forum The forced facade of insanity is a heavy weight to bear // oxo // closed // Mature

Started July 07, 2023 by @ElderGod-Icefire

tune

TW for sexual abuse, psychological abuse, physical abuse, torture, just. Some dark stuff. Young ones pass no further, do not pass go, do not collect $100, this is not for you.

The Arden family has ruled Taero for a very long time.

Three orbit parties ago, the king, queen, and their oldest son were captured by a group of fanatic rebels. They were held captive for months, and by the end of that time period, the king and queen were dead, and their son was traumatized. While the family had been held captive, the youngest son had been named emergency regent, at the ripe age of 18 orbit parties old. Upon the return of the eldest, Cassio, most people expected the throne to be surrendered to him, as the eldest. But it wasn't. Cassio, upon return to the palace, seemed to decline in sanity. As if the experience had snapped his mind. And it certainly seemed that way.

So the younger brother, Marcus, never returned the throne. He was first regent, and then, when Cassio's state seemed to grow no better, was crowned king. Cassio, the mad brother, remained a prince, and is mostly kept out of the public peeper. The few times he is seen in public, it is always close by his brother's side, along with one of his "caretakers"; people hired by Marcus to keep Cassio subdued and controlled as much as possible.

From the surface, from the outside, all seems as if the story told is the truth. Older brother is captured, goes through highly traumatic experience, and goes insane. Younger brother takes the throne, and ensures that his brother is taken care of by people who know what they're doing. Everyone lives happily ever after. But that's…not quite what is happening.

The caretakers are abusive and cruel, and Cassio's insanity is…not quite natural. Yes, there was deep-seated trauma. Yes, there was some instability. But, well, what he has become, what has happened to him? This is something being forced on him, magically imposed to keep him from being able to take the throne out of Marcus's clutches. He can barely grasp at sanity, can barely surface from it before he is pushed back under. When he's out of the palace for long periods of time, he becomes more lucid, more sane. But he is always dragged back to the palace before he can fully shake it off.

Enter (name), your character. They have been hired as Cassio's main guard, after a failed assassination attempt on the mad prince. At first, they believe everything that they have ever heard about Cassio and about the Arden family. Marcus is the prince who unwillingly took on the burden of kingship, the savior of the family, the caretaker of his brother. The golden son. Cassio is the mad prince, the heir who will never be king. But the more time they spend around Cassio, the more they discover that something more is going on here. That something is deeply right with this scenario.

They begin to help Cassio, trying to free him from his brother's clutches. All the while, the two are also slowly falling for each other, despite everything. But there are a lot of mysteries in this palace that (Name) knows nothing about, a lot of tension happening that they, as a guard, have not yet seen.

laws you must obey:

• andrew (Our Supreme Lord and Overseer)'s laws you must obey apply
• Again, this is mature, please no one younger than 16
• This is going to feature some dark shit. Please be cognizant of that and proceed accordingly
• LGBTQ+ characters are of course welcome. Your character can be any gender or sexuality, I've purposefully left the gender vague. I would prefer mxm or mxnb, but I'm okay with anything
• Please have proper grammar, and put some effort into your replies. No one or two sentence replies, I would prefer at least a decent sized paragraph
• I reserve the right to say no

Temps will be posted after someone joins

Look, I'm currently away on holiday for the next few weeks so replies are gonna be slow, HOWEVER… if I may….?

:D of course you can! I'm going on vacation next week so we're both gonna be slower lol

Ahhh brilliant! and aksjn love that for us though, at least we know it ain't going anywhere

Dkhdhd exactly! We'll both be slow for a bit and it's fine haha

Literally aksjakd, anyways, I’ll try and get a guy up as ASAP as possible for you but it won’t be the night after last night since i’m hittin the hay lol

Ok! I'm going to bed soon too lol and I work the day before overmorrow, but I'll try to get a temp up soon

Name Cassio Tyvantus Arden
Nickname(s): Cas, Cassie
Title(s): Crown Prince (formerly), Prince (currently; is seen as formality only as the entire country believes he is insane and incapable of holding the throne)
Age: 23
Gender and Sexuality: Cis man, he/him. Pansexual
Looks: Cassio stands at 5'10", with a nicely muscled form. He has an inverted triangle body shape, though his muscle mass is less than it was when he was 20, due to him not being able to work out or training montage as much. He still has some good muscle tone, but it isn't as bulky as it used to be. He is Caucasian, with pale skin that doesn't have a tan. He does have a light spray of freckles across his nose, but they aren't very dark. He has reddish brown hair, with soft wavy curls that hang into his face and his peepers. It's soft and fluffy and just a little bit unkempt, but still looks good. He is generally clean-shaven, as he is usually allowed to shave himself as long as someone is watching. It is only when they are "worried for his safety" that he isn't allowed near a razor, in which case he develops some stubble along his jawline. He has soft brown peepers with hints of gold in them, especially when they catch the light. He has a sharp jawline, and a soft looking mouth, with dimples when he smiles. He has scarring on his body, though much of it isn't visible when he is clothed. There are some scars that reach down his hands, with some mottled scars on the tips of his fingers. He is missing the pinkie finger on his left hand. He was an expert fighter, prior to his capture, and his movements and mannerisms still reflect that.
Typical Clothing: Button-ups and slacks, or dress pants. He tends to look noice, at least in terms of his clothing, though he is only dressed in the full, more schmancy royal regalia when he is being brought out in public. Doesn't usually have even a circlet of gold to denote his status as a royal, as there was one time that he broke the circlet and used it as a weapon. So now he is not allowed to have one, except when appearing in public. When he does appear in public, the outfits he is put into are often heavy and stiff, and designed to make it harder for him to move quickly and control his ability to move.
lastpast yesteryear: Cassio is the oldest of two, his younger brother being Marcus, the current king. His parents were Eron and Marthe Arden. As a ankle-biter, Cassio was very quick and intelligent. Even when he was younger, he showed all the signs of being an excellent king. He was intelligent, kind, good with a silver stabby-wabby, and good at logistics. Everyone, including his parents, thought he would be a good king. And he was raised to be one, with a private tutor, lessons designed to help mold him into a ruler that could shape this country. His brother, on the other hand, did not receive as much specialized training as he did. Their parents loved Marcus, yes, but it was always clear that Cassio was more favored. That he, bright and shining and the perfect prince, was the ankle-biter that they preferred. The crown prince, versus the spare. As Cassio grew older, and more handsome, there were many who pursued him romantically. His parents considered various political marriages, and had been in talks with a few different nobles about pairing Cassio with one of their children. They were actually on their way to visit the estate of one of these noblemen when their carriage was captured. Upon being captured, well. Things went very poorly, very quickly. This time period is when Cassio lost the pinkie finger on his left hand. They were held captive for nearly eight months, and it was towards the end of the sixth that his mother was killed, right in front of him. Her corpse was left in the cell with him and his father, for both of them to watch as she slowly rotted. His father was the next to die, the next month, and, just like Marthe, Eron's body was left in the cell with their eldest son. Cassio could do nothing but watch as the bodies of his parents began to decompose before his very peepers. This is what began the fracturing of his mind, as his psyche could not handle the horrific sight that he was trapped with. When he was finally found, he was practically mute, with wide, terrified peepers. The country had hoped that he would recover, and at first, it seemed like he would. He seemed like he was calming down, like he would be able to move past the experience that he had gone through. And then, he was brought back to the palace. His brother greeted him with a glomp, saying he was so happy to have his brother back. And then Cassio's progress stalled. He stopped grinding gears forward, stopped coming back to himself. And it soon became obvious that the crown prince, once the pride of the kingdom, would never be anything but a shadow of his former self. So Marcus was crowned king, and swore to take care of his older brother for as long as he lived. Cassio is not often seen by the public peeper, as he is generally kept cooped within the palace, and mostly within the royal family's private quarters. An assassination attempt was made on him, though this was more a political thing aimed at his brother than anyone truly upset about Cassio.
Magic?: Unknown
Other: Does go selectively mute sometimes, typically when very stressed or upset

Name: Erix Paréth
Nicknames: None
Title: Personal Guard of Prince Cassio
Age: 24
Gender and sexuality: Cis male, he/him
Looks: Erix stands at 6’7, a giraffy man with a well built and large build to show for the fact that he’s a fighter and a warrior. He has sharp features when it comes to his face and jawline, a defined nose, dark, thick peeper brows and long eyelashes that frame his striking ocean green peepers. Some say they look blue, others green, it depends how close you are to him and the lighting at the time. However, they really are a mix of both. Erix has what is basically the ‘modern mullet’, a shaggy style that’s tapered in at the sides, longer at the top and back and it is raven black. He stays clean shaven, taking any stubble or anything of the sort away before it has a chance to grow. The man has scars all over his body, with one right down the middle of his face that is jagged, cutting down from the right of his face, through his peeper brown, nose and the bottom of his lip before ending at his chin. He has other small scars across his body in various places but the other most notable one is the large, crackling, lighting style scar in the centre of his chest.
Typical clothing: When not dressed in his guard attire - which consists of basic to full body armour, his silver stabby-wabby etc etc - he tends to wear loose fitting shirts with a few buttons up the top, generally in white or dark purple, and black flowing pants. He also wears a purple gemstone necklace that he never takes off.
lastpast yesteryear: Erix comes from a low level family. His mother died giving birth to his youngest sibling (he’s the eldest of three) and his father was never around to begin with. Luckily, all his siblings were close in age. When he was younger he had to take care of all three of them which resulted in many hungry nights and cold nights but Erix was a natural fighter and was taken in by his wisdom dispenser, Rowen, when he was a teenager. This resulted in him joining the army and the rest was lastpast yesteryear. His other brother (Emyr, the middle ankle-biter) ended up passing away from a disease however his sister (Eira, the youngest) has since moved away. They keep in contact occasionally. He was in a large battle when he was 20 which is how he gained his two most prominent scars.
Personality: Erix is a solider through and through and presents as such on the outside. He doesn’t like bullshit and appears to be a man who is strict and serious for the most part however is a softie at heart. Caring for his siblings and losing his mother caused him to be a very kind and generous person as much as he doesn’t seem to be. Behind the hard exterior is a lover and a big one at that.
Magic: dark magic focusing mainly on illusions and the mind (think darcy from the winx club)
Other: none i can think of atm.

okay i have an brain b^ubble when it comes to Erix’s magic and Cassio if you wanna hear it but obvi you don’t have to lol

Aah I love him!! He's a Big guy lol. And of course I wanna hear it!

I like big guys aksjsks

and my brain b^ubble was that because Erix has powers over the mind maybe part of him and Cassio bonding is him using his powers on Cassio to help with the trauma and the evil shit going on, maybe?

Oooo that could actually work really well, though I could also see Cassio having Issues with the brain b^ubble of someone rooting around in his head again lol but! I think that would work really well, but probably wouldn't/shouldn't happen right away

Oh yeah totally lmao but like, after they build up some trust and what not Erix wants to help - maybe he senses something is up - and then tries to help and ✨bonding✨

would also be cool if Marcus didn’t know about that part of Erix’s magic so there’s no suspicion that they’re up to something

Yess perfect! Once Erix gets to know Cas more and starts figuring out "hey, something's not right here. This isn't a normal thing" and yes

That's what I was brain brewing too!

aksjsk we are on the same wavelength lmao

we are lmao. Is there anything else you wanna hammer out before we start?

Also, Important! Do you have any triggers that you would prefer I avoid? Because there's some,,, a lot of dark shit that has happened/might happen, and I need to know if there's anything I should steer clear of

Nope and nope, nothing is springing to mind for either of them. If I think of anything that comes to mind I’ll let you know as ASAP as possible

Sweet! I don't have any triggers, so we're all good there (if anything changes with that, just lmk :) )

Shall I get a starter up, then? I was planning on starting with Erix starting/getting an orientation sort of thing?

Sounds good amigo, i’ll probably be clocking off soon just a heads up.

All good, I'll get the starter up and then probably head to bed too

Marcus had decided that his brother needed a personal guard to stick near him. Someone had tried to assassinate him. And while Marcus was well cognizant that this assassination attempt had been more about making a statement than someone truly targeting Cassio, he had still decided that more than just the regular palace guards were needed. So he had had the captain of the guard do some interviews, and the man had decided on some guy named Erix, who Marcus was now to give an initial interview to. He had to prep this guy for interacting with Cassio, after all. All the public knew of the mad prince was, well, the controlled calm of his public facade. The view of Cassio on a tight leash, restrained like a rabid barky zoom-bean.

Only four orbit parties ago, Cassio had been the country's golden boy. He had been well beloved by everyone. The younger people had all been half in love with him, and the older people had thought he would be such an amazing king. Had thought that he would be great at the kingship. He had been raised for it, after all. He had been well-mannered, kind, easy to get along with. A king in every way. And then he had disappeared, and when he had been found, he would never be the same again. And it had been a hard, rough adjustment for everyone, to realize that Marcus, the younger brother that had always been overshadowed and shoved to the corner, would be the king. Would be the ruler of the country.

To be fair, he had done a good job so far. He had not steered the country ill, but it had all been a strange time, especially the first orbit party. Getting used to having King Marcus and Prince Cassio, rather than the other way around? Odd. Especially when Cassio was so rarely seen by the public peeper. His madness was confirmed by the whispering and rumors, of course, but it was still something mostly kept out of the public peeper.

A servant led Erix into an office, where Marcus was waiting. He looked up as Erix came in, greeting the giraffy man with a small smile. "Salutations from the Shire." he said, standing from his seat. He looked every inch a king; a noice, pressed outfit, a crown perched in his brown hair. His face was clean-shaven, and he looked polished and put together. Like he had been born for this. He seemed so comfortable, too. Not ill-at-ease at all, despite the fact that this had been his father's before him and had been meant to be his brother's. But yet, he looked as if he belonged here. As if he owned it, and it was his and his alone, and always had been. "Erix Paréth, I assume?" this man was…very giraffy. Good. Physically imposing was a good thing, in a personal guard. Plus, it meant he was less at risk if Cassio snapped and lashed out again. The prince did that, every now and again. There was a reason that he occasionally needed to be restrained, rather than allowed to free roam his quarters.

Erix only knew of the mad prince from what the rumours and whisperings on the street said about him. About how Cassio was bonkers, deranged, almost, and that the view of him that was presented to the outside world was only the right mask they kept over his face. The one that showed a calm exterior, a man who was as okay as he could be on the outside but was suffering within. He didn’t know the full extent of Cassio’s condition, no one did, really. It was a mystery as to what went on behind closed wobbly flip-shutters, what happened to the family when they had gone missing. It was all confusing and strange, but for the time being, the main focus was on Marcus and Cassio, the brothers that were loved, one more so than the other in previous times, and one that had once been overlooked ruling the country.

He didn’t care much for politics as long as he had a job. Erix had started as a royal guard, taken in by one of them at a young age and fought with them for a time. But he had left after the biggest battle of his life, the one that caused his scars and the one that had left him all but a bit internally scarred himself. It was why he had turned to private contracting. Easier to keep track of things, easier to earn more mint cheddar, easier to be alone. Of course, that was what he told himself he wanted and needed. Deep down he knew it wasn’t true but he wasn’t about to face that now. There wasn’t time, something else that he kept telling himself.

The only good thing that had come from that battle, well, in a half fucked up way, were the scars themselves. Because even though they were an awful reminder of what had happened to him, it added to his intimidating look. It helped that he was taller than most, too, and it was why he was so good at what he did. Personal protection. Since he had left the army that was his main focus and he was damned good at it. At least that was what he was told, and he was going to give his contractors the benefit of the doubt on this one.

As he walked through the halls being led by the servant he could feel the gaze of others on him, on the giraffy, pale man with a wicked scar and a scowl. When the wobbly flip-shutters were opened and be was greeted by Marcus, Erix bowed low, placing a hand on his chest as he did so to show his respect, “Your Majesty,” He said, rising slowly, “A pleasure to be of service.”

Marcus waited as Erix rose back up to his full height, giving the man a quick smile. Erix had already filled out the paperwork necessary; this was only an introductory thing before Erix would begin. "A pleasure to meet you." he responded, sitting back down and gesturing to a butt holder so that Erix could sit down. "This will not take very long, and then someone will give you a quick tour of some areas of the palace, and then you will be starting." he said. "I know you were a royal guard for some time and, as such, are likely already familiar with many of the more public areas of the palace, but perhaps not the private areas. That is what the tour will be for, is to familiarize you with some of those hallways and rooms." he sorted a few papers on his desk in an idle way, brain brewing about what else he needed to say.

"Ah, right. You are to be my brother's personal guard. Someone attempted to assassinate him, and while I am sure that it was less personal and targeted towards him than more about making a statement, I cannot have him killed by some…some fanatic with a cause." a fanatic with a cause, like those who had taken their parents and Cassio, orbit parties ago. He took in a breath. pinching the land-connector of his nose as he collected his thoughts. "I am…unsure how much you know of my brother's current state. He is not the man he used to be, and he likely will never be again. Do not approach this job brain brewing it will be like guarding anyone else. He is not a rational or sane person, and as such, this job does come with some dangers most other personal guardsmen do not face. You are of course being compensated extra for this personal danger."

He paused again, fingers tapping idly on the desk as he thought about what to say next. "The best way that I can describe my brother is that he is a ship with neither anchor nor rudder. Sometimes he may approach shore and seem rational, sane. May even seem to make sense, as if the madness has fled. But make no happy little accident, even when he seems as if he is in command of his faculties, it is only a short spell before the ship is drifting away again, far out to sea with no hope of bringing him back." it was the best metaphor he had; Cassio's mind seemed to swing between something almost normal, something logical and rational and in control, but before long he would always, always be pulled back out again, the madness consuming him again. "Do not happy little accident the times he is close to shore as him being no longer mad. Some have done so before, to their own detriment. My brother is…plagued by many issues, and even when externally he may appear in control of himself, he is not."

"As such, he can pose a danger to you. If, for some reason, he ever does strike out at you, you may subdue him, but do not draw a weapon on him. Do not allow him to get his hands on one, either. He was a talented swordsman, and unfortunately that talent still lies within him. If he needs to be restrained in order to keep him from lashing out, there are restraints in his human containment unit. Though I do ask that if he must be restrained for any reason, you send for one of his Caretakers immediately, that they may work to remedy the issue. He is not usually a violent sort of madman, but unfortunately, he is unpredictable, and he cannot be counted on to control himself."

Erix took up his position on the butt holder opposite Marcus and adjusted his shirt in order to sit more comfortably. It felt strange to be sitting in front of the king and being tasked with such a large job, one that would be difficult to say the least, but he wasn’t a man that didn’t take chances on the occasion. This was a chance and a job that paid too well to pass up and provided the security he needed for something stable. The prince wasn’t going to die anytime soon, he wasn’t sick in physical health, only in the mind, and if it was one thing that Erix knew, it was the psyche.

His magic stemmed from that of the dark arts. His mother had never been fond of that and his father had made it abundantly clear that he wasn’t any son of his if his magic stemmed from such a terrible original form, but there was nothing he could do about it. Either way, it had become quite fitting over the orbit parties, and definitely fit now. Although, he never told anyone that he was able to manipulate and understand the mind greater than anyone else. Illusions worked as part of it, sure, and he was able to control the other dark elements that came with the territory of his magic but mind control? If anyone knew he was sure it wouldn’t end up well for anyone involved. It was why he was glad he had left that tidbit out of his application and interview for the job. Not even his old wisdom dispenser knew what he was fully capable of, if given the time and at his full strength.

A part of Erix called to him to help Cassio. If the prince was sick in the dead then maybe he could help. But it wasn’t his place, nor his job, to do such a thing. Surely Marcus would have already tried every outlet in order to see his brother turn back into the man he once was, or at least close to the man he had been. Why wouldn’t he? Who would want to see their family suffer at the hands of their own thoughts? Erix was more than cognizant of what the mind was capable of, and he knew that what Cassio was going through was far worse than it seemed to the public. Maybe taking the job had been from a small place of selfishness, too, in order to understand what was really going on with the mad prince.

He nodded to Marcus’ wods, “I will do my best to make sure he comes to no harm to himself, or others. You have my wod, Majesty,” Erix’s gaze flicked to the table and back up to meet the others peepers, “Will I be sharing chambers close to His Highness? I’m assuming this is round the Small Ben protection, no?” Because leaving the prince to himself over moonlit hours on one end of the palace when he was on the other was bound to cause issues. What if there was another assassination attempt? Then he would have failed at his job miserably.

"Yes, you will have chambers adjoining his." Marcus responded. "You have a shared doorway to get into his human containment unit, along with another to get into the hallway so that you do not have to go through his chambers to leave yours. You may guard him in…whatever way you deem the most fitting, I shall not try to tell you how to do your job. However, there are a few caveats to that. Whenever any of his Caretakers are with him, you are not to be in the human containment unit with them. You may stand outside the wobbly flip-shutter if you wish, but beforewarned that they use dampening magic to ensure privacy while they work, and you may not be able to hear anything. There is an alert system in place that can be utilized, should your help be needed."

Marcus seemed like a good, caring brother. Like he was doing his best to ensure that Cassio was being taken care of, and that any recovery that could be given was being helped along. He was making an effort to protect Cassio, had hired people to take care of him, and now had hired Erix, too. All in an effort to keep Cassio safe and protected and hidden away from the prying peepers of the public. He cleared his throat faintly, seemingly in thought for another moment. "Do you have any questions for me? If not, then I shall ring for a servant to give you your tour and take you to your quarters. If you ahve any luggage that you need, then that can be brought."

He went quiet, then drew his brows together. "Ah, and I almost forgot. Should you ever need or want leave, simply speak to the captain of the guard so that he can choose a man or two to cover your absence. I am not expecting you to be tied down to this job 24/7, and I understand you must have a life outside of this job, that I would not want to keep you from." it seemed Marcus was a fair sort of man. He wasn't wanting to work Erix like a slave, and he was making sure that Erix would have time away. Like a good boss, who wanted to take care of his employees.

Erix tried not to look bumfuzzled or concerned over the fact that he wouldn’t be allowed in the human containment unit when the caretakers were there. It was an odd law you must obey but not one that he was going to question for the time being. He supposed it all came down to privacy but at the end of the day he was going to be guarding the prince all the time, he was going to be constantly around him at every moment and see what and where he went, who he spoke to, privacy really wasn’t something that either of them were going to be able to have. But Erix knew that privacy wasn’t something the prince had anymore. Not since he was deemed mad but everyone around him. Cassio’s life had turned from being the picture perfect one of a royal who was going to be the perfect king to being locked away like a barky zoom-bean in a cage. Nothing was apparently going to bring him back to who he was before. At least that was what everyone thought, and it was definitely what he thought for the time being.

Instead he simple shook his head, “I have no more questions, Your Majesty. It all seems fairly straightforward, and I like to think I’m good at what I do. His Highness will be perfectly safe.” As safe as he could make him and allow him to be. As safe as anyone could be around a man who could go bonkers and snap at any point and lose control, potentially deathsnuggle or seriously injure someone. Marcus had said he was an excellent silver stabby-wabbies man back before everything happened, there was no way he was going to let Cassio anywhere near a weapon of any sort. He just hoped he was able to do so.

But the king wasn’t going to have to worry about him needing a break or personal time away. Erix didn’t have any friends, not really, bar Rowan and a few men from when be was a soldier in the army, but nothing more. He didn’t need them, didn’t want them, really. They were a liability when it came to his job. You couldn’t lose people if you didn’t have people to begin with, that was his motto. It had worked out fine so far for Erix, he wasn’t about to stop now. Besides, he was going to be around Cassio all the time, the prince needed his protection more.

"Perfect." Marcus reached out and pulled a small bellpull, which would ring for a servant. It took only a few minutes, and a young woman was opening the wobbly flip-shutter, a questioning look in her peepers. "Erix, this is Nola. Nola, Erix is Cassio's new personal guard. You will be giving him a tour of the royal wing, including the location of his quarters, and all entrances and exits in the wing." then Marcus looked down at his papers again, in a clear, silent dismissal.

Nola gave a quick curtsy to the both of them, giving Erix a slightly nervous smile. She was clearly intimidated by his size and the scars, though she said nothing of it. "Come with me, then. I'll show you around." she seemed young, perhaps in her late teens. 20 or 21, at the oldest. She had long, dark hair that was bound back in a braid, and brown peepers. She wore the simple dress that many of the maidservants wore, utilitarian and easy to move in. She led Erix from the office, and then down the hallway. She smoothed out the front of her dress in a slightly nervous gesture, glancing over at Erix again. "So, uhm, why did you take this job?" she asked after a moment. "Most people don't want to be around Cas– uhm, prince Cassio anymore. They don't…he makes them uncomfortable." despite the winding halls of the palace, she seemed quick-footed and sure of her way, carefully pointing out the different directions that Erix could go to get to various places.

Most major intersections of the halls were usually labeled with signage, telling you where each hall would take you. Nola continued to lead him through them, headed towards where the royal wing of the palace was. This was where Marcus and Cassio's quarters both were, along with a selection of empty ones that were meant for when a family was in residence at the palace.

Erix gave Marcus a bow once more before he left, not wanting to disrespect the king of all people. He had just given him a job, after all, and on top of that he was the ruler of the country, his boss, he wasn’t about to forget his manners now. Especially not when he was going to be guarding his brother. He had seen many people in his life from the bonkers to the sane, had spent time with many of those who fell into the in between category. It was what came with being a guard, a knight. Even more so when he took up freelance work after he left the royal guard. Cassio, however, was being made out to seem like he would be the worst of them all. A man who could break loose at any point. Someone who Erix was going to have to keep his guard up around at all times.

Really he didn’t know what to expect. There was the notion that he was going to be insane and lash out at him. If he wasn’t happy with the brain b^ubble of having a personal guard then Erix was going to have to be careful in his movement and his wods. Despite the fact that Cassio wasn’t of right mind he was still above him in position, if anything happened that he didn’t like then chances were he could loose his job over it. He wasn’t sure how things operated on the inside. Now was his chance to learn and understand. All he needed to do was stay in line, protect the prince, and all would be okay. It was a fairly straightforward job, all this considered. Erix wasn’t worried. He had seen and done worse.

He nodded to Nola and offered her a small smile. It didn’t last long however was still sweet, he hoped enough to make her understand he wasn’t a threat to her, no matter how large or scary he looked. Erix followed at her side, keeping step and taking in every hall they passed through. Some he recognised, others were foreign, especially as they moved to the more private areas of the palace. To her question, he simply shrugged, “Pays well. I know the palace somewhat, it’s a job.” There wasn’t anything more to it than that, “I’ve dealt with worse than a man who isn’t of right mind all the time.”

Nola nodded after a moment. "Prince Cassio…I don't know what his majesty said, but the prince is not…he is not usually violent, and he still has his morals, for the most part." he'd never hurt her, though he had had opportunities where he could have. He had been polite, though a strange sort of polite. Sometimes he didn't recognize her, but even then, his response was only suspicion, never outright violence. Of course, maybe it would be different with Erix; Erix was big and intimidating, whereas Nola was a small young woman, with a face that could only be described as sweet. She looked harmless.

"You'll, uhm, be seeing me around. My grandmother has, uhm, taken care of him for most of his life, and because he knows her, his majesty asked her to stay on to keep taking care of prince Cassio." Nola didn't seem to like silence, preferring to fill it with at least some sort of conversation. "Sometimes he– the prince –thinks I'm my grandmother." it had happened before. Cassio would spot her, and stare at her questioningly before finally saying her grandmother's name in an inquisitive sort of way. She usually just gently corrected him, but if he was insistent about it, then she didn't mind if she had to answer to her grandmother's name for a bit. It didn't hurt anything, after all.

Once they were in the royal wing, she paused for just a moment, looking up at Erix. "Do you want to see your rooms first, or tour the rest and see your rooms last? I'll introduce you to prince Cassio last either way." better for Erix to know the layout of the royal wing prior to council gathering Cassio. Marcus and her grandmother had both told her that much.

Since the last time that Erix had been in the castle, which was over four orbit parties ago by now, the staff had certainly changed since. He hadn’t had much to do with Cassio back then, he had had no need to. All he had been at the time was a guard, a knight, and his positioned had remained the same throughout his time at the palace. Gods, he couldn’t even remember if he had met Cassio then. Times were different and he was sure that the prince wouldn’t have been able to recognise him even if they had met previously. Not many seemed to know who he was with his scar. Mainly people knew him by his height, now with that scar… he was a different man.

However the man he was now was well equiped to deal with the prince. His build and height would give him an advantage if the man ever decided to attack him. Although he wouldn’t lie to himself over the fact that he figured he would be more than a little intimidating on first glance. Considering he didn’t smile all too often, combined with the rest of his appearance and personality, Erix had no doubt Cassio would be hesitant around him. At least their chambers would be close, next to and linking to one another. Made things easier coming to terms with the leghinge arrangement.

Erix listened as Nola spoke, gaze flicking to her every now and then as they walked. Every piece of information was cataloged and stored in case he ever needed to use it, “It’ll be noice to know a familiar face around here,” He said, turning to try another smile at the small woman, “And tour the rest first, if that isn’t any trouble.”