Jezin frowned when Lezine spoke about the continent's issues. It made sense, he supposed. People were never content with what they had. He seemed a bit confused when the woman began laughing. He didn't fully understand what she meant by the difference between them. He had always been prideful, as long as he could remember, so the thought of a person having no pride was baffling to the bodyguard. He followed her eyes to the stands when she asked her next question. There she was, the princess he had sworn to protect. He thought over the question. Lexine was right, from an outside perspective the fact that they had no backup of any kind seemed unnecessarily dangerous. His eyes drifted to the ground as he thought. Finally, he spoke, his voice somber. "No, that's not pride. It may have been at first, when I joined the Palace Guard, but my motivations... changed." He scratched his chin. "I always fought for myself, for my pride, but this is different." He took a deep breath. "When I was in the Palace Guard, there was an assassination attempt. We were outnumbered, but still I fought. I didn't know why. I had no idea why I was fighting so hard for a family I barely even knew. I killed all but one of the assassins, but he broke through the door. He ran towards Sophia, but I managed to stop him just before I reached her." His face was blank. "I looked up, beaten and bleeding, and saw her there. That's when I knew. Here she was, a young girl who'd never asked for any of this, terrified and crying. If I hadn't been there she'd have died, through no fault of her own." His eyes glanced up to Lexine. "After that I knew what I had to do. I would be her shield. I would protect her to the farthest extent of my ability, even if that means I have to die for her. Regardless of my mission, she will stay safe."

 Sophia looked over to the hand on her shoulder before smiling sweetly, the sunlight glistening on her yellow eyes. "Thank you, Gareth." It seemed they both had a lot of worries. She appreciated Gareth's comfort. The nervousness faded. She saw that Gareth had noticed the bird circling above them. The princess watched it carefully. "I wonder what it's doing?" The fight had started. Thomas seemed to be having difficulties with his heavy armor. Sophia couldn't help but notice that the man seemed uncomfortable in the bulky suit, perhaps he wasn't accustomed to it?