Fantasy Wandering Royalty

Talon traveled with his hood pulled up to cover his features in shadow. Following an old trade route between the kingdoms he did his best to go unnoticed by anyone that happened to be traversing by. He wouldn't accept rides or stop for anything other than if he really had to go to the bathroom and he at least had the courtesy to leave the trail a ways to do his business.

He had learned how to survive out here in the wilderness as a soldier under his adoptive father the late general of the royal army. The skills he picked up in those years have helped him greatly to make it thus far. He had explored other kingdoms and found them all wanting something. It was very valuable intel to him seeing as he could use what he had learned from some of his travels if it should ever come to waging war with his neighbors and their surrounding lands.

As he was making his way he smelled a campfire. Knowing no one would camp right on the trail for fear of bandits he departed from the road and followed his nose to the source of the smell. After a good 20 to 30 minutes of walking around like a bloodhound he finally managed to find the source of the campfire scent. There was a young lady sitting by one and she was cooking fish on sticks at it. His mouth watered at the thought of one of them. He hadn't eaten since morning due to the fact that he wanted to put as much distance between him and his kingdom as possible. Chances are they would have noticed he was missing by now and would have sent out a search party to attempt to return him even by force if required.

Sighing he mustered his courage to approach the girl at the campfire. Upon closer inspection he discovered she was quite the fetching lass as he hailed her from afar.

"Excuse me madam. I was simply wondering you had space enough for some company at your fire?"

Giulie had been stuck in the library since the very beginning of the morning, studying with almost no breaks except when necessary. After a while, she had gotten so stressed with it all that she thought anyhting would be better than that. She missed her piano, she missed her bedroom. Yes, maybe she was being too dramatic about all of this, but today just wasn't a good day for studying. She could barely concentrate on the words written on the books after a few hours.

As soon as her lessons for the day ended, she told one of the servants she'd be going out, so they could tell her parents. They usually didn't mind her going out by herself since she'd been taught self-defence and they trusted her, and the kingdom was also very safe, and they greatly trusted their guards as well. She'd be fine.

She walked calmly, not really thinking of a specific place to go, just watching nature and trying to avoid meeting maby people, she just needed to be alone with her thoughts for a few minutes. It started to get cold and her attire wasn't the most appropriate for such situation, so she started a fire and sat down to warm herself up. Giulie started to feel hungry too, and she ate peacefully when a stranger approached her.

"Oh", she let out without thinking much. She wanted to be alone for a bit, but it would be fine as long as this person didn't mean any harm. "I do, you can join me if you'd like".

Something about this guy just told her he was an outsider, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe she knew him and didn't remember? She figured she might as well ask.

"I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries but you're not... from here, are you?"

"I have no boundaries madam. I wander wherever I please pretty much. Noone pays attention to a veteran soldier travelling the road," he replied as he sat down across from her with a smile on his whiskered lips. "As for my origins no. I am not from these lands miss. What gave me away?"

Lifting his head slightly he looked across the campfire towards her, reading her body language as they conversed. It was another useful tool he picked up in his days as a soldier and general.

"Like I stated before I mean no harm. I simply love to travel and travel light. I've always wanted to see what other lands are like and how they are run compared to the one that I came from."

"I don't really know", she replied honestly, "Maybe I can tell since I'm used to what my people look like, but to be honest it was more of a gut feeling".

She still didn't know what to expect. He did say he meant no harm, but how believable was that? She still knew nothing about him.

"I've always wanted to travel and see the world too", Giulie confessed after he talked about it, a sad smile taking over her features, "but unfortunately I don't have enough time for it at the moment".

"You'll never have the time if you prioritize your normal routine over it. You have to make time for it m'lady," he replied as he stared into the fire. "I've lived off of nature for the last few months not wanting to owe any man anything. I've explored some of your neighbors' lands as well as the ones from my homeland to see if there were anything I could help people with. I may not have any political sway but I can cut a swathe through enemy hordes with the best of them m'lady. So if it's a strong sword arm someone needs, that's what I offer. I've even been known to turn an army or two around in my day."

Stopping and looking over at her he gave her the kindest smile he could muster with his hood still up.

"My apologies if such topics disgust or bore you madam. I am simply low on coin and looking for work in the next town I arrive in."

She giggled when he said "m'lady", she always thought that sounded really funny, but she listened to everything he had to say, saying a small "sorry" before he continued.

"By all means", she replied, actually very interested in the tales of someone who had seen and learnt so much, "tell me more. I love hearing stories like these".

Only after this she realized they had not told each other their names yet, so before asking if he needed help finding a job, she decided to speak up about it.

"Oh, but where are my manners? Can you tell me your name, good sir?"

"Where are my manners?" he questioned aloud as he stood and gave her a bow. "My name is Adrian miss. and yours?"

Sitting back down he smiled over at her, by now his face was scruffy enough and he had removed any royal adornment before he left his home so as not to be recognized. He figured he could probably lower his hood. Lowering it he continued to watch as she introduced herself.

She showed a little smile at that, looking better at him as he lowered his hood. He had seemed handsome even before, and he did look handsome now that she could see him better.

"Well, I'm Princess Giulie Anna. You can call me Giulie", she answered politely, getting up and bowing as well. "It's nice to meet you, Adrian", she sat down again and crossed her legs, adjusting her skirt.

"It is an honor Princess Giulie Anna. Giulie…" he repeated back to her. "The pleasure is all mine. But if I may ask Giulie. You are the princess of these lands we are currently in? Being out here by yourself could be most dangerous. There are thieves on the road at night and all sorts of wild creatures that have been known to attack those who wander too far from the road."

Returning the smile she was giving him once he removed his hood he waves his hands and shook his head from side-to-side before speaking further.

"I apologize if that was too forward Princess but again if I may, would you like me to accompany you on your journeys until you decide to return to your castle? I would not ask for coin of course seeing as you are royalty. It is the least I could do."

"You can come with me, no problem at all. I think I would enjoy the company", she said after he was done. She missed having someone to talk to, being by herself in such a big castle was a little bothersome at times. Giulie felt a bit lonely.

"But we're safe here. The borders are completely guarded and, well, whenever I go out by myself there is a special group strategically placed to watch me."

Said soldiers were remarkably well trained and good at their job, and they were so perfectly hidden that she couldn't see them. But it had happened before and she'd seen them in action herself: being a young princess, she was an easy target, but she'd been rescued by them twice already. They were trustworthy.

"Glad to hear," he replied with a smile. "Thank you Princess."

Looking up at the sky the sun had begun to set. Returning his gaze to her he folded his hands and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers.

"It seems to be getting late. If you're tired I will take the first watch Princess," he offered. "Unless you wanted to depart now and head back to the castle? I leave it up to you."

Giulie hadn't thought about staying outside, honestly, but he seemed eager to follow along with whatever plan she had. She liked that about him, he seemed like he'd be a good friend.

"Actually, I should come back. My parents are probably waiting for me for the next meal", Giulie explained, getting up to adjust her clothing and go. "Will you walk with me?"

"Of course Giulie," he replied, standing and dusting himself off. "Wouldn't want to keep royalty waiting" he added, kicking dirt on the fire so that it couldn't spread and cause any damage to the wildlife or forest.

It didn't take much to extinguish the flames since neither of them had added wood to it as they spoke to each other. It had dwindled down to the smallest of flames before he extinguished it with the soil. After ensuring that it was completely out he approached her and offered her an arm.

"M'lady? Shall we?" he gave her a smile as he offered the arm.

Giulie laughed shortly again when he offered his arm, since the gesture was a bit more formal than what she had expected. "M'lady" would still be one of the fastest ways to make her laugh, but she accepted it and they walked towards the castle.

"May I ask you about your origins, Adrian? ", she asked after a few minutes of walking in comfortable silence. "You don't need to answer if it's something you don't like to talk about."

"I was raised to be fairly proper when it came to etiquette and formalities. My parents died while I was young on a business trip. A friend of my father's took me in but he fell ill after a few years and passed away. He's the one that taught me all I know about warfare and combat. Fought in a few campaigns for my homeland before deciding to explore the continent peacefully," he replied, trying to be as vague yet as honest as possible.

Giving her a sad smile as he spoke about it he patted her hand gently to assure her that she didn't need to apologize for asking. He would be fine.

"Oh, I'm... sorry", she replied before even thinking much about it. But that was probably the one thing he didn't want to head if he talked about it, right? He sure didn't want anybody to pity him or anything like that.

She thought back to her own parents, how their marriage was slowly falling apart, but to everyone else she had to pretend they were fine. It was complicated.

"Well, how long have you been travelling now?", she asked, hoping and trying to change the subject.

"Few months," he replied. "Campaign didn't finish that long ago," he replied. "They were some persistent buggers."

As they walked along he watched the scenery that passed them by occasionally passing a smile her way so that he wouldn't seem rude or that he was trying to ignore her after the last question. He really hadn't minded her question that much.

"That sounds pretty exciting", Giulie confessed, looking up to see the castle wasn't so far away anymore, "I mean, I don't go out much, so it seems like an enriching experience".

After noticing what she had just said, she blushed, seriously hoping the man wouldn't laugh at her. "Ah, forgive me, I shouldn't be saying these things. You probably think I'm silly now."

Holding up a hand to signal her to calm down he gives her a smile.

"Stop worrying so much. I am not so judgmental. I guess one could say so. It was hell to go through it but now that I have I would say it's that much more battle experience that I have under my belt. Don't think you're silly in the least Giulie."

Looking up to see the castle looming overhead, he turns to her and speaks.

"Would you like me to accompany you inside? To announce your return or to at least ensure you make it to your quarters?"

"Thank you", she said, truly thankful for the reassurance.

As he mentioned the fact that they were getting closer to the destination, Giulie realized perhaps abit too late that she wouldn't be able to explain her current situation. Would her father accept the fact that she had brought someone to the castle? How to explain what Adrian did in their kingdom? Well, she decided, it was all in fate's hands.

"Well, why not? You did walk me here so it would be rude of me to just leave too", she laughed shortly, just hoping for the best.

As they got near the gates the guards reconized her, of course, but not Adrian. When they asked him his name and what he did there, she stayed silent to let him answer it himself.

Raising his hands away from his weapons he smiled at the guards just doing their jobs.

"My name is Adrian. I happened upon your Princess on the road and she was gracious enough to let me accompany her on her return to the castle. Couldn't leave a Princess alone outside of the castle grounds after all even though I'm sure she can handle herself," he replied, adding the last part with a wink to Giulie. I am merely a wanderer passing through. No criminal or harmful intent. Just saw a fair maiden alone in my travels and felt the honorable thing to do would be to accompany her if she'd permit me. Now that I'm here though I would like to have an audience with their highnesses about potential employment? I have a strong sword arm that I can offer to whatever cause they see fit."