Her last visit to the territory of Cour des Miracles had not been very productive, considering she had never actually gone to see Haven. By the time she had met the Dauphine, it had been verging on late enough that she did not think it completely acceptable to be running around in the dark. Princess was not terribly concerned for her own well being, despite the war in the north, but she had been trying to keep herself relatively safe, if only for Haven’s sake. Though she did not know for sure, she suspected that the Knight would worry about her if she deliberately ignored all safety precautions, so she was making an effort. She had stopped trying to see Inferni, and she had not returned to Dahlia to fight with her mother some more. It was not her intention to do so, either, but she did kind of want to know her little half-brother. If she could get to him before he was old enough that Tokyo and Haku could twist him, then perhaps there would be a chance for him yet. There was no guarantee it would any good for her to try to contact him without their mother finding out, but she might put forth the effort sometime. It might be helpful.

     Princess trotted silently in the direction of her orange boy’s pack, skirting the borders. This adventure was, surprisingly, not one she was using to see him. Her meeting with Ruri had reminded her how she did not know anyone in his pack, but that they might know of her, and it would probably be beneficial to meet a few of his pack mates. With the direction things seemed to be going, it would probably help her out in the future if she knew some of the members, and she did not really have a problem with meeting new people, either. It could be fun, regardless of whether or not it could be considered useful to her, as she did not think of herself as someone who only did things that could provide a greater outcome later. She certainly did things for a purpose, but they were her own purposes, and she did not think that they needed to be justified to anyone, not even herself. It did not make much sense, but that was just that way that her mind worked, something that she could easily understand. It was, after all, her own mind.

     It was not long before she found someone who smelled of the pack, but Princess was no so certain she should approach this female. She seemed like she’d been fighting recently, and while she held the scent of Cour des Miracles thickly, the thought that she had been fighting was not one Princess wanted to entertain. That could mean that the war had come down here, as well, and that Haven could be in danger. Adopting a friendly smile, Princess walked closer, assuming that she would have been seen by now. She had, admittedly, never been good at hiding or sneaking up on anyone. “Hi, I’m Princess. I’m a, um, a friend of Haven’s,” she offered politely, hoping she would not be scolded for coming so close. She still did not know what to say in regards to that, but it seemed logical to introduce herself as a friend of his, rather than something else. The pack was not one she knew well, so she did not know whether or not her relationship with Haven would be frowned upon. It seemed safer to simply say she was a friend, just incase.

     It seemed her explanation was enough to please the Miracle woman, which made Princess feel relatively relieved. She was not looking for any sort of confrontation today, only conversation and the company of someone from Haven’s pack. There was not really any way that she could explain why she wanted to know his pack members so much, other than the fact that she had already been within the lands a few times and she was more than just his friend. She did not know what, exactly, she was, but she knew that it was more than a friend. Something was there, but she did not have the experience to know what it was. She did not ever want it to end though, and she hoped that he would never follow in the footsteps of everyone else in her life by abandoning her. It would probably be worse if that happened than it had been to lose her brother and find out of her mother’s pregnancy in such a very short timeframe, and she hoped she would never experience that.

     “I didn’t know he had an aunt here,” she mused, thinking over everything that he had told her of his family. Really, all she knew was that his mother and sister, Anu and Mati respectively, lived in Crimson Dreams, and that his birth mother lived somewhere else with a new litter of puppies. It was pretty pathetic how little she actually knew about his life and family, but she supposed that didn’t really matter. She knew him, and that was the important part. Princess could only assume that Firefly and Haven were not close like he was with his mother and sister, or he would have told Princess about her. It was no matter, though. Even if she had no family that she could not be close to, Princess could understand how some people were not close to their families. It was unfortunate, and she wished she had some family to be close to, but she supposed she understood why not all families were close. She just did not have anyone to be close to.

     She felt an unfamiliar flare of jealousy at the idea of him saving other “damsels in distress,” but it seemed a better idea not to let it on that she felt that way. She did not understand why she had those feelings, and really, it only made sense that Firefly would joke about the fact that he is a Knight. Knights did those things, didn’t they? Besides, her jealousy was completely illogical. “No need to get him, I was just visiting, I guess... I just wanted to meet more people in his pack.” It still didn’t make sense, even after she had vocalized it, but that was just the way it was. “I’m Princess Chance,” she added, since Firefly had given her whole name. Even if she hated her mother and now did not like her brother much, she did not want to give up her last name. It was a part of her, even if it had negative connotations in regards to her heritage. “I’m sorry for asking, but were you fighting? I mean, with who? Cour des Miracles isn’t getting involved in the war, is it?” she asked, worry in her tone. She didn’t want anything to happen to Haven or those he cared for and protected.

     Her brother's sister would likely make the two women in the equation also sisters, but Princess was not going to press the subject. Her family had more than enough disfunction to spread around, so she was not going to look down upon anyone else's family-related problems. In that respect, she was no better than anyone else, and truthfully, the logical part of her brain knew that she wasn't better than anyone else, even aside from family problems, but there was still a part of her brain that would probably always be under her mother's influence. She would fight it all that she could, but it would always be there, the young woman suspected. Princess only hoped that those around her, especially Haven, could look past that. Not everyone knew of her problems and past, but Haven did, and Princess was sure that he could understand that she would fight with everything that she could against that influence. Lately, though, she wasn't sure if she was winning or losing, considering her emotional turmoil as of late. Not knowing really did bother her.

     It only seemed logical that they weren't terribly close, since Haven had never mentioned Firefly to her like he had mentioned Anu and Mati both. Maybe it was in the way that she had been close to Ares, though. . . Princess had not really talked to him much, or talked about him often, but they had been close, or so she had foolishly thought. A small grin spread at Firefly's suggestion, and she nodded, but it was not really a nod of agreement. "We never seem to have time for a tour, the few times I've been here," she added, knowing that she was leaving that open to interpretation. There were tons of things she could mean by that, so Princess was not expecting the woman to know exactly what she meant. She would have been surprised if Firefly did, although she supposed that Haven might have told Firefly about her already and the woman was simply pretending not to know. She had been raised a liar, so it was practically in her blood to suspect things of others that she might do herself--in the past, of course. She wanted to be done with all of that now, and move forward in her life.

     Her lips thinned at the mention of her mother, though it seemed Firefly did not know their exact relationship. Suddenly, she wished she had not given a full introduction. It seemed like it would have been better, and she should keep that in mind. Dahlia de Mai was at war, and her mother was cruel. It was very likely that the Chance name would continue to become a bitter taste on everyones' tongues. "I'm not surprised that didn't stop her," she said softly, looking away from Firefly as if she were to blame. She did not like knowing that her mother had harmed someone close to Haven. "Please do not think I'm heartless for asking, but. . . Did she have puppies with her? I. . . I know that their parents are both monsters, but they're. . . Still my. . ." Still her what? Princess mentally kicked herself for her cold, stumbling words. "They're my siblings, or half-siblings, anyway. She has a habit of killing her children. . . Three physically, and two in the mental-emotional sense," she added. "That is why it does not surprise me, and I just want to know if. . . There's any chance that I can save them from her. I don't know how, though," she whispered pathetically.

     Princess knew all too well the goodness that was within Haven's heart and she smiled, thinking of this. What she knew was good enough for her to believe he was always the chivalrous, wonderful man she knew, but hearing that others shared an opinion with her made her feel good. It was nice to know that, for once, her judgment was not being questioned, but rather, confirmed. If there was anyone that she knew she could count on in her life, it was Haven, and she would have been heartbroken to find out he was not the amazing man she thought he was. "Yeah, he does. Someone did something right with him," she agreed with a smile, though she did not know who. It certainly was not his father. The most likely answer was Anu, of course. I just wish someone had done something right with me, she mentally added. It was not self-pity, but merely a desire to be different. The Chance girl was proud to have found someone like Haven, but she wanted him to be proud to have found her, as well, some day.

     There didn't seem to be room for argument at Firefly's suggestion that they walk together, so Princess followed her dutifully, looking around them as she walked to see the lands she had yet to really see. She would not have argued with the idea, anyway, and she was grateful for the chance to look around, especially in a case such as this, where she not only had permission to be there, but she also had company. Princess did not want to see the other's pain at the topic of her wretched mother, but it was impossible to pretend it was not there. There was no way that she could blame Firefly, either. Tokyo had brought many pain, but taking someone's pups away from them before they could even see their mother's face was worse than simply hurting someone. It was not worse than murdering her own children in cold blood, but that was a different level of disgusting for her mother. "I have tried," she said simply, though perhaps she had not tried hard enough. Princess would not change her name; it was a part of her. But yet, she had not cut all ties with her mother... She kept going back for the abuse, either by actually going to see Tokyo or by thinking about her. She didn't know if she would ever be free of her wicked grasp.

     A sound of disgust was inevitable at Firefly's description of the puppy. It was bad enough to know that there was only one, as Princess knew Tokyo had been carrying more than that during her pregnancy. Whether or not it was true, Princess was going to believe that Tokyo had murdered the others for one reason or another. If King looked like Haku, perhaps the others had not looked the way that their monster of a mother had wanted them to. Perhaps, she mused, not quite sure whether or not she was a bit afraid of the idea, the rest of them had shared Princess' appearance. It did not matter what the puppies looked like, though, for Princess was certain that Tokyo and Haku would vitiate them all the same, turning them into monsters like themselves. It was such a sad thought. "I hate her. I want to hurt her like she's hurt me so many times, but I don't know how. I don't know if... I can," she said, forcing out the words like they were poisonous barbs stuck to her tongue.