Only a few days after leaving the palace in the capital and Nadia was willing to cut off her own arm for some peace and quiet. A fortnight into the trip and she knew that the Princess of Tripalli was not meant for traveling of any kind, let alone on horseback. A full moon cycle into their expedition and Nadia knew she would be eternally grateful when they reached the castle walls of Camelot, even if only for the opportunity of five minutes away from the princess's endless talking.

"We're almost there," a relieved Nadia spoke as the chatter stopped and Rosalynn slumped in the saddle with an audible huff. "Just a little further and we'll be safe so you can rest."

"No, we can rest rest. You've gotten less sleep than I have the past few days," Rosalynn replied, glaring aimlessly at the trees around them. "I could have taken guard at least once. I'm not helpless." Just to prove her point, Rose wiggled her fingers mockingly and watched as fire shot out at Nadia's protective wrist gauntlet.

"Hey, watch the fire," Nadia reprimanded lightly as she smothered the lingering heat on her armor. "You could hurt someone."

Rose laughed haughtily. "That's kind of the point."

Nadia smothered a laugh, her charge never did like being coddled. "I'm well aware that you can vanquish your foes without assistance, however you seem to forget that it is my duty to protect you."

"You take that oath far too seriously," Rosalynn sighed, resigned to the fact that in a pinch, Nadia was the better line of defence. "How long until we reach Camelot?"

"We should arrive around supper, a few hours at most," Nadia replied staring into the forest with disdain. The horses could only go so fast and they had much of the forest remaining until they met with the road that would take them to Camelot's gates. "Rose, once we enter the city, you must be cautious. Magic is forbidden. If you are seen, there will be little I could do to save you."

Rose laughed, staring down at the reformed assassin in exasperation. "Little you could do that doesn't involve mass murder anyway, right?" Nadia grinned, but didn't dignify the question with a response. "You've gotten us out of worse than a mere execution, have you not?"

"Many times," Nadia acknowledged. "But we are supposed to be making allies of these people. It would do us no favors if I slaughtered them in attempt to save you."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I suppose not, but it would be much more entertain- Why have you stopped?"

Rose turned on her perch, staring down at Nadia who had stopped walking and had lowered her guiding hand to the sword sheathed at her hip. "Rose, when I say go, I want you to push this horse as hard as you can all the way to the gates of Camelot and remain there with Prince Arthur until I arrive. Do not leave his side. If they should get through me, you are to use your magic to defend yourself. Am I understood?"

Nodding, Rose gripped the saddle and waited with baited breath for Nadia's command. Whispering, she asked, "How many are there?"

"Three. One in the trees with a bow and two on foot with swords." Nadia smirked. They were foolish to only have sent three men. Unsheathing her blade, she cast one last glance over at the princess she had given an oath to protect with her life. "They're making an awful racket for assassins. Now go," she commanded as she dove at the swordsman that had come too close for comfort.

Swords clashing, Nadia shifted to get a better look at the man's face. His dark eyes were visible behind the face guard, but only enough to see them flicker as they darted to her left. Quickly spinning on her heel before he could strike, Nadia jabbed the handle of her sword into his chest and thrust her knee into his face as he fell. Removing one of her daggers from the sheath at her back, she plunged the blade into his skull.

Ignoring the slick sound of the blade as it was pulled from the man's skull, she wiped the dagger off on the grass beside the body and stood to survey the area. "Now where is number-" She ducked as a long, wooden arrow to hit the tree behind her at eye level. "Found you."

Sprinting in the opposite direction of the arrow, Nadia spotted the archer's cloak darting through the trees above her. Swinging onto a low hanging branch, she smothered the growl forming deep in her chest and jumped through the trees to tackle the archer to the ground. As they landed, she rolled out of the way and leapt to her feet. She didn't give the man another chance to shoot at her and rushed at him with her sword drawn. The steel pierced the soft cloth of the archer's cloak and broke through the poorly made armor beneath into the man's stomach. From behind her back, Nadia withdrew the same dagger she had earlier and ran it into his scalp.

With a sigh, Nadia pulled her sword out of the body and flicked her wrist to remove some of the blood from the blade. Sheathing the sword, she did the same with the dagger and tucked it back into the sheath on her back. "Two down." Deciding not to go further into the forest to search for the second swordsman, Nadia turned back to the road and ran until she could see Rose's horse. From her vantage point, she caught a glimpse of a man approaching the horse.

"Rosalynn!" She roared across the field to the princess as she lengthened her strides. Practically flying across the field, Nadia swore as the man's sword glinted in the sunlight. She saw red when the insignia of the elk of the man's cloak became visible. "Rosalynn!" Nadia was only feet away when the man's sword sliced through the air next to where Rose's head should have been. Lunging through the space between the bulky man and the princess, Nadia tackled the man to the ground and locked her arms around his throat as they rolled. As they came to a stop, Nadia tightened her grip on his neck and carefully stood to her feet. "Rose," she called behind her. "Can you grab the knife from my boot?" Footsteps approached as Rose came over and kneeled, grabbing the wicked looking blade.

Handing Nadia the blade, Rose winced at the blood pooling on Nadia's arm. "Are you alright? I could it for-"

"That's enough, Rose," Nadia cut across harshly.

Shoulders slumping slightly, Rose bit back the rising urge to turn and run. "Are you alright though?"

Nadia didn't respond, choosing instead to release her hold on the swordsman. She huffed as his limp body fell to the ground, presenting the knife sticking out of his neck. Nadia reached down to collect the blade and grimaced at the slave brand on his neck that matched the one on her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked again, watching as Nadia mechanically wiped the blade on the man's sleeve. "That looks like a lot of blood." She took a step closer to inspect the wound, but hesitated to get too close. "You should let me heal that."

Nadia shook her head free of the memories of her birthplace and turned to face the obviously concerned princess. "I'm fine, really. It's just a small cut probably from a rock. No need to worry or tire yourself with a healing." She stopped and turned to the setting sun. "We should move if we want to be there by nightfall." She whistled, waving her arm above her head and smiling as their horse meandered over. Catching the reins, Nadia gestured for Rose to climb onto the saddle.

As she steadied herself in the saddle of the horse, Rose sighed at Nadia's lack of response to her own injuries. "Why do you do that?" She asked as Nadia pulled on the reins, urging the horse to walk beside her.

Without looking back so that Rose wouldn't see her grin, Nadia scoffed. "Do what?"

"That," Rose exclaimed throwing her hands into the air. "That thing where you don't actually even answer my questions. Why do you do it?"

"I don't know what you mean," Nadia quipped, smothering a laugh that would surely irritate the princess.

Rose groaned at the typical nonchalant response, but was glad to see Nadia's eyes clear of whatever had been haunting her after seeing the swordsman. Lifting her head high like her father had taught her, she refused to acknowledge the grin she just knew Nadia to be wearing. "You are without a doubt the most frustrating guard I've ever had."

"Probably true," Nadia conceded as she kept pace with the horse at her side. She grinned brightly. "But I'm definitely the most entertaining of all the guards you've had."

Rose tried to muffle the laugh rising in her chest, but she knew Nadia had heard it from the grin that was sent her way. "Okay, so you are the first of my guards to be somewhat pleasant company, but-"

"And I'm the only guard you've had that actually uses their brain." Nadia grinned at the memory of when the previous captain of the king's guard challenged her for the job. He was furious that he had been demoted to make room for a criminal, let alone a nineteen year old assassin fresh out of the prison camps of Cambrig and let the fury make him stupid.

The king had ended Nadia's exile and released her from the prisons on the condition that she protect the princess and become Captain of the Royal Guard, demoting the previous captain, Steward Johnson, in the process. Johnson hadn't taken the respectable route and left peacefully. That would have been too dignified for the likes of him. He foolishly had demanded a duel to prove that he should have been the one guarding the princess and not the likes of someone who would kill the princess and flee as soon as they left the kingdom. The king had thought it to be an interesting notion and had granted the man's demands. The duel had been short and decisive in Nadia's favor, establishing once and for all that Nadia would be the one protecting the princess and that Johnson would be wise to consider going into an early retirement.

"You know that you only one that battle because he was too blinded by rage to think clearly," Rose announced, drawing Nadia from her musings.

Nadia barked a laugh. "You're probably right," she agreed. "If he had been thinking clearly, he wouldn't have challenged me at all." Ignoring Rose's mutterings of 'arrogant something or other' and stealing a glance behind them, Nadia sighed at the setting sun and urged the horse into a brisk trot before leaping onto the saddle behind Rose. "Sorry, Rosie, but we're running a little bit more behind than I had thought."

Rose nodded and let Nadia take control of the reins from behind her and slumped tiredly against her guard. "How long do you think it'll be until we arrive?"

Nadia didn't respond at first, letting out a low hum that to soothe the princess's anxious mind. Feeling the final drooping of the princess's shoulders, Nadia glanced down at her briefly. "Not too long. As soon as we pass the crossroads, we'll be there."

Rose mumbled a response too quiet for Nadia to understand and went limp in the saddle as sleep captured her. Nadia smiled and tightened her grip on the reins, securing the princess between her arms in the process. "Sleep well, little sister. For as soon as we reach Camelot, you will be too busy to rest and too cautious to be caught unaware." She pushed the steed to a pace fast enough to breach the walls by dark and lifted the hood of her cloak to cover her face, pulling the fabric of Rose's cloak tighter around her sleeping form. Eyeing the looming gates warily, she sighed. "Sleep well, indeed."