Olympia could feel her heart pounding in her ears. If she messed this up, failed to speak properly or accidentally offended, it would have repercussions not just for her, but for every member of her house. She couldn’t imagine her uncle being all too pleased with her for the choices she was about to make, but she knew her options were, well, limited, to say the least.

She had planned her approach, pictured the millions of different ways that things could go wrong, altered it until she was certain that what she intended to do was the closest to perfect as things could be. Naturally, there were still things that could go wrong. If she revealed herself too quickly, if her voice was too harsh. If she was mistaken about the whole premise? Perhaps Crown Prince Zacharias would be so kind as to keep her secret.

The showcase of artwork that was currently on display by the students of the Scholeío of the Arts offered Olympia the two things she thought necessary for her plan to be in any way successful. 1. The opportunity to escape, should she need it, and 2. The option to step away to somewhere a little more private. She was hoping that she would need option 2 more than option 1.

As she neared the Prince, she dipped her head respectfully. She supposed others in her situation might take the time to stare at his face, but then again, she was in this situation because she was exactly the type of person who would never stare at a man.

“I find the students here always manage to use colours in a way that is quite…unexpected.” Olympia said, attempting to break some of the ice. Being a different sex and slightly younger than Prince Zacharias, she supposed it was natural that they spoke more often at events attended by most of the nobility than at more simple events like this.

Besides, she was somewhat knowledgeable on the subject, thanks to her younger sisters’ appreciation for the more creative aspects of their society.

With her own fondness for the arts, Olympia would have attended anyways. She was always destined to appreciate rather than create in that field. At times she wished she was more like her sisters, musical or artistic. But at least she had her own delight in conversation, and hopefully today that would do her well.

She wasn’t sure why he had decided to attend, perhaps as a show of support for the arts or a suggestion by his own family or closer friends. Whatever the reason, she hoped her own agenda wasn’t interrupting too much. She would've hated to offend before she'd even begun to speak.

“I hope this doesn’t sound too forward, your Royal Highness, but I was hoping that we might have the opportunity to speak alone?” Olympia had decided that getting right to the points she was going to attempt to make would be the easiest way to begin the conversation.

And besides, it would probably help in the story she hoped to concoct if they were seen leaving a public event together.