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[color=9AF781]Time: Morning, 9:30am
Location: Outside Danrose Palace
Interactions: Riona [@JJ Doe], Princess Sadie [@Potter][/color]

[color=CBCBCB]The servant Leo had seen as simply having a dangerous streak had become outright diabolical. Muck from her shoe now covered her hand as she made a show of grabbing at his hand, and then attempting to wipe said muck onto [i]his face[/i]. He grabbed her hand before she made contact, gripping her wrist and keeping her from any further contact. 

All his thoughts, and all he saw, was red. 

He was here losing a verbal battle against a stable hand who was now only tossing mud and filth about as if it was clever. And the problem was that it was working, that he was losing any patience with this, and all he wanted to do was break that hand. Instead, he let her hand go as quickly as the thought of violence had entered his mind, and then took a step back to put more distance between himself and her.  

Much like dogs, servants acted out because they lacked proper training, much like dogs, beating them only exasperated this, it was not a solution, and Leo would not be the sort of man who beat a dog because it was not trained right. This was not his problem and he would not let it be his problem any longer. 

[color=9AF781]“Enjoy this. Let it bring you comfort when you return to whatever hovel you crawled out of, and I continue to enjoy every comfort -”[/color] Leo stopped talking as Princess Sadie announced her arrival in Sorian. 

[color=9AF781][i]Oh fuck his absolutely rotten luck.[/i][/color] Of course, despite his efforts to be a presentable lord, he was now in the presence of Varian royalty with mucked-up shoes and a filthy hand arguing with the unimportant. 

[color=9AF781]“Your royal highness,”[/color] Leo extended a full and proper bow at the addition of the Varian royal. He was quick to sidestep her attempt to clean his shoes. [color=9AF781]“I must insist, you are too kind, but I can attend to my own shoes.”[/color] He smiled through his utter confusion at the princess's every action. [color=9AF781][i]Helping in the stables? Him? Like a servant? For a source of amusement?[/i][/color] He tried to imagine a more dreadful waste of time and failed to think of one. 

Riona, he learned the servant’s name from Princess Sadie, had at least provided him an out of this situation. All he had to do was simply excuse himself to attend to his appearance and he could be rid of this conversation. Before he could do so, Princess Sadie pulled both of them into a bizarre and uncomfortable group hug. [color=9AF781][i]I think I’d actually rather hug a wild boar.[/i][/color] As soon as the princess’s grip loosened he moved further from her reach as well and hoped to never repeat the experience again.  

Princess Sadie had inherited all the softness her father possessed, qualities far more flattering on a princess than a king. Right now, those qualities had morphed into something detestable, forcing him to share any embrace with such a loathsome commoner, ignoring all proper boundaries that kept nobles separated from the lessers, and then she continued to ramble on as if there was nothing wrong with what she had just done. When she finally paused long enough to take a breath, Leo spoke up. 

[color=9AF781]“I’d say I am looking forward to seeing the horse race, Princess. A beautiful thing, the symbiotic relationship between master and animal, to see the horse run as it was built to do, and its master lead it towards success in their shared discipline.”[/color] He spoke mainly keeping his focus on the princess before flashing a grin in Riona’s direction. [color=9AF781]“Perhaps we’ll continue this conversation on horses, though I wouldn’t want to keep you from your duties, I’m sure there are better uses for your time.”[/color] He hoped that she’d make herself someone else’s problem for the remainder of the summer. 

[color=9AF781]“No need to further bore you with my thoughts, I should clean up a bit and head out. Enjoy your morning Your Highness.”[/color] Leo bowed again towards Princess Sadie but paused to wait for her to excuse him. Possibly another mistake on his part, as she was prone to rambling on, and all he wanted was to wash his hands clean of the entire situation, but it only seemed the proper thing to do here. [/color]