((Lmao. I did imply that the King and Queen weren't exactly the best of people))
He looked back at her, smiling at the sight of her. "Yeah…" He blinked and quickly looked around the plains as they rode. "I like going out here whenever I can, and I have my favorite spots to visit." He shook his head at his odd behavior, teeth tapping on his lip ring absentmindedly.
"Unless those spots are secret, maybe you could show me them?" She raised an eyebrow, her smile growing as she tilted her head. His behavior seemed to slip past her unnoticed, something that was fairly common.
"Uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck, averting his gaze. "I've actually never taken anyone there, but there's a pond that I like to go to. It's probably my go-to spot whenever I want to have some me-time."
"Like I said, you don't have to show me." She said, blinking in slight confusion at his reaction. "Though it would be nice to see where the enigma known as Rhydar Gryffard disappears to, I understand wanting certain places to stay private."
He shook his head and clicked his tongue directing Kaspa towards a small grouping of trees and ushering for Lily to follow. "Though I don't see how I'm much of an enigma, I'll take you. You're free to go there if everything gets a little…much…around the palace," he offered, looking over his shoulder at Lily.
"I appreciate it, thank you." She said, giving him a soft smile. She was used to dealing with too much, but the backup was always nice. "And you're quite the enigma to anyone who doesn't know you. Part of the reason so many women are obsessed with you."
He snorted, paused, then snorted again. "While you may be right most of the time, I'm going to have to disagree with you there. Women are so obsessed with me—and my siblings—because we're royalty. Being the crown prince is just the cherry on top." He paused, then said, "And, ah, no problem. It at least gives us a destination."
"I did say part, did I not?" She pointed out, wrinkling her nose playfully. "And when did you decide I'm right most of the time?" She asked, raising an eyebrow, half out of confusion and half out of curiosity.
"May. But most of what you've said so far is at least partially true, in that I'm having a hard time with coming up with a counterargument." He shrugged. "That, or I'm just dumb." He lifted his head as a nice breeze came by, carrying with it the lovely scent of the wildflowers. He closed his eyes, just enjoying the sweet scent of nature in general.
"Not dumb. I just know how to argue." She said simply, stretching her arms up above her head. She'd been right, the fresh air had cleared most of the exhaustion from her mind. She grew quiet again, content to study her surroundings with a small, happy smile.
"Then I'd like to see a debate between you and Cinthia if that's the case," he said opening his eyes as Kaspa yanked at the reigns. The stallion was itching to go for a run, but Rhydar knew that that would be pushing their luck with Danzing's cooperation.
"I might be able to hold my own, but beyond that, I think she would win." Lily said, shaking her head. She eyed Kaspa for a moment, before looking back up at Rhydar. "You two usually run, right?"
He looked back over at her, turning in the saddle so that he was sitting backwards and looking at her full-on. "Yeah?" he said, arching a brow. "But I know that you're super lucky that Danzing's even letting you go out on a ride, let alone going on a run."
"I don't want to get in the way of your routines. Why not go on a run? Danzing and I will be fine hanging out." She said, fiddling with the ring again as she frowned. "I know both of you enjoy the runs."
He waved his hand dismissively. "Taking it easy won't hurt anything. The big baby will get to blow off steam later." He remained sitting backwards on the saddle, seemingly unaffected by the lack of control he has over where Kaspa was going. But he knew these hills, and he would know if the troublesome stallion strayed off course.
"Are you sure?" She asked, tilting her head as the guilt flashed across her face for a moment. "I really, really don't want to be a burden." Her voice had regained the soft uncertainty that it did occasionally, most notably last night.
He shook his head, looking at her in earnest. "You're not a burden. This change of pace is nice—I can actually appreciate the great outdoors without it being a green and occasionally rainbow blur." He tried for a warm smile, trying to ease her worry and uncertainty.
She studied his face for a moment before nodding, if a bit hesitantly. "If you decide you want to run, don't let me stop you." She said softly, biting her lip as she looked down at her hands.
"Trust me, I won't. I hardly ever let people stop me from doing what I want," he said, referring to his thieving habits. His face seemed to fall slightly at her change of mood, not liking how…quiet and small she suddenly seemed.
"Gods, I'm sorry." She said, shaking her head as she still kept her eyes on her hands. "I'm quite the mood dampener, apparently." She said, spinning the ring around her finger as she looked up at him, not quite meeting his eyes.
"No, it's just…I like you better when you're smiling." He silently cursed himself for not having a better response to that, but he wasn't exactly the best at verbal comfort. She wasn't necessarily a mood dampener, but he was slightly concerned with her change of demeanor.
She blinked, her fiddling coming to a halt. She'd been, if anything, expecting him to agree, not say that he liked her smile better than her attempts at receding into the shell she'd built for herself. Hesitantly, she straightened her back, chewing on her bottom lip. "I-you do?"
He opened his mouth, the usual denials or jokes that waved it off queueing up at the tip of his tongue, then falling away as soon as he went to speak. He pursed his lips and licked his lip ring, saying a "Yeah, I do," softly.
"Oh." She obviously wasn't too sure what to do with that information. She reached up, tucking a loose tendril of hair behind her ear as a small, faint smile played on her lips. "I'll…try to keep that in mind?"
He offered a lopsided smile. "Please do. You're a lot cuter when you look happy," he said right before he turned back around in the saddle—it was getting really uncomfortable.