Her eyebrow furrowed a tad in utter dismay and the soft smile she displayed so brightly....had faded into shadows and twisted downward into a frown when the Princess returned to her, not her usual warmth in her smile that Irina was hoping to bring forth from the girl, but unfortunately what Irina had received....was by far the coldest of glowers from the Princess, not wishing honestly to carry on a more friendly and casual conversation with her attendant, which in turn seemed to dishearten the knight....quite a bit. Sure there was a sort of smile from Crystal, but only for a fleeting second before that icy expression of displeasure towards the woman had returned and remained affixed for the rest of the journey, rendering Irina unable to....really say anything. That only made the journey home feel much longer than it should, despite the clopping of Argo's massive hooves against the ground as he trotted along, no further sound was made....only a dead and unnerving silence. 

Shortly, though it having felt almost an eternity before Irina would ever see the gilded tops of those majestic white marble towers, the two women and the two animals, the horse and the rabbit, had finally arrived upon the emerald lawns of soft, glistening grass of the Royal Palace's courtyard. Irina, she would have been the first to dismount her mighty steed, but Crystal, the Princess reckless as ever, was already scooting off the saddle before Irina could grab a hold of her in time to warn her of leaving so hastily off Argo. She knew what would follow next, and sure enough she heard the Princess' yelp out in pain before falling to the ground, a redness about her bare legs to display the great deal of shock she dealt to herself from such a fall. "M'lady!" Instantly, and almost accustom of the knight, Irina flew into a panic, herself brashly dismounting her horse, but making sure to not make the same hapless error her lady had made before. Already was she to the injured girl's side, falling to her knees with such a grimace of worry upon her face. "Princess! Are you alright? Let me see your-" But as she heard the Princess speak to her....telling her such....such ill words... Her eyebrow had furrowed for a more different reason.... "Oh stop being so childish, M'lady." In that small instance, there was a gruffness to her voice, feeling as if....actually no she was chided by Crystal laying the blame upon her...not taking fault for her own foolish actions... "Twas no one's fault other than your own. Now c'mon. Let's get you inside and have the castle nurse look at your legs." Not even caring once if her lady objected, the knight hoisted the petite girl into her arms, almost akin to how perchance a groom would carry his lovely bride, but Irina hardly noticed the similarity to such. "Argo, to the stables lad. Go!" She commanded of her horse before stepping into the castle and already afoot towards Crystal's chamber, her eyes catching the equally small frame of Ginger, the former maid of Crystal...now given over to Irina. 

[b]"Ah! Welcome back, Sir Irina...eh....w-what happened to the Princess? Is she okay?"[/b] The young maid, her once cheerful and welcoming smile had but vanished and a grim expression of dark apprehension had come forth to usurp her youthful features. Irina replied curtly to the maid, pushing open the chamber door and ferrying Crystal over to her bed, "She should be fine, Lady Ginger, but I fear her legs may have been broken. Send for the castle nurse. I shall tend to whatever my lady the Princess needs." And with that, the girl nodded before exiting with haste....leaving Irina there with....the girl who had scorned her with those harsh words. "I'm not angry with you, but.....what you said did offend me a bit. I don't know why you would hold disdain to me, when all I try to do is look after you....." Such a glower the knight carried, her bottom lip quivering and her ice blue eyes, once intense...now misting over with a melancholic haze as she departed from the side of Crystal's bed and took her place in a small chair nearby....eyes only upon the floor instead of upon her lady.