There was a quiet unrest throughout the castle as Aranhil walked through the corridors, a feeling not at all pleasant enough to match the quiet & peaceful evening he'd had outside. The maid he stopped in the hallway flinched visibly as Aranhil addressed her, slowly turning on her heel to face him. Still her gaze refused to meet his, instead averting to the floor before her, as though ashamed.

"The princess... she is missing," the woman admitted nervously, "The staff is gossiping something awful, your majesty. Some think she is in search of her rabbit, others believe... well, they believe that the princess ran away because you struck her. There was a small search party sent out for her earlier, but there has been no word of where she could be."

..._..._...

Exhausted & hungry, Sylvia was greatly relieved to see a small cabin just in the distance, in a small clearing. Carefully, she navigated to the peaceful dwelling, a tall, tower of a man coming out from behind with firewood kindling under his arm; he looked to be about Aranhil's age or a bit older, but she couldn't tell with his unkempt beard obscuring his chin & cheeks. Without a word, the man waited for Sylvia to approach him. Mere steps away, he reached under his arm & grabbed a bit of the firewood, tossing it into Sylvia's arm's. She nearly dropped the large chunks of kindling, looking up at him in surprise.

"I'm sure you need a place to stay for the night, Elf," the man observed, addressing Sylvia with a deep, quiet voice, "I don't have much use for money, so you'll be paying me back with labor. Help me take this stuff inside & cook supper."

Just as abruptly as he addressed her, the man turned around & went back to his cabin, bewildering Sylvia. Should she trust this man & go into his home with him? He didn't seem to have any aggression towards her, even after clearly stating that he knew she was an elf, so that at least put her at ease. For now. Taking in a deep breath, Sylvia followed her host to his cabin, going into the cozy little place with him. She was assaulted by warmth & a relaxing atmosphere inside, one like she'd never experienced. Her own country was full of marble & extravagant decoration, & Aranhil's castle was all stone & minimal furniture. This tiny little cabin gave her a sense of ease she'd never been exposed to before. Maybe this stranger would allow her to stay for a few days if she helped around more.