Alva
"True enough." *He replied calmly. She was naturally going to be paranoid about such matters, given that the general public seemed unlikely to approve of whatever was going on in the dungeons. But such was the lot of a soldier or a spy - suspicion was their lot, allaying it their job. Death was around the corner - they knew the risks of the occupation.*

"I do not wish to throw away lives, of course, but we must surveil her in some fashion, whether that is through insertion of a spy in some position close enough to learn more or through placing eyes in the walls. A more direct infiltration - perhaps a shifter tunneling through the ground as a mole, for example." *He mused.* "It seems to me that laying the proper groundwork will take some time, if insertion as a jailor is off the table. Perhaps a beggar or two will work, as a starting point."

*There were many rumors that reached the ears of the lowest better than they reached the highest, and regardless, it was to be a thorough conversation with his spymaster tomorrow. He leaned forward, grasping a fresh sheet of parchment paper, and waved a hand over the ink in the well. Iron gall ink spewed forth in a delicate stream, arranging itself into the tiniest threads of a message, words like 'meeting' and 'earliest' taking their places on the parchment as his thoughts pressed themselves into being. 

Words, like a pattern spun on a loom, placed themselves on the parchment, wetting it as the excess ink made its way back to the well. It would take a moment to dry, of course - but the address to his spymaster was finished almost as soon as it had begun. They could afford to waste little time.*

"An attempt to draw her away would be beneficial." *He nodded in thought.* "Have you any idea what could do so? You are, after all, sisters. Perhaps you might leverage that bond to allow some time for exploration while she is absent."
Virginia
He had recommended the very idea that had crossed her mind. Perhaps it hadn't been as reprehensible as she'd first though. That was unlikely, though. It was unfair for whoever might be put at the end of Delsandra's wrath. 

"Our bond is not as close as you might be thinking, Your Majesty." Her head tilted to the side slightly as her eyes drifted over his face. "It seems she does not have much time for her little sister these days, and I stopped pushing when it just made her withdraw further." There had been that moment, that hint that perhaps her sister truly was in there somewhere. It had been Irezora that Delsandra first sought to protect on that night. 

But there was still the matter of potentially laying bait. The idea did not sit well with the princess and even though the man before her had echoed the thought, the uneasy feeling remained. There had to be a better way. "Perhaps I might make myself of use to her, in a fashion." Her eyes narrowed in thought before widening, eyebrows raised. "She might see benefit in knowledge of the Alynthi King's plans, for example." 

A feeling near excitement flooded her senses, igniting once more the spark of creation. A plan. "She already knows that I have requested to remain here in your court, why not let her believe that I am here to gather information, a double agent of sorts."
Alva
*Our bond is not as close as you might be thinking. True enough, she seemed to have drifted from her family in recent years - or perhaps her family had drifted from her. Whatever the case, it was she that sat across the table from him now, asking him for help instead of her father or sister in order to halt whatever was going on beneath the stone of Thyseer Castle. His sisters were close, when he had lived at the castle, and only distant when they were apart. He had to remind himself to take better care of them - to keep his family close. They were dwindling by the day.*

"...My condolences, Your Highness." *He spoke quietly, a genuine apology on his lips. To be estranged from family was no small tragedy. It was a death before death, in a way - though they could be recovered eventually, it was hard to repair bridges that had been burned. Before he continued, however, her lips opened, and out spilled an idea from the princess's mouth.

Make herself of use to Delsandra after a fashion? Spy on his plans? It would have worked, he thought, but...*

"Pardon me, Princess, but..." *He shook his head.* "I *Have* No plans. What would we begin to propose I am doing?"