Oh my geez...
I love those ideas so much :D
We could have the old friend run into them at the border (maybe the king sent him/her ahead as a spy before the main pose got there?)
I'll leave it up to you to decide if you'd rather it be a guy or girl, because I'd be happy with either :)

Also, I like the capture idea as a little side plot to take a break from the main story.
It would have to be another seized-and-escape type of deal, but those are always fun