Realizing that by now Kira was staring at the woman, she quickly regained her composure and gave her a small curtsy, her blue evening gown simple enough to allow her to do so. "Hello, Rosalinde. I'm Kira Veros of Valor, though I'm quite sure you already knew that by now, I assume," she told her, chuckling softly as she pushed a few of her long, fiery locks from her face.
Looking to the two of them, Castra gave a soft cough to get their attention before speaking. "As I have duties to attend to, I will leave Ms. Garendal in your watch, so that you can show her around the kingdom. Perhaps get her dressed into the royal guardian armor first? I'm sure Dervin will gladly assist you in helping her find an outfit for her," she said, and with that she left, leaving the two women in the garden by themselves.
"Should we get going then, Milady? I'm very eager to-" Ro had begun to speak, before a certain princess cut her off.
"Kira. You may call me Kira when no one is around," she said, her emerald green eyes looking up at the woman. She had never liked ones that were meant to be or grow close to her to be so formal. Ro instantly shook her head, quickly pulling her raven black hair into a ponytail with a hair tie she had on her wrist.
"I will not, Milady. If I'm to do so, I will say 'Milady Kira.' You are of higher status than me, after all," Ro told her, a serious look on her face. Kira stared at her for quite some time, before sighing softly and grabbing the woman's hand, leading her towards the palace she called home.
"Alright then, I suppose that will be fine for now. Now, let me show you to the armory room," she said, walking briskly as to get there faster. After climbing a few sets of stairs, that Kira had never been a fan of personally, they eventually reached one of the many rooms in the kingdom. Kira knocked on it insistently, raising her voice so that it would carry through the door. "Dervin, are you in there?"
After a few moments, the door rattled and opened, revealing a tall, young man with messy brown hair and stormy gray eyes. He wore a full suit of silver armor, images of fig trees and hawks carved into the surface. He gave the two a short bow, before his low voice made an appearance. "Your Majesty. How may I be of your service today? I wasn't aware we had an appointment with each other today...," he said, before eyeing Rosalinde suspiciously. "And, if I may ask, what is a commoner doing by your side?"
"Dervin! Rosalinde is the well-known leader of the palace's army! I'm quite surprised you didn't know that," Kira said, which brought an ashamed blush to burn onto the man's face.
"Forgive me, Milady. I don't usually dabble in the facts of war or politics. I do t happen to keep track of leadership, unless it has something to do with the royal family," he said, before looking at Ro, bowing to her quickly. "I commend you for your service to our nation. You put your life on the line to keep us all safe."
Kira glanced over at the taller girl, noticing the soft blush that tickled her ears. She was sure Dervin wouldn't be able to see it, but she could. And, she found herself thinking that it was quite adorable. She sighed, once again wondering why certain facts about this woman seemed to stick itself to her brain.
"Thank you, my kind sir. I do it not only to protect the people, but also to protect our only bloodline to the throne. I would give my life for Milady, so that she may live a long and prosperous rule," she said, and Kira had to look away, very much surprised by the intense blush making its way onto her cheeks.
"Ah! Let's not dilly dally. We've come her to get a new suit for Rosalinde. She needs the armor that a guard would wear, as she's my guardian now," Kira explained, and Dervin nodded, ushering the two into the room. The room consisted of multiple armor stands, each displaying its own set of glimmering metal, the designs on each piece of armor just as unique as the last one. Dervin stopped in front of one with the head of a hawk engraved into the chest plate, tapping it with his knuckle.
"This one is specially made for a woman knight. Forgive me, but I don't often make women's armor, as most knights and guards are, well, men," he explained apologetically, taking each piece of armor from the stand. "Let's see if it fits you, yes?" He said, leading the two women towards a changing screen.
{...}
Behind the changing screen, Ro looked down at the armor, wondering what the point of a changing screen was. Armor like this was meant to go over the clothing, after all. She had wondered, that is, until suddenly a hand slipped around the screen, holding a skintight short and some leather pants in its grip. "Here, this outfit will make the armor much lighter and comfortable to have on. The clothes you have on now will simply scrunch up, and will feel terrible on your skin. It'll also make the armor feel a bit tighter on your body," Dervin's voice rang out, and Ro just nodded to herself, taking the outfit.
She slipped from her clothes and pulled on the ones given to her, along with the shining armor. She wiggled around a bit after she put it on, getting used to the way it allowed her body to move before she walked out from behind the changing screen, holding her hands out. "I think it fits perfectly well, Dervin! Thank you very much," she said, giving him a firm handshake. He nodded and walked away, coming back after a moment with a sword. He then slipped it into the sheath at the side of the outfit, giving the metal an assuring pat.
"You'll need that to protect the princess. But I'm sure you already know that, being as you're a knight yourself," he said, giving her a small smile.
"I'm more skilled with a bow and some arrows, but I excel at using the sword as well. I suppose when I get the time I'll equip my bow, so that I have two weapons in case I should need them," she told the man, before looking over at Kira, finding that she was looking at her with wonder. "Are you alright, Milady Kira? Is something wrong with the suit? Any scratches?" She asked, holding her arms out once again and inspecting herself. Kira simply shook her head, before grabbing the woman's now metal-gloved hand.
"Using a bow and arrow...you'll have to teach me one day!" She exclaimed, laughing and looking up at the girl, reaching up to smooth away a bang that had made its way out of its ponytail. "I've always wanted to learn to fight!" She added, and for some reason, Ro couldn't help but smile at the enthusiasm she had for something she did simply to be able to be a proper knight.