Farah lowered her eyes as Gwen spoke of her father. She took a steadying breath before looking the princess in the eyes again. "He's… not easy to be around," she supplied quietly. But she matched Gwen's smile with her own. "Of course, my lady," she said simply. "I am in your service."
“That's one way of putting it.” Gwen shook her head with a soft snort as Farah agreed with her. “But you don't have to call me that either. Just Gwen is fine. And until I return, you're in no one’s service… But I would like to call you my friend.”
Farah cringed a moment. "Right. Sorry. Protocol… it's the first thing you learn when you're in training to be a guard. That way you don't mess up if a member of the royal family should speak to you."
At Gwen's comment, Farah nearly shook her head. As much as Gwen continuously was trying to dodge her royal title out here, she was still the princess, a part of the crowned family. And Farah had sworn herself into service at the wholesome age of ten. It wasn't exactly a contract she could break.
"I should like that," she murmured, sounding a bit shy. "I should like that very much."
“It's ok. I understand that you're used to using those titles.” Gwen assured, having suspected that such a thing was part of the knight’s training. But she smiled as she heard Farah’s softly spoken words. “I’m glad. I never really had many friends.” she replied just as softly.
Farah sighed quietly, grateful for Gwen's understanding. "Me too," she added. "I was friendly with several other squires and knights, but I wouldn't necessarily call them my friends. I should like to have you as a friend, Gwen." A smile pulled at her lips, and she let it spread to the rest of her expression.
“That's too bad. You seem like a friendly person.” Gwen pointed out, matching Farah’s smile, and felt herself relax a little more. “Thank you.”
Farah noted Gwen's body language as she relaxed, slowly allowing herself to do the same. "Thank you," she accepted the compliment shyly. "You seem to be a very friendly person too."
Gwen chuckled and shrugged. “Part of that is I’m actually allowed to speak. To say what's on my mind.” she admitted. Though she had always been able to speak at the palace, she had to be very careful how she said anything. At the time it was easier to just stay quiet. “Being part of a community like this, you learn to be more social.” she smiled, thinking about the tribe… her family.
"I suppose you're right," Farah agreed easily. "Though… I've never been good at being social. My mother always told me I was 'too standoffish to attract a man.'" The knight rolled her eyes.
Once, Farah asked her mother to explain how she was even supposed to attract a man. Her mother's response had been something along the lines of "look pretty and act intelligent enough." Farah had asked her if that was how she attracted Farah's father, and then she'd promptly been slapped across the face.
Gwen raised a brow at the words before looking Farah up and down. “And yet she married General Dowling. I don't think she has room to criticize.” she said, referring to how cold the General always seemed to be.
Farah blushed instantly at the up-and-down the princess gave her before bursting into laughter. "You aren't wrong," she giggled, shaking her head at Gwen's words. "But I doubt they were ever in love. My mother is a social climber, and my father is the king's general. I think you understand my meaning."
Gwen smiled at the fact that she made Farah laugh and nodded at the explanation. “Yeah, I've seen quite a few of those relationships before. Honestly, I could never understand those kind of people. What's the point of marrying for status if you aren't going to do anything useful with it?”
"I know," Farah blurted before her eyes widened suddenly and she covered her mouth. "I shouldn't have said that," she mumbled through her hand.
Gwen smiled at Farah’s initial statement, only to raise a brow at the way she pulled away. “Why not? It's just you and me here. No one else in Olarien is going to find out what we say.” she pointed out.
For some reason, Gwen's words made Farah turn bright pink. "I-I suppose you're right," she said after lowering her hand. "I'm not used to such…" She hesitated a moment, trying to think of the word. "Privacy?"
“Really?” Gwen asked, raising a brow slightly. “I guess I am more used to it. In the palace, most people didn't approach me except to tell me that my father was looking for me.” she almost laughed at the irony of her statement before continuing. “But I do remember the feeling that everything I ever did was being watched.”
Farah smiled sadly. "I can somewhat relate to that. My mother and father wanted me to be the best, no matter the cost. Everyone I spoke to and every conversation I had was somehow reported back to them if one of them wasn't there to oversee it themselves. But even then, my interactions with others were minimal outside of training."
“That's… actually terrifying.” Gwen winced. “My father also followed a similar mindset, wanting the best for me. Though he did that by making most of the decisions for me.” she sighed. “Maybe when we do return, we can change a few things for both of us.”
Farah laughed shortly. "You have no idea." But her eyes softened. "That isn't any better though. You deserve to make your own decisions, Gwen. I understand now why you don't want to go back yet… and as I've already said, I won't force you to until you're ready. Hopefully you're right."
“And I thank you again for letting me stay until then.” Gwen smiled gratefully. “I promise to repay you.”
"Of course," Farah replied automatically, though her mind was running through her parents' potential reactions to disobeying her orders. Specifically, her father. "That's not necessary," the young knight added.
“I insist.” Gwen smiled. “You could have tried to haul me away because my father told you to bring me back. I can't say it would have ended well for either of us if you did.” she added with a light laugh. “But instead, you chose to let me stay until I'm ready. That means a lot to me.”
Farah cracked a small smile again. "I'd have to agree with that. From what I can tell, you're just about as stubborn as I am. And really, Your– uh, Gwen. It's no problem at all. I don't want to have to force you into a role you're not ready to fill." Because that's exactly what happened to me.
Gwen laughed at d being called stubborn but she wasn't going to deny it in this case. Before she could say anything in reply, however, there was a light tap at one of the wooden posts near the entrance of her tent. “Corvin?” she called out, fairly sure of her guess.
"Yes, it's me. Sorry to interrupt," Corvin said as he poked his head in on the two, "but I thought it would be a good idea to bring these over for you, Farah, if you plan to stay with Gwen for a while." he stated, holding a single bedroll in his arms.
Farah jumped at the tap, ready to jump up and into action, but she relaxed when she realized it was only Corvin. "Oh, yes. I suppose you're right," she said kindly. She rose to her feet and approached him to take the bedroll. "Thank you."