Rivalen straightened his posture at the princess’s command and looked up to find that she had dismounted from her horse and was now standing in front of him. The way she held herself was clearly meant to be intimidating, but he found the attempt more amusing than anything else. Roxanne was younger and much shorter than him—he could easily have rested his chin on her head if he wished—and her regal status didn’t threaten him in the least. She might have been powerful, but her father was even more so and he was the one authorizing Rivalen’s assignment as her personal attendant. As much as she hated it, he was here to stay until King Cedric decreed otherwise.

Rivalen stayed quiet and observed the other three, taking the opportunity to learn more about Roxanne as she spoke with the others ([i]‘know thy enemy’[/i] was a popular phrase with Morold). What he saw, however, was slightly worrisome. Part of him had been hoping that she would be arrogant and cruel towards her servants so she would be easier to hate. Instead, though, she treated them kindly and even seemed to take their words to heart. He knew he had only watched her for a short while, but so far she was turning out to be quite different than the spoiled princess he had imagined.

Since Cedric had ordered the murder of his mother, Rivalen had no problem summoning his anger when he was around the king—in fact, he predicted that he would often have to stifle his rage when he was in the man’s presence—but he was no killer, himself. Roxanne had not wronged him and, as far as he could tell, she was a genuinely kind person who didn’t deserve the same fate as her father… [i]No,[/i] he closed his eyes, silently scolding himself for letting such thoughts into his head. [i]She is Cedric’s daughter. Father was clear in his directions: Every member of the royal family must die. It’s for the good of our kind… for the good of Mother. Princess Roxanne’s death is a necessary evil.[/i]

Having strengthened his resolve, Rivalen opened his eyes again and let out his breath in a quiet exhale. He never expected his job to be easy. Though he had been trained to do so, he had never killed anyone before. Violence just wasn’t in his nature, so to take the lives of two innocent people—he would never include their father in that category—was going to be a challenge. He just hoped that he could give the prince and princess a swift passing when the time came, since Cedric’s were the only screams he longed to hear.

Rivalen blinked, suddenly realizing that Roxanne was waiting for him to give her his name. He dipped his head in a subtle bow and smiled again as he replied, “My name is Rivalen, My Lady. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance—” he stopped short as an unexpectedly mischievous look came over the princess’s face. She went on to give him a vicious warning about overstepping his boundaries before she returned to her previous, lighthearted demeanor and greeted him more formally.

“I swear to you, I bear no ill intent,” Rivalen pledged, resting a hand over his heart. “I am but a humble commoner from an even humbler village you’ve likely never heard of, and I’m only here to make sure that my princess is well taken care of.” His smile wavered slightly as he heard a snort from off to one side.

Alain shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, “A humble villager, are you? That’s not the same speech you gave His Highness during your audition, [i]witch-slayer[/i].”

“It’s not any different, either,” Rivalen pointed out, turning to address the official. “I never claimed to be a person of great importance when I spoke with the king, and I don’t believe I am. I credit my talents to circumstance and dumb luck. It was only by those two factors that I came across the wizards’ secret in the first place. Apart from that, I [i]am[/i] merely a simple peasant. The only reason I told His Highness of my successes with the wizards was so that he would be aware of my capability to protect his daughter should I need to do so.” He glanced back at Roxanne and gave her an impish wink. “However, after meeting our lovely young princess, I’m beginning to think that she won’t need my help, after all. Her Highness looks perfectly capable of holding her own against the strongest of magicians to me.” He sighed in mock despondence. “It seems the only thing I’ll be protecting her from is dust bunnies and dirty stockings.”