"Not at all, Vana." King Leon straightened his collar. "You're early. By three weeks."

"Is that so? I apologize, I have no concept of time." Vana tapped the side of her head and rolled her eyes.

"That's quite alright. Would you care for lunch? I can only imagine your fatigue after such a travel."

"One thing I've learned about Yna, is that the royal food is to die for. I'd be a fool to turn you down, Leon."

King Leon stepped aside, letting Vana and her knights through.

"Caius, why don't you show our Callendan visitors to their chambers?" Queen Ennis curtsied as Vana passed.

Caius, who was trying as hard as he could to blend into the wall, straightened and bowed his head. "Right this way, my Lady."

"What's the crossbow for?" Vana eyed Caius suspiciously.

"I was just heading out to hunt when you arrived."

The vibe Vana was sending made Caius feel ten times smaller than he actually was, which was almost a head taller than Vana.

"A servant that hunts? Are you any good?"

"I was a huntsman before the palace. I sold the meat, hides, anything people could use. Then I would divide the money, use half for myself, and half would go to my mother." Caius shrugged. "I'm sorry, my Lady, I didn't mean to ramble."

"It's fine."

"My Lady, this is your chamber." Caius stopped, opening the door to one of the guest quarters. "Is this satisfactory?"

"It will do nicely." Vana set her bags down. The knights followed suit, each picking a room.

"I'll arrange these while you dine." Caius's heart sank. He feared he would have no time to gather Rhys's herbs.

As Vana sauntered down the stairs, men right behind her, Rhys's hearty laugh sounded from behind him.

"Oh, that's priceless." He applauded loudly.

"Laugh all you want, I don't think I'll get your herbs today." Caius stroked back his hair.

"If you do all this alone, that may be true." Rhys threw one of the knight's luggage on his shoulder. "Lucky for you, I'm helping. I'll do half, you do half. We'll work together on Vana's, purely because she overpacked."

Caius started on the room across from his brother, and the two worked all the way down the hall until the reached Vana's chamber.

"Why did she have to pack so much? She's only staying a few weeks, isn't she?" Rhys took one of Vana's three bags, leaving Caius to drag the other two in.

"You've seen how many dresses Zephrine goes through in a few weeks." Caius stopped short. "Went through in a weeks."

Rhys said nothing as he began to hang Vana's garments in the dresser.

"The hairbrush goes on the table next to the bed." Caius broke the silence, watching Rhys struggle with where to put it. He slid the second bag toward Rhys. "More clothes."

As Caius opened the third bag, the first thing he was greeted with was a red scarf, but when he picked it up, he felt a little vial. Carefully unwrapping it, he found the little container was full of an incredibly viscous amber liquid.

"What do you think it is?" He asked his brother.

Rhys uncorked the bottle and took a small sniff. "Possibly a sleeping draught. Very heavy, though. Vana must have quite the trouble sleeping if she needs something this potent." He let a few drops fall on his jacket sleeve.

"That will be enough, thank you." Vana stood at the door, leaning upon the frame. "I can unpack the last bag myself."

"Yes, my Lady." Rhys sneakily corked the draught, which, thankfully, Vana hadn't seen yet. He and Caius stood, bowing their heads, and scurrying out of the room.

"I'm going back to my chambers to test what it is, maybe see if i can recreate it. But just in case, don't get on Vana's bad side." Rhys practically ran away.