Lander watched as the princess stormed out of the dining hall. He glanced back at the king, who just shook his head. Perhaps he expected the volatile reaction. It wasn’t completely uncalled for. Looking at the situation from Moria’s perspective, she was never told about His Majesty’s true intentions and now a bodyguard was suddenly being forced upon her for reasons still unknown. Lander couldn’t help but puzzle over what sort of “unsettling threat” would call for the installment of a bodyguard in the first place. As the princess had said multiple times, there were plenty of knights in the palace already. Surely they provided adequate protection?

“As you can see,” the king sighed. “She will be difficult. However, this is my decision, not hers. Whether she likes it or not, you must accompany her and make sure she is safe at all times. Do not let her out of your sight. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes,” Lander said. He saw the king’s mouth twitch at his lack of respect. “…Your Highness.” He felt it best not to continue testing the king’s patience, especially with what he was about to ask next. “I would like to send my winnings back to my home village to give to my family. Since I’m to remain in the palace, I was hoping you would be kind enough to have someone trustworthy send it back in my stead.”

“Of course,” the king nodded at his advisor, who left to fulfill the task. He turned back to Lander. “As part of your new job, you will be living here in the palace. I have made prior arrangements to prepare a room in the eastern wing. It shouldn’t be difficult to find, but if you get lost you may ask any of the servants. They have been made aware of your placement in the castle.”

“Yes, thank you,” Lander stood and the king did as well, as their business was finished for now. They both exited the dining hall and went their separate ways. Lander decided to try and find his assigned room first and foremost. Wandering through the corridors of the palace, however, he had to disagree with the king. It was no small task to locate the single room out of the many he passed in the halls. All of the doors looked the same, with no distinguishing traits that he could see. Fortunately, with the guidance of two very amused servants, he found the correct hallway at last. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw that this particular corridor only had four doors. The last servant he spoke with said his room was the farthest door on the right, so that was the one Lander headed towards.

Just as he was reaching for the handle, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see Princess Moria rounding the corner from a conjoining hallway. Her own room must be one of the other three, Lander realized. It made sense. The king was adamant that Lander should be near her side at all times. While she was here, he decided he may as well try to speak with her.

“Hello,” Lander inclined his in greeting and offered a smile. “We meet again, Princess.”