#(Shirou's hobbies are working himself to near death. And breaking and entering.)

[more-than-a-princess]

Seated at the antique vanity table in her suite, Sonia had just finished sliding the last of the bobby pins into her hair when one of the windows interrupted her focus with a groaning creak. The sort that came from too much weight or pressure on ancient wood furnishings, something she was all too familiar with at home, in her younger years, as she devised various ways to sneak away from the various royal residences. In contrast, whatever was making this sound didn't want out: it wanted to get in.

In the span of a second, she'd made two decisions: one, that she did not have enough time to notify her security several doors further into the building that there was a trespassing underway and two, she remembered she'd chosen to keep one of the pistols in her possession in the bottom right drawer of the vanity. In a swift movement, she'd retrieved it, gotten to her feet, clicked off the safety, and took aim at the window before she realized who exactly it was who had disrupted her morning pre-breakfast, admonishing him with a reminder of proper window usage.

 "This was not exactly how I anticipated my morning to begin," She replied with a heavy sigh, flipping the safety back on before putting the pistol away in its proper place. "I apologize: after the first two kidnappings, my family refuses to take chances, especially when I travel. I'm protected by diplomatic immunity wherever I go, and they'd rather me safe than risk a third attempt."

She took a seat back on the upholstered cushion in front of the mirror, moving to affix a pearl barrette into her hair. The front sections had been pulled away and fastened behind her head, giving her some relief on what was anticipated to be a warm, end of spring day in Florence. She'd dressed for it too, with a linen sundress in a pale shade of lavender that was fitted in the bodice and flared at the waist ending just below her knees, complete with thin straps that tied into bows atop each shoulder. Beige espadrilles had been tied into similar bows around her ankles and a pair of white sunglasses, a straw hat, and a wicker basket bag had been placed on a chair nearby, a pink and red silk scarf tied to the bag's handle. Decidedly casual for royalty, right down to the gold pebble and freshwater pearl earrings in her ears.

"What sort of services would those be?" She asked, perhaps far too casually to someone who had just climbed through her window without warning. Though at this point, she was often expecting Shirou Emiya to turn up unexpectedly: in a private villa in the Maldives, in a casino in Monaco, and now, a villa-turned-hotel in Florence. "I don't suppose you're going to sneak into this hotel's kitchen next." She turned from her mirror then and grinned at him, having just finished dabbing a bit of cherry red lipstick onto her lips with her fingertip before wiping it on a handkerchief.

"I don't suppose I may ask what you're doing here, considering how we usually cross paths now," She continued, slipping both the gold compact and the handkerchief into the handbag before securing the tan leather top in place. "But I believe any situation may be perceived as strange as I had specific instructions to my staff that I wanted a day on my own in Florence before tomorrow's official schedule. I was just about to find a café for coffee: that's what they call breakfast here, regardless if you're drinking the beverage or not."

@more-than-a-princess ❝ People here don’t normally enter and exit through windows, okay? You should probably remember this information for future reference. ❞ (definitely for an older Shirou)

❝ Ah, it is just you. For a moment I thought I’d be in trouble. ❞ His nonchalant tone hid his genuine relief.

There are a few things one must know about Florence. It was once one of the richest places in all Europe during the Renaissance era, its most affluent citizens were so above everything else that their mansions weren’t located on the street level but always at least one flight of stairs above. It even became an intricate network of above-ground passageways connecting one villa to the next, its inhabitants hardly having to ever touch the streets during their lifetimes. Almost like an entirely different world right above everyone’s head, literally. Another thing is that many of the affluent families that held power during that time also holds power to this day. An old lineage that upholds its traditions hidden from the outside world. Shirou didn’t take any of that into consideration. The man recognized a few individuals from a previous run-in and didn’t want to have an unnecessary scuffle amidst a bustling street, so he climbed up the nearest drain to reach a balcony, pressing his body against the window. However, it wasn’t latched on properly and due to its uneven flooring he ended up inside the house – he barely had any time to curse his clumsiness when realized that there was a woman in there! – that was it. He was ready to accept his face and get into trouble. But it seems fate had a silly sense of humor and he soon recognized the person in question, which left him without reaction as spoke.

❝ My apologies. I didn’t expect to run into you or anyone for that matter. ❞ in fact, he was trying to avoid people when he got himself in this situation. ❝ Wouldn’t it be weirder that an unknown man is seen leaving the premises but wasn’t seen getting in? Perhaps I should offer you my services so at least you have an explanation if inquired about it.  ❞ … He had no idea where he was at. Was it one of the Novosonian royal family’s proprieties outside their country? An embassy? The house of one of their connections? Either way it didn’t sound too good for him. It was downright trespassing (again).