Haruka has taken to sitting in an empty classroom at Verone, sitting in her school uniform and poking at what looks to be an iPad in a fancy pink case. She's waiting for Tomoyo and Sakura, given that she'd gotten Miss Shamour's approval for Sakura to join her. She opened the door at the knock, stifling a laugh at her poor little friend's predicament. "Come in! I'll make sure they won't bug us."
Of course, she's going to endure jokes about how she had her litle sister visit, but that's okay. She waits until Sakura and Tomoyo are both firmly in the classroom... and then blocks the door with desks, carefully wedging them under the doorknobs. That done, she prods at the iPad-looking thing, and a small, cat-like fairy emerges, changing into a woman with a distinctly feline air around her.
"Is this Miss Sakura?" Shamour asks Haruka, who nods. "We'll start with the second part of the tea lesson, then!" Shamour gestures with her wand, a couple of remaining desks slamming together and a tablecloth and tea setting appearing on them. "Will you make tea for us?" Haruka gets up to do so, very obviously having practiced this, at least.
Shamour smiled benevolently down at Sakura. "I am not so tough a teacher as all that, am I, Princess Haruka?" she asks. Haruka shakes her head, still working on getting the water boiled to the right temperature for making tea and measuring the right amount of tea into the strainer.
"She's not mean, Sakura-chan. She's... um..." There's a pause as Haruka searches for the right word. "...Exacting, though. It took me two hours to learn how to make tea right, and thank you for the cookies, Sakura-chan." She smiles at her young friend.
At this, Shamour nods, taking out the cookies and making a soft, pleased noise at the adorable floral cookies. She arranges them on the tea tray along with tiny sandwiches and cakes, obviously giving them a place of honor. "For these, petit princess, you deserve extra credit for the forethought."
Haruka turns pink as well, though she is also making sure to keep track of how long the tea steeps. "I'm still a normal person, too!" Haruka protests. Shamour laughs gently, beaming at both girls.
If there were an explicit princess lesson on 'not letting this princess thing' go to her head, Haruka would have definitely gotten a pass on it. "It was the forethought that counted. You did not know what to expect, therefore you came bearing gifts that you made with the work of your own two hands." Haruka nods in agreement, carefully moving the spent tea leaves out of the teapot and onto a saucer out of the way. She pours tea, first for Shamour, then for Sakura, and then one for Tomoyo, taken carefully over to the other girl, and finally for herself. She settles, tasting the tea only after Shamour does, and then sighs in relief. She was stressed out by the process, even if she put a brave face on it.
"...I was late to the opening ceremony for the enitre school year because I was distracted by running, Sakura-chan," Haruka says flatly, amused in spite of herself. Shamour chuckles. "And it took me two hours to brew tea right. Two hours!"
"She only seems that way to you because she is older and you do not see the effort she puts into things, I think," Shamour corrects gently, sounding definitely amused. "And Princess Haruka may be a title by princess only, as there is not a castle for her here and I doubt she would enjoy living in the Hope Kingdom as it is now." Both Shamour and Haruka's expressions cloud at that, briefly.
"Helping is just what a princess like the kind I want to be does, Sakura-chan. If you want to make me really happy, help other people when they have problems they can't help themselves with, and especially help people who seem like they want to give up on their dreams. Protect people from others who would bully them for their dreams."
Haruka shook her head a little, laughing sheepishly. "It was when I chose to run that was the problem, Sakura-chan. I missed something important because I dorked it up and decided to go running while there was something else important happening... and then showed up in the middle of it."
"But none of this is learning how to take tea and make conversation as princesses should, girls," Shamour gently redirects. Haruka turns red and nods at Sakura's offer, sitting up straighter as Shamour begins instructing them on the order to take snacks, what is and isn't polite tea conversation. This, at least, seems easier than making the tea... so far.
Haruka sprang to action, grabbing a towel from a corner and offering it to Sakura. Shamour chuckled gently, patting Sakura's shoulder. "You are still young, and growing. Spills happen. Handling them is a matter of cleaning up and not drawing overmuch attention toward it. It is not as if anyone's day is ruined by this, or anyone harmed, yes?"
Haruka nods, laughing sheepishly. "I'm honestly surprised I didn't spill my tea first..."
Shamour and Haruka exchanged a look, shaking their heads with a small, shared chuckle between them. "Princess Haruka is still a person, after all. And not always a graceful one."
Haruka nods, chuckling ruefully. "You always see me at my best, Sakura-chan. Give it a bit. You'll see me trip or... something... there's a reason I'm not on every sports team ever, after all."
Haruka snorts softly, hugging Sakura briefly. "Nervousness causes more mistakes, I think. Take a few deep breaths?" Haruka suggests, going back to her seat after toweling up the spill. She smooths her hands on her uniform skirt and pours Sakura a fresh cup of tea.
"What seems to be a mistake can be a blessing in disguise," Shamour says, glancing at Haruka before she says that. Haruka nods firmly.
"How many new friends have you made because you released the cards, Sakura-chan?"
Shamour picks up the proverbial ball that Haruka tossed out there- after all, Haruka had said she was worried about Sakura's confidence and self-image. "Would you have met any of them if you hadn't released the cards, then?" Shamour asks. Haruka nods, but doesn't add any more than that. After all, there were still times when she felt homesick, or stuck, and like coming to Tokyo was a mistake... but then she thought of what had happened as a result.
"So even if it was a mistake... if you knew what would happen, and all the people you would meet because of releasing the cards, would you do it again?" Haruka asked, sipping her tea as she waited for Sakura's answer. They were getting into things even Haruka considered heavy territory, but she was pretty sure Sakura needed to hear it from herself.
Haruka looked at Shamour, suddenly out of her depth, but the cat-fairy seemed content to let the princess and her friend talk it out. Ugh. Cats.
"Well... is that something you will forget, Sakura-chan?" Haruka wonders. After all, when things happen because of the Zetsuborg, they magically fix themselves. It's not a concern for Haruka normally. "When you have all the cards," and Haruka realizes mid-sentence that it's when, not if, to her. "Will you remember those places and try to do something to make up for it?"
Haruka shakes her head, grabbing Sakura's hands. "That's despair. Stop that. It's poison, and it will eat you alive." Haruka's voice is stern as she says this. "Even if you forget, you have friends who will help you, as many times as you need it, okay? So don't fall into despair over it."
Haruka nods. "It's not even about being strong, Sakura-chan. It's about hanging on to hope," she says. "I'm a princess because of my hopes and dreams- I became what I wanted to be because I didn't let despair, or bullying, or anything like that eat me. I think if you keep holding on to your dream, it'll be the same for you."
Haruka nodded and smiled. "Good. That's the important thing." She squawks in surprise as something presses against her forehead. A glance up (for anyone else) would reveal it to be a pawprint stamp, though Haruka isn't left wondering because Sakura also gets Shamour's Stamp of Approval.
"You both pass the tea lesson."