I clamped a hand to my mouth, horrified at myself for blatantly calling out Luca's name in front of my father. My other hand was still hooked on his arm. I peeked at him, worried about his reaction, but he only smiled.
Luca instantly turned to face our direction upon hearing my voice. He saw me. And then he saw my father. He approached us and bowed politely. I noticed he was carrying a satchel that was swung over his body.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, good morning," he greeted. He caught my eye for a second, throwing me a curious look.
"Good morning, Captain Luca," my father said.
"Hi, Luca," I said sheepishly. "What are you doing?"
"Your Highness, I didn't expect to see you out here," he replied. "I thought you would be recuperating today, so I was about to take my destrier on a run. But it can wait."
My father laughed. "Princess Elena has convinced me that she's perfectly fine and doesn't need recuperating."
