Ryan continued to follow the princess. The silence of the hallway was unnerving and was making him feel jumpy. He knew that it was safe within the wall of the castle, but with the silence he was on edge. Ryan continued to walk down the hallway, but then he stopped when he saw Alexis stop as well. He watched as she opened a door and then walked through it. Walking out after the princess he smiled when he felt the sun on his face and the warmth of the breeze. He loved being outside. At least that was something that they had in common with one another.

Alex pushed his bangs out of his face as he turned and started towards the gardens. Sure, it was kind of girly, but he enjoyed looking at the flowers. They were always so beautiful and the gardeners always worked so hard. He smiled lightly at a gardener who was weeding one of the rosebushes and he walked past. Since he didn't have much time til he had to get to his classes, he wanted to relax as much as he could out here in the flowers and their intoxicating smell.

Ryan walked behind Alexis as he admired the flowers that were around him. He could tell that the gardeners there were working very hard to make the garden look utterly gorgeous. They were really doing a good job. "This is a nice place," said Ryan before he could stop himself. "I see why you like it here."

Alex smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah. It's a good place to go when I want to be alone." he said. The gardeners never really bothered him unless he was in the way of their work. In which he would always apologize and go to a different part of the garden immediately. The last thing he wanted was to be a bother to someone.

Ryan listened to the princess tell him that this was her favorite place to "be alone in." Did that mean that she didn't want him here? He remembered from yesterday that she was none to fond of him, but she understood her father's wishes and that was why he was still here. Still, though, it made him feel a little bad that she had said that so callously. "I can imagine. Being surrounded by all this nature, and this fountain. It's truly beautiful," said Ryan as he went to stand next to Alexis. A bell rung in the distance signalling that it was 11 o'clock.

Alex smiled lightly and nodded in agreement. It was so nice and peaceful that he could spend all day out here. But that had never been the case and he sighed as he heard the bell ring. It sounded like he was late for another class. He brushed some hair out of his eyes again as he turned and started towards the castle to go inside. His first class of the day was the one he hated the most, but he knew it was important that he went to all his classes.

((I like your new avi~ Where'd you get the hourglass?))

((Thanks, it was a time titan CI thing that I bought in the marketplace))

Ryan continued to look at the various flowers, when out of the corner of his eye he saw that Alexis was heading back to the door that they had come from. "Where are we going now, Princess Alexis?" asked Ryan as he tried to keep up with her long, graceful strides.

Alex looked back at Ryan before turning his attention forward so he could see where he was going. "I'm going to my first class of the day." he said. He really hated his first class of the day, which was 'proper etiquette and how to behave like a proper young lady'. It was the class he hated the most, but the one his father made him go too. It was the only class he got into trouble if he skipped.

(That's cool)

((Can you love my pets, and pass the words to other people to love my pets :) )).

Ryan nodded his head as he followed the princess through the door. "I wonder what class she has to go to," thought Ryan as he tried to keep in stride with the princess. Soon they were in front of what looked like a classroom. There were bookcases that lined the walls, and there was a chalkboard as well. Looking into the room he saw a man in there that looked rather old and crotchety.

((Yeah~ Of course. Could you do the same for mine?))

Alex smiled polietly at the man and took his seat in the middle of the room. He really hated this class and he was sure his teacher, Mr. Crokilis, knew it. But at least he tried to make the class enjoyable for the princess. After all, he wasn't the one forcing her to be here. Her father was. His attention flickered over to Ryan for just a moment before turning back to the princess, deciding to just ignore the new guard as long as he didn't disrupt the studies. "Princess. Let us begin." he said. Alex nodded and they got started on the proper way that the princess should sit at the dinner table and how she should eat. After, they went on how she should talk and act around people of high-ranking, even though Alex pretty much already knew how to do all this. But his father insisted that he went to these classes every single day as if he expected his son to forget.

((Of course, everyday))

Ryan walked into the room as he saw that the princess went over to one of the desks and sat down in the middle of the room. Going to lean against the wall he closed his eyes as he let his mind drift a little bit. This was going to be so boring for him. Day in and day out it was going to be the same kind of thing. Letting out a sigh he knew that he couldn't let his mind drift off too much because he had to always be vigilant in the event that someone attacked the princess or something happened.

((^^))

Class seemed to go on forever, even though it couldn't have been no more than an hour. Mr. Crokilis dismissed the princesss and Alex bowed politely and thanked him for his time. He turned and headed over to Ryan as the teacher left the room. "Sorry you had to sit through that." he said, hating to have to put someone else through the long, boring lesson.

Ryan ended up dozing off a little bit as he leaned against the wall, amazed that he had fallen asleep standing straight up. He woke up though when he looked at Alexis who was standing in front of him. "That's alright," he mumbled but then smiled as he said,"Is he always that boring?" He thought for a moment as he said,"Do you have any other classes to do today, or anything activities or training that you need to do?"

Alex smiled lightly and nodded. "Yes unfortunately. He is always this boring." he said. But it was only during class. If they happened to run into each other outside of the classroom, then they'd have nice chats about a large variety of things. He thought for a moment. Did he have anything else that he had to do today? There was his reading and writing class before dinner.. But there was plenty of time to waste between then. So he shook his head. "No. Nothing right now."

Ryan nodded as he looked at the princess, as he wondered briefly what they would do next. It would be boring if they just went to the garden and sat around all day. Ryan did love the garden, but he didn't like to spend lengthy amounts of time there though. "Princess," said Ryan as he looked at Alexis. "What would you like to do before you have your other things planned for the evening?"

Alex thought for a moment. What did he want to do? Normally he would go to the library and study, but he didn't want to bore Ryan with that on his first day on the job. So what could they do? "Um... How about we take a walk through the woods?" he asked. Of course, he was referring to the woods just outside the castle walls. Normally Alex wouldn't be allowed out, but it should be okay since he had someone watching him.

Ryan looked at the princess, and thought for a moment. Taking her out into the woods meant taking her out of the castle altogether. It was true that he was with her now, but would the King want that? Then again his missions orders were to make sure that the princess was safe and happy. As long as he was with her he could fulfill his task in doing both. "Alright," replied Ryan as he looked at his princess. "Lead the way, Princess Alexis," said Ryan as he bowed.

Alex smiled lightly when Ryan agreed to go out of the castle with him. There had been a part of him that was sure that his guard would have said no and that it was dangerous. "Alright. Let's go." He turned and headed out of the classroom and down the hallway towards the front door. After all, it was the only way to the outside of the castle, despite the many doors leading to the inside courtyard.

Ryan followed after Alexis as they made their way through the narrow corridors of the castle. He really had no idea where they were going, but apparently they were going to the front door of the castle, since that was the only way to get out of the castle.

Alex paused outside the front doors when the guards there stopped them. But he explained the situation and promised that he wouldn't leave Ryan's sight and they finally opened the doors to let her out. She smiled thankfully and exited the castle, loving the small sense of freedom that came from stepping outside.

Ryan continued to follow Alexis through the winding hallways, wondering if they would be stopped at the front. They were stopped at the gates by the guards there, and once they saw Ryan standing there they understood. Alexis also explained what was going on as well. The moved away from the entrance and let the two of them pass as they went under the arch of the doors and out into the warm weather and sun. Ryan watched as he passed the guards how the looked at him and he smiled at the two of them. He knew that a lot of the other guards were rather jealous that a newbie recruit managed to get such a cushy job as a the princess' private guard. "Lead the way your highness," said Ryan as he followed behind her.

Alex smiled lightly and nodded. Once outside the castle, he turned right and headed along the wall towards the eastern wall where the forest was. He was more than ready to get away from the castle which had always felt like a prison to him. A warm breeze blew past, sweeping his hair out of his eyes. He was very tempted to break out into a run, more than ready to reach the woods. But he didn't want to make Ryan think he was trying to run away. That would not end well and he really didn't want to end up in that situation. So he kept the impulse under control.

Ryan continued to follow the princess as she traveled across the grass towards a clearing as a sea of trees was in front of them. Ryan knew these forests like the back of his hand. He knew almost every twist and turn, for he was always there after knight training. He continued to walk beside the princess his eyes and ears always listening and watching for the slightest thing that could alert him to a surprise attack. He knew he should't be worrying though since they were so close to the palace still, but he knew that people did stupid things.

Alex smiled lightly, enjoying the warmth of the sunshine and the sense of freedom of actually being out of the castle. Even if the high walls were still in sight, it was still nice. He probably would have enjoyed himself more if Ryan wasn't following him. But he knew that it was just a precaution. If his father ever knew he went outside the castle without any guard, there would be absolutely no way he'd ever be allowed out ever again. "It's nice out here." he commented, wondering if his guard would even be listening.

Ryan had been to the woods numerous times, but every time he came here there was always something different. An overturned log, a new tree sprouting somewhere. New animals, plants, and sound. That's why he loved the woods, it was so unpredictable. He turned and looked at Princess Alexis as he smiled when he heard her say that it was nice out here. "Indeed it is Princess Alexis," he said as he looked towards upwards to see the light trickling from the tree canopy up above.

Since he knew this forest very well. He knew all of the places that were "cool" to go. "Princess Alexis," he started. "I am rather familiar with these woods, since I came here a lot when I was a child. Would you permit me to show you a pond. It's not that far off the beaten path." He looked at the clothes she wore. "It's not that far off the beaten path, so you won't have to worry about your clothing either.