"Do you think she would have remembered me?" The young officer smiles brightly at the question as he stands outside the bathhouse near the soldiers barracks, toweling himself off while talking to one of his fellow soldiers who is also drying off.<br/><br/>"I think you are foolish to think of such things, much more to actually talk about these things out loud. She is Lord Lyon's daughter while you, my friend, are just a battle mage who may become knight one day if you live long enough to see it." The brown towel is wrapped around the young man's waist before he sits himself down on the edge of a stone wall, "Aaron, I don't want to try and make things difficult for you but you have to understand where we stand in life; all of us. We have our places and yours is not in the bed of sweet Kate Lyons."<br/><br/>A slight grunt escapes the mouth of Aaron, his look of displeasure plainly painted upon his face, "I have no desire to bed miss Lyons, I can assure you of that. I just want to know of she remembers me? If she even noticed me?" His look quickly changes back to a youthful exuberance that many have come to admire in him despite the hardships this young man has encountered in his days as a battle mage in the war against the orcs and the trolls. It has been a difficult undertaking, a man of his age having the responsibility of being an officer cast upon him like a worn old blanket. The unit he had taken over was broken both in morale and spirit after the loss of their original commander and near defeat at the hands of their enemies. Aaron was well away from the commander when word had gotten to his group that command has fallen and the main forces were being pushed back. The rest of the soldiers wanted to retreat, believing that getting away from the battle would save them from certain death. It would have never worked, Aaron explained to them that the pass they were on would have ensured a death for every single member of that battalion as the trolls had both choke points and the high ground under fire. They could have easily picked off anyone that tried to run or grind any smaller units into dust. The only option was to fight towards the main forces and let their training be the deciding factor in the battle. "To think that such a small tactical decision like that has brought us to this point," he says without thinking about it."<br/><br/>Michael, still sitting on the stone wall with his leg propped up, "What?"<br/><br/>Aaron shakes his head watches the water hit the ground, "I was just thinking of the last battle, how we managed to get out of it and here I am thinking about her again."<br/><br/>Michael chuckles as he looks towards the main section of the castle, "Well, you certainly don't have bad taste, that is something to be said. It was a good decision you made back then and it led you and those around you to not only a way to survive but a victory for the crown as well. Stories and songs will be written about you just for the one deed, a legacy tends to form with the other. That's why I hope you make a good decision now and keep yourself away from the Adviser's daughter. Let a nobleman deal with her. Stick to your brothels and tavern wenches and move on to broader ambitions, Lieutenant."<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>The manor was extravagantly decorated for the Winterfest Ball, Aaron noted has he made his way through the main hall of the Lyon's manner, a place where he has visited once or twice in his time in the kingdom but never truly got to stop and look at it, wonder at its crafting and decoration. It was surely a place fit for a warrior as stout and prestigious as Lord Lyons, as well as the rest of his family who have the reputation of being a strong and sturdy people, both as individuals and within the likes the each other, as is usually common for those of noble blood. Johnathon is known to be more than just skilled with a swordsman, having won every tournament held by the kingdom in the last 3 years.<br/><br/>There was a sort of hushed silence that came over the room as Aaron was talking with both Lord Lyons and Johnathon when the eyes of the men in the room shifted suddenly towards the staircase, breathes held as the woman who stole the attention descended the steps one at a time. As with everyone else, Aaron's mind was swept away when he noticed her, thinking back to when he first arrived to this place. He broke his gaze off her when she made it to the last step and felt a cool sensation has the eyes of the room told him that she was walking towards them. it was all he could do to keep himself from blurting his words out as a response to her welcome, knowing it could be seen as improper for him to respond to her before the Lord and his son does.