed that River seems nervous as evident by the sweat beating down her face and can tell that she is probably feeling bad for having forgotten, so it's forgivable in her mind. Though she has yet to piece together that it's an act to throw her off the trail of River's true plan.

As Stace finally leaves through the large doors, they close behind her, and a moment pass to ensure that she won't come back, River stands and looks at one of the guards, the one positioned at the far-left wall. "When Stace returns, I won't be here. Tell her to come find me in the ballroom, okay?" She tells the guard, who salutes as a way to tell her 'okay'. She'd prefer that he use words, but it's the way that the average royal guard are taught to address the royal family, an old tradition.

As River leaves the throne room to walk towards the ballroom, Stace makes her way to the Exalted Evergreen Bakery, an esteemed bakery in the capital city. It's in the business district, which is a bit away from the castle, and so takes a bit to reach it. This nice little shop full of confectionary delights is adorned with nice external decor and it doesn't end as one enters, as someone who does is immediately hit with smell of fresh bread, supple cakes, and the interior design is to die for. It's no wonder that it's the most renown bakery in the capital city, as whoever owns it must be top notch.

Stepping inside, Stace is hit with this delectable smell and is almost immediately in love. She's come here before to get River and herself some treats, but it never grows stale. Approaching the counter, the clerk greets her and she gets down to business. "The queen has sent me to get one of your Apricot Pies." She tales the male clerk, who nods and yells for the back ti bring one such pie out here to her. As Stace waits and stands at the counter, a thought lingers in her mind. "Where's Isa at?" She asks, in reference to the owner, Isabella Thornton. She's come her several times, and each time Isa has been here, so her not seeming to be here is strange.

The clerk looks over at her and gives a shrug, glancing away. "I don't know." He says, awaiting the pie to be brought out of the back impatiently. "I just know that she went somewhere. Didn't say where she was going." He tells Stace, looking towards the back in hopefulness that the staff in the back will bring the pie. He seems off, as he looks to be extremely antsy and impatient to a degree that you wouldn't think he would be. Waiting for the things to be brought to you for you to hand the customer is a part of the job description, after all.

Stace finds this quite odd given that fact. She's quite curious to learn why, so she asks a question that hopefully will be pretty easy for him to answer. "Are you okay? You seem to be anxious about something." She asks him to maybe curb her curiosity some. He doesn't answer for a good moment in time, seemingly not wanting to. In the end, he does answer begrudgingly, as he doesn't want to be rude. 'Be nice and courteous to the clientele', and all that stuff.

Gulping as he looks back towards Stace as if quite nervous and uncomfortable, he pipes up to answer this question fueled by her insatiable curiosity. "I uh..." Pausing for a split moment, he thinks of a BRILLIANT excuse. An absolutely brilliant one. "I have hemorrhoids! Uh, they are... Very painful so it makes me uncomfortable." He says with an uncomfortable laugh, which hammers this excuse in really well. A brilliant excuse nailed in with his magnificent delivery, and he is quite proud of it.

The look on Stace's face says it all. She did not need to know something like that, and it grosses her out beyond belief to even think of it. Seriously, too much information in her opinion. "Ew. Please don't make a habit of revealing such things to your customers. It may affect whether they buy things or not." She says with a face of sheer disgust. Never before had she needed to know someone's medical history in any capacity, let alone a medical history as gross as having hemorrhoids.

It's a pleasant surprise that she has bought the excuse, in reality he is nervous because he's in on where and what Isa is doing. Which could spoil the birthday surprise. "Yes, I suppose so." He says with a laugh, oh so happy that he sold the excuse masterfully. It doesn't take too much longer before a cook from the back, a woman, walks out with the pie. She hands it to the clerk and walks back into the kitchen. "Okay... That'll be two-hundred and one bronze." He tells Stace, and she gets it out of her purse and hands to him. He counts it and in turn hands the pie to her.

Apricot Pie obtained from Exalted Evergreen Bakery as instructed by River, Stace makes her way out of the bakery. This interaction with the clerk was so bizarre and odd that she is still lingering on it. She proceeds to make her way back towards the castle, now with pie in hand. She can only think that this clerk's behavior was so odd for a reason that concerns her, and it suddenly hits her mind why. It's her birthday, which makes her think that something may be planned, in conjunction with Exalted Evergreen Bakery, after all.

Arriving back at the castle and walking to the throne room, she enters to see that River is not there anymore. This is a shock to Stace, as River had told her to get her a pie and yet she's not even here to receive. She looks at the guards scattered around the room and speaks. "Do any of you know where River's gone? I have a sandwich for her." She holds up her fist to signify that it's of the knuckle variety.

The guard on the left side of the room answers her question, as he was instructed to do. "Oh, Ms. Baker, she has gone to the ballroom. She said she had some important business to attend to." He tells her. He had been practicing this response in his mind for a while, so when the time comes to answer, he does so quickly and effortlessly. Needless to say, Stace is annoyed that her mission doesn't end here, but she nods and proceeds to walk down into the ballroom.

Before she arrives there though, people, servants and others, get prepared for her arrival. Watching them line up, River is motioning them to get into place where they should be. There are tables around the room littered with treats and even presents. A few servers from Exalted Evergreen Bakery, including the owner Isa, also are getting in line. Some of these treats were made and brought here by them, as their services have been purchased for the day. "Okay, good." River says as they are now standing as they should, and she herself walks to the group and stands at the very front.

Finally making it to hopeful ending point, Stace takes a breath as she thinks that knowing her luck she'll be told that River is in the bathroom or something. After her breath, she grabs the door handle and pushes the door open. She is stunned what she sees afterwards, as while it opens she hears: "Happy birthday!" Screamed out by a whole heap of people. She also notices River is standing in front, and her assumption about the bakery doing something regarding a celebration was correct, since Isa is in fact here.

This is a surprise and a half for her, as she was so sure that River had forgotten her birthday. The shock nearly makes her drop the pie, but she barely manages to catch it. Walking in as the crowd disperses and everyone congratulates her for now being eighteen years old, she approaches the smiling River. "I... I'd thought that you'd forgotten it was my birthday. You said you had." She says, feeling so happy that she did remember.

River reaches to her and pulls her in for a hug, which Stace not only receives but reciprocates. It's much needed in such trying times, and this is only one of a few times that River has been this way for her as of late. It's Stace's job to ensure that River is advised and comforted, but River is giving that to her as well. "I know..." As their hug releases and River holds Stace by the shoulders, she gets emotional. "I hated that I had to make you think I'd forgotten to keep you from discovering the party plans. I-I'm sorry." She tells her with a bit of emotion in her voice, which makes it shaky.

Despite how River feels the need to apologize, Stace places the pie on a table and grabs her hands that are on her shoulders, pulling them down while continuing to clasp them afterwards. "I know you're sorry, but you did a really good job." She says with a laugh, "A real good job. And I feel a little guilty for getting upset about it now." As she releases her right hand and still holds River's right hand with her left, she looks at the room and is amazed at how lively it is and how stocked the tables are with tasty treats. "I mean, look at this!" She exclaims with a wave of her right hand outwards. Looking back at River, Stace holds a warm smile. "Shall we start the party proper?" Stace asks her, still holding her hand.

Wiping her teary eyes, River looks at her as her emotional face turns to a smile. "I-I'd like that." She responds with her, now from happiness, emotional voice. The two girls walk hand in hand to join their citizens in the birthday bash of a century. The room is alive with noise of congratulations directed towards Stace, compliments to River for the planning she did, and love abound. Friendly love that is very much needed given the dire straits that this nation is in. Amidst the darkness of assassination attempts and the threats of violence, both domestic and internationally on their shores, the bane of war, comradery for their fellow man, and woman, can triumph against even the worst that it can bring.

To Be Continued...