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Today is a good day, a great one, even. All three days of the trip to Miss Phillips' castle had been wonderful indeed. In fairness a large portion of this was because of the absence of father breathing down my neck, but meeting people I can speak with who [i]won't[/i] grovel at my feet and agree with everything I say will be a treasure indeed! I do hope the princess isn't some timid wallflower, it really would be a joy to have someone I could speak with as an equal... Bah! I still have time to think of how to introduce myself! For now all I have to do is sit back, relax, and enjoy the journ-

"My lord, the castle is in sight!"

The voice of my retainer shook me out of my reverie, nearly causing me to fall off my horse in the process. The two of us had been riding with only the pack mules as company, the presence of guards would have implied I needed to be protected and that could not be tolerated. I shook my head to clear my thoughts before responding in a dry tone.

"I wasn't aware that it was customary to cause an accident when arriving at a foreign dignitary's establishment! While you have my thanks for informing me, in future do so in a way that does not send me head over heels!"

While he stuttered out a stream of apologies, I properly looked around and lo and behold, the castle could be seen down the road about a half-day's trip away.

Has the time truly gone by that quickly? I hadn't really properly thought of how I would introduce myself. How the devil do you approach someone romantically? What if she dismisses me? A single look before deciding I'm not worth her time? No, surely I'll have more chances then that. True love at first sight isn't really a thing, right? Blast it all! I really need to think about this...