Liam leaned back a little in shock when the meowing cat suddenly leaped from Samantha's shoulder and onto the saddle in front of him. His lips parted in a surprised little "Oh," as the thing, wavering for balance on the spot, continued making it's little cat noises. Liam looked over at Samantha, who had stumbled back from the force of the cat's leap and was now gazing wide eyed from her pet to his face, and he managed a surprised laugh. "You have a very excitable cat, Miss Shea."

Sam had been watching the prince carefully when Dorothea started crying out to him, studying his face for his reaction. He had been surprised at her outburst and fidgeting antics, but it was a rather tame sort of surprise. There was no complete shock in his expression, no evidence that he had had a life changing experience like she and the dwarves had had when Dorothea spoke to them for the first time. He did not react at all when Dorothea told him that it was her, nor when she said that Narissa had done it to her. He...couldn't understand her. She was just a cat to him. Sam's crestfallen face met his when he spoke to her and she was silent for a moment. Her eyes flickered to where August was sitting on the horse that they were to share and saw his warning eyes, and then Sam looked back at the prince. She could not say anything that would make her appear insane in front of Liam. "Yes, she is. I'm so sorry about that."

Liam smiled and shook his head. "It's fine. Don't worry. What is her name?" He reached forward to stroke the cat in a friendly gesture.

"It's, erm, Lea," Sam said, picking the first name that came to her head. She gave Dorothea another look, one that clearly stated "I don't know what to do," before looking back to Liam. "Should I take her...?"

"No," Liam responded, though he wasn't sure why. "She can ride with me for a while. If that's alright with you?" He saw her nod and gave her another smile before looking back at the Marshal and Will. "I hope we can ride a little while longer before looking for a place to camp." He nudged his horse forward and the caravan started moving again.

Sam was suddenly faced with the big animal she was meant to ride and hesitated for a moment, feeling rather intimidated. She looked at August's outstretched hand, then up to his face, and took a breath of courage. Sam took his hand and with his help managed to climb up into the saddle, sitting behind him in a relatively sturdy position. She was suddenly aware that there was nothing to hold onto, at least nothing beyond August himself. Sam bit her lip, feeling rather reluctant but knowing there wasn't another option. She looped her arms around his waist and held to him, anchoring herself and immediately feeling much more secure and unafraid of slipping off and falling. She was quiet for a moment, just holding him for security, then she leaned a little closer to him and whispered into his ear. "She was speaking to him, was standing right in front of him, and he couldn't understand a word she said." She realized that they had been surrounded by people and no one had reacted to Dorothea's words. "Nobody did." Sam looked at August, feeling suspicious. "How is that possible?"