Sam sniffed calming herself down. They had been given a compromise which was more than she had expected. She wasn't completely thrilled with it but it was better than nothing and she knew if she started arguing again then the king would most likely take it all back.
Sam looked over at Phoenix and mouthed a 'Thank you' to her youngest brother.
"Okay, Daddy." she sighed, "Thank you. I can do that."
Her heart was still pounding. She still hated the thought of a chaperone following her every move day and night but for now there was nothing she could do about it.

She...was just a child, Joan noted as the poor girl finally stepped forward. She looked as if she'd been to hell and back though. It wasn't too much of a surprise to find her in this state. There were plenty of non-humans who lived alone in secluded areas of the kingdom.

Joan couldn't look innocent and sweet if her life depended on it, but she made an attempt to grace the girl with a smile. "My name is Joan... Can you speak?"

Realizing her headband was still pulled back, she quickly readjusted it even though there was no human in sight. It just made her feel more comfortable.

As the petite female kept walking down the street with no idea where she was going. Something caught her attention. A familiar scent; it reminded her of her childhood. She'd sniffed the air and mindlessly followed her nose to a shop. Her eyes bugged out as she took in the sight of the extravagant cakes with rose petals,intricate designs of dough placed atop pies, cream puffs stuffed to capacity,fruit that glistened from their sugar coating and a mountain of whipped cream on some kind of custard in the window. But, what really made her mouth water was the freshly baked bread that was being pulled from the oven. It had been so long since she had bread or even food for that matter. Her stomach rumbled as she became very aware that she stood out staring in the window with hungry eyes and to top it off she was homeless.

Not once, since she entered the city did she see a homeless person. Was she the only one? She was sure they had to be somewhere. She turned away from the window, sighing, she looked up and noticed two guards watching her intently and whispering to one another. Her cheeks burned hot and she was sure she was turning some strange mix of green and red, from fear and anger. One guard pushed the other in a light playful manner and began to make his way to her. She sucked in air and put her head down. She was so busy convincing herself that everything would be alright as long as she answered his questions and didn't make a fuss she'd be let go,that she didn't notice that he was talking until he snapped his fingers at her. "I-i'm sorry what?" she stuttered over her words and kept her eyes on the ground. " I said are you alright miss. You look...lost" He remarked taking in her appearance. She nodded and pursed her lips together. He was silent for a moment clearly deciding whether or not give her this information." Well, you know there's a spot open at the castle for a chambermaid. You should go look into it. free home and food." " Ahhh umm thankyou." She was floundering and it was obvious. " Yeah no problem..umm here" He handed her a balled up handkerchief. "You should wipe your face." With that he turned to take his leave.

Nadia opened the guard's handkerchief up and inside was money. She was sure this was a mistake she looked around for him ,but he was gone and so was his friend. She was dumbstruck, she'd never experienced that sort of kindness from guard before. The girl smiled shyly at the gift and turned back to the shop and opened the door the smell of baked goods greeting her. Today was not so bad she thought as she bit into a cream puff. She smiled at it's fluffiness and peach flavored fillings, she couldn't afford the bread so she opted out for three cream puffs and an eclair that the owner gave her as a gift. People sure are kind around here she thought.

Polishing off the last of the treats in the paper bag she wiped at the remnants of dessert left on the corners of her mouth and began to suck the sugar from her fingers. The words that the guard spoke to her earlier began to ring in her head. She felt sick at the thought of being a chambermaid at the king's castle, but she needed somewhere to stay and a way to eat. She rattled around idea's in her heads. She looked human, but she was illiterate and only could recognize a few letters. She also had no idea on how she'd go about asking for a job, she was so painfully shy. " I can't do it." She murmured to herself and sighed again. Anxiety was taking her over today.

Amaea gulped nervously, it felt as though she had something caught in her throat.
At Joan's words she nodded wordlessly, not trusting her voice to sound intelligible. After all she hadn't spoken to anyone since, well since her family had been killed. About half a year ago now.
As Joan pulled her headband up Amaea rapidly glanced around, but the road was empty. She flexed her wings slowly, they still ached but she thought she would be able to fly away if anyone came along.
Fidgeting anxiously with the ends of her hair Amaea cleared her throat, a surprisingly small sound in the hushed countryside.
"I'm..... Amaea" it came out a hoarse whisper.

Lanius almost sighed with relief, he had been afraid a massive argument was about to break out.
Well, better to get this over and done with so he could head to the Throne Room and what it contained.
Looking at his daughter, the only one of his children who looked anything like him at all, Lanius cleared his throat before speaking.
"Samantha, Lady Adeline is currently awaiting you in the Throne Room, but before you leave I need to talk with you privately".
Adjusting his circlet Lanius glanced at his oldest son. "Casimir Lord Devran is also awaiting you in the Throne Room. Try to be a little tolerant".
The King looked at his youngest son, his gaze softer. "Phoenix, Sir Alessio is also there".
He cleared his throat and the Lord Chancellor appeared behind Lanius' left shoulder, almost like magic.
"Casimir and Phoenix you will go with Pellivar to the Throne Room".
He gave each of the young men a sharp look. "I will be along shortly after I've spoken with your sister".

After his father spoke, Phoenix looked up at Pellivar, the Lord Chancellor and got up from his seat. Sir Alessio... he wondered what kind of a person he may be, will they get along? Phoenix almost never got along with anybody, especially not the people from the palace, but maybe this new person, maybe he would get along with him. The thought sounded a bit strange he remembered he hated with loathing people with a demanding and controlling personality and especially manipulative people, even though he was quite manipulative himself. If this man aquires these cherecteristics then it will be complicated for the boy to befriend him, he'd just see him as a threat. He never managed to make friends with nobody before, his only playmate as a child were his sister and his dog, Chivas. This person, Alessio, maybe if he befriends him then maybe if his father does decide to assign him as his permanent chaperone then he'd make him be on his side. Maybe he can be friends with him or, he thought slyly, atleast pretend to be, just to get his own way in whatever he wanted to do.

He stood next to Pellivar and waited for Casimir to join them. He was growing impatient now, he wanted to get to the Throne Room.

A private talk? Sam's heart skipped a beat and all of a sudden she felt very nervous. Private talks between Sam and her father had never gone well.
'Don't panic' she said to herself.
The thought of her chaperone, Lady Adeline, wasn't cheering her up either and she knew she still had to face those awful bounty hunters.
She wondered how she would get on with Lady Adeline. Sam wasn't the most educated woman when it came to etiquette. As a child she always used to play rough games with Phoenix and his pet dog, he was probably the only person in the palace that she got on with. Other than him her only friends were a few girls outside the palace who lived in the city. Sam started to daydream of the weekends where she had snuck out of the palace to meet them, they would go horse-riding or just hang around the city centre and check out the good looking guards.
If her father ever found out about that...
She shook her head bringing herself back to the situation at hand. Glancing over to her brothers she could tell Phoenix was starting to get impatient.
'Okay'Sam thought, Let's get this over with'

Joan had to strain to hear the soft voice. "Amaea? That's a pretty name", she complimented. The woman thought for a second as she spoke with the girl. They were by the woods Amaea had come out of, so did she live in there? Maybe there were other people as well, hiding, and waiting for their lost member to return. Amaea being young instantly made a feeling of sympathy bubble up in Joan's conscience. Just recently, she'd been handing out food to the other less than fortunate citizens. She had been planning on eating herself, but it could wait a little longer.

She reached into a pocket in the side of her dress and pulled out a small loaf of bread in offering. "Are you hungry?" She didn't have the slightest idea of what to do and where to go next, so she figured she could at least have a shot at helping or even befriending someone new. You could always use more allies, especially when many people had none.

Nadia looked about her confused. She'd wandered too far from the bakery and now she was worried. She paced back and forth beside a gran fountain wondering how to get back to where she came from. She didn't even know how to get to the city gates from here. She sat down hugging her knees internally cursing herself. she never did have a real sense of direction.