"Mm?" Roxanne, mid-ascent, was surprised to hear the man at her side speak. She had expected him to remain quiet, and let her wallow in her despair for at least until he knew her better. After all, he was [i]a man[/i], and by nature she had expected him to be practical and limit all his interactions, wherever unnecessary, to lighthearted jest that would keep the atmosphere between the two bright. She most certainly did not expect to hear him comment on her own explanation of her plight.
Though when she heard his first words, it seemed like he was just repeating to her the inevitability of her situation, in a way that made her roll her eyes, subtly as ever. Admitting her situation wasn't the hardest thing she had done. It was [i]approaching[/i] it. The world could say "I know" to her concerning her situation and that would not help her grief in the slightest. In fact, it would only aggravate it.

His following words surprised her further. When she had expected him to stop, and only blankly state her situation to her, he continued. And he continued with [i]actual advice.[/i]
[i]Hold onto them as long as I can...?[/i]
His laugh was refreshing, and she found herself at ease immediately, and with the duo reaching the top of the stairs and her panting softly for breath (she never did get fully accustomed to running up and down them everyday), it was a welcome feeling. It made her hold her head a little higher in her continuing her walk, "Oh, I've heard it said to me a million times over."
The words that followed were, admittedly, pretty motivating. To enjoy what she could in the present.
Perhaps she had been doing the opposite. Spending too many days worrying about what the future may hold and not enough days doing just what she loved: Visiting the archives and reading, reading about everything she loved, from medicine to past wars and ancient cultures and traditions, to the taming and domestication of different animals, to the different types of food in the world documented.
Perhaps it had left her sulking longer than she should have been.

"Rivalen..." she started, approaching the large, ornate double-doors that led into her personal chambers. She turned the handle on one of them gingerly, pushing it open and hanging in the doorframe, gazing up at the man with a tiny laugh of her own and a respectful look about her eyes. And in that moment, she did realise that perhaps he did mean the best for her after all. Maybe one piece of consolation was not going to make him a saint in her eyes, but it was definitely a better place to start than nowhere to show her that he perhaps genuinely did care.
The case could be, however, that he still was using that silver tongue of his to gain her trust before daring to be daring with her when in her chambers with her, in private, over the ruse of some simple task as serving her breakfast.
[i]Worry less.[/i]
Though, taking his words properly to heart for the first time since she met the man, and trying to look past the silver tongue he possessed, she accepted them.
And she respected him greatly for the effort he made, too. Her emotions manifested in the smile she gave him. Pleased, and for once, lacking doubts about him.
"Rivalen, that was wonderful. I thank you very much for your efforts. I...perhaps I will try that. To worry less about what's to come, and instead, hold onto these fleeting moments I have now. Thank you, very much."
She paused herself, gaze moving from the gentleman to the interior of her room. She still had to prepare for her afternoon classes, which would take about two hours, at the very least. And then it would immediately be time for the next meal of the day, the last one before supper, the grandest of the meals and served usually for all three of the family together with entertainment, in the evening as the clock would chime 7.

"I'm afraid I have to take my leave of you, after all, Rivalen." she bit her lip. There was something she'd wanted to say, but she let it slide, even if just for the moment. "I believe, as my new personal attendant, the first task I assign to you will be an easy one. I will be finished with these classes in about two hours. And when I am finished, it will be time for dinner. At..." she thought for just a moment, "Two on the clock."
Little did she know that commoners were not familiar with the system of a clock and of timekeeping beyond morning, noon and night. Blissfully ignorantly, she automatically assumed that the entire world knew how a clock worked. The church most certainly did, and that was enough to convince her that [i]by default[/i] everyone else did too.
"I would appreciate my meal brought to my room then. Thank you."

She stood tall and gave the man a dismissive nod, preparing to disappear into the room behind her. Through the crack of the door, plenty could be seen already. It was a room definitely [i]fit for a princess[/i] with fineries lining nearly every square inch of the walls, and the floors. The bed was massive, and the ceilings high. There were wardrobes and a large desk piled with books, some of which had spines that almost fell apart with wear and tear. Books that were very old, and presumably the princess' own reading material sneaked in from the archives.

"It has been a pleasure, Rivalen." she stopped, smiling to herself as she stared blankly into the room. At the bed, at the desk, anywhere to avert her gaze from his eyes.
He was young, and handsome of his own accord, which only made the situation more difficult. Perhaps if he was just a boy, it would have been so much easier.
Though it could have been worse: It could have been a lecherous old man who had come to snap up the position, and her father had hired just because he claimed he had 'killed three wizards'.
She breathed a subtle sigh of relief, thanking the Lord in that very moment.

The thought that she would grow quite close to this man, by necessity if nothing else, over the next while was a thought that resurfaced and made her insides tingle with an unfamiliar feeling. Was it [i]coyness[/i]? Was it embarrassment? Was it an innate modesty, that finally spoke up against such an obvious [i]taboo[/i]?

"I hope to see you when I am finished."
She paused again.
"Perhaps you are not as...bad as I had previously written you to mind to be. Perhaps this relationship might actually work. Perhaps you are not the lecher I had initially taken you for. However, it only has been brief. I cannot place my full trust in you yet, of course. The truth will be as the truth will be. If your intentions are pure, I shall see it. And if your intentions are not, I shall see it. Unfortunately, for the latter, it may be a little too late."
Her thoughts drifted to all the possible dangerous scenarios and she shook her head to rid herself of them.
"Until then, Rivalen. The castle is yours to explore. If you so choose to set down your few belongings, you may find a guard - they will be dressed as Alain was - to guide you to the personal attendant's quarters. [i]Maria's[/i] quarters."
And with one last dismissive nod, and an "I bid you farewell, if only for the moment.", she disappeared behind the door, letting it click in place behind her in her absence.