The prince's apology gave Emris pause, it was less about Bazel's apology and more on his admission of not being used to company. It was odd considering that the man was a prince. Didn't that involve some level of social interaction? Emris didn't comment on the strangeness of it, didn't ask how that was possible. He wanted to, but it seemed he was already making the prince uncomfortable. But he didn't puzzle over it for long before the castle came into view and the prince and his oddities were momentarily forgotten.<br/><br/>It was the lack of noise, the sounds of the living that first caught his attention. There was silence and than there was this...maybe not so much a silence as it was a stillness. Even his house was louder than this, especially with his niece and nephew being around. Never a dull moment. But here...there was nothing. No signs of life. Nothing seemed to even breathe here. It felt wrong.<br/><br/>Passing through the gate, the stillness only intensified and Yara, the usually docile brown mare, snorted, her ears flicking as if she could sense the wrongness and Emris patted her neck, murmuring soothing words under his breath. He dismounted shortly after, guiding the mare along, all the while trying to ignore the sense of foreboding that crept along the back of his neck. The wild overgrown state of the castle grounds gave the illusion that the people hadn't lived here for quite some time.<br/><br/>Making a note to regularly check on Yara, he watched the prince tend to his horse. He didn't think it was common for the nobility to look after their own animals and it surprised him that the prince seemed so at ease with the task. Was it something the man normally did? Or was it just an inconvenience from the curse affecting the servants? Realizing that he was staring, he turned away, leading Yara to the next stable and making sure she was settled.<br/><br/>Following after the prince towards the castle, the wild rose bushes seemed to be trying to warn him. As if they knew something that he didn't...they likely did. How much he wanted to heed their silent warning, but he'd already made a promise and the only thing that he could was step into the abyss.<br/><br/>If the sense of foreboding outside had only felt like a brush across his neck, well inside, it went from a deadly caress to an embrace. An all encompassing embrace that threatened to crush Emris beneath its weight. His chest tightened and breathing took a conscious effort as fear dug its venomous talons into his skin, spreading, spreading. Were the walls moving...getting closer? Wanting nothing more than to turn around and go back the way hey'd just came, Emris' steps faltered and he started to fall behind. Only the much deeper fear of being forever lost in this tomb had him speeding up in attempt not to lose the other man.<br/><br/>By the time they reached the doors with tress carved into them, Emris had managed to swallow the worst of the fear, though it still lingered. Unsure of what to do, he followed the prince's lead more than happy to let him do all the speaking. Aside from bowing on cue, he managed to keep relatively still, that is until the king looked in his direction. Being under the scrutiny of that dead gaze had him shifting his weight before he caught himself. It hadn't escaped his attention that the king only seemed to react when Bazel mentioned the witch, and it sent a nasty chill down his spine. He couldn't get out of the room fast enough, but he forced himself not to move hastily.<br/><br/>Catching up with the prince outside of the throne room, Emris took a moment to study the prince while his attention was else where. How did he do it? Waking up in this place day after day, just to watch his family and everything he's ever known fading away right in front of his eyes. It took a certain kind of strength not to succumb to the madness of it all.<br/><br/>Emris stepped closer to the prince... not too close, careful not to encroach on his personal space, "Are you alright?" He kept his voice low so as not to startle the other man and because it felt somehow wrong to break the ever present stillness by speaking at a normal volume.