The main bulk of the castle was very different from its exterior locations, the closer to its heart you went the more lavish and powerful looking it became. Ever since he had arrived Nino had only ever wandered into the main section of the castle in search of the captain to receive orders, and he had felt extremely out of place as he hurried from one hallway to the next. Now though, he could not say the same.

He walked up the regal stone staircase flanked by luxurious tapestries with his head held high, an undeniable swell of pride propelling him forward as the sun climbed higher in the sky outside. It was nearly midday now and he was filled with an overwhelming surge of emotion as he passed one set of guards after the next. Every time he did their heads would turn to watch him march past, a few of them smiling, the bulk of them struggling to hide their disgust. It just pushed him farther.

Nino was dressed, for the first time, in 'full armor'. Full armor simply meant that he was in completely presentable condition, his armor polished and the royal family's seal of honor displayed proudly in a flare of deep purple on his shoulder. Such a state was reserved only for assignments in which they were in royal company or to indicate that they were of exceptionally high rank, and the young soldier wore it with pride. Every guard he passed wore their uniformed armor, but only he carried the seal.

Though he had never gone there in person he had obsessively memorized a servant's description on how to find the royal family's chambers, taking each turn as he was meant to. He was hyper aware of the sound of his armor as he made his way there, anxious energy threatening the strength of his gate. However, every time he came to doubt himself he would find himself passing by a servant, on his or her way to do what they must, and he would be bolstered by their smiles. They all knew who he was, and he was humbled to have realized that he had become their hero in a way.

Nino's thoughts churned and fretted as he came to an open sided hallway, the warm air of the end of summer finding him as he turned his face towards it. Through its openings he could see the courtyards that surrounded and dotted the castle grounds, his eyes drawn to the secondary unit's exercises on the training field far below him. He did not pause to watch, his destination too important, but he did find some strength in how far above it he stood at that moment.

He turned forward with renewed confidence, looking down the hallway towards where he knew the royal rooms to be when suddenly he spotted movement from the door closest to the end and thus, the closest to Nino. To have a room there would make you very important indeed though they were not as highly placed as the family themselves, so Nino mentally prepared himself to bow or salute them appropriately, when suddenly the man exiting his quarters turned to face him and exclaimed in surprise.

"Nino!"

Though he had been drilling it in his mind for months now when and where to be formal and appropriate he reacted on instinct, and before his training could kick in he enthusiastically replied, "Adrien!"

The young nobleman, who he now knew properly to be the prince of the neighboring kingdom Adrien Agreste, held out his arms in greeting, his blindingly bright smile splitting his face as he headed towards him.

"Well look at you!" he blurted out, the young man seeming to also forget himself for a moment. "Now you're really kitted out!"

"It's great to see you!" Nino replied, making an attempt to reign in the familiarity but finding it hard with Adrien being so eager himself. When Adrien reached out in a kind gesture to place his hand on his shoulder he returned it unhesitatingly, though he did look around to ensure they were alone on instinct. "I haven't run into you in forever, at least not at a time where I could talk to you. Where have you been?"

"Home, but I'm glad to be back. My father had summoned me back to make an appearance at a handful of ceremonies and things like that." Adrien dropped the contact and shrugged dismissively, clearly finding Nino's position much more intriguing than his own, eyeing the guard in front of him with an ecstatic expression. His gaze froze on his shoulder, taking in the deep purple cloth pinned there by shining metal before his expression lit up. "Are you wearing the seal?" Adrien asked immediately, cutting off Nino's question and pointing at the cloth. "That's what that is right? Did you get promoted?! Tell me you got promoted!!"

"Woah, woah!" Nino blurted out, laughing as he held up his hands. "Hold on there no, I'm not any kind of captain, not yet at least. But I did get moved up." Admittedly it felt a little childish, but he couldn't help but square his shoulders as he pridefully declared, "Actually, I'm on my way to a special assignment right now. I was asked to be the personal escort to her royal highness as she took the young princesses out for the day."

"What!? Well done!!"

Nino jerked in surprise when Adrien hugged him, but despite how inappropriate he knew it was to be so openly friendly with a prince, he once again couldn't contain himself and returned the hug, laughing with the friend he really shouldn't have. It was impossible to just treat Adrien like a higher up, someone he should bow his head to and only call 'sir'. It just didn't feel right, not because he meant him any kind of disrespect, but because Adrien treated him like an equal.

They ended the embrace quickly, and Nino realized that Adrien was aware of their class difference, if only in the way that he checked that no one had seen. Adrien was such a genuine person though that Nino knew it was to protect him, not because Adrien was afraid of being punished himself.

"That's great news, and it's completely deserved! I know we haven't been able to talk much, or at all really I'm sorry about that, but I've been keeping track of you. You've worked so hard, trust me it brings me no small amount of satisfaction to see all the other stuffy court advisors finally shut up about having a commoner in the guard. You've exceeded everyone's expectations and then some, they're running out of things to say."

"That's my goal," Nino admitted, laughing a bit. "But still, my effort would mean nothing if I'd never been given the chance. I know I've told you this before but I don't think I can ever say enough how much I owe you for this."

"You earned it yourself, I honestly had very little to do with it," Adrien replied instantly, beaming at him. "I'm proud of you, you're showing everyone what you're made of and it's amazing to watch." Adrien surprised his friend by turning away, gesturing down the hallway with another smile. "As excited as I am to see you I didn't mean to hold you up, you said you're going to Alya's room right? It's just down there."

Nino stiffened, his eyes widening a bit. "Oh, crap you're right," he cursed, nervously running a hand through his hair again as he checked out the opening in the hallway, keeping an eye on the sun which was now almost directly overhead. "I'm not late yet but its close, I should go. I'm nervous enough about meeting her as it is."

"Nervous?" Adrien asked, turning back to the guard and deciding to walk with him instead of leaving right away, the pair of them starting down the hall again. "It is an important job I suppose but you don't need to be nervous of Alya."

"You know her don't you?" Nino decided to ask, realizing that Adrien was probably his best bet at getting any kind of advice outside of the guard. "I got so much conflicting information from the other guards, it's like nobody knows how to deal with her."

To his surprise Adrien laughed, his voice incredulous as he said "What do you mean deal with her? It's Alya not the panther."

"The panther?"

"She's a person like anybody else," Adrien continued, seeming to miss Nino's comment entirely. Adrien shook his head, huffing a little. "She's a great person, actually, but she's in a tough position. Trust me I get exactly what she's dealing with, it's why I'm here." Adrien looked over at him, his expression earnest. "Try and imagine just for a second what it would be like to never be treated like a person? To have everybody around you respect your title over your name. I know it sounds... privileged to complain about, I'm not saying other people don't have profound struggles, I'm just saying that there is a different kind of problem with being royalty."

Adrien hesitated to continue and looked away, but Nino waited, slowing his step slightly to prolong the conversation. After a moment Adrien spoke again, his tone soft.

"I get that the guard is intimidated by her, she's kind of an intimidating person, but just try and remember that. We were both careful while we talked because we knew that you would get in trouble if someone saw us. That's how everyone in her life is, she can't have friends. That gets to you after a while." Adrien nodded, aware that they had come to a stop and looking up to see an ornate, heavy wooden door. He knew it was Alya's.

"So what should I do?" Nino asked seriously, and Adrien looked up at him, the prince smiling slowly.

"This," he answered earnestly, gesturing to the short space between the two of them. "Just talk. Don't be reckless, even if she would appreciate your informality the King certainly wouldn't, as well as anyone else really. It sucks and it's unfair, but it's how it is. So don't be unsafe, just realize the kind of value an honest conversation could have to her. Be kind and professional, and if you ever have a chance alone with her, maybe talk for a while. It'd be more than anyone else has ever done."

Nino paused, absorbing what he said in silence and nodding slightly. It was disappointing that he had only been able to talk to Adrien for a few minutes, but he was glad he had run into him when he did. It felt kind of serendipitous that Adrien would be there, the princess's situation reminding him of his own.

Nino wondered silently how many friends Adrien had himself.

The prince clapped him lightly on the shoulder, his hand making a funny sort of hollow sound on the metal of his armor that made them both laugh a little despite serious topics.

"You'll like her," Adrien assured him, taking a few steps back from the door. "I should probably let you get to it though."

"Your room is just down there right?" Nino clarified, gesturing back the way they had come. "It's a shame I don't run into you more often."

Adrien hesitated for a step before a grin broke out on his face. "Yeah, that's where I stay. Why?"

"Oh you know," Nino said dismissively, shrugging in a way that made Adrien laugh. "Not to hang out or nothing, that would be informal."

"Highly inappropriate," Adrien agreed, using the same kind of sarcastic tone. "Unheard of really."

"Absolutely unacceptable," Nino tacked on, "Never would happen. But if it did, hypothetically-,"

"Hypothetically I'd be in there most nights and wouldn't say a word."

"Well then hypothetically that sounds great," Nino finished, grinning now himself. The two of them laughed to themselves, and Nino took the chance to salute loosely with one hand. "See you around 'sire'."

"See ya," Adrien chuckled, finally fully turning to be on his way.

Nino watched him go, the prince leaving to go do... whatever it was that princes did in the day when vacationing in another kingdom. The thought of defying class tradition even more than he already had made him smile, and he looked forward to finding some time to sneak off and actually get to just get to know the man who had changed his life. They had been lucky to have even traded 6 or so conversations, and every time he did Nino reaffirmed to himself what a good person Adrien really was.

Lonely, but good.

The guard took a deep breath, focusing again on the intricately carved wooden door in front of him. He was likely expected by this point, but despite Adrien's advice he was still a little unsure of himself. He couldn't put it off anymore though... and after a final moment more Nino squared his shoulders and stood tall, knocking on the door with his metal clad fist.

It took two weighty raps against the door for him to be heard, but as soon as his hand started to lower he heard a response. A female voice.

"Come in!"

Nino waited, breathing deeply before taking the door knob in a firm hand and opening it wide.

The young guard stepped through into a space that was clearly furnished by wealthy people, but to someone with simple tastes. Not inelegant certainly, but not gaudily encrusted with diamonds either (as he had low key been expecting). No, the wealth showed most in the quality of its furnishings, in the carvings in the dark wood and the vibrancy of the carpets. It was a very spacious chamber compared to his own, which was a little below average as it was before it was crammed with four beds. This space held only one bed, the very large four poster kind with its carved columns and tasteful canopy catching his eye. The bed was easily the nicest piece in there, but there was also a desk, a side table, a long table and a set of dressers with vibrant carpets dotted across the stone floor. A royal room, should there ever be one.

He absorbed the room quickly, and it wasn't long at all before his gaze fell towards the large set of balcony doors across from him, currently open and revealing a woman who now turned towards him with her back to the open air outside.

His nerves were already electric but seeing her sent an anxious surge through him, worsening a little when she smiled.

It couldn't possibly be inappropriate to acknowledge that she was beautiful, it would be impossible to be near her and not immediately be aware of it. She was dark skinned to the point where the white flash of her teeth was stunning, her eyes a strong gemstone like hazel though it wasn't necessarily the color that he noticed the most. It was what you could see of her in them, describing her more clearly then the richly dark-colored curls of her hair.

She smiled appropriately at him, something polite and practiced but her eyes were withdrawn, steady, and strong. There was not a fire in her eyes, but rather the steel to strike it. This all was not exactly telling of her current demeanor, which seemed polite and rehearsed, but rather an indication of her.

Or perhaps he read too deeply...

But to him she seemed unbreakable.

"Ah, you must be my escort for the day, right?" she asked him, her voice even but her expression a little... hm. He didn't have the words for it. Put out maybe? She smoothed the front of her elegant dress with one hand, her dark skin complimented by the rich orange of it, he noticed. She looked back up at him, folding her hands loosely in front of her. "Well you're on time. A little early, actually, my little sisters haven't arrived yet. Their lessons must have gone long."

Nino was trying to decide quickly whether or not he was expected to respond when something in her expression shifted, and suddenly he felt as if she was searching him intensely. He tensed a little as she tilted her head to the side, her hair shifting to reveal a rather cute birthmark above one eye.

He really needed to stop getting distracted.

"Wait," she spoke abruptly, though he had no immediate intention of doing anything. Her eyes cast over his armor and then back to his face, the poor guard starting to fry on the spot when she suddenly said, "I know you."

"I'm sorry?" he asked aloud, his surprise asking the question first and forcing him to tack on, "your majesty" half a second later.

"Yes, yes I knew you looked familiar!" she said instead of answering, her expression lighting up as she moved forward eagerly, closing the sizable distance between them somewhat. "I saw you yesterday in the training field, you were fighting the Captain weren't you? Nino, Nino Lahiffe, isn't it?"

Nino's eyes widened, and he couldn't help but have his heart sink just a little. Here he was trying to make a good impression as her personal guard, when the first thing she had ever seen him do was LOSE in a fight. He felt sort of childish but he was kind of... devastated.

"You saw that?" He hesitated for a moment before he chuckled a little awkwardly, "Yes that was me. I didn't know that you were watching, your majesty."

"It was an amazing fight; it was hard not to notice it." She smiled at him more genuinely now, an actual smile instead of a polite one. "I haven't seen anyone withstand the Captain for that long in... well, nobody EVER lasts really. Alix is pretty intense."

"She's terrifying," Nino agreed a little unprofessionally, but he was delighted to see her smile again. "I'm pleased I survived. But I assure you princess you're no less safe with me, the Captain is just a frightening exception."

Alya absorbed what he said for about half a second before she was laughing, Nino grinning instantly at the sound of it. He shifted in place excitedly, grateful that Adrien's advice was panning out. Just treat her like a person. Teasing and a joke, but professional reassurance, this was good right? But he was being honest when he told her she was perfectly safe with him, he was a little worried that losing would make her think he was less capable. He already had so much to prove, having the princess think he was any less of a fighter was unacceptable to him.

Alya was still giggling as he thought this, straightening up and smiling at him. "Don't worry, I saw most of it. You had someone as skilled as Alix on the run for quite a bit of that fight, against anyone else I know you would have won. I understand your concern though, losing to a woman half your size must be killer for your confidence."

Nino chuckled a little, his nerves finally starting to die out as he found the confidence to jokingly reply, "Funnily enough nobody else in the guard seems to fault me for it. It's almost like all of them have been beaten by her at one point or another."

Alya chuckled, looking up at him with a new kind of expression. There was a moments silence before she said, "You know, when Dawlyn told me your name yesterday it sounded familiar to me but I couldn't place why."

She didn't continue like he expected her to, the princess instead just watching him curiously. "I can't imagine why, your majesty," he replied honestly.

"I thought maybe it was your family, but I realized I'd never heard the Lahiffe name before."

Nino felt a slight discomfort crawl across the back of his neck, her words making him feel out of place in his uniform rather abruptly. His armor, which had faded from his notice, suddenly felt heavy again.

"You wouldn't know it," he admitted after a second, his tone just a little bit more withdrawn. A little bit more professional. "It is not a noble name, your highness. My enlistment was kind of an... exception."

Her eyes widened at his answer and her lips parted in a silent gasp. Nino was left in his discomfort for only a moment more, before quite suddenly, her face was split by a grin.

"I knew it was familiar!" she exclaimed excitedly, Nino jumping a little at the sudden volume. She moved forward and all at once the distance between them was cut more than in half, the princess eager now. "I knew I had heard it! Of course I would have, it makes so much sense now! You WOULD be an exceptional fighter; you'd have to be! You're the one Adrien told me about!"

Nino was leaning away slightly as she leaned forward, startled by her sudden enthusiasm and floundering for what to say, completely thrown off. Her eyes were shining with interest and heat crawled up his back.

"I- I well yes, I'm the- I only just joined the guard." Nino hesitated again, looking down at her as he asked, "Adrien told you about me?"

"Yes! You saved his life, it was all he was talking about when he first arrived. He wouldn't stop until my father agreed to see you, he was practically demanding that you have a place in the guard."

Nino was stiff, incredibly caught off guard by her reaction. He had been expecting her to look down her nose at him but he hadn't been expecting her to be... well.

Impressed.

Nino stood there awkwardly, realizing he had no idea what to say in response. She was on the verge of asking about a hundred questions at once, leaning towards him with a powerful and earnest kind of eagerness he was unprepared to deal with. Her curiosity, for just a moment, did away with any barriers. And he was left looking into her eyes.

Till there was a knock at the door.

The princess had barely even a second to pull away, Nino all at once standing ramrod straight as they were abruptly intruded upon. The knock came only a split second before the door swung open and he turned in time to see two little girls standing in the doorway before they were sprinting inside, passing him in a sudden blur to get to their sister who they did not notice looked a little bit peeved.

"Alya, today-!"

"We were-"

"Are we leaving yet?"

"And then-!"

Nino shook his head a little as if to try and make sense of the sudden gaggle of words, the two little girls each talking fast enough to make it sound as if there were even more of them. Nino watched as Alya sighed, smiling a little despite her slight irritation as she bent down to greet them.

The two little girls looked extraordinarily alike, as young twins often did, but there were slight differences. They were small enough however that he wouldn't be confident at all picking which was which if they were not conveniently color coded.

They both looked an awful lot like Alya (though not as much as they did each other, clearly) but instead of wearing their hair down it was bundled up nicely in blue and pink bows. Their dresses were appropriately blue and pink as well, made just as finely and with as much detail as their sisters. He had heard the young princesses were about nine or so, but they looked even younger as they eagerly clung to Alya's gown.

"Yes we're leaving right now, you can tell me about it as we go alright? You're being rude, remember yourselves. We have someone with us."

Both little girls blinked, looking up at Alya for another full second before their attention drifted to Nino for the first time.

"Etta, Ella, this is Nino," Alya introduced him, nodding with approval when both girls straightened up and behaved themselves. She smiled at him before telling them, "He is going to be watching out for us in the fields today so make sure you are polite to him."

"I don't know you," one of them spoke up, the one in pink to be precise. He couldn't be much more precise than that because, unfortunately, Alya had introduced them with their names together, and for the life of him he couldn't decide whether the one in pink was Ella or Etta. Whoever it was looked back up at Alya, asking her "I thought we knew all the guards?"

"He's new," she explained, her smile slipping more so into her real one as she said, "He's actually very special. Nino wasn't chosen from the noble families like the other guards were, but earned his place through his talent." Nino stiffened nervously when she met his eye again, saying calmly but with that real smile "It's very impressive."

There was a space of silence where no one said anything, the twins looking at him with wide, curious eyes. But he was once again caught up in Alya, and he found himself replying, "Thank you."

He forgot to add any sort of title, something he only noticed when the twins traded a glance, but even that failed to unease him as Alya grinned again. He was pleased that, at least somewhat, he had managed to reclaim whatever sort of rapport they had created in the short time they had spoken. But with another look to the young princesses he reminded himself to be careful.

"Your majesties," he greeted them with a bow, smiling at them as warmly as he could while still remaining professional. They were still just kids, being surrounded by formal adults must get exhausting after a while. "It's an honor. As her highness said I'll be watching out for you, but don't let me get in the way of your day. I'm just here to make sure you're safe."

"Thank you sir," the one in blue said appropriately, the pair of them curtsying. Despite their formality though, they both returned that same warm smile he had given them.

With that he looked back to Alya and waited, and she took it as a queue to move things along.

"Alright then, the horses should be waiting for us but it's not far. We only have a few things to take with us, so we should be on our way."

Alya gestured to her side towards the long table in the main space of her room, a bundle of this already waiting. Nino didn't hesitate to cross towards it, quickly glancing over the basket filled with food and the weighty red blanket before picking it up and turning back towards the girls.

Alya grinned, grabbing her young sisters by the hand as she asked, "Are you sure you've got that? I can ask Alix to come help you if you're struggling you know."

Etta and Ella gasped a little, giggling but clearly surprised. Nino to his credit also looked surprise, but he was quick to suddenly lower the items, as if abruptly they were far too heavy to carry.

"I'm not sure how I'll do it there has to be at least three lunches in here, but I'm aiming to impress so I will do my best to scrape by, your highness."

Nino grinned as the twins laughed at the joke, Alya snickering too as she shook her head. Nino was grinning still as they headed towards the still open door, the girls leaving first with Nino to bring up the rear and close the door behind them.

He may have been carrying their things but he didn't feel much like a servant as he walked along behind them. The four of them started down the hallway and Nino watched with that same pride he had felt before as the three princesses talked about their days, the younger sisters animatedly detailing yet another interesting lesson they had finished. Every time Alya would look over her shoulder to see him trailing perhaps only five feet behind she would offer him a smile and he would return it, going out of his way to make sure he never missed one even when he had to take the lead to pass them through the outer sections of the castle.

It was simple but he thought it was important, checking on them all over his shoulder and taking the second to return her smile before looking forward again. It didn't matter if he held their things or fetched their horses, he still felt like the guard he knew he was.

When it came time to it he let Alya board her horse herself, deciding on the fly that he would try and offer her what independence he could. She had walked forward but glanced back at him like she expected him to stop her, and when he didn't he earned another one of her smiles, and he gave her another one of his.

He couldn't deny the power he felt as he moved his borrowed, royal steed to the front of their procession, its hooves clamoring loudly on the cobbled stone of the main road leading out of the castle. The warm summer sun reflected off his armor and made the vibrant purple of his seal even brighter, the young guard sitting high on the saddle as he looked back at his charges.

Here he was, his armor on his shoulders, his sword at his hip, and the princesses riding to either side of him expectantly, looking to their escort to lead the way.

There was so much power in nodding silently for the gate to be opened, leading the way through onto the road that led to the city. He could hear the distant horse hooves of the escort team assigned to keep their distance overpowered by the sound of the horses of the people he was charged to protect. Out of everyone he was leading them, and he knew he would take immense satisfaction in watching every guard who spat at him and told him to head home to his farm defer to his lead and be forced to stand by a couple hundred yards away.

He escorted them through the city and swelled with pride every time a commoner would look up at him and then to the princesses that followed, everyone shouting their praise and paying their respects as they waved back and gave them their practiced smiles, kind, but distant.

He knew what he looked like in that moment, flanked by royalty and bearing his seal, so he held his head high.

Because he knew, in that moment,

He looked like a knight.