The princess and her knight

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"There's no need for you carry anything of mine. I can surely handle it myself." She said kindly. She followed the knight, being wherry of her surroundings and watching her every step so she wouldn't almost trip over anymore roots. She listened to his point outs and took them into consideration stepping over any of the roots or rocks that were in their path. She lifted up her dress a bit so it would not get caught on any branch or sticker bush. He was a quiet knight but what else would she expect. Most of the knights seemed to be like that although Idacrous seemed to be a little more unsociable. Perhaps he didn't want to be the only knight with the princess. It was a hard job to escort her, having to constantly protect her, most likely feeling inferior. It was things she wished her knights and people didn't feel towards her. She looked over at him for a moment. "I am sorry if I am causing trouble for you." She then said.
 
Idacrous tilts his head minutely to the side as the princess speaks, the male regarding her through his peripheral vision before the slightest of smiles curve his lips. "If I disliked trouble, I wouldn't have signed up for this job." It seems the male isn't devoid of all humour.

Line of vision turning back to their path, he leads in silence for a moment longer before stealing another glance at Aria's profile. The knight has never been in such close proximity to the royal female before and he can only be grateful that she isn't a snobbish one. Memorizing her expression, he goes back to scouting their surroundings, though in a somewhat distracted manner as he replays the other's features in his mind. Kind and gentle. A tad shy, or perhaps it is due to her unfamiliarity of the situation. She's braver than expected, which could be developed into something useful. Idacrous lifts a low-hanging branch for the princess to walk under. She carries herself with careful grace, most likely bred into her as a child. She almost seems at peace. The male's smile fades a tad. Would she still be at peace if she knew the nature of the people who wanted her dead? Assuming dead is what they wanted for her.

Soon, the trickling of water can be heard in the distance and, step-by-step, the travelling duo make it to the stream. It is here that the knight comes to a stop, pivotting slightly to face his charge. "I can carry you, if you like." The stream itself bubbles along in a lively manner and though it is only knee-deep, Idacrous can only imagine how difficult it would be for the princess to wade through it in her dress. However, he's not about to lift Aria into his arms without permission and so the male stands before her, awaiting her response.
 
Aria gave the knight a small laugh at his trouble comment. "I guess you are right." The two became silent again as she carefully stepped through the forest and under the branch he had moved. "Thank you."

Once they got to the water Aria bent down at the water for a moment. To her surprise it was clean and sparkling, it must be due to the fact that it was moving water. She put her hands into the water and lifted it up to her face to wash it off of a moment. After that she lifted herself up again. "I think I will be alright." She said to Idacrous. "I will just hold up my dress. I don't want to burden you."
 
Idacrous watches the female as she freshens up, and offers a lifted brow and a blink at her following words. The faintest of smiles then traverses his lips as his line of vision slides back to the stream. "It's no burden at all." The words exit smoothly from his lips while his expression remains as calm as ever. A pause is taken before he tilts his head just slightly to regard the princess once more. "In fact, I would like to insist. I wouldn't want you to risk falling in and then getting sick."

The knight now turns fully towards Aria, his expression stoic as he awaits her response. Knowing he can't force his will upon the other, the male is taking every word and expression from the royal female to build a better understanding of her personality and capabilities.
 
She made a smile as she looked right at him. "That is very kind of you but please let me do this on my own." She then looked down at her feet, pulling up her dress a bit to show her shoes. She bent down a bit and pulled her high heels off of her feet, leaving her barefoot. "So I will not fall." She told him as she looked back up at him again with her smile. "I would really be glad if you let me try some things on my own." She steps one of her bare feet into the water slowly then in all the way. She was holding her her dress high enough that the water wouldn't get on it and weigh her down.
 
Idacrous's first expression is worry; his lips dip downwards in a light frown while his brows furrow just slightly. This expression does not change as the other removes her heels and prepares for the trek across the way. The princess shows determination and, he supposes, he should be pleased at such an outcome. Since it's just the two of them, the more capable she is, the greater their chance of survival. Especially with such enemies at their tail.

The knight's thoughts flash back momentarily to the woman he had fought just the night before and the wound she had inflicted. Yet another reason to worry. The male is very aware of the injury that he still holds and it would be a lie to say that he wasn't concerned about it.

In the midst of these thoughts, Idacrous follows the princess's motions to remove his own boots and proceeds to step into the water behind her. The bubbling stream is cold to the touch, though his attention is too absorbed by the other to dwell too deeply on this fact. One hand holding his boots, his right is extended; partially for balance and partially to support Aria should she lose hers. "You'll have to forgive me, Princess, for underestimating you." His works are spoken carefully, hopefully enough to instill encouragement, but not to offend.
 
"It is alright." Aria said. "I can understand why you would underestimate me." She watched her step, not to hit any rocks under the water that could cause her to fall. She held up her dress a little more not to hit the water. Soon enough she made it to the other side of the stream. She lifted her feet out of the water and onto the grassy ground. She moved out of the way so Idacrous could get out of the stream himself. "See, everything turned out alright." She gave him another one of her smiles.
 
Idacrous dutifully keeps his gaze straight ahead, though he cannot help the slight reddening of his cheeks as the princess is forced to lift her skirt higher and higher to avoid getting the hem wet. It's not that he can see anything, but the mere thought seems to cause him discomfort.

It is with a relieved sigh that the knight eventually steps onto the firm bank. He had not dared to speak while they were in the water, lest Aria look back to behold his warmed cheeks and, worse yet, if that caused her to fall. Now, with her dress back at it's normal length, he feels his visage cool enough to speak once more. "I did not think they trained princesses to enjoy outdoor activities too much. It seems I'm wrong."

Idacrous finds a tree stump to sit on before drying his feet to put on his boots once more. A tilt of his head skywards shows the sun at its full blazing height and only now is he aware of the hours that have passed since they left in the morning. "Are you hungry, Princess?"
 
"They don't teach outdoor activities." She said looked away from him. "That's not something they believe a princess needs. It's just....never mind." She sat down on another stump like him and put her shoes back on her feet. Once done she looked back up at him. "I suppose I could eat something."
 
Idacrous lifts his gaze to the Princess with a lifted brow while his fingers work at finishing lacing his boots. His expression is contemplative and probing, and it would appear he's wondering whether to push Aria's thought further or to let it be. He decisively opts for the latter. Afterall, he could hardly assume the other to be familiar enough to start asking her clearly uncomfortable questions.

By the time Aria looks back at him, he offers a faint smile before stating, "Well, for someone who hasn't had much exposure, you're carrying yourself quite well." A pause. "Especially in those heels." Motioning to the other's satchel now, he mentions, "Help yourself to some of the bread and water in there. I'm going to see if I can get us some fruit." Hands placed on his upper legs, the knight pushes himself to a stand. "Keep your knife handy in case something comes along...and call out for me. I won't be far and I won't be long."
 
"Thank you, you are so kind." Aria said to Idacrous. After hearing his words she opened the satchel and pulled out a piece of bread. "Heels can be hard to walk in, I do not know why or who choose for woman to wear them." She joked a bit. She ripped the bread apart to create smaller pieces for herself. It was natural or rather learned at an early age that she was no suppose to eat very large pieces of anything. She even had to eat elegantly, to Aria in all honesty although she never showed it all the rules like these were a nuisance. "I will call for you if I need you but please be careful yourself. I do not know what I would do without you here with me." She smiled at him. "If it was not for you I would have not been able to do all of this. I would not be alive."
 
Idacrous pauses in mid-stride as the princess speaks out to him. With his back to her, the male has to twist his neck in order to regard her and, for a moment, the male is at a loss for words. Aria is speaking as if it's her -privilege- that he is here to protect her, yet he does it because it is his duty. Never before has he experienced such genuine gratitude from a noble, much less the princess herself.

After a moment of silence, he merely nods. "You're welcome. We'll get you safely to your father and the prince soon." With that said, the knight disappears into the forest.

True to his word, he reappears in a mere ten minutes with a large handful of berries in his hand. Juicy and healthy, the knight appears eager to hand these to the princess, assuming she hasn't encountered trouble in the meantime.
 
Aria watched him as he walked into the woods. She made a sign once he left. "The prince..." She said to herself. She shook her head and started to eat pieces of the bread. She shouldn't think like that, it was good that she was going to marry the prince, right. Yet she couldn't help but feel unsure about it. Part of her wished she could just be home at the castle and not be heading to the prince and his castle. She would have to stay there, she would not get to live at her home anymore. She would miss her home and the people there. She would her knights. She would miss Idacrous. There was no way she could ask of him to leave and come with her to protect her there, it just wouldn't work out that way.

Aria was taken out of her thoughts as soon as Idacrous came back. She put on a fake smile for him and took the berries from him. "These look good. I did not know you would be so good at finding food in the wild."
 
"I'd wash them before you eat them, but they're quite sweet." A smile is offered before he seats himself down and rummages through his satchel for some food himself. Pulling out a couple biscuits, the male takes a singular bite before speaking further. "I suppose knights have to do more outdoors training than princesses. Can't give my training all the credit though. I did grow up around these parts." Leaning forward from his position on the stump, the male then takes yet another bite from the biscuit. The choice of meal clearly doesn't look as delicious as bread, but the male seems to enjoy it nonetheless. Afterall, when you're not used to fine foods, you don't know what you're missing and sometimes, he prefers it that way.

Idacrous quite enjoys the silence and though he doesn't think twice about his talking (or lack of) habits with other knights, the male wants to make this already uncomfortable journey as enjoyable as possible for the princess. It would be bad if she were to complain about him to the King. He lifts his gaze to the other. Not that she would. She doesn't seem the whiney type. Even so, he makes the effort to make conversation. "We'll be staying at Hollow's End for a day or so. I spent some time growing up there, so it will be safe..." He trails off with a slight smile due to the irony of the sentence. "...safer." The irony should be apparent since Hollow's End is a breeding ground for criminals and some of the more distasteful races of the land. And with that said, if she had heard any rumours of him being of noble birth...well, the chances of that being true are very marginal now.
 
Aria brought the fruits to the water in the stream and washed them off as he said. Once done she made her way back to her stump and sat down again. "Princesses do not really get any outdoor training. It is not what is expected for a princess to know. Although perhaps they should teach it after all look where we are." She said before eating one of the berries she had just rinsed off. She continued to listen to him. She looked over at him. "Hollow's End....I am sure I will be safe as long as you are there with me. I am surprised at what you said though, I would have never thought you would have grown up there for a while at all."
 
Idacrous smiles, though the expression does not reach his eyes. "Wasn't exactly the best time of my life, but luckily I still have some contacts in the town." A pause. "Well, at least one contact. I think you'll like her." Another pause is taken as his smile grows just a tad. "Or rather, I hope you do because we have no choice, but to seek her hospitality."

The male has finished his biscuits at this point and brushes his hands off his pants. Small crumbs sprinkle to the forest floor at this action, for the male isn't exactly the neatest eater out there. No princess training was given to him, obviously. Once more pushing himself up to a stand, he refills his water flask and replaces it in his satchel.
 
"I am sure I will." She said to him. Once she was finished she lifted herself off of the stump. She used the water to clean off her hands from anything that might be on them after eating. She filled her canteen of water, taking Idacrou's idea as a good one. She stood up from the stream. "Alright, I am ready please lead the way. I do not know my way around in this forest." She told him. The wind was picking up, it blew her hair around. She pulled her hand up to her hair to try to get it to not go everywhere. That was the problem with long hair.
 
Idacrous appears amused by Aria's hair dilemma, but his mind dwells on that only momentarily before his fingers move to unclasp his cloak. Doing this reveals the injury that the knight had suffered the previous night; the dressing hadn't been changed since the previous night and thus appears crimson with his blood. Booted feet then taking the knight before the princess, he guides the cloak around the female and then proceeds to pin it in place around her neck. "Here, don't want you go catch a cold."

His fingers linger momentarily on that wolf-shaped pin before he becomes aware that he may be intruding on the princess's personal space. He had certainly inadvertently allowed her to intrude on his. A couple steps backward is taken before Idacrous clears his throat and starts leading the way once more. "Let's get going, shall we?"
 
She gave him a smile. "Thank you." she told him as he put the cloak around her. "You are very kind." She noticed his bandages just as he was backing away and about to lead the way. She gently put her hand on his shoulder. "Wait. That injury of yours." She looked concerned. "The bandage needs to be changed, it will not heal very well if you leave it like that."
 
Idacrous tilts his head to regard the hand before pivoting about his right toe so that his shoulder is perpendicular to her body. "We'll change it when we get to Hollow's End. We need to make good time, especially with this storm picking up." His right hand motions towards the sky and, if Aria were to look past the trees, she would be able to see the thick grey clouds starting to blow in. He leaves no room for the girl to protest and heads off into the forest. His pace is quicker than earlier this morning and, should she have trouble following, he would reach out behind him to take her hand and pull her along. That said, his pull would be urgent, yet never so hard as to cause her to panic or fall.

The initial gust of wind slowly escalates into howls and the foliage above them starts to shake almost uncontrollably. Through the flying leaves, Idacrous seems to have no difficulty navigating and, if he were chilled by the wind biting ithrough his thin, white shirt, he certainly doesn't show it.
 
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