With the Nyderians in the castle already, Keturah wanted to make it a point to make sure she got to the princess earlier than normal. Walking quickly though the castle, she swung through the kitchens to grab a quick to go breakfast. On her way out, she took a corner quickly in her hurry and almost ran into an unfamiliar scent.
With a quick couple of steps, she avoided the collision, but stuck her arm out to stop the tall blonde haired man before her from going any further. "I don't recognize you. What's your business down here?" She then questioned, her face serious as her blue eyes scanned him over for signs of threat, a low threatening growl accompanying her words. Seeing that he was unarmed, she relaxed slightly.
"I'm sorry." The blonde haired man responded, his green eyes matching the intensity in her blue ones. He recognized an intimidation tactic when he saw one. "I'm looking to grab breakfast from the kitchen." He responded, making sure to continue to hold his ground.
The last thing he wanted was to appear as being weak or submissive. "One of the guards at the top of the stairs by the hall said it was down this way." He gestured over his shoulder to the door way at the end of the hall.
Keturah was quiet for a moment as she stared him down. "Visitors aren't allowed down here and new staff would of been paired with an experienced person." She finally responded once he didn't back down from her intimidation. "Who are you?" She demanded, making notes of his appearance.
Keturah was on the taller end for females, but even he was a head taller than her. Other than his scent, which smelled like a foggy night in the woods, the only thing that gave away the fact that he wasn't a human was the pair of brown velveted antlers emerging from his blonde hair.
"My name is Melyon." He introduced himself, deciding that now was the right time to submit to her. He placed one hand on his chest and bowed his upper half towards her. "I'm one of the Nyderians that's arrived late last night." He then added as he straightened. He lifted up the left side of his shirt to reveal the Nyderian brand burned onto his side.
Keturah took a glance at the brand on him and dropped her arm that was blocking his way. "My apologies." She offered. She recognized the brand and understood he was telling the truth. She had a brand burned onto her left forearm that represented her place with the Brightburn clan.
"The kitchen is the third door on the left." She then directed him, accepting his submission to her graciously. She then moved to walk past him, making it clear she was going back to her business and leaving him to his. "You'll want to talk to Talia about getting something to eat or they will chase you out empty handed." She added after a moment of hesitation, deciding to tip him off on how the kitchen worked so he didn't go hungry this morning.
As she continued to walk away, she couldn't help but to think about her own marks. Of course, she had the mark of her parents to track her bloodline on her back right shoulder. To the left of that, she had the mark of the clan she was born into. This represented where she had came from in addition to who's bloodlines she carried. To the left of that mark was a different mark.
While the one on her forearm represented her relationship with the royal family within the bright burn clan, this one simply represented the clan itself. She could still remember the day she was exchanged into the Brightburn clan as a ten year old kit and how, even though she was so proud of her, her mother cried when she left.
Keturah snapped out of her thoughts as she reached the guard at the end of the hall. She took a quick moment to confirm that the Nyderian had been sent down that all in search of breakfast. Luckily for the Nyderian, the guard confirmed both his identity and his reason for being in that part of the castle. Resuming her walk to the princess's chambers, she let the run in with him slip her mind as she mentally began prepping herself for her day.
"I'm glad to see you're up early as well." She greeted the princess after hearing her moving around inside from the other side of the door. At this point in their relationship together, she had long since stopped knocking and begun just walking in when she was expected.
"I couldn't sleep." Princess Amelia responded, pacing slowly back and forth in her chambers. She was still in her night clothes and her wings were dropping lower than usually; a sign of stress in phoenixes.
"I was too nervous about meeting the Nyderians." She admitted, walking over to Keturah and taking her hand to pull her further into her chambers before closing the doors again.
Keturah couldn't help but to smile softly at the princess. The previous day she had been able to hold it together so well, but on the day of, the princess was struggling. "Well, then do I have a information to share with you." She knew what would help the young princess calm.
After all, Keturah had worked for her for the last five years. She knew that the princess did better when she had information and was not just going blind into a situation. "Maverick met them last night and I just bumped into one on my way here." She added, gesturing for the princess to sit while she provided her with what she knew.
Once the princess was in front of her, found one of her brushes to help start brushing out her long brunette hair. "The one I bumped into this morning? He was a wendigo." She informed her, before moving on to the news she heard the previous night. "Maverick said that the prince is accompanied by at least two werewolves, a fairy, a vampire, and a celestial." When she heard it herself, she was pretty surprised about the diversity that they had brought. "And the prince... is a werewolf."
Amelia looked at her bodyguard in the mirror. "Wow." She sighed. She really didn't know what she had expected, but she was surprised by the diversity. "A werewolf." She fell silent for a moment.
"Princess?" Keturah asked softly. "Is everything okay?" She looked back at the princess in the mirror and let silence fall between them until she was ready to talk.
Amelia eventually smiled up at her bodyguard through the mirror. "I'm just... nervous." She admitted to her. Even with those that worked and lived in the castle, she had very limited interactions with werewolves. Now she was expected to be courted by one. "I wish my mom was here. She went through this. I'm sure she'd know how to help."
Keturah smiled softly at her ward, her hands softly moved to comb through the princess's hair. "I miss her too." She had to fight back a tear at the thought of the late queen.
"But I know that she'd be proud of the woman that you're becoming." She squeezed the princess's shoulders in reassurance. They were then interrupted by the arrival of the princess's hand maids. "Get dressed. We'll talk more over your ready to go to breakfast." She then said softly, stepping back from the princess to let the maids take over.