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The Thief Who Only Borrows (DontxBlinkk)

The princess gave a casual shrug in response, working her way down the path laid out by the thick bushes. "You know, the only people I'd really want to know about me are people who would really see it." Admitting that could certainly give Cain the idea that he would be one to see if more often. She wasn't exactly sure if that was a good idea to give the man quite yet, but she was being completely honest when she said it. "I know it may be seen as deceiving the people but it's sometimes better if they have the 'perfect princess'. It's what they want to see." That idea had been drilled into her head since she made a large slip up when she was younger. The least she could do now was do as her parents asked and be as polite as she possibly could around not only their guests but the people of the city. Arianna wasn't ready to embarrass her family again, knowing this time around, the blame would be put on her and couldn't slide because of her being a child any more. But Cain's promise not to underestimate her brought a certain joy to the princess. She gave him a gentle smile, slowly nodding in return. "Well, just don't let your guard down." It was never easy to tell what Arianna was up to next, even for people who knew her for years.

It wasn't hard to see that Cain really wasn't interested in talking about the garden they were in. Arianna picked up on it right away and even went as far as to raise an eyebrow as her first response. She didn't question it and instead moved towards him. "This is nothing," she assured him, taking his hand as she gathered the front of her dress with her other. With a gentle tug, she started deeper into the maze until they were only feet away from the middle of the thick bushes. She slowed to a stop, dropping her skirt to the ground once again and releasing Cain's hand. Inside this small break was another fountain, although smaller than the first they saw, but each bit of water fell into a pond where several colourful fish were swimming. Arianna crossed to the edge of the stone, standing right against the cold, thick wall, watching the fish inside. "This is the best spot." The ground around the back and sides of the fountain were covered with multicoloured flowers of all types, sizing from short ground cover to a tall, almost weeping willow-like tree. It was private, that was for sure, and was a perfect display of what colours and plants could be found inside the large garden.

"You're not interested in the gardens though," she pointed out, turning slightly to face the man. As much as she was eager to show the man her mother's garden, as she loved to show it to people, something tugged at the back of her mind telling her that Cain might not find this as interesting as Arianna thought it was. "You're more interested in..." She lowered her head slightly, keeping her eyes on the man, hoping that he would finish her sentence, giving her some ounce of an idea as to what he would care to see instead of a garden.
 
Cain could understand what Arianna meant, only wanting to show her true personality to people who would want to see it. One would think everyone would want to know the true her, but that probably wasn't true. In fact the knight was sure that some people would much rather believe the princess was some perfect person and would ignore the rest. He knew she was right as well, that people wanted to see the perfect princess, it made them feel comfortable and safe. He also had a feeling that when it came down to it people knew the perfect princess doesn't exist, that underneath the exterior that there is a real person. The true question to Cain was when people would actually accept the true Arianna. It would probably be awhile, for now they had a king and queen, two strong leaders whom the people could rely on and while Cain currently knew Arianna could be another, another currently wasn't needed. He would be happy to serve as a confidant or sorts for the time being. Besides, it wouldn't be hard to keep the truth about Arianna to himself, it was far too interesting to share with others, not to mention if he began talking about time he spent with the King's daughter he would probably find himself in some pretty hot water.

Cain wasn't going to keep mentioning her personality switches, he had made it clear what he thought, how he liked the real her more than the air she put on, so from then on he wasn't even going to question it. The knight would simply act as if it was completely normal for Arianna to be herself, and it was, or would become normal seeing as she made it clear he would be one of the ones to see it. Of course he had expected them to move on to some other topic of conversation but that wasn't exactly what happened after the silence, instead Arianna grabbed his hand and led him away, going to quite the wonderful spot within the maze. Once again he thought it beautiful, agreeing that it was perhaps the best spot, or at least if it wasn't he hadn't seen a better one. Yet once again Cain was not quite the garden enthusiast, and once again it wasn't that he didn't appreciate it and find it all beautiful.

Arianna had finally seemed to catch on to his lack of enthusiasm though and Cain could only take a deep breath when she stopped mid-sentence, as if expecting him to finish. "Well, it isn't that I am not interested, in fact I find the entire garden quite magnificent. I'm just... Unaccustomed to enjoying such things. And as far as me being interested please do not think I am not. I am very interested in the garden in all its beauty and in our conversation, even if it doesn't show very well." Cain didn't want to come off as uninterested and he quickly moved to lighten the mood. "Of course on another note, I am more the type to go swimming in a lake than watch a fountain, no matter how beautiful it is." Cain gave Arianna a small smile, he would continue to walk with her if she so wished and he would enjoy the sights of the beautiful garden, it would just be difficult for him to talk of such things seeing as he had little knowledge of them beyond their aesthetically pleasing nature. He did however move from her side over to a patch of small purple flowers, standing up after a moment and turning back to the princess. "While my views may not be elegant I can certainly say that the garden is gorgeous and peaceful, a rarity in these days, and your mothers work doesn't go unappreciated."
 
Arianna's eyes dropped, realizing that she had taken a bit too long showing the man what she was interested in, instead of allowing him the freedom he might have wanted. With natural grace, the princess dropped lightly onto the ledge beside her, letting her hands rest in the empty spaces beside her. She was quiet, all but the light drumming of her fingers against the hard stone seat, listening to the knight standing beside her. She casually looked up towards him as he mentioned swimming, casually looking over her own shoulder at the talk of the fountain. The complament was kind, but directed right towards her mother. Even if it was meant to be for her, it was unimportant compared to what Cain had pointed out. The blonde turned ever so slightly, now facing the knight once again.

"I've never been swimming," she confessed, crossing one knee over the other, using it as a brace for her arm to rest upon. "Fountains are the closest I've ever come to a body of water." Of course Arianna would favour fountains over the idea of ever seeing a lake. It was rare for the entire royal family to leave the palace, but when Arianna did, it was to spend time with another family in their home. Some of the castles, including the one in the far ocean-side city, had some sort of lake. Even this city had one. But the king was the only member of the family to make his way to visit those who lived nearby. It was a smaller section of the city who took care of most of the trade having to do with the city sitting on the other side of the water. Not only was it a common place for the villagers to visit when it was warm, but it was busy on the nicer of days. It was impossible to have any privacy there if you were known. Of course, Arianna never had the chance to visit, nor did she ever have an excuse to even try to get there. Her father made it a point to refuse to allow her any reason to travel, fearing what may happen if his daughter came close to the lake; or worse, what Arianna would do. She could stay out of trouble when she wanted, but there was a certain possibility that her trip wouldn't end without at least one rumour rising to life.

Gently, she let her head rest on her tightly balled fist as she watched the knight like a hawk. "How often did you go for a swim? I know you knights have a good bit of free time, or so it seems. You must have gone with them at some point, right?"
 
Cain wasn't entirely surprised when the princess said she hadn't gone swimming, the king was just the overprotective type that would keep his daughter away from anything of the sort. Of course he couldn't believe she hadn't found a way to or been taken by someone else. She wasn't missing out on much, not really, swimming was fun sure but it was more of just a way to pass the time. Then again, swimming with the knights or his friends from his childhood had made plenty of good memories for him to think back on. "I've gone with the knights before, but swimming with all of them isn't too common, while we all have a good bit of time off it is because there are so many of us to work. Not only that but most of the knights spend their off time training and with their families. You would be surprised how many of the knights already have a wife and kids." Even a good deal of the young knights had kids and they were often spending their free time with them, something Cain and the other head knights had to consider when they assigned the schedule for the men.

Of course Cain began to wonder how many memories Arianna had from her childhood. He was sure it was happy but before her siblings came along he found himself wondering if she was more or less simply playing by herself. He wasn't about to ask such a thing, but he was sure there were some lonely times being royalty. Cain walked over towards Arianna and looked down at her with a small smile, "You haven't missed too much, especially when it comes to me and the knights, it always becomes more roughhousing than anything else." He took a moment and stood back up, walking towards the fountain and scooping up a small handful of water, smirking as he turned and approached her again, making sure not to make what was about to happen obvious. As he got near he quickly flicked some of that water on the princess with a laugh. He didn't splash too much on her, not wanting to get the princess to wet or make her mad but also wanting to make things a bit more casual a laid back, and nothing said that like splashing water on someone.

There was a bit more to his actions though. Throughout his talks over the day with the princess one thing was for sure, that she wished to be a bit more laid back in her life, or at least that was what Cain had taken out of it, among other things. Cain couldn't do much for the princess, but if they were going to continue to talk the least he could do would be to make her feel comfortable and treat her like he would anybody else, even if doing so was only something he could do when nobody else was around.
 
Arianna wasn't exactly surprised when Cain told her she didn't miss much. From what she had heard, swimming wasn't always the most fun, but it was still the idea that she had missed out on yet another activity simply because she was a royal. She had guessed in the past the knights had more time to themselves than what they seemed to have. Not only did they have plenty of patrols to do each day, but to find out they had families at such a young age shocked the princess slightly. She didn't show the man, but there certainly was a small change in the air as it settled on her. And the roughhousing wasn't surprising in the slightest. Even her brother had a habit of getting into small wrestling matches when he had some of his own fellow princes over, most of the time choosing to fight a main lobby of the castle in front of people. "I imagine," she muttered in agreement, her eyes falling again as the knight stepped away.

It made her wonder though, if so many of the knights had families of their own at the ages they were, had Cain ever been in that situation? Perhaps he had someone in mind before the war began. Maybe the woman he was with expected him to go off to war, but simply didn't expect to happen so quickly and broke things off. But the knight came straight to the palace when he arrived. As far as Arianna knew, he made no attempt to visit anyone before the two went to the tavern and Chyanne hadn't mentioned anything about a girl Cain had been seeing. She was about to ask when she was hit with water. At first, she had a good bit of rage, which quickly showed as she jumped to her feet with a short cry of shock. But as the man began to laugh, her emotions turned to one that matched his, choosing instead of getting angry at him, scooping up water into her hand as well and tossing it towards Cain. Unlike the knight, she didn't much care of he got wet. If anything, that would give him unspoken permission to play with more water.

"That wasn't very gentlemanly," she informed him, with a laugh of her own. She lifted another handful, although not as much as she had picked up before, and dipped her fingers into it threateningly, ready to strike again if the need arose.
 
Cain could see the initial anger in Arianna's reaction but she got over it rather quickly, as anyone would over such a thing if not already in a bad mood, which he had been pretty sure she was not. Of course Cain was also quite confident that he was the first person to do such a thing to the princess, or at least one of the few, he wasn't sure how friendly she was with other people such as Isabelle. Her retaliation caught him a bit off guard though, the princess coming back at him with her own, more substantial, handful of water. The knights simply laughed and moved to get himself another handful, looking at her with a playful look on his face, "Oh, well your reaction was anything but ladylike princess." He smirked as he made a slight circling movement, going around cautiously like they were in some life or death battle. Then he struck, another bit of water being flung at Arianna, the male knowing she would react in kind but liking the current atmosphere. Cain wasn't one to be too formal with people he didn't have to be, and if himself and Arianna were to become friends he wanted to treat her like one, not like a princess, at least not always. That meant he would mess with her, and he figured she wouldn't mind, even if she were unused to it.

Of course he was still slightly cautious, he didn't want to splash her with too much water so he made sure to keep the amount he was tossing on her low to moderate. It wasn't that he really cared about getting her wet, for all he cared he could soak the girl since she could simply go change. No, the reason he didn't completely soak her was that it could cause some unneeded attention. Simply splashing her with some water was plenty and it wouldn't attract attention from those who watched Arianna closely, which was a good amount of people, many of which would see her when they finally made their way out of the maze and back to the castle halls. She would have time to dry a bit before that though so he didn't hold back completely, going to get more water and flicking it her way, a water fight commencing. "Come on princess, show me what you've got, let's see if you have what it takes to beat a knight in a fight?" He knew he was being a tad ridiculous but that was fine, Cain didn't have many people he could just let loose around, and Arianna was probably the only one actually in the castle. Sure he could have some fun with his knights but he had to take on a higher leadership role with each promotion, with Arianna he felt like he could just be himself and he would let her be herself, it was a nice feeling and something the knight had probably needed after all that had happened to him recently.
 
Arianna flicked water towards the knight again in response to his words. "Is that a challenge, Prince Charming?" she asked in a lightly mocking tone. She scooped up more water, taking advantage of their placement, stepping between Cain and the fountain. Arianna knew there was no chance she would win against the knight in a normal fight, but if she blocked him, or did her best to try to, she could at least slow him down and give herself a chance. Luckily this wasn't a life or death scenario, just a small bit of playing between two friends to waste time. The two had never spent much time together, but the princess felt it safe to say they were, at least in the slightest, friends.

The princess took a step forward, approaching the man enough for another few flicks. There was a confidant smile on her face as the small fight continued with the knight. "You're holding back," she pointed out with a slight bit of glee. If the man held back, that meant there was a good chance that Arianna could in fact win. Whatever winning meant, that is. "How can you really think to beat me if you're not going full out?" Sure, Arianna could understand that Cain wanted to save himself the trouble with the king and she couldn't blame him for wanting to keep himself safe over anything. Since Cain had put in such an effort with her, to distract the princess from her boring, routine life, there was no question about the woman trying to do her best to protect the knight if somehow he were to get caught doing anything 'improper' with her. Arianna just wanted him to try and treat her as if she was any other person. And in this case, she was fully ready for the man to drench her in water, if that time came.
 
Being called Prince Charming didn't really bother Cain on average but he couldn't help find it annoying, in a playful way, that she used it in such a manner that almost mocked the idea of him being a prince. Sure he wasn't the same guy that received the nickname, not nearly as flirtatious as he had been in his youth, at least not with Arianna, but he could still be quite charming. So he decided to renew his attack full force, especially when Arianna made it clear she was aware of his holding back. "I was going to spare you the cold and wetness like a gentleman but now you're going to get it." He laughed as he emptied the water he had left on the princess and moved to get more, not finding her attempt to block terribly difficult, though he had become so caught up in their little duel that he didn't consider what kind of situation they would be in as he leaned over her to get another handful. As his arm went past Arianna his body pressed up against her, the large knight's getting the water but his face coming awfully close to the princess before he took a step back to ready himself for another attack.

Not that he hadn't noticed it from before but he couldn't help but think that Arianna was quite beautiful as he prepared for his next water attack. He wouldn't let the thought stop him from giving a good fight though and before he could let himself think of consequences or anything of the sort he began to shower her with the collected water, then moving to the side to hopefully avoid the next retaliation. He soon found himself moving away from her and to a different section of the fountain so he could have free access to the water, not wanting to lean over the princess every time he needed to refill his water supply for another attack. He didn't want to risk bumping into her and knocking the girl over, her clothing not exactly being for roughhousing and the princess being a good bit smaller than Cain. Not that he didn't think she could handle a bit of contact after getting to know her a bit but that wasn't something he wanted to risk, as much as he could get over people wondering why she was wet, he knew getting her hurt, even if just barely, wouldn't be as easily explained. "Ready to give it up Princess?" He asked with a small laugh as they continued, not really knowing what would constitute winning in such a case but figuring it would just go on until one of them called it quits, and he wasn't going to give in easily.
 
The princess grinned, tossing what was left on in her hands onto the knight in a silent 'bring it on'. She was fully ready for the challenge he was laying out. Or so she thought. When he came close, she was caught off guard, stunned into a quick silence until the man had stepped back again. She was still slightly caught off guard, but quickly recovered as soon as he moved around the fountain to a new location. She turned to keep an eye on the man, getting right back into the game as soon as there was some space between the two of them. She didn't exactly follow his idea and closed the space between the two of them, pushing Cain back towards the flower beds if he didn't want to move to her other side to get back to the water. She tossed another handful back to onto the knight with a pleased grin.

"Sir, I will never surrender," she told him, reaching into the fountain to splash the man with far more water than she could lift with her hand. It didn't quite reach too far up his body, but his knees and upper legs were hit, which was just enough for Arianna in that turn. She inched closer again, repeating the action quite quickly before Cain had much of a chance to react. "I would rather not give you the satisfaction of you winning." Of course, she was joking. It didn't matter too much to her who 'won or lost', as there was truly no prize or reason for this fight. It was simply for fun, to get the pair to loosen up a bit more before needing to return to the castle or their lives at night. So far, this was helping the princess to relax at least a tad bit, giving her a chance to forget what she had to compete against that night when Cain began his patrol.
 
Cain could have continued to play it safe and continued to circle the fountain, making it his goal to get Arianna as wet as possible, but he didn't. Instead the knight got another large handful of water and allowed her to push him back towards the flower bed, not going easily but getting into the battle. The big hit to his legs got him jumping back even further though, his upper body still quite dry but his legs soaked. He looked down and gave an overly dramatic gasp, looking up at her with a playful sticking out of his tongue as he unleashed the last bit of water he had right at the woman, aiming to get one last blow in. After that it was all but over, Cain was away from the water source and he wasn't going to go to some great length in order to achieve another round of what was over. So since Cain knew it was over he finally gave an exaggerated huff, moving back just another couple of steps, going up against one of the bare parts of the wall, as not to crush any of the beautiful plant life, and gave a slight bow, "It seems you have bested me." His voice was over dramatic as well and he was far from a good actor, though at that moment it was on purpose, for their little game.

While Cain was sure he could continue, make a dash past her or even toss her in, which wasn't even close to a real option, he figured ending it in her victory was as good a way as any. Not that it really mattered who 'won', but he was quite wet, especially his lower half, so it was her victory if they were to really look. On top of that he had given it his all near the end and Arianna had ended up wet as well, enough that people would probably be curious, though at the time that didn't much mean anything. "The question is, will you have mercy for me or will my fate be something harsh indeed?" He asked with a small smirk, wondering what she would do, perhaps take advantage of his tiny bit of acting, or if she would show mercy to a defeated foe. Not that there was much she could do save take a free splash or something else ridiculous or ceremonial like making him admit that she was superior in the art of water combat. He was tempted to laugh at the idea, but he as he stood there waiting with a smirk he wondered what she would choose. "Come now princess, declare my fate for being bested in the water combat..." Regardless, he had fun with their little game and was enjoying Arianna's company thus far, it was a nice distraction and just comforting in general to have a friend around to mess with.
 
Arianna gave a lightly, playful gasp in response to Cain's own, lightly mocking the man once again. His final strike hit her in the side of her dress, dampening her side and the loose fabric below her waist, which quickly pulled a pouting huff in response from the woman. She kept a close eye on the man as he moved, lowering whatever sort of guard she had up as he exited the small path around the outside of the flower beds. As soon as he spoke, Arianna fell into her proper character, straightening her posture again, despite having her dress weighted down with quite a bit of water. She crossed her arms across her chest, watching the knight as she seemed to give some true thought into a punishment for the man in front of her. "You have challenged your princess to a challenge of her honour," she responded, sounding quite strict. "Your punishment could be long and harsh; a day in court. But, I will be kind."

The smirk Cain wore sent an odd chill down Arianna's spine. In the past, she never had a problem with smirking, cocky men. That's all she had to deal with when it came to princes in general, but to see it on a knight, who she knew could wipe a grin off of any man's face, it gave her a certain, yet strange, feeling. It wasn't that she was new to feelings when it came to men, but it was certainly rare for her to have a chance to spend time with one who genuinely impressed her. "Your training tomorrow will be done under my supervision. And your new student will learn of your loss." While she didn't want to embarrass the man in front of each of the knights he would be training with, but his trainee would be a nice way to 'punish' the man for starting the fight in the fountain.

"But have it known, I will not be as easy with your next attack." Arianna held her stance for another few moments before she broke it with a smile and dropped her arms. "But this is a new dress, I'll have you know..."
 
When Arianna fell into her princess routine Cain fell into his knight act, standing up straight with his arms at his side, looking at Arianna with a respectful pose. It was interesting seeing her in the princess personality and honestly he was glad that wasn't the real her, at least not completely, he liked her open and playful, even if the courts wouldn't. When she began speaking about challenging her honor he couldn't help but crack a smile, thinking of the many ways he could challenge her honor and a water fight being a very minor offence. Of course an offence on a princess was bad regardless under normal circumstances, luckily they were not normal circumstances and he wasn't going to be punished seriously. The actual punishment was quite something though, having his training under her supervision and having to speak of his loss to his new student. He wouldn't question though, it wasn't going to embarrass him because he didn't really care, in fact it would be interesting to see if the young trainee took it seriously or not. It would be quite humorous, though he wasn't that sure if it was wise to let other people know they were fighting in the garden by themselves, even if as a joke, but he wouldn't question if she didn't mind.

When she smiled Cain dropped his act as well, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms, "Well I promise you that my next attack will result in me winning and thus you will not be able to send any punishment my way." He was confident despite not really planning on flinging water at her again anytime soon. When she said the dress was new he did change a bit, he knew from Chyanne that women valued clothing and while she wasn't the 'perfect princess' Cain was sure she was the same. It was her fault so he wouldn't apologize, actually the knowledge was going to serve him in a different manner, in rubbing it in and pushing the princess a bit. "Oh? What a pity that I ruined your new dress." His tone was sarcastic and as he pushed himself off the wall he looked at it, "Though I really don't think anything is going to happen to that new dress, it was only water... Unless of course you're such a delicate princess that you can't stand a bit of water. In that case I apologize for doing something so horrible to your clothing." With a laugh he crouched down, plucking one of the small flowers near him and walking over extending it to Arianna, "For you." He said with a smile, the silliness of giving her a flower whilst standing in a garden not lost on him.
 
Luckily for him, Arianna wasn't truly trying to embarrass him, not that she could easily. If she really wanted to and felt the need, she had a good bit of ammunition, now that she knew about his injuries, but there was no way in the world she wanted to actually shame or upset Cain. She doubted the man's trainee would really care about him 'loosing' to the princess, and the chances of him actually telling anyone were unknown, but Arianna was wonderful at running crowd control when it came to small rumours like that. She had her fair share of conversation being passed about her and flattened them in a record time. The princess had already decided to join the knights the next morning as it was, so her first command was going to be simple. Arianna had certainly seen the smile the man quickly grew, but she chose to ignore it in favour of continuing her small act.

Arianna smugly smirked at the idea of the knight 'challenging' her again, and she was oddly looking forward to it. She wouldn't ever admit that to anyone, including him, but to herself she would agree a thousand times over. Words began to play with the tip of her tongue, but she quickly choked them down, using more of her well trained self control as to not embarrass herself in this situation. Luckily, Cain followed along with her new comment and the topic swiftly changed into a far cleaner direction. "I can't stand water," she commented, layering sarcasm onto her words. "I'll melt. So sweet I'm made of sugar, you know." She smiled to the knight, knowing just as well as he now did that sugar was the exact opposite to what Arianna was really made of. She was about to comment about reporting to her mother, but she quickly found it unimportant when the knight approached her again.

"Oh, how sweet," she responded, toning down the sarcastic tone as she took the flower from the man. "This must have been so very hard to find." Doing probably the first feminine thing she had ever done in front of the prince, Arianna tucked a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear, lightly twisting the stem around her hair enough to keep it in place. She gave the man a genuine smile before glancing towards the entrance of their private alcove. "We should wait to dry off before leaving the maze..."
 
Arianna's sarcastic comment was probably more true than she realized, the princess was definitely made of sugar, at least to some extent. It didn't mean she didn't have other elements but he could see it, after spending time with Arianna it was obvious she was a kind person at heart, a sweet girl who cared enough for it not to be all an act. Some tales did speak of witches disliking water as well, another explanation, but he didn't say anything of the sort. "It was incredibly difficult to find, I mean it isn't like such beautiful flowers are just everywhere, that one is special." Cain acted as serious as he could as he pointed at the flower, watching the princess. What she did next caught him a bit by surprise, watching as Arianna tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and used the 'amazing' gift to keep it in place. It was incredibly feminine and he found himself thinking, once again, that she was quite beautiful. It was a dangerous thought for him to be having, especially twice in such a short time, and he would have to be careful with that. Not that he was so weak willed as to slip up but it just wasn't the type of thing he could afford to think too often, in case it showed on his face, which it wasn't, he had hid the look quickly enough.

The change of topic was a good way for Cain to get his mind off the passing thought though, and he looked towards the entrance with a nod. "Yes, that would probably be wise, at least let most of the water dry off before we step back into the presence of others." With that he looked around for a moment and then took a deep breath, moving to sit in one of the nicer areas, forgoing a bench in favor of the ground. Cain sat on the ground close to one of the benches though, giving Arianna the option of not dirtying her clothing if she didn't wish, since it was a new dress and for a princess it was more appropriate to safeguard a nice outfit from dirt. For him it didn't matter, his clothing was made to get dirty. "Come and sit, ask me anything you wish." He said casually, not really thinking there was much to tell but figuring she may have some questions and liking the idea of some light and random conversation to fill the time they had until their clothing would be dry.
 
There wasn't much of an argument from the woman when Cain suggested taking a seat. Her eyes had followed him over to the bench in full agreement to wait and dry off. Arianna followed his steps, choosing to take the bench instead of joining him on the grass. She already had to deal with damp material, the last thing she wanted was to get caught with dirt from sitting on the ground. She was careful to lounge on the bench, allowing the fabric plenty of air and sun while she rested on a free arm, watching the knight beside her closely. Anything at all, huh? She had a few ideas, but none of them she really wanted to get into. She knew Cain didn't want to talk about the days in the war and that was the first thing that had come to her mind. Instead, she scanned through her mind, looking for another question or two she could ask the man that would be far more comfortable to ask.

"You mentioned some of the other knights have families. What about you?" Casually, she laid her chin on her arm, letting the other limb fall towards the ground, lightly running her finger tips over the side of the bench as she focused on the man before her.
 
The Princess chose to sit on the bench, which Cain had assumed would happen, and she seemed to be getting relaxed prompting the knight to do the same as he laid back in the grass. He was feeling more relaxed than he had been in a very long time, easily since before the war, as his days ever since then had been rather hectic. Especially with all the friends he had lost, it was great to have a new one to spend time with, definitely one that wasn't a soldier which was nice as far as he was concerned. With that came a question he hadn't answered in a long time, one he hadn't even considered. He didn't mind it though, speaking on new topics was nice and there always had to be a starting point. "Well, I don't have any family to speak of, I grew up an orphan for the most part and even Chyanne isn't my real sister. As for a family of my own, I haven't started one or even tried to, my days as Charming geared more towards the fun of the moment rather than a serious relationship and my days as a knight not allowing for much else. Then with the war, I haven't even thought about such things in some time..."

Cain sat up and looked over at Arianna, he had already heard about her situation with princes, though he wasn't sure if she had a relationship with some other person. That was not a high chance though and he didn't bring it up, he could already guess that the princess didn't have a secret lover, mostly due to how she kept up the act, she wouldn't do that and then do something as careless as take a lover. Matters of the heart were never that simple though. Regardless he wasn't going to go down that path. "Boring aren't I." He spoke with a grin, he didn't know how talking to him could be all that interesting, to most people the only thing exciting about him was his experience with war. "Anything else you want to know about the mysterious Sir Cain? Hmm?"
 
Arianna gave a small, calm nod in a silent response to the man's story. There was a small side of her who was betting he had lived in an orphanage for at least a bit of his life. From what she had heard, many of the children in the lower edge of the city didn't know their parents, for whatever reason. And for those who did, they didn't often hang around their homes. She had never had much of a chance to speak to the children in that area, but she had heard plenty of rumours and conversations from others who had spent time there. And to hear that Chyanne wasn't a real sibling didn't phase her. That, as well, wasn't surprising. But she could understand where he was coming from with that sibling-relationship idea that the two had with each other. If anything, she was jealous of not only the two friends, but Cain's past life. He had the chance to spend time earning his nickname and growing up as a kid. There was certainly something there Arianna had missed and wished that she had.

"You're not boring," the princess argued. "You're a knight. Even though you were in a war, I couldn't imagine the things you have seen outside of the battlefield. That's not boring in any stretch of the imagination." She shifted on the bench slightly, lifting herself up to proper her elbows on the thick arm, inching closer to the man while leaning over the small barrier. "You haven't spent much time in the castle. Before you showed up and agreed to, you know, take me out places, my life was ten times worse." Her shoulders shrugged as she inched away from the man, realizing how passionate she had instantly got about proving him wrong. "I just don't think things could be boring with a life like that." She quickly continued to speak. "Sad that you don't have any sort of family though. Chyanne seems great, but there's a huge difference between siblings and..." Her words drifted off, choosing it was better to not finish her thought at that moment. Cain could pick it up. But her eyes remained locked on the knight.
 
Cain was surprised when Arianna argued against his statement so quickly and passionately, a bit taken aback. Most people thought of him as boring nowadays though, many of the knights commented that all the stories of his past seemed like they were taken from the life of a different person. Sure, his skill and experiences on the battlefield were interesting but that was about it. Arianna seemed to think differently though and as she continued to insist he began to think she was right. Perhaps he hadn't had the perfect life but it had always been quite interesting, at least to Cain. He met quite a few people, a good deal of beautiful women back in the day, he had fun, and most importantly he had seen a good deal in his time as a knight. So he didn't have a family, it hadn't ever bothered him, mostly because he didn't know what it meant but that wasn't the point. Arianna was definitely right about one thing though, not having a real family was a sad thing. Not that he didn't adore Chyanne, they had a bond that was thicker than blood, they grew up supporting each other and she felt like a real sibling, but he knew what the princess meant.

There was nothing to be done about that though, his parents died shortly after he was born and he had no other blood relatives. "Alright, perhaps I am not boring, I take it back." He said with a small laugh, not wanting to make the princess get too worked up. His eyes had locked on hers during the speech she had delivered and another awkward moment was passing, the two for a moment being in complete silence and eyes locked. The knight looked away after a moment, not making it obvious but shifting his eyes away from her. "I will say though I couldn't imagine how my return to the city and little contribution could improve your life so much... I mean, even if I am more interesting than I think I can't imagine that. Come on, tell me, is it my charm?" He gave a small playful chuckle, trying to get them back on a less serious note but continue the conversation nonetheless.
 
Arianna didn't mean to catch the man off guard, but she did want him to think about his life. Compared to so many other people in the city, he had a story behind him full of adventure, even if it wasn't one he enjoyed as much as other would like to hear about it. A smile played on her lips as the man changed his mind, or at least claimed he did, but when the moment of silence came, it slowly faded, but she didn't break her gaze. As Cain lowered his eyes, Arianna slowly did the same, realizing the tips of her ears were a light shade of pink. The awkward moment wasn't the most pleasant time she ever had, but the princess wasn't about to take it back any time soon. Gently, she moved her hand to the ear closest to the knight, resting her fingers over the top long enough to hope the colour went away, dropping it as the knight began to speak again.

"Not so much your charm." She smirked, letting her hand fall back to the side of the bench. She was kidding herself, but she wasn't about to let the knight know that was so. "Let's say it's your..." She paused with a soft hum as she attempted to grab the proper word she was searching for. Sure, he was charming, but there was a few other words she could think of, all of which she'd keep to herself. They would certainly get both of them in trouble if word got out she thought that way about the knight. "...spirit. You know, fun, interesting, entertaining." That was the worst word to use and Arianna was already mentally kicking herself. "And your ability to loose every challenge." She rested her chin on her arm again with a smug smile. "You broke eye contact first."
 
Cain only barely caught the pinking of Arianna's ears and he knew why, the awkwardness of the situation was a bit much, at least it had been for Cain and apparently the princess as well. Not that it made his previous thoughts any better but he was going to chalk it up to the situation. The entire day was going well save the realization that no matter how friendly they were or how much he knew better that spending so much time with Arianna was difficult, her beauty wasn't easy to ignore and the fact that he liked her enough to already find her to be a friend made it worse. That being the case he was glad when she denied his joke about charm, the last thing Cain needed was the princess admitting he was charming. At the same time he wasn't so pleased with spirit being the answer, not that it wasn't a compliment but it sounded rather unconvincing, his spirit being nothing too grand. It was especially unconvincing when she mentioned fun and entertaining, those were both rather odd, though he knew better than to question her choice after the boring incident, that was not to be repeated, at least not quickly.

He chose to move on from the topic, using her challenge to his skill as an excuse and slowly getting up as he responded. "Well, I assure you I will not lose every challenge... I suppose I will have to stop letting you win." He said with a quick wink and a smile before dusting himself off and looking to the entrance. He was mostly dry by then, the sun quickly helping rid his clothing of the water, and he assumed the same with Arianna. So he turned back to her and took a deep breath, "Anyways, what do you say we go ahead and head back, I believe I should probably prepare for the long night anyways, would hate to let our thief get a head start on me. Especially if she has plans for tonight." Cain put emphasis on the 'she' and gave a nod, showing Arianna that he agreed about her assumption. Regardless of the criminals gender Cain had a job to do, he was planning on trying to get it over with quickly, but in order to do that he needed to be out there, and even if spending time with Arianna was enjoyable that meant getting himself out on the town.
 
"Sure you'll be able to?" she asked, raising her eyebrows quickly in a motion just as suggestive as the man's wink and smile. But as Cain rose off the ground, the princess also sat up, taking a quick look at her clothing to check if it had dried. In fact it did, which was a bad sign for her. That meant she would have no excuse to stay out later with the man and waste more time in the new world she had found. Cain gave her the ability to relax and drop the act she stressed over holding each day and she was enjoying it greatly. But he had a point; it was getting late in the day and it was about time that a search party would be sent out for her if she didn't show her face to at least someone in the castle. The corner of her lips rose at the emphasis placed on her guess, pleased that the man was at least going to take it into consideration in the future. Cain certainly had to get out there and get things set up while Arianna had her own agenda to put into place, making sure she had everything laid out to stay one step ahead of the commander.

With a small nod of her head, Arianna rose to her feet, brushing whatever dirt might have been on the bench off of her clothing before turning to the knight. "Well, I hope you do well," she told him casually. "Best of luck to you and your men." With a swift movement, Arianna placed a peck on Cain's cheek, just as any royal would to their champion in any challenge. But to her it was so much more. She had brought forth a challenge with those words and silently sealed the deal with the light touch. She was ready for the test of her skills and the game that was quickly being brought forward from the group of guards being put on the job. There was no way Arianna would let the men off easy in this race. After all, she was craving some excitement just like this.

In the realm where she was simply a princess, the world they were standing in, Arianna gave a slight hesitation as she drew back, taking the chance to take a look at the man up close while she could. She could see the effects of war in his face, quickly imagining what each worry line, each mark, might have been caused by. But all the thoughts ended when she realized she was close enough to Cain for him to see the light freckles dotting her seemingly perfect skin. That was when she released the breath she hadn't known she was holding and withdrew from the proximity she had brought herself into, while a rosy blush crossed her cheeks.
 
Cain was sure that him and the men on patrol for the night would do well, the knight already had a plan and he would be out there personally to make sure that it wasn't easy for the thief to do anything. The kiss on his cheek once again caught Cain off his guard, the man finding it hard to keep up with the princess and her seemingly sudden actions. It allowed him another close up look at the princess, one that allowed him to see things he hadn't noticed before. The first of which were her freckles, and the only thing the knight could think of was how cute it was. He also got a better look at the other features of her face though and he didn't fail to notice the soft skin and alluring lips of the princess. He was sure any man looking at her had the same thoughts, no matter who it was. The knight didn't move, his mind caught up in how impossible it was not to think about the princess in such a way, especially being in such close proximity. It was only in the moments before Arianna pulled back that he realized they were both just staring at each other, it wasn't just him but she was looking at him and it made Cain quite self-conscious. Of course he had never had confidence problems, but even for his 'Charming' persona he was out of his league when it came to someone like Arianna. Her being a princess didn't have anything to do with that, her looks and personality pushed him out of his league before that was even a factor.

He wanted to get away from the awkwardness though, and with his own small blush beginning to form he quickly turned and began to walk away, "Let's go." his voice solid but just barely and he couldn't say anything more without losing it. As he walked Cain went slow enough for the princess to keep up or catch up, but he didn't turn around or look towards her, he was trying to keep his cool and the few situations they had been in made it difficult. He had to hope those kinds of things didn't become a habit or it would be hard for him, and he didn't want it to be, he would prefer to remain friends without any complications. In the spirit of that he continued to lead, only turning when they were at the separation point, looking at Arianna and trying to speak without giving away that he was still a bit out of it from the previous situation. "Well, it has been a nice day Princess, I hope we can talk again, and thank you for the good charm." He spoke and even addressed the kiss before giving a small almost unnatural bow and turning to head towards the knights quarters, having some preparations to do before heading out for the night and needing the time to calm down anyways.
 
With a hard sigh, Arianna took half a moment to collect herself before she moved forward to join the knight as they travelled out of the winding bush path. Again, the two were silent, leaving the moment which had just passed all that more awkward for the two of them. When the left the opening, there weren't many around, just a few servants who seemed to be preparing for the upcoming meal with the royal family. Arianna turned to the knight and gave him a nodding bow in return. "Have a good evening," she responded, letting the man leave. Arianna knew exactly when she would see Cain again, but according to the man it would be the next morning. It didn't take her very long to get back into the palace and cut directly to the dining hall. The rest of her family had gathered there already, taking advantage of a slow moment to have a private dinner. The king took the chance to inform his family of his latest condition. He was getting worse and his illness was beginning to take a toll on not only his body but spirit as well. It was silent for the most part as the unsettling feeling surrounded the people in the room. It was far past sunset before Arianna left the table, heading straight for her room to prepare for the night ahead of her.

Each time she changed, the transformation was quicker and far easier than the time before. In record time, she had herself ready and out of the castle, the plate hidden safely in her bag. The princess made her way down the back streets, avoiding most of the areas where guards could be stationed as she came closer to her prior target. Using a nearby ladder and a few boxes, Arianna climbed to a nearby roof, stopping in the shadows to watch the men's movements. Of course, she wasn't stupid enough to try to get into the home, but this was the perfect chance to take notes on the positions she could see and attempt to get a feel for what they were aiming for. Not only that, but she was looking for a chance to show herself around Cain.
 
The parting wasn't any better than what had happened but it gave him some time to get himself together. At first that meant making his way back to his room, sitting down and just giving himself a minute, even grabbing a bit of bread and some water, keeping the meal simple for the night. After that he left his room, moving towards the barracks used by those who patrolled, the shift change for the night being what he was truly waiting for. When that happened he had to inform the men on patrol for the night of his plan, or at least what he had in mind for the night. Mainly he was telling them about the nights target and the new patrol routes they were to take, the ones he wanted them to take quite different from those they had been assigned before. In fact some of them seemed surprised, how he was neglecting some locations in favor of others, though all in all he had the city covered, nothing would go wrong and they would have a better chance of spotting and hopefully foiling the thief's plot. Other than that he didn't change things up too much, he didn't want to give them too many instructions, especially since regular crime could still commence. Though unlikely he still had to be careful, he would feel guilty if something else happened while they were distracted by the thief.

Cain himself would be the one to focus specifically on the thief, he had some special places in mind to set up and keep an eye out, his own addition being the main component in the plans he had set up. So after all the guards were sent out on the patrol routes, Cain left as well, the knight moving towards the location of the last robbery. He had a nice vantage point from atop one of the highest roofs near the store, looking down at the area and the shop in question. Several times he had to head down to check out a suspicious person, being careful not to make himself obvious, until finally he noticed someone on a roof. His eyes narrowed and a small smirk appeared on his lips, the last few suspicious people being on the ground, someone on the roof nearby the targeted building was the most suspicious one yet. So he laughed to himself and headed down, using his high vantage point to keep his eyes on the person and move closer, until he was only a building over. Unfortunately for Cain he wasn't on the front lines nor did he have the authority to simply act without observing proper laws, he had to declare himself, see what happened. So he got close enough, hoping he hadn't been noticed yet, and took a deep breath, his voice booming out from behind after that, "You there, identify yourself!" He didn't know it was the thief, but anyone sneaking around on the roof after dark could definitely be up to no good, especially so close to the spot he was watching.
 
Arianna jumped as she quickly looked towards the voice. There Cain was, standing even with her on his own roof top, sending a hard shiver and a stomach flip through her body. She quickly silenced herself but quickly darted away, quite pleased that she had made sure to cover her face with a dark scarf before leaving the palace. Moving away from the second roof, the thief climbed down the ladder, missing a few rungs as she made her way down, falling to the stone ground outside the side of the shop. There was a moment were she paused, catching her breath before she found the proper direction, starting back through the streets in the opposite direction of the last target. It was obvious the old store was being watched and Arianna knew to avoid every possible path into the store. Sadly, she had already been caught. Arianna thought it would have taken longer, but she hadn't thought about the higher buildings when she planned out her stakeout. Her eyes travelled upwards as she ran down the street, sliding into an alleyway to hide from the knights on patrol around her.

There, she caught her breath, closing her eyes as she listened to the footsteps pass by, forcing the girl deeper into the small passage, crouching behind several unused crates, hiding back in the shadows. Her eyes were focused on the area outside, hoping to get a quick opening to get across. This was far more dangerous than what she thought it would be. Plan B seemed to be the way to go. But getting to her second plan was the most difficult part. Not only did she have to watch their patterns and stay out of their sight, but Cain was on her tail. She only hoped the man wouldn't be following her into the alley or there may be a struggle.
 
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