The journey back to the castle seemed to be both longer and shorter than the ride there. No one was cheering, and the only noises that could be heard from that group were the sounds of Lily crying into Kaitie's shoulder as they rode back. No one seemed to know what to say, so no one said anything at all. When they eventually reached the castle, Arthur offered to help the girls off their horse, but neither felt like the help and slid off with the same amount of grace as before, yet with the slight hindrance of grief. Once the horses had been taken to the stables, Arthur rushed the girls in for a late night audience with the king.
After hearing their story, the king looked between the two girls, and then directly at Kaitie. "Why didn't you tell us that you were so good with a bow and arrow?" he asked her, a slight expression of amusement on his face. "Well... M'lord, I haven't been completely honest with you." She could feel the atmosphere in the room change almost instantly after she said it, all eyes turning to look at her. Uther motioned for her to continue and she took a deep breath. "I wasn't really specific enough when I said that I was a friend of the Princess. I mean, I am her friend, and I didn't lie when I said that we have known each other our entire lives, but there was a small detail I left out. I'm just as much her friend as I am her guardian." Uther shifted in his seat, and she took it as a sign to continue. "I was born almost a year before Lily, and I have always been protective of her, even when we were little. When I was about 6, it didn't really come as a surprise to anyone when the suggestion that I be made Lily's guardian came up. Everyone agreed that I would make the perfect guardian, and I soon begun training. My mother was a physician and she taught me all I know about medicine. My father was a knight and taught me how to fight. I trained with the kingdom's army once a week, but mostly my job was just to be Lily's friend and be there if she needed someone. I mean, who would suspect a little girl?" she looked at Arthur, who simply looked surprised, then at the king to see what he would say. "That's where I recognized you from! I remember once visiting your kingdom shortly after my wife had died. You and Lily ran in, playing some version of tag. The queen introduced the two of you to me and I remember thinking how cute Lily was. I reached out to pinch her cheeks, and you slapped my hand away, and told me not to hurt her." His voice got quieter as he went deeper into his memories. "That was the first time I had laughed since my wife died. I knew I recognized you!" he had a large smile plastered over his face in triumph. Arthur looked up at his father and cleared his throat. "Father, if I may...?" the King motioned for him to continue "It's very late and Kaitie and Lily need sleep. May I take them up to their rooms?" Uther nodded and Arthur led the girls to side by side rooms. Although, once Arthur had left, Lily quickly moved over into Kaitie's room and cried herself to sleep, cuddled into her best friend.