Irene felt pathetic, rushing forward but stopping short in front of her father.
The urge to jump into his arms was overwhelming, but she knew they would further accuse her of acting like a girl so she rely folded in half, bowing to the man as she resisted what she really wanted to do.
The knight chuckled as he witnessed his daughter’s struggle and he rely ruffled her hair that she had been growing out again because it was winter. She had cut it a few tis over the warr seasons but she was allowing it to brush her shoulders to stave off the cold. Since she wasn’t the only one, she always figured it was alright to do.
"What brings you this way, father?" she asked. "Last I checked, you were supposed to go to Earl Auden’s for the Winter Solstice banquet. When an apprentice for the Royal Knights accused you of not keeping up your duties, I told him as such."
It wasn’t lost on her that there was a table full of Royal Knights sitting just beside her as she said that. Even an apprentice of the Royal Knights couldn’t be considered a higher rank than her father and most noblen didn’t stand for being spoken badly about.
She hoped that Arin was sweating the reaction of such a rough-looking man as her father. The lack of hand and new scar through his eyebrow was certainly adding to his appearance.
"I figured it was alright to see the knights a bit earlier," he admitted a bit guiltily. "Your mother and brother are already at Auden Estate taking advantage of the Countess’s hospitality. It was the only way your mother would allow to head west."
Irene grinned at that. As long as her mother found a way to be occupied so she wouldn’t have to stay ho and worry about her father, that’s all that mattered.
"We are appreciative of your presence regardless, Arthur," Gunnar admitted as he stepped forward and placed his palm on the inside of Arthur’s forearm. The red-headed knight returned the embrace. "The Princess and Crown Prince will feel more relieved to have the greatest knight in Tenetium in the entourage. I’m sure you’ve heard a bit of what happened."
Arthur’s once lighthearted expression hardened and he gave the other knight a nod.
"Briefly," he explained. "I would like more firsthand accounts since the Royal Knights are keeping the information a bit close to their chests."
It was another slight to knights who thought themselves so much better than others because of their affiliation with the crown. Irene appreciated her father’s willingness to stir up trouble with them.
"Shall we head to our guest room?" Sir Gunnar suggested. "There are other travelers here this morning."
"The kids should eat first," Arthur insisted. "I saw them practicing bright and early."
"Forgive for interrupting, how early did you travel to be here practically as the sun rises?" Irene wondered.
Arthur rely smiled at his daughter and he ruffled her hair.
"You’re sounding an awful lot like your mother today," Arthur muttered. "You ought to eat, Iro. I will wait to hear the account of what happened until after you’re finished."
Irene’s green eyes widened and she stared up at her father in shock. He was teasing her with a secret even though the others wouldn’t take it as that. At least he knew she didn’t want to eat because she wanted to be there when they told Arthur what had happened.
"Yes, father," she responded.
She was then off to one of the tables the other apprentices went to after greeting her father. It seed their hunger wasn’t enough to keep them planted there.
Since porridge was the easiest thing to prepare for a bunch of travelers and the Knights of Tenetium were sure to bring their own grains and dried fruits so that the various villages they went to wouldn’t be burdened by their party, they were eating the sa they would if they were in the Duke’s Tower. Irene was more than fine with that considering porridge seed to be what kept her hunger away the longest.
She still undoubtedly rushed through her al and, despite being the last apprentice to sit down, she was the first to stand up and rush to the communal room where they were undoubtedly talking.
Since the apprentices were one and the sa, she felt amused that the others were following her lead and rushing up the stairs themselves as if they were unwilling to miss out on the conversation as well. Any of them could pass it off as duty to the knights they had been assigned, but they were all guilty of sneaking out to see what the others were keeping up from them.
Their curiosities were far larger than they were.
Irene braced for the others to run into her since they were rushing so quickly. When there wasn’t an impact, she glanced over her shoulder and straightened up slowly. Her expression dared them to push her into the door and get her in trouble.
Once it seed the others were calm, she knocked twice before the door was answered and the knights already in the room granted the apprentices access.
There they dutifully sat down on their beds as they waited for more instruction. It was then that Irene also realized her father’s things had been placed on one of the empty beds in the place. That left three more beds without owners since the communal room was so expansive, but she didn’t mind it being less crowded.
It made her unbelievably happy that Arthur would be going on the rest of the adventure with them even if it was just a few more days of travel. She had missed her father even in the few weeks they had been apart.
"Iro and Leif were the first to realize we were being accosted in the forest," Sir Gunnar began the recounting when everyone seed to be adjusted and sitting in their individual beds. "Dozens of them. Their clothing made think they were rcenaries, but most aren’t idiotic enough to face the Royal Knights. I can only assu soone was tipped off regarding the Royal Family’s trip."
"Any deaths?" Arthur wondered.
"None of ours, but every single one of them," Gunnar explained. "After questioning, the Royal Knights took it in their hands."
"Injuries?" the knight continued his questioning.
"Plenty."
"In this room?" he wondered.
"Your child had to request sewing help from one of the maids after supper," Gunnar explained. "Luckily Leif helped with the injury itself. So big bastard with a wooden club that housed tal spikes. They were organized chaos at best."
Arthur let out an even sigh. He would never get used to hearing his child was facing danger regularly.
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