It had been a busy trek back to the capital with all the thieves in tow and Julianna had plenty of duties to keep her occupied.  Keeping prisoners in line, finding her black steed, reports, cleaning off her weapons and armor as best she could, and of course getting in touch with one of her family's secret couriers to pass over the spearhead to.  Thankfully there were no real surprises on their way back so things went along fairly smoothly.

[hr]

They had made it back to the Iron Rose Knights headquarters and the prisoners were being duly processed.  Julianna took only a moment to take in the Candaeln.  It was an impressive structure in its own right, the architect and decorators sure knew what they were doing when the building was constructed.  What was most impressive about it was its close proximity to the Royal Castle.  

There were few orders who had the honor of being so close to royalty and it just showed you how much the Iron Rose Knights were trusted by the rulers of their fair land.  The Iron Rose Knights had to make sure they remained the steadfast protectors of Royal Family.  If the Rose Knights started to fail under bad leadership though, their positions would soon be in question.  This was something Julianna had to make sure never happened.

Julianna stepped inside the structure along with several over knights, such as Marianna, Garret, and of course captain Fanilly.  The captain gave her orders and the knights started to go their own ways, heading to their rooms, the bathes, or other places.  Julianna decided to just stay around for a bit and soak in the legends of the Iron Rose Knights in her favorite display cases and portraits.  They always became a reminder for her of just what the Iron Rose Knights should be and the legacy she was destined to protect.

There was one particular portrait that she was especially fond of, that of Dame Yulisa.  It was a very striking portrait of an armored woman with a kind expression on her face.  She was not particularly beautiful, with short, brown hair, rather sharp features, and even some battle-scars that marred her homely features, but her story was quite inspiring.

Dame Yulisa was known for her bravery against the fiercest of odds, her selfless spirit that often put her in great danger to help out her fellow knights, and her kindness to all those around her.  Her loyalty had been exceptional as well, one of her crowning legends had been following her captain's orders to defend a choke point to prevent enemies from coming in and pillaging a small village requesting assistance.  As the story went, her captain was delayed in reinforcing her position due to some unwelcome interference and she had been stuck there a whole five days longer than she should have.

Five days with no extra supplies, no real time to rest, and constantly having to fend off attackers.  Dame Yulisa tried her best and somehow managed to hold out long enough for the knights to arrive and save the day, though not before Dame Yulisa had been severely wounded.  Dame Yulisa died two days later but she was forever remembered as the bulwark that saved a village and prevented their enemies from gaining a foothold in their territory.

Dame Yulisa could have abandoned her position but her determination and resolve to follow her orders won through. Dame Yulisa was selfless and loyal to a fault, believing in her commander to the bitter end.  Julianna wished she could believe in someone like that as well, but so far no one had appeared that deserved her undying loyalty, not yet anyway.  If she could not serve someone like that then the only option left was to become a person that could inspire others, like the previous captain had been for Dame Yulisa.

As she was musing she realized a messenger had come to the door.  Sir Tiral went over to answer and Julianna found herself heading over to the messenger as well.  It turned out to be an invitation to Princess Eliabelle Tanenway Falthaen's Royal Ball for Captain Fanilly and her Iron Rose Knights.  It seemed the captain would be required to be in full armor though whoever accompanied her could dress how they wished, though weapons seemed recommended.

"We will be sure to deliver the message as soon as possible."  Julianna gave a nod to the messenger then turned to Tiral.  "Well now this is a pleasant surprise.  Tell me Sir Tiral, how confident are you in the social arena?  It is not often one gets the chance to attend a Royal Ball after all but I certainly know it can be quite intimidating if you are unfamiliar with the setting."

Julianna decided to ask the ice mage knight this with genuine curiousity as he did not seem to be one with much experience with the high social-life.  As someone who was raised to be adept at such events she was somewhat interested to see what he thought of their sudden invitation.