The Royalty gets a Bodyguard.

Alice kept near them, settling down on the blanket. "That is quite a long time ago, Your Majesty." She hummed, slowly unwinding her tousled braid and combing through the long brown strands. Alice would need to re-braid it tighter so that it didn't come partially undone on the ride back to the palace.

Taryn nodded. "Taryn here, really, there's no one here. I've never told anyone how to get here," they said, looking over at Alice. "I actually got here on accident, Rowan, my horse, got out of control and we ended up here one of the first times I rode her," they said, a small smile of amusement grossing their face.

Alice smiled faintly, decided to leave her hair loose for now. "Horses, I've noticed, do tend to have a mind of their own. The last time I rode one I ended up in a very cold, very muddy lake and the horse nowhere to be found."

Taryn nodded, "They seem to do that don't they," they said, running ahand through their now free hair. "I'm sorry for the loss of the horse though, I hope its okay," they said absently, not willing to think about any more death.

Alice shrugged, combing through the ends of her hair. "I found the beast waiting for me about a mile away. It seemed to be in fine condition, much better than I was at the time. I eventually returned it to the stable I temporarily... borrowed... it from."

Taryn nodded. They completely however, missed that Alice meant stole, and assumed she actually borrowed it. "Well at least you both were okay," they said, feeling a lot more relaxed out of the pressures of the castle, which was evident from their posture.

"Do you want something to eat?" They asked, gesturing awkwardly at the basket, trying to hide whatever blush might cross thier face.

"Okay, if a bit wet." Alice agreed, nodding. When they asked about food she considered for a good long second whether she needed to eat or not, eventually settling on yes. If someone came to kill them, she'd need her energy; providing the assassin was actually competent. "Perhaps something small, Your- T..aryn."

Taryn nodded. "Take anything you like," they said, moving the basket to Alice. They smiled a little at Alice, feeling a little bit awkward. Their eyes dropped to their hands, and the typical fidgeting began, as it did usually during silence, or when their brain was occupied.

Alice selected an apple from the basket, rolling it back and forth between her hands and absently rubbing a thumb over the bright red skin before slipping a knife from a holster in her boot and cutting into the supple flesh. She offered a slice of apple to Taryn after she finished cutting it into eighths. "Would you like some?" She asked.

Taryn watched Alice carve the apple for a moment, throughly enthralled with the blade as it cut the apple, although they couldn't place why. Alice's words broke their train of thought. "Oh, um, no thanks, there's plenty in here," they said, blushing a little. "Where don't you keep knives?" they asked curiously, then blushed furiously as their mind took them to some not so innocent places.

Alice giggle, smiled slyly, and shrugged, popping a slice of apple into her mouth. She swallowed, licking a drop of juice from the corner of her mouth. "My hair doesn't have any, although I do have a few rather pointy bobby pins in case of emergencies."

Taryn blushed. "I uh...that uh, alright, uh,"they stammered their way through a few more uhs before finally saying "I didn't mean to come off so, so yea." They looked away, playing with the hem of their dress to avoid embarrassing themselves farther, although their face was as red as the apple Alice was eating.

Alice hid a smile behind the long sweep of her hair, shrugging. "It's perfectly alright." She picked through the chunks of apples one at a time, eating them slowly and savouring the tart, bright taste of them on her tongue.

Taryn looked back up at her. "I hope you don't mind that I sort of dragged you out to the middle of no where," they said, desperate to not feel embarrassed anymore, but that wasn't really succeeding. "I just needed a break from everything." They picked up a small sandwhich and nibbled on it, not really savoring the flavor, but eating for the sake of it.

"I don't mind in the slightest. I... I find the quiet to be soothing. Easier to hear things when it is not so loud. I grew up in a rather small town, more in the country than anything else." Alice admitted. "And if I thought my time could be better spent, I'd not be here. But I'm perfectly happy to be here with- with you."

Taryn smiled a little, looking at her, the blush already splayed over their face again. "Really? I mean, what do you mean with me?" they asked very quickly, unsure of how exactly to take that. Sure Alice was their body gaurd, but Taryn felt a much stronger connection, but perhaps that was nothing.

Alice felt her cheeks burning, a sure sign that a blush was making its way steadily across her face, and kept her face ducked, her eyes lowered. "I- You're good company." She mumbled, picking at the remaining core of her apple. "I- it- you- you're good company." Alice repeated, unsuccessfully trying not to fidget. It'd been a long time since she'd tried to articulate any type of emotion other than blanket rage and she wasn't particularly good at it.

Taryn raised an eyebrow. "Good company? I wasn't aware you kissed good company," they said, finding themselves disappointed in Alice's answer, not sure what that meant exactly. They continued to nibble on the sandwich, not sure what else to do with themselves. They finished the sandwich a little quicker than they expected so instead they just let their hands return to the hem of their dress.

Alice gnawed on her bottom lip, flinching slightly at the sting. She'd all but forgotten the mottled bruise on the side of her face and the raw split on her mouth. "I don't. That is I- what I meant was-" Prodding the now bleeding cut on her mouth, Alice tried to figure out how to articulate herself. Not her strong suit. Wondered why she was bothering to try and explain herself at all. "I---" It was the first time she'd stuttered since she was a little girl. "I---"

"What did you mean?" asked Taryn softly, inching closer to her. They weren't sure what to expect from this, nor had this been the reason that they took Alice out here. They hesitantly reached out one hand, placing it on her leg, unsure how that would go, but wanted to provide some sort of comfort or display of physical trust.

Alice listed into their touch a bit, but her eyes stayed fixed on her hands and her head bent low. "I- that is what I meant was I- I'm very- and you're-" Talking about how she might feel, Alice realized, was a great deal harder than she remembered. She didn't care for it at all. But they were asking. So Alice would try. "I'mveryattractedtoyou." She whispered, fast and a little like something approaching shy.

Taryn thought they caught when Alice said, but honestly wasn't sure. "What did you say?" they asked quietly, their grip tightening ever so slightly. They moved slightly closer still to Alice, trying to act like they weren't super invested in the answer.

Alice kept chewing on her lips, thought about how this was terrible and wondered why anyone ever engaged in conversation at all if this was what it was like. "I'm just very attracted to you." Alice mumbled, quiet but clear, keeping her hands clenched in fists in her lap.

Taryn moved her hand from Alice's leg to Alice's hands, resting them on top of the clenched fist. "As I am to you,' Taryn said quietly, staring at the combination of hands that was now in Alice's lap. They were hoping for a little bit more emotions, but they figured one thing at a time.

Alice flickered her eyes up to look at them for a second, wide and surprised, mouth parted slightly.  "You- I-... oh.  I... I hadn't thought you- oh."  Despite the moments of physicality between them, Alice hadn't really considered the possibility that she might be more than just convenient to them, although she'd been alright with that.