No sooner had the word ‘dinner’ left his mouth than the door to Roxanne’s room was opened and a short man came shuffling through. Rivalen, being unprepared to move quickly, had no time to step out of the way, and the man, being too intently focused on reaching his destination, didn’t seem to notice that anyone was standing there. Naturally, a collision resulted—or one [i]almost[/i] did. Luckily, the short man noticed Rivalen at the last moment and came to a halt, saving both of them from dropping their loads. He also accidentally saved the warlock from a worse fate, even though he didn’t realize it.

Startled by the man’s sudden appearance, Rivalen had instinctively tapped into his powers, which he would have used to keep his platter from falling if the man had run into him. He managed to avoid using magic this time, but his heart still skipped a beat when he realized that he hadn’t been able to stop the second reaction that happened whenever he accessed his powers: His eyes were glowing gold. Silently cursing himself for slipping up, Rivalen quickly turned away from the man in the hopes that he hadn’t noticed anything, but fortunately, the man was too concerned with his books to even spare him a passing glance. After muttering a brusque apology, the man went on his way, and the young attendant was left holding his breath as he forced his irises to return to their normal dark brown.

Once that was done, Rivalen exhaled quietly. The brief encounter had been mildly frightening to say the least, but it had opened his eyes to a critical weakness in himself: He now knew that he relied too heavily on magic. He hadn’t even stopped to think before he summoned his powers even though he was in the heart of Cedric’s castle, and within sight of the king’s beloved daughter, no less! If he wanted to survive here, he would have to learn how to cope without magic, to live like a normal man. He winced inwardly. He had been using magic for so long now that it had become a part of him, just like his arms and legs. The thought of willingly living without it felt unnatural.

Rivalen turned back towards Roxanne’s room when he heard the princess call for him to enter. Instead of following her simple direction, however, he wavered in the doorway. His worries about using magic were suddenly outranked by the remembrance of his… [i]uncomfortable[/i] responsibility to take care of the king’s daughter. Perhaps if she had been but a child his job would have been easier. He mentioned to the princess that he had expected her to be a spoiled brat, but he left out the small detail that when Morold told him she was the younger of Cedric’s two children, he had been expecting a brat of the age of [i]twelve or thirteen[/i] rather than a mature, young woman—and a beautiful one, at that. And now she wanted him to come into her chambers, where they would be alone…

[i]You’re just here to bring her dinner,[/i] Rivalen reminded himself, closing his eyes as he tried to calm his racing heart. [i]Besides, Roxanne is[/i] Cedric’s [i]daughter. It doesn’t matter how old she is; she’s my enemy, and I have to think of her as such.[/i] He opened his eyes again and stepped tentatively through the doorway, his gaze wandering over the inside of the princess’s room. He hadn’t gotten a very good look at it through the crack in the door earlier, and he could see now that her chambers were even more elaborate than he first thought. There were a number of antiquities and expensive-looking decorations that spanned across every wall in the room; a countless number of old books piled on her desk; multiple wardrobes that he guessed were packed with fine clothes; and a huge bed that looked as if it could fit a small family.

Rivalen was so caught up in marveling at the princess’s lavish collection that he nearly missed her next words to him, but he managed to pull his gaze away from a particularly interesting shelf of fineries in time to catch her directions for him to close the door and come closer. Stifling another wave of unease, he did as she asked, shutting the door and moving towards the desk at which Roxanne was seated as she went on to announce that she would be explaining to him her schedule.

Rivalen was just about to ask where she wanted him to put the platter of food he was carrying, but the princess spoke first, telling him to set it on her bed for now. Still slightly overwhelmed about being alone with Roxanne in her chambers—with the door [i]closed[/i] now, no less—he simply nodded and did as she asked, placing the silver tray on the mattress and turning back to listen quietly as she went on to list her daily routine. Through the fog of his mind only a few things stood out, the first being a time frame in the morning where Cedric and his two children would all be together. At the mention of this, Rivalen was able to momentarily forget his discomfort and focus on his original plans. If he could find himself alone with all three members of the royal family on one of these mornings when they gathered together, it would be the perfect opportunity to fulfill his duty for his father. He made a mental note to pay special attention to the whereabouts of the king and his children during that time.

However, thinking about time only led him to wonder how he was going to keep it. He didn’t know what “half past” meant, but he had a feeling that it had something to do with the “minutes” the servant girl had mentioned to him earlier. He would have to try to find her later so he could ask for a proper explanation. For now, though, he just feigned understanding by nodding along with the princess’s words so she wouldn’t know of his ignorance.

Just when Rivalen was beginning to think that he could handle his new job, Roxanne said something else that made him cringe. [i]Personal attendants are in charge of[/i] baths[i]?[/i] Part of him knew that he should have expected something like this, but it came as a shock nonetheless. He swallowed anxiously, feeling his face grow warm at such a thought. Roxanne didn’t look very comfortable about the situation, either. He could see a hint of a flush in her cheeks as she went on to explain the last part of her schedule.

When the princess was finished speaking, Rivalen cleared his throat and spoke softly, “Err, I believe I will be able to memorize the routine, Your Highness. It may take a day or two, but I’m a fast learner. As for your baths… I’m sure I can figure something out. Perhaps one of the servant girls would be willing to assist me.” He blinked when he realized how his words sounded and went on hurriedly, “Um, I-I meant to say that maybe one of the servants could [i]take over[/i] that task for me, not [i]help[/i] me with it. I promise that I do respect your privacy, My Lady.” He leaned forward in a deep bow. “Please forgive the slight of words.”