Rivalen smiled victoriously as he followed Alain down the corridor. While he didn’t get the most desirable position in the castle, he now had an opportunity to get closer to the king and his family. And to think that all it took was a few white lies! There was no fatal ‘secret weakness’ in wizards; he had made it all up, and yet King Cedric had bought every word. Morold’s attacks must have left him extremely worried about his daughter’s safety if he was acting so quickly to find protection for her. In fact, his thoughtless actions only put her life in further peril. Cedric had practically handed the princess over to his enemy on a silver platter! He couldn’t wait to tell his father.

“In case the king doesn’t come to his senses,” Alain spoke up, interrupting Rivalen’s thoughts. “I suppose I had better inform you of your duties as the princess’s… personal attendant.” He was still visibly reluctant to admit that Rivalen had been given the job. He paused to clear his throat before he went on, “First and foremost, you will be expected to wait on Princess Roxanne from sunrise to sunset. You must offer her your assistance without question or complaint whenever she may need it. You must also make sure that she is cared for even when she is not giving you direct orders. This includes bringing her breakfast from the kitchen in the morning, cleaning her general living quarters, taking care of her laundry…” He trailed off, knitting his brow. “Err, on second thought, you should just bring her laundry to the servant girls and have them wash it. Anyways, you will have other responsibilities, but those will be your main tasks. Do you think you can handle them, [i]witch-slayer[/i]?” He spat the title with as much sarcasm as he could muster.

“I think I can,” Rivalen shrugged, ignoring Alain’s taunt. “Living the life of a servant is a small price to pay for the knowledge that our princess will be safe from harm, wouldn’t you agree?” He cast the official a wry grin.

Alain scoffed and shook his head, “I suppose I can’t argue with that. Now come along, the stables are this way.” He turned down a wide hallway that led to a set of doors on the west side of the castle. Rivalen followed after him, admiring the paintings on the walls as they walked. A number of different scenes were depicted, ranging from memories of successful war conquests to portraits of former rulers to expensive-looking pictures of scenery that the king had likely been given by foreign artisans. They were all different, but they were also all beautifully crafted. Rivalen made a mental note to explore the rest of the palace once he was settled in. He figured that he might as well start learning the layout now. It was soon to be his home once he got rid of King Cedric, after all.

Alain opened the door and they stepped out onto a wide, open pasture, framed on all sides by the surrounding forest. He continued to lead Rivalen until they came to the stables where a young boy was tending to the horses. The boy looked up at them, his gaze resting curiously on the warlock before he turned to speak to the official, “Hello, Alain. Is there something I can do for you?”

“Quentin,” Alain nodded in greeting. “Could you fetch the princess? This young man is here to see her.”

“Alright,” Quentin said, his eyes darting to Rivalen once more before he turned and ran off to find the king’s daughter.

After a while the boy returned with a stormy gray horse, atop which was a young woman: Princess Roxanne. Rivalen watched as she approached, narrowing his eyes slightly against the sunlight in order to get a better look at her. Honestly, she was much more beautiful than he had expected the daughter of King Cedric to be. With her dark hair, green eyes, fair skin, and slender frame, she had quite a unique appearance. It was almost disappointing that he would have to kill her, too.

When she stopped in front of them, Roxanne went on greet Alain who in turn announced Rivalen as her new personal attendant. Rivalen expected her to show at least some sign of surprise or disgust at the news of her father’s decision, but instead she merely laughed, taking the official’s words as a joke. She then turned to him to confirm her theory. Unfortunately, however, she would find that she was severely mistaken.

“He speaks the truth,” Rivalen said with an innocent smile. “I was given an audience with the king, and he tasked me with the responsibility of taking care of you, Your Highness.” He leaned forward in a deep but elegant bow. “I hope I don’t come as a disappointment. I promise I will work hard as your attendant to ensure that you are well cared for and want for nothing.”