"As much as I want to believe you truly are working out of the goodness of your heart, I still believe in the existence of some ulterior motive, Rivalen." the princess said, only sparing a side-glance and expectant half smile at the young man who had now joined her side. "Perhaps I will stop worrying once you've proven to me that you're trustworthy beyond a shadow of a doubt. And for that to occur, I will have to give you the opportunity, no? Until then..." she lowered her voice to match his tone, "[i]He[/i] stays. I think you two will end up getting along delightedly."

Her sarcasm made apparent, she feigned a tiny sigh before continuing "He only will be your guide around the castle, or any other guard my father chooses to assign, until you are familiar with the different halls and chambers, and you do not end up getting [i]hopelessly lost[/i]. After all, I do not believe this is the norm for a [i]humble[/i] man from a [i]humble[/i] village. Besides, I do believe you will require his assistance, at least for the first couple of days. He accompanies us now for, after I am escorted to my own quarters, I believe he will show you to the now-vacant ones of my former personal attendant: Maria."

However, there was a small period of silence between the two individuals as they walked, with the guard a few paces behind and absolutely silent despite his footfalls, through what seemed to be endless hallways lined with paintings Roxanne had seen a million times over on a million different occasions, so much that none of them even warranted a second glance from her. She was the one to break the silence, eager to know more about this stranger. Eager to know about his origins, his title and his intentions, dreams, aspirations, what have you. The best way to do just that was to ask. "Rivalen." she said, still getting accustomed to the name rolling off her tongue in that [i]foreign[/i] way it did. "You said you were from a village I probably have not heard of, yes? You might be correct and you might not. I'd like to know its name. Perhaps, also of your origins. Perhaps more about yourself."
She paused, enough to turn a corner and just about avoid a rushing servant girl with as much grace as she could manage. It seemed that the kingdom was always animated as noon approached.

Continuing their walk at a slightly brisker pace now, she looked up at the man without so much as tilting her head. That much she had at least learnt from her tutors: [i]The art of silently, subtly scanning and judging someone as to not let them know you were practically eyeballing them.[/i]
One last time she took him in, from dark locks to his waist and the attire he donned, and then up again. He most certainly did not [i]look[/i] like the witch-slayer Alain had called him.
"And pray tell, why do they dub thee, such a simple man, the title of 'witch-slayer'? I must say, I am most definitely intrigued."

They were cut off yet again by another person who looked to be needing to get somewhere, though in a stiffer, more composed manner, and Roxanne immediately recognised the youth. "Brandon!"

"Hello, sister." he began, stopping to say his hellos.
The guard behind the two offered a slight bow, "Your Highness."

Returning his gaze to his sister, her brother appeared visibly surprised when his eyes fell on the youth who stood by her side. He grew visibly tense and growled under his breath, in a manner so subtle, but threatening all the same. "Roxanne, who is this man, and why has he been let into the castle? What business does he have here?"
Saying this, he stood a little taller himself, subconsciously intimidating to this man as the protective instincts kicked in. Brandon stood at about the same height, and shared his sister's dark hair and green eyes. They both had the dark hair of their father, but the green eyes did not belong to Cedric. The king had light brown orbs; his wife possessed the children's shared olive green. The same eyes that sharply raked this man into his memory, as opposed to his sister's subtle scans.
"You. State your name and your business."

His sister tugged at his arm gently, trying to convince him it was of no issue, though the words she spoke felt bizarre to him, and continued to feel foreign to her at best. "He is the...err. New [i]personal attendant[/i] father has assigned to care for me."

"...what."
"It's true, brother."
"Has he gone mad?"
"I don't know. Have you asked him if he has?"
"I will when I see him. In fact, I was just heading to the court to attend to some matters. It would appear there is trouble on one of our borders."
"Oh, God. Not another magical attack, I pray?"
"I do not know the specifics, but I would assume so."
He clicked his tongue in disgust, spitting the following words like venom, "[i]Filthy wizards. Filthy witches.[/i] If I was able, I would kill them with my own two hands. Especially for...what they did, to mother."
"...Brandon..."

She stroked his upper arm a little to soothe the young man, whose attentions were quickly returned to Rivalen. In his eyes, the extinguished fire was replaced with a kind of defeated sadness, "In times like this, it would appear we are in heavy requirement of trustworthy assistants. I do not know what you plan to do with my sister, but I pray you attend to her well. You will be up against [i]my[/i] wrath if you so much as glance at her the wrong way."

Roxanne shrugged off the thought, returning once again to Rivalen's side. Taking one final look at the two of them side by side, the raven haired youth cracked a smile of his own, "Oh, Frederick [i]most certainly[/i] will not be pleased, princess."
"Stop it!" Roxanne pleaded in a squeak-like voice, the tips of her ears going hot again. Every time [i]he[/i] was mentioned, her heart would want to leap out of her chest. Her brother knew it just as well as she. He was a Duke whom the princess had grown quite fond of, though this knowledge was yet to be revealed to her father.

Alain stood forward, composed as ever, occupying the prince for any given details about this attack at the border. If the man was one thing, it was genuinely concerned for the safety of the ruling family. The prince had to fill him in, and when his knowledge drew blanks, he gazed between the duo and Alain before sighing heavily, defeated, and continuing, "I believe these two should be able to make the rest of the journey to...uh. Where were you two going?"
"My chambers, brother. Tutoring begins at midday."
"Oh yes, I had forgotten." Being older by four years and having as much information as the king could possibly manage crammed into his son, Brandon spent his days making decisions and arrangements with his father in court. It seemed like an eternity to him since he had last taken a class two and a half years ago.

"Then I take my leave of you two. Alain, if you would?"
"Yes, Your Highness." the guard shot a glance back at Rivalen before continuing to head in the opposite direction with the prince. Roxanne could tell by the worry her brother tried to contain that the situation might have been worse than she had imagined.
She couldn't imagine it, however. So she let it go. She had no idea which border it was, either. Perhaps it was best she didn't know.

"Shall we continue, Rivalen? By the Lord, if you had wished for something else, you could have been a rich man..." she sighed softly before smiling at the direction in which her brother and Alain headed. The gentleman's wish was granted, by pure circumstance. And that particular phrase was something her brother had told her that her mother had said to him a lot, when he had wished for something simple and that very thing had happened.

[i]Perhaps if you had wished for something else, something better, it also would have come true, my son.[/i]