For The Greater Good || Private

[Chokuro]

"What number is this one?"

"Three."

A light sigh could be heard escaping the lips of a beautiful brunette, showing her exhaustion from this task. She did not mind helping out her princesses. Of course not. She enjoyed their company far too much, and she never had anything negative to say against them, but she was getting very tired with all this travelling. She truly hoped that this would come to an end. Soon, it had to, right? There were only so many men that could be potentials for their future heirs. The first two were creeps. While, yes, they were possibly better than the princesses current fiances, that did not mean those men even deserved to look upon the women. One too many stray hands, perverse comments, suggestions ... All were horrible and the brunette did all she could to not vomit.

"Hannah..." The redhead beside her looked over the shorter brunette, getting the girl's attention. "It will be all right." She confirmed, features strong as they kept to the girl. "They trust this to you, and you alone." She reminded, giving the girl a little nod.

Hannah nodded, a small smile coming to her lips as she did so. "I know, Adelle ... I know." She said in a soft tone which got the woman beside her to wrap an arm around her shoulders. Through the trip, they had gotten quite close, and the redhead knew quite a bit about the girl she was told to protect.

Soon enough, the two arrived at the third empire that they were told to look into. This particular man was interesting. He was not of royal blood, yet he was a high ranking Commander. That in itself got Hannah hopeful. The princesses would need a strong man to defend them and ensure their heirs would have good blood. She almost prayed that the man was different from the rest, that he could prove that he deserved the princesses' time.

Adelle was not sure how this would work, but she did the normal talking that she had done at the previous kingdoms, trying the professional route, only to wind up bribing the men behind the gate with money or ... other things. Luckily, these men took the money and let the two pass without too much of a problem -- aside from the random grope to the redhead's behind, but she figured that things could have been worse.

Adelle led the way up to the man's house, having gotten directions from the guards. She rested a hand on Hannah's back, being sure she was still beside her while she knocked, make sure she was not taken by a horny man or anything of that sort that could happen in such a place. Silently, the two waited. Adelle checking over her charge many times to see how she was.

 

[Vekseid]

King Renaulto had no particular love for Duke Aldruin of Savseret, and it showed in the condition of the forward camp to which he was ordered by decree to protect. All supplies had to pass through the Duchy of Calterbreigh, and Duke Bevenard was allowed to levy whatever tax he wished.

Which was to say all of it. The only support Aldruin got from his own Duchy was moral. He carved bits of land from the Rhuk, appropriating their forests for his own to fuel his own slowly growing industry, and occasionally made trades - illegal of course - with some of the more civilized tribes. Even still, iron was far more scarce than it ought to be in such a military outpost, and nearly as many weapons and armor were brought in as personal pieces as were forged on site.

Renaulto's predecessor awarded Aldruin the duchy for his prowess in the Battle of Temeret after the previous bearer of the standard had managed to get his unit massacred. But like all those newly appointed to the nobility, he was still of 'lesser' blood, with no ties to the royal line, unlike the 'better born' man of Calterbreigh.

He was carving out a second Duchy for himself. Or perhaps his elder son - he wasn't quite sure what state he would be able to leave this place until he managed to secure a path around Duke Bevenard's lands. It did not have quite so many people, either - perhaps a three thousand, a solid fraction of them various convicts and criminals. Fortunately for his guests, he kept those to the North, conducting raids.

His wife occasionally visited, but that was always under far heavier guard than the two women currently causing a riot in his personal compound.

----

"One of them is bearing the seal of the Princess, my Lord." The man said aloud, facing away from the chamber as Aldruin scrambled to dress himself.

A tall, chiseled man in his early 30's, Aldruin kept his hair cut short, the loose clothes he was hastily throwing on hiding his lithe musculature. The sagging under his dark brown eyes hinted at how little sleep he was getting. "The Princess? What-"

"Not the Princess, sir - but obviously someone important to her if the seal is genuine."

That was a relief. He could look a bit disheveled. Groaning and trying to rub the hangover out of his forehead, he spoke again. "Have Seresse draw a bath for them, and prepare two extra spots at the table. Get their names so I don't look like an idiot."

The elder butler nodded and went on his way, barking orders for boiling water, ale and bread.

----

A short time after they knocked upon the door, a slit opened, eyes peering out at them. "The Duke of the Keep would know your names and purpose." The man's voice stated.