Arno

Arno under normal circumstances would have made a mess out of his room. Tossing things off his neatly kept dressers and tables, flinging the furniture in his room he could against the walls, kicking and shoving the furniture he couldn't, and smashing things to release the built up aggression and hot anger he was feeling at the moment. That wasn't the case at the moment. Arno felt like he should have been upset; a rage that should have tore through his core like hot coals over the treatment he had received from his brothers and own mother was absent, instead he was filled with a sort of cold emptiness. A resignation over realizing the inevitable had finally happened. Slumping into a ornate chair in front of an equally expensive vanity, Arno took a moment to collect himself again, and to look at the damage his mother had done.

His face had an angry red hand print, as to be expected, but he thankfully wasn't bleeding. His mother had rarely raised a hand against him, with the times that she had only requiring a single hand to count. Typically when he got on his mother's nerves, she would stick to scolding him behind closed doors, away from his father and brothers' prying ears. At worst she could be rather harsh with him when this happened, but there were only two occasions where she would ever escalate things beyond words; when she truly thought he deserved some sort of physical punishment, or when he had riled her up beyond reason to the point she would forget herself. Gingerly touching the soon to be bruise, Arno was under the impression it was the former of the two.

Fishing through the delicate drawers of the vanity, Arno was about search for a cream to cool the burning sensation on his skin when he heard foot steps approaching. He hardly had time to attempt to tend to the wound, pulling out a simple glass container before raising from his seat. With a soft click of the heavy doors, Arno placed the glass carefully on the rather crowded dressing table as he tried to bring a semblance of a coherent thought to mind. It was only when Knox spoke it snapped Arno to an almost sort of brainlessness that Arno could feel his brain finally catching up to itself.

" I'm.... Everything is fine," Arno stated almost as if he unsure of the fact himself, hand still subconsciously cradling his cheek until Knox took hold of it. Taking a moment to register the action, Arno was almost tempted to comment on it only for the knight to fall back as soon as it had happened. Knox was clearly taking in everything in his room, himself included. Arno could only imagine the thoughts running through the other's head, and he couldn't find himself to hold it against the knight. Motioning at a loveseat that stood proudly in the center of his room, Arno took to leaning against the backrest of the chair he had been sitting in previously.

" Sit. There's something I want to discuss with you," Arno began again almost dismissively, arms crossed as acted as if everything that had happened before had never happened, " Ange will be back shortly with refreshments for the both of us, but I'd like to get through this before she returns. My brother Damien wants me shipped off to some estate the Beauchene own up in north Lareinne, and he plans of sending me off once his wife sends word. I'll be sent off with an small group of servants I've chosen and knight he's picked and while my brother claims my life isn't his goal, I fear that I'll be without proper allies on this journey my life could very much be in danger. I know you have nothing to gain from joining me, especially considering the fact that we're practically strangers, and I do not expect you to hold any allegiance to me, it... It would do me good to know that I have someone there for me besides a handful of maids that I wouldn't want to expect to defend me if need be..."

" As for why I don't want Ange to be aware of this... William has a particular 'fondness' of her. She's a good soul, too soft on me for her own good, but I know she is forced to report everything about me she can to my brother. Damien would most certainly never agree to giving me a 'body guard' if that meant ruining his chance to get rid of me for good, and William being the loyal weasel he is would report back to him about this. Though I do plan on getting back at William by taking Ange with me, I can only imagine how much angrier it would make him, so I would like to be as careful as possible. I don't expect you to agree right away, but if you do, I would see to finding a way to get you into group of knights joining me on my 'trip'."

Face down turn and fiddling with this thumb once he finished speaking, Arno wanted to give the knight the chance to speak, but the sound of footsteps could he heard echoing in the hallway outside. Tutting, Arno's gaze turned sharply back to Knox as he hissed, " I don't care what your training or rules about how you should treat royalty, I need you to listen to me when I say this: I need you to shove me onto the coffee table in front of you like you mean it after Ange see us? Got it?" Not waiting for an answer, Arno embraced the knight just moments before the doors to his room opened, maid in toe with tea cart as she took a moment to take in the sight.

" Your... Your Highness? Knox?"

" Knox, please, you just have to do me the honor of sending my last few days as a free man with me," Voice a syrupy sweet tone as he looked up the Knight with batting lashes. Arno clung onto Knox like one would with a lover, hoping that Knox understand what he wanted from him in this moment. Anything to make it look like the knight wanted nothing to do with him, much to Arno's supposed dismay. Ange would be more than use to his ludicrous flirting methods.

With the sound of wood splintering and body slamming into the coffee table behind him, Arno could feel the wind get knocked out of him as a million thoughts ran through his head. The most prevalent of these thoughts being how much he regretted not telling Knox to just shove him convincingly enough, not to attempt to possibly kill him( though, considering the fact that Arno had his fair share of accidents, It wasn't all that bad, but it still hurt like hell). He'd just have to chalk it up to him forgetting who exactly he was speaking to: a trained royal Knight, not some servant or noble. Arno could only wheeze as he attempted to gather himself and his breath again, stars blurring his vision, the prince could hear what he assumed was Knox making his hasty getaway. That or it was Ange making her way to fetch a nurse, which would have been much worse for both him and the knight, but he was too discombobulated actually be certain what exactly was happening in that moment.

Hesitant foot falls could be heard shortly after as a figure crouched above him, voice clearing up his worries," My god your highness, what exactly did you do to poor Knox to get push you like that?" After a brief pause, sounds of Ange gingerly picking though debris could be heard to his side, the maid spoke up again, " And what are we going to explain this to the Duke down in Fleury... He'll be quite upset that you broke his gift, considering how he was quite fond of you..."

Arno's eye brows scrunched, lip curled in annoyance as his vision was finally began to settle," You can't... Be serious about that right now... The least of my concerns... right now should be a stupid table. For Christ's sake... I could have a concussion. Or worse..." Staring up at the decorative moulding of his bedroom ceiling, he could feel his hand grip onto a book that now laid next to him along with countless other bits and bobbles after the small table broke. God, he had way too much stuff on that coffee table. Arno could feel something digging into his lower back, unsure if it was splintering wood or something else.

" Still haven't answered my first question your Highness."

" Oh please Ange. I pushed his buttons and flirted with him a l bit. You know I like his type, he's handsome really. But as you saw, he made it clear he wasn't interested... Didn't have to be as rough as he was though."

Ange raised a brow, but didn't press him further, seemingly satisfied with his answer," You certainly know how to get a raise out of others your Highness. I'd recommend that you don't get on the bad side of the people working to protect you and your family, regardless of how hard you find it to keep to yourself. Especially considering the fact he might be one of the unlucky knights forced to join you on this exile of yours..." Ange muttered something under her breathe about the poor knights and servants and their family's.

Slowly raising himself into a sitting position, Arno took in the damage. The table was splintered, splitting where his body had mad contact, causing the books and other various clutter that sat atop it to go flying. Whatever mess his room was before was now defiantly worsened. Little shards of glass and wood littered his floor along with pages from unread books of his, some long forgotten jewelry was now also strewn across the ground and would need to be checked to see if everything was still in order, along with the now remains of a broken tea cup and saucer. All and all, not too bad considering how bad his body hurt as a whole now.

" I'm nothing but pleasant Ange, others just can't seem to see that. Besides, don't feel too bad for him. If it really comes down to it, you're one of the lucky few servants I plan on taking with me, so I suppose if worse comes to worse you can gang up on me together if you'd like."

" You can't be serious-"

" Deadly Ange," Arno said with a smug grin. For a split moment the prince was almost able to forget the fact that he just been slapped then slammed into a table. Almost. " I really do think I need that nurse though Ange."

The maid groaned as she rose from her spot, now sporting a scowl as she pointed towards his mess of a bed, something she hated with a passion because of how particular he was with it. Arno would have argued it was more of a nest than a bed at this point, with the amount of blankets and pillows. A comfy nest. " Bed. Now. I'll be back after I fetch a doctor or nurse. After I explain why you have another broken coffee table again to your family." Grumbling, Ange swept the small pile of debris she had to the side before taking the tea cart she came with out of his room.

Inching his way back into his bed, Arno debated whether or not he should risk falling back asleep or not. He doubted he actually had a concussion, but the last thing he wanted to do was wake up to as one of the palace nurses or doctors tending to his wounds. At least it seemed like Ange believe what he said. If he was lucky, Ange would inform William what had happen, and William wanting to get a rise out of him would probably see if he could work it out to have Knox be one of his Knight escorts in an attempt to humiliate him. At the very least he should have solidified in hopefully both brothers' eyes that Knox wanted nothing to do with him, even if that meant he'd have to put in some extra work to spread rumors of such. Then he'd just have to figure out a way to sneak Knox into the knights that would be joining him. That's if Knox agreed of course. Arno frowned as he slunk into his bed, finding himself staring up at the canopy as he thought about the possiblity of Knox saying no. Arno chewed at his lip. God he was exhausted, he could use that cat Knox mention about now as well, to keep his mind from wondering. He'd have to think about it in further detail after a nap and after getting some food in him.

Arno

Arno was awoken by a sharp pain to his side, complete unaware when exactly he had fallen asleep, as a nurse now loomed over him. She was an older woman, the scowl on her face further defining her well earned wrinkles as she gave the prince a less than please looked. He had forgotten her name but he was certain they had met their fair share of times. She had a certain timelessness to her as her gaze returned back to her work. Ange was stationed by her side as a couple of servants cleaned up behind them in near silence, the maid sighed in relief. Arno wasn't exactly sure what to take of that as he looked around groggily.

" I told you he was fine lass, just exhausted and in dire need of proper food and water. He'll be bruised but nothings broken, so his highness lives to see another day," thin cold fingers continued to prod at him as the nurse continued her examination, tone flat as she spoke before she turned her questions to him," How exactly did this come to be...? I can see the broken table, but that doesn't necessarily explain how."

" Oh nothing too serious, just got in a little over my head, Nurse..."

" Edith. Took care of you as a babe boy, The fact you can't seem to remember that still has far gone past the point of it being offensive. I was even there when you got, well that," The nurse tapped her right eye in emphasis before tucking a loose strand of silvery hair behind her ear, " I still remember how upset Queen Mercia was when you ran to me after everything was said and done."

From what he remembered, for a short while he considered her almost like second mother to him. His wasn't fond of that and separated them shortly after he called the nurse mother. Any memories of her afterwards were few and far between, with the one that stood out the most being the one she just mentioned. Arno felt himself bring a hand gently to his scar as he thought about the aftermath of his actions then. " I'm sure mother made it extremely difficult for you after that, I don't exactly remember seeing you for a long period afterwards," Arno stated absent mindedly.

" I understand her in a sense, I'd be angry if my son had ran to another to be comforted after getting hurt, but I can't exactly blame you in that situation either boy. Besides, I was just doing my job I'll never regret doing it either," Edith's voice had soften as she spoke, gaze finally returning to his after she was satisfied with his examination. Patting his shoulder, her tone of voice returned to a more even one, " Wasn't too rough on me, and the Queen eventually let up. As for you, you'll be fine, just take of yourself better than you are now. I'm surprised you're still up and walking and not dead in some ditch with how poorly you treat your body. Ange, I'll be on my way again. As for you your highness, treat your staff better if you want to see your 30s. And I don't just mean your maids." Dusting her hands off on her apron, Edith bowed her head at the other servants before she left his room. Arno couldn't help but purse her lip at her pointed comment.

The servants who were cleaning his room where finished for the most part. A couple of the butlers had carted away the remnants of his old coffee table as the maids had swept up most of the debris and piled the junk on it onto whatever free surface they could find. Arno wasn't stick with his room's cleanliness like he should have but it was finally starting to catch up to him how much junk he had as the servants made their way to leave as well. Arno was almost tempted to stop them when Ange spoke up instead, chance escaping him until another day.

" Arno, you really hurt Knox back there," Her mousy brows furrowed as her look teetered on thinly restrained anger, fists gripping tightly at her pale green skirts.

" Ange I have no idea what you're talking about, I was the one who got slammed into a table-"

" You know what I meant Arno! I don't know what exactly you're playing at here, but you really hurt Knox. He might be some sort of pawn to you, but I was really hoping you we're going to play with him like that like you brothers do with us. Clearly I was wrong about that."

Arno bit his lip rising from his bed as argued, " Ange that wasn't my intention, you know that-"

" You know that's now how this works, he could loose his job because of some stupid stunt you decided to get him wrapped up in. Don't you use that thick skull of yours for thinking, or are you so full of yourself that you can't think of anyone else but yourself? He has a family he's taking care of, we all do! You're not as powerful as you think you are, especially not now!"

Arno's face soured. His father might care for him, but that's where those feelings could work against him. Regardless how much he pleaded, Arno still made Knox raise his hands against a member of the royal family. If the knight was lucky, just loosing his position as royal knight would be a miracle. Rumor would spread fast like he had originally wanted, but that would work against him now.

" I messed up backed there..." Arno uttered hoarsely as he stood shakily, hand combing through his ginger hair.

" You think?!"

He'd have to think of something fast. He'd probably need help from someone with more respect and authority to his name than him... He was the whole reason he thought of this stupid convoluted plan to keep him out of the loop in the first place.

" I'm going to have to beg on my hands and knees to Damien to fix this..."

" And how exactly do you expect that to work out for either of you?"

" I'll think of something. Father respects his opinion more than William's so it'd be worth more to have Damien vouch from Knox than anyone else. If I play my cards right I can make it seem like a scheme William set up to get me while I was at my worse or whatever," Arno massaged his temples as he spoke, beginning to pace as thought. While Damien's opinion might have been held high in regard, one would have to be an idiot or someone detached court drama to not know out of all of his children who the king had favored the most. The king had always been soft on him and his sister, often doting on them more than the crown and second prince ever were. One of the main reasons his brothers had hated for as they grew up. With that in mind he's certain he could figure out a way to weasel him and Knox out of this situation. Besides, Damien wouldn't be too against throwing William under the bus like this, especially considering the fact that Damien's allegiances weren't strictly tied to William either. They both might share a disdain for him, but William wasn't exactly free from Damien's wrath either. Funny how the line of succession could warp a family like this. If he could get Damien's help in the first place that is...

" Ange, I'm off to see my brother now. If you could be a dear for me, would you mind seeing to it that my room get organized so I can uh... Figure out what exactly I have and what I'll take with me? Thanks dear," Arno waved his hand dismissively as he made his way out of his room, the maid exasperation with him now eminent.

" Arno! You can't be serious right now- You're a mess right now you can't just meet your brother like that! You're suppose to be resting now too! Arno!"

Ange attempted to chased after him only for the doors of his room to slam shut in her face. As much as his body was sore, he really should fix this sooner rather than later. Rest and breakfast(lunch? At this point Arno wasn't so sure what time it was anymore) would have to wait until later.

It was a miracle Arno had made his way to his brother's room with minimal disturbance, the occasional stare or concerned call out by a servant who wasn't in the loop yet was easy enough for the young prince to ignore. It would only be a matter of time before they would hear some form of gossip on what exactly transpired in his room. He need to do damage control before that gossip reached his father's ears, and fast. Slowly coming to a stop in front of the heavy wood doors of Damien's room, the third prince found himself hesitating. Fiddling his dark ginger hair with a shaky hand, Arno couldn't bring himself to open his eldest brother's door, let alone knock. He almost never had a reason to willingly come to Damien's room, his nerves palpable as tried to refrain from reconsidering his options. It's not like he had any other choice. Not unless an opportunity descended from the heavens itself into his now sweaty palms. Raising a hand to the old wood, Arno was only stopped at a loud shout from the last voice he expected.

" As if! I just thought you'd appreciate the little bit of info I choose to bestow upon you, but clearly not! You're honestly so full of yourself Damien sometimes that I sometimes can't tell the difference between you and Arno. You might not be as loose as him, but you both sure as hell are insufferable," Voice rapidly approaching the door, Arno barely had a second to back away to avoid getting slammed into, almost making it the third time he was injured today. With a moment's pause, Arno was face to face with William as the second prince took the chance to take in his younger brother's appearance. Hazel eyes rapidly scanned him before he cackled, a well ringed hand brought to his chest as he did so, " Christ Arno, you look like you've been ran over by a carriage! Or two."

" I can assure you I haven't," Arno hissed through gritted teeth, as he stared at William, the second prince nearly forgot himself before he attempted to collect himself.

Wiping a tear from his light brown lashes, the second prince sighed, " Shame, might have saved you from the world of hurt you tend to get yourself into Arno. Damien, I'll be heading to the stables if you need me, but I think we're done here for now, since you clearly don't need my help that I so kindly offered with my highly sought after time. I'll be having a ride with Lady... whatsherface from down south, have a good rest of your afternoon brothers." Waving his hand dismissively as he left, Arno took the opportunity to switch places with his older brother.

Doors closing behind him, Damien could be seen sitting in the middle of his neatly kept room white knuckling the delicately carved into the dark walnut chair. A tea set could be seen on the matching coffee table in from of him, but whatever afternoon tea he was having now had been discarded as a hand rested over his eyes, thumb rubbing his temple as his dark blonde brows furrowed. The third prince's room was pleasantly warm in comparison to his own, the great stone fire place in use as it quietly roared in silence as Arno inched closer to his brother, unsure on whether or not he was allowed to approach him or not.

" Sit down Arno," Damien hadn't bothered to remove his hand from his face as he spoke, but the irritation in his voice was all he needed to know what exact mood his eldest brother was in, " First Christine comes in pleading your case before offering to go along with you, then William with some trivial drivel, and now you of all people. What exactly do you want."

Taking a seat on the couch aside of his brother, Arno coughed nervously, " I'm assuming what William brought has to do with what I've come here to discuss, but... In Christine's case, she doesn't need to demean herself with doing something like that."

" I already told her to put a stop to those stupid ideas," Heaving a heavy sigh, Damien finally looked at him with cold half lidded eyes, eyeing the third prince as if to confirm something, " As for William... Something along the lines of you not being able to keep to yourself with one of the knights. Again. Though this time it appears he didn't humor you like others before have, hmm?"

Arno was silent for a moment, his blue eye staring down at his hands in his lap as he squeezed at his knees, " While it's true I uh... Pushed my luck again, I can promise you his reaction was entirely my fault. Knox, the knight who was involved is a good man, but he has no interest in me, I can guarantee you that."

Damien hummed as he leaned back in his seat, pondering for a moment as looked at his own ceiling, " That explains William's reaction, but what exactly does this have to do with me Arno?"

" While I know it's too late to stop rumors of what happened circulating, I was hoping you'd talk some sense into father. It was a mistake that he shouldn't have to pay for with his life, because knowing father he'd want his head for well... Even making an attempt to hurt me. Please, if you could just convince him to let him off without his job, you'd have my gratitude. You have more sway with him, he respects your opinion on things more than he ever did with me, now more than ever I'd assume."

" Not even an attempt to let him keep his job Arno?"

Arno shook his head solemnly, " I don't even think I could face him now. If he stays I'll have to see him further until you send me off to your wife's estate once she sends word. I don't think I could stand seeing him for that long."

Damien hummed thoughtfully, " I'll see what I can do, but there must be something you can offer me to make it worth my while?"

Arno paused for a moment, biting his lip before he spoke softly, " During my time with the Duke Alexander of Fleury, He often spoke to me about a count making plans to start a coup against the crown, Count Germain I believe? Alexander was afraid to come forward with this information himself with how he aligned himself with me and how Germain had the support of William. Not wanting to come across as scheming against the second prince he never said anything until we had one two many drinks. I never said anything until now myself because I though you'd never believe me either, but take of that what you will brother. That's all I can offer you at the moment, but if you like I'm sure I can get the Duke to bring you the information you need to squash this possible coup."

Damien lip curled has his grip on his chair tightened once again, " I had heard a passing rumor, but I didn't think it was true, how unfortunate. Send for the duke immediately and I'll get to investigating in earnest as soon as possible."

" I'll take that as sufficient enough for you brother?"

" Plenty," The crown prince groaned, " Now if you'll excuse me, I have a lot on my mind to think about, along with another meeting with the king thanks to you. Is there anything else you need to discuss with me while I'm still amicable Arno?"

" Nothing I'd be willing to share without fair trade I'm afraid brother, but I suppose I do have one final request before I leave," raising from his seat with his brother, Arno tried to keep his face neutral as he spoke, " I'll send you a list of the rest of the servants I'd like to take with me, but for now I'd like to take Ange with me to my new home. I would have asked for Edith the nurse as well, but I'm afraid she might be getting a little too old to make the journey."

The crown prince snorted, " William won't be too happy but... I can deal with that. She always over brews the tea, so it'll be no skin off my back. I'll send for you once I've finished speaking with father on what will become of the little knight you nearly ruined the life of."

" Just have a servant inform me for both of our sake."

With that, Arno had left his brother's extravagant room once again, letting off a sigh of relief once the dark doors shut once again. If his brother had took his bait, which he should have, Knox should be off scott free. Hell, if he was truly lucky, Damien would make Knox one of the knights forced to attend him on his trip in order to humiliate him further and to satiate his middle brother for the same reasons after taking away his favorite maid and ally. Plus while there was truth to Arno's rumor, there was an added bonus of helping Alexander get rid of an enemy of his own in hopes to get him to forget about the broken gift. It was pretty expensive from what he had heard... Arno was exhausted, and starving, he needed to head back to his own room to sleep and possibly eat. He'd deal with his sister's distress after he properly rested. Making his way to his room, Arno could hear the doors to his brother's room once again open and close, Damien now on his way to speak with their father, Good.

Knox

__________________________________

The yells had been nothing more than maids cackling to one another as they trotted down the corridor. It left Knox washed with relief. He'd been on edge about his small incident with Arno. Perhaps it was all for nothing. Maybe he was just paranoid. He could only hope.

There was a familiar sound not to long later however. One that send chills up his spine. This was it. This was the end. He closed his blue eyes, waiting for the scuffling of the boots to pause by him. Pause by him they indeed did.

"Ridge."

Knox turned and smiled at the fellow Knight that stood there. "Lane." He said, holding the shorter mans gaze with a calm, content smile. He dipped his head towards his partner. Would he be alright? He was sure that the guardsman would be, but then again, whom was to know?

"Do you know why His Majesty is calling upon you?" The other knight asked as they pair walked side by side, both of them held the same posture. Arms behind their back, heads and gazes straight ahead, and their back straight. "I have an inkling." Knox said, wanting to drop his gaze to the ground. Perhaps with a low rank of a guardsman he would, but a fellow knight? That would be improper, and Knox wasn't about to bend the rules a second time in one day.

"An inkling?" Lane chuckled, "What ever did you do?"

Knox sighed. "It's a long story, I don't want to get into it. I'm not meaning to be a scuffling horse, but I'm going to be quite angered if I lose my job and title over this." He said softly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lane glance towards him. "We all know the King is soft." Knox shook his head. He wasn't so sure about soft, but kind-hearted was the word Knox would use. "Just because you are kind doesn't mean you are soft." Knox said with a small smile on his face.

The smile was Knox's signature. He'd been told by many maids that it was his kind smile that he always had on his face that made their work day less intolerable. It was an odd compliment, or at least he took it as one, but that always made him chuckle.

-

The fiery haired man stopped outside of the throne room, waiting to be announced to the court. His normally welcoming and warm face was cold and stoic. He gave Lane one last nod before the double doors opened and Knox stepped into the room before the King. "Your Majesty." Knox said as he got to the edge of the throne, put his left arm across his chest, and getting onto one knee with his head to his chest in a bow, waiting for his cue to rise.

"Sir Ridge." The King said, giving him the cue that he was waiting for like an obedient dog. Knox rose and took three steps back, watching the King from where he stood. "I hear you have hand an incounter with my son, the third Prince." The knight nodded. "Yes Sire." He wanted to get down on his knees, to beg to keep his job and his head. It was boring, but it was what he'd always wanted to do. "Arno has been... quite rash as of recently." Knox met the Kings gaze, "He is off to get some well deserved time away from the Palace, and I am trying to gather up guards for him. Of course, as you know, with guards we need a knight to lead them." Knox nodded, remaining silent.

"Sir Ridge, I want to apoint you as the knight to accompany him. You may decline, but you won't stay here after the chaos you have created here today. Arno is known for making advances, and I need a level-headed knight to go with him who will keep the boy in line and not give into those." The Kings nose was in the air in an attempt to look down upon Knox.

"You think I am the best choice, Sire?"

The King nodded. "Yes. You are the best choice that I can think of. You have shown your ability to serve the crown without letting emotions get in the way. You have all of the qualities I want in a knight, and I don't want to send anyone else up." Knox looked at him, chewing on his cheek. Was he off scott free? Was it simply that easy? What about the damages he'd caused? "Do you accept?" Knox nodded, "Yes Sire, I will join Prince Arno on his journey and keep him safe. I have one request Sire, I want to bid fairwell to my family before I depart."

-

Knox stepped out of the chambers, and looked to his right. "Damien." He said shortly with a nod. The man smiled at Knox. "I hope that you will be staying here a bit longer." Knox blinked at him and gave him a small nod. "Yes... Thank you for whatever it is you have done today." He said softly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and pass my shift to the next guard." His footsteps echoed the halls as he walked away with a brisk pace in a confident manner.

Once the passing on had been concluded, Knox walked alone to supper. The guards and knights had their own dining hall with their own line of cooks. As he entered the hall, the shouts of excited guards filled his ears. They were all so loud, and childish. Why did you have to yell at the person sitting next to you? He wasn't deaf, Knox could tell you that much per guard standards.

He stood in line silently, zoned out with his gaze on the ground. It had been a long day of doing what seemed like nothing. Just another day of work. He gathered his potatoes, soup, beans and bread and decided that he'd much rather eat alone in his quarters. Knox was one of three knights that had a room in the guards quarters. It was supposed to be a large accomplishment, but the beds were uncomfortable, the rooms were cold and they slept having to hear whatever party the Royals were throwing whatever night.

-

He walked along the footpath towards the guards housing, his plate in hand, zoned out in an exhausted state. He wasn't even sure if he'd make it through dinner before he fell asleep. He stopped and decided to stay out for just a bit longer, climbing up to sit on the cool rock of the wall. It wasn't a large wall, about three feet or so, really just there for looks. His feet dangled down as he slowly began to eat his meal, gazing up at the stars as they sprouted into the night sky.

Arno

Dreams were never something Arno was particularly fond of. Too much happening all at once, all out of his control and to be nearly forgotten once he woke up, and usually a mess of pure madness built upon vague memories and ideas. That was the case for him once again his head hit his pillow: A nightmare he couldn't exactly put his finger on what exactly was happening when he woke up, but deathly frightening in the moment. The prince always preferred the nights when he was dreamless because of this.

Covered in a thin layer of sweat, Arno had to remind himself where exactly he was in the moment, reorienting himself as he grasped at the heavy blankets that covered him. His fire had went out in his sleep, leaving the room colder and darker than it should be. Upon reentering his room, a small team of servants had started their task of reorganizing his room like he had requested, only pausing their cleaning to start a fire for him and help him into his night clothes as the prince took the opportunity to catch up on his sleep. Arno had passed out once he was situated in bed, able to fall sleep even among the noisiness that came along with cleaning, so he took the absence of noise and light as a sign that they had either finished with their work or had packed up for the day. Sitting up in his bed, Arno figured it was the later as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Not that he could entirely blame them considering the state that he left his room. At the very least taking the time to do this was helping him calm down from the high of his nightmare.

A rap at his door had interrupted his already rather scrambled line of thought, head whipping to the old wood with squinting eyes. The knock was light and far to delicate to be from one of the servants making their way back to finish their job, but familiar enough for him to realize who exactly it was. " Christine?" Arno called out, a little too discombobulated for his taste as he pealed away his blankets, feet hitting the ice cold floor as he attempted to make his way to open the door for his sister. Arno couldn't help the hiss that left his lips as his feet retreated back to the warmth of his bed, before quickly reattempting with a couple of blankets wrapped around him this time. As unhelpful as it was to keep his feet warm, it was still nice to not be fully freezing as he left his bed in only his night clothes.

Upon opening the door, Arno was greeted with the concerned frown of his sister, looking up as him as her blue eyes scanned him and then his room, " God Arno, you room feels like an ice box, how are you not freezing..." The princess nearly retreated into herself as if to pull herself way from the frigid air now escaping his room, rubbing her gloved hands against her jacketed arms as she did so. Still so stylishly dressed even when she visited little ole him, it warmed his heart.

Smugly smiling, Arno brought a hand to his sister's head to ruffle her blonde curls, much to her own irritation as he replied," That's the thing Christine, I am! Now what do I owe the up most pleasure to?" Arno took the opportunity to lean against his door frame, blanket draped around his shoulders as he crossed his arms.

Christine's frown deepened, fixing her hair with a free hand as she scowled back at him, " I had wanted to check in on you earlier but one of my maids informed me about your whole... Debacle and how I should leave you be for the time being but," motioning with her other arm, the princess brought attention to the picnic basket in the crook of her elbow, " I figured you be hungry after everything was said and done. Especially now, see as you've probably been asleep this whole time. I would have fetched for you sooner but servants were apparently cleaning when I first tired, and then I uh... Got a bit distracted. Apologies brother." The princess looked away in shame. While Christine was strong spirited, she had a tendency to let her whims get the better of her. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that his sister had made a whole plan for a pleasant late afternoon meal with him in the garden or something similar, but with the unintended set back she probably lost track of her time. Well, better late than never.

" I'd be honored to have, uh, what time is it exactly?"

" A little past supper Arno," Christine helpfully supplied.

" I would be honored to have a late dinner with you Christie! Just give me a moment to get into at least decent clothes and we can set off to where ever your heart desires," Moving aside to let his sister into his room, Arno made way to light up his bedroom," Do you have a specific place in mind or will we figure it out as we go?"

Taking a seat on the couch that still resided in the center of his room, Christine eyed his now relatively cleaner room to figure out where to place her basket for the moment before settling on her lap, not wanting to add to the remaining mess. " There was a place in the garden I had in mind since the snow was just right to make it look like something out of a fair tale but... Since the sun has set already, I feel like it wouldn't have the same effect it would had in the day. That's not to say I don't have something else in mind! Sometimes when I can escape the maids at night I would go star gazing by the guards housing, that way I can argue that I'm well protected just in case something were to happen, and it has clear view of the night sky, mostly unobstructed by the castle and trees. Would that suffice?"

Behind a partition, Arno was more than happy to change out of his sweat drenched night clothes, listening as he only mildly struggled to change into a fresh shirt and trousers. He wouldn't bother with something warmer for the time being, settling for being decent than forcing his sister wait from him as he struggled to dress into albeit warmer but more difficult clothes. He always had his blankets he could lug around it really came down to it. Satisfied, Arno stepped out from the partition with a smile," That sounds lovely Christie. I'm ready for our secret retreat if you are," The princess was about to make a fuss on his lack of warm clothing before he swooped up his blankets, draping them over himself like he had previously before draping them over her once he had approached her," Ready?"

The princess grumbled, but not before snuggling up against her brother, not against the added warmth of his body head and warm fabrics muttering something about how she would miss his smell once he left before responding to his question," Fine, but only if you make sure to keep these on you the whole time, the last thing I need is an icicle of a brother."

" I wouldn't have it any other way," Arno said with a small smile, leading the way out of his room as they waddled out towards the intended dining location. He was going to miss their outings like this once left home, but even though Christine had offered to come along with him, Arno knew he couldn't force his sister to bear his punishment as well. Regardless of how much he would miss her.

-

It wasn't freezing exactly when they had finally left the castle, but the blankets they had brought along were nothing but welcome in the cool night. They had spoken about small things on their little trip, about her studies and what exactly Arno was going to do with his now broken coffee table(Apparently Christine was fond of it, and was hoping that if he wasn't going to bring it with him, she could be gifted it to take care in his stead), minor nothings when his sister's attention was caught by something. A figure sitting on a rather short wall, carefully outlined by moonlight and light coming off the humble guards housing. Squinting, Arno barely had the chance to recognize the gentleman himself when he felt his sister's grip tighten around his hand shaking slightly as she glared the man before them.

" You! You're the knight who hurt my brother aren't you! Get down here this instance so I can knock some sense into you or I'll-"

The princess was cut short as a hand was clapped over her mouth, Arno felt himself pale as looked at Knox's strong, and quite frankly hard to forget back. He was 90% he even saw that strong back in his nightmare that afternoon, one of the few things he wasn't exactly upset upset about in that dream. Gods, he needed to focus instead of thinking about the knight's arguably pleasing to the eyes form, what exactly did she hear that Knox did to him to try and cause a scene like this? Leave it to the servants to snowball a rumor into something else in it's entirety. Sweating again, Arno ran a free hand through his hair as he called out in an unusually high pitched tone, " Apologies, You can stay where you are, we'll be leaving actually!" Turning back to his sister he quietly hissed, " Actually maybe we should eat some where else tonight Christie-"

Wrestling free from his grasp and causing the blankets draped on them to fall off them in the process, the princess gave him another scowl, " But we already agreed to star gaze here! And you! Don't think I haven't forgotten about you!" Christine pointed a rather harsh finger towards the poor knight before diverting her attention back to him, clearly ready to argue to continue with their plans. Arno on the other hand felt just about ready to melt into a puddle of embarrassment if it wasn't for the fact that the cold was starting to get to him without the protection of his blankets. There always had to be something going on with him it seemed, much to his own dismay.