"If you were firing a crossbow, you'd have killed a man, that's how close you are." He spoke in his usual, dull, colorless voice, even though his word choice had the feel of a joke. He rests himself against the wall, watching her.<br/><br/>"look at it this way, Lenally. If you toe the line well enough for this meeting, you'll have chances to go out with Dame Averille. Plus, if you do well enough, our parents might actually acquiesce to you joining the Bloody Raven's." Though it was Henrik's call who got into that organization, it would be up to his parents whether she'd be allowed to apply in the first place.<br/><br/>"I've already chosen out our Honor Guard for this trip, by the way. Dame Averille will be coming along with you, but I was also thinking of assigning Sir Grim, or Sir Leon, to you as well." To keep her safe, of course, though he doesn't directly say that, so as not to offend her. On the one hand, he had confidence in her martial prowess; at the same time, however, he would feel better if she were with one of his veterans, too. He didn't trust Averille in a fight; she wasn't warrior material, but worth keeping around in the Bloody Raven's because of her other skills.<br/><br/>"Do you have a preference?" He figured those two would be the ones she would get along with the most; plus, they'd both have stories to tell. Leon had been his trainer, and though getting up there in age, by far being the oldest of the Bloody Raven's, his intellect and prowess were as razor sharp as his spear. Grim he knew would literally lay down his life to protect<em>any</em>member of the royal family; the man was practically married to their country. Both of them would have plenty of stories for Lenally; Leon likely to gloss over some of the gory details, Grim more likely to go into gruesome, nightmare-inducing detail.