Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Nowhere
He smiled to the Milena, "I enjoyed your city. One of the better ones in Astoria, certainly better than most of Feyshore."

"On the note of me being a capable fighter, if Sir Cromwell asks about what I did on this trip, the answer is: Protecting Prince Mikhail. Only a glass of wine at dinner, maybe a sip of whiskey before bed. The truth would get me sent back to Knight's Landing. I do not wish to go back." He said with a smile, "I'd be forever in both of your debts."
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra, Audemaus Forest, Astoria**

She smiled at the jest and mention of monsters. "I know, I know it's probably all just superstition, but it would make me feel better if we switched." She answered honestly, taking the offer. She stood up the best she could and waited for him to scoot over before sitting down again where Mikhail was sitting originally. "Thank you" She said to Mikhail before smiling at the squire. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me. After all, 'Twas but a single drink of wine during dinner, and you were by his side the whole time, anyways."
Joseph
** Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

"You protected me from to nights of boredom by forcing me to go wander the city alone and find our Lady here. " Mikhail pointed out, moving to switch seats with Milena when she rose from her seat. Once she had settled into his, his hand found her knee and patted twice.

"Now if something does kill me, you can say the Prince died protecting you. You'll win every round of story time for the rest of your life. But make it sound more impressive, if it's no trouble." He added, and looked to Daemon. 

"How _is_ your training with Sir Cromwell going, better than with Lord Stafford?"
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

He raised a finger loosely and pointed to Milena with a smile. "I like her." Daemon said with a nod before thinking on Mikhail's question. "Lord Stafford and Sir Cromwell..." He thought, "Lord Stafford was nicer. He played a more 'dad like' role while he let his captains be the mean ones. I'd only seen Lord Stafford angry with us a couple times, but we were also his first class and he wasn't sure how to train us. Though, I will never anger Lord Stafford again. He fucked us up for a day and a half. Dismissed Captain Aldvis and Berringer. It was the original sixteen squires and Lord Stafford. I could scarcely stand for days after that."

"Sir Cromwell is, well, a prick. He's mean, he yells and berates us. But it's all within' reason. He trains with us and teaches us things we should know. I can also tell that he is playing up his anger with us most of the time. He doesn't play the dad role like Lord Stafford did, he leaves that to Captain Aldvis and the others to make sure we feel as good as we can feel. I wouldn't say either is better, they both know a lot and takes what we're being taught seriously. The two are just different, personally I prefer Sir Cromwell. He's much more humorous than Lord Stafford."

"I won't ramble on anymore, I'm sure Lady Capell is already bored of my opinions on training doctrine." Daemon finished, surprised such coherent sentences came out of him. He returned to leaning on the carriage wall and nursing his headache.
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra, Audemaus Forest, Astoria**

Millie respectfully listened to Daemon's description of two men she had never met and their methods for training potential knights. It was interesting, but not exactly her area of expertise. "No, no. I thought it was interesting. I've never met these men myself, so I can't exactly argue with your assessments" She pointed out with a laugh. "I admittedly don't know much about the training of knights, so I'll take you at your word"
Joseph
**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

Mikhail grinned at Daemon declaring he liked her, and his hand found hers, squeezing once reassuringly before releasing it. 

"I like Sir Cromwell enough, I feel he's better at training me than Stafford was, but only because of the bizarre dynamic presented between Stafford and myself. He acted more as mentor in regards to training rather than a man who was going to ignore my title and force me to do things until I got them right. I prefer Cromwell's method of treating me like I'm nothing, it makes me want it more." 

Granted, he spent one day a week with Cromwell and not the usual hours Daemon and the other squires did, so his opinions might have been biased.
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

"Lord Stafford is too nice for that sort of training environment. He's a much better field commander than he at breaking a bunch of noble and shitblood boys down into nothing. It's doubled by the fact that he knows you, he struggles to separate those things. So he's not going to go all in. Sir Cromwell on the other hand likely gets a little bit of enjoyment out of treating a prince like shit for a day. Hopefully he brings you on an expedition near Knight's Landing sometime. That's where things are fun. Two groups of squires go out with maps, set up a base, and have to wage a mock war on each other."
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra, Audemaus Forest, Astoria**

She grinned as the two discussed the mentors and their training habits. Knight culture was something that was a mystery to her, so while she couldn't provide any input, she was enjoying the conversation. "That must be fun." She mentioned at the idea of a mock up war with two groups of squires.
Joseph
**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

Mikhail frowned and scrunched his lip to the side. "I have to disagree, nothing about that sounds fun." He mused, adjusting a bit in his seat as the density of the woods outside started to taper off. They would be exiting the forest soon.

"I've never seen a war myself, but I try not to romanticize it. I remember the letters mother wrote during the taking of Astoria, and she be tried to keep it light handed but you could tell there was a lot of blood behind the ink. I'd be happy never to go to war."
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

"It's fun the first few times, a lot of practical experience but after that it gets to be a hassle. Field preparations and coming back to cleaning armor and weapons for a day or two gets old." He said at the 'Sounds fun' remark, "Usually the younger squires first time out there is a blast for them. Most of us from the first class know the terrain too well to really care anymore, we don't surprise each other anymore and generally know what the others are going to do. We don't get sent out much anymore, which is fine by me."

His look shifted to Mikhail, "Closest I've seen was when Lord Stafford took us to hunt down a group that had been hitting caravans between Zahrada and Stormalong. Wasn't much of a fight." He shrugged, that whole adventure hadn't bothered him much. They were murderers, he'd cut down about four of them by the time the clash was over. 

Truthfully, Daemon had never felt more alive than with steel in hand and carving through men older and larger than him. The sound of steel around him had filled him with a rush nothing could ever replicate. But he wouldn't admit it to people he knew wouldn't understand it.
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra**

She waited for him to finish describing how it got old after a few times. That made sense. There wouldn't be any fun in always knowing what each other is going to do, she supposed. "That makes sense." She said, watching as the thickness of the trees began to taper off. She thanked the gods they were almost out of the forest. The squire then said that he had seen combat before, which wasn't surprising, she supposed. It was good that they stopped the raiders, though in her mind, she supposed they captured them, unlike what had actually happened.
Joseph
**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

He nodded, letting Daemon finish what he had to say before pushing to change the course of the conversation. 

"Let's talk of lighter things, war prep isn't exactly what I want to think about at the moment." He urged and glanced to Daemon. 

"Why don't you tell her a little about Astoria and S. Fey from your families holdings, my opinions are obviously biased towards it being paradise."
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

"A paradise..." He mused, enjoying the prince's more restricted view of his country. It was better than he remembered when he arrived at his new home. But there were still scars from before. There were still plots of land that you could tell were once heavily farmed that are now overgrown from a lack of manpower to plant it. Occasionally a scout would stumble on the overgrown remains of a small village that was abandoned or worse during the fall. 

"South Feyshore is gorgeous, compared to many places in Marin. While the Fall of Feyshore was horrible on the people the land seemed to benefit significantly. The forests around my father's keep are dense and overgrown and teeming with wildlife since there was a lack of people to really overhunt the area. Before I became a squire I used to like to go out with some of our woodsmen and make trails. We found a few empty villages from before the fall, which my father hopes to repopulate someday. I made a little hideout there when I was younger. Hid my wine there."
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra**

Milena had never travelled to South Feyshore, so she listened intently to Daemon's description of the country. It was a little somber to hear of abandoned villages, but the mentioning of plans to reinhabit them have her hope. She, of course, had heard tales of the Fall. The whole ordeal sounded simply horrible. "So, is South Feyshore healing, then?" Millie asked the squire. She didn't know what state of disrepair the country was in, but she figured there was still much to do to stabilize the land from his description of it.
Joseph
**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

Mikhail took the time Daemon was speaking to let his mind wander. He had slipped back into the seat he now occupied, watching the forest as it thinned and finally tapered out. The road before them was lush with green, growing strong in the warm seasons, and he leaned to the side to check how far the sun had moved through the sky. They would arrive in time for dinner at this rate, and Millie could be properly introduced.

"South Feyshore is healing. The last four years have done it wonders in regards to restoration. Having a stable council of leadership and trade within the boarders has helped the villages and cities that struggled restart. " Mikhail chimed in, making them aware he was listening despite his gaze being in the window. Zahrada would soon be in sight.
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

"It's most definitely healing, things are significantly better than when I got here with my father. People are happier, more food now that people can grow without being attacked. A lot more children as well."

He shifted uncomfortably, ready to be out of the carriage and back on his feet.
Karen
**Milena Capell**
**Road to Zahadra, Astoria**

"That's good to hear" Millie remarked. She was glad to finally be out of the forest, and soon to be upon the Capital. She too, was ready to get out of the carriage. She felt stiff from sitting for so long.
Joseph
**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Road to Zahrada Audemaus Forest Astoria**

Conversation died down in the carriage, and Mikhail tapped Milena on her hand to get her attention, moving once more to stand a bit so they could switch seats and she would have access to the window on the carriage door to watch as they approached and passed around Zahrada. It was easier to reach the palace through the outside of the city, and he didn't want to draw a scene by passing through. He wasn't particularly inclined to stop at the moment and didn't want to be rude. 

So they bypassed Zahrada for now, heading to the palace. When they arrived, the carriage pulled to a stop. Daemon would exit first, and if his manners served he would wait for Mikhail and Milena to exit the carriage before serving as escort. A few had already gathered at the door to greet them and be ready for any requests the travelr party may have.
Edward
Daemon Coridon
Road to Zahrada

Gathered his things and placed his sheathed sword back on his belt. He stood up in the carriage, hunching slightly so he didn't bump his head and began to press down on his clothes to make sure he looked presentable finishing by running a finger through his hair before he stepped out of the carriage and into the sun. He blinked it out of his eyes and held the carriage door open for the other two to get out. 

As Mikhail would begin to get out, Daemon would whisper "Don't trip." With a slight smirk before closing the door behind the two once they were fully out.