James and Annalei wander out of the throne room, their expectations set more firmly than they had been expecting. Annalei gazes over towards James, half expecting him to say they should leave. She wouldn't have argued, not this time. However, her steadfast companion only sighs, taking off his gauntlets and pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'll write a letter to your father tonight, and send it in the morning. Ask him if he even knew the true identity of our host."

She nods, wondering where to go next. Xeraxes had told her to bathe, but not where to do so. She has the inkling that wandering around this fortress was a losing endeavor. Instead, she finds herself a seat in the hall, across from a large landscape painting. She wrinkles her nose at it, saying, "It would be pretty if it weren't so terrifying."

James turns his head to see what's caught the princess's eye. The painting is around four feet in height, and at least three in width. It depicts a scene James truly wouldn't expect to see in any other castle. An onyx dragon glides across a coral and amber sky, while below him the land is consumed in great swaths of black fire. He walks closer to it, examining the work in greater detail. He's no scholar, but he knows talent when he sees it. The flames seem to drink in what spare light there is in the hallway, creating a negative impression of the glowing light that real fire should emit. Everywhere in the painting the fire has touched is reduced to pale ash, creating a stark contrast. "It's very well done, but peculiar." He mutters, halfway tempted to reach out to touch it, confirming its existence.

Someone clears their throat, and the two jump in response. James tucks his hands behind him respectfully, while Annalei does her best to compose herself. Michel smiles at them broadly, a little frazzled, but still composed. "Well, Your Highness, may I show you to your rooms?" Annalei nods fervently, nearly aching for that warm bath in her near future. They placidly follow behind Michel, quick to ignore the transgressions from only moments before. Annalei knows deep down that pushing the point and harassing Michel for answers about Xeraxes is certainly going to go nowhere. She also doesn't really want to know much about the beast in general.

Michel leads them up a grand staircase and the hallway widens from the space two men could fill, to that of three, easily. She breathes a little easier in this space, but even more so when she's led to a communal sitting room with great windows that face towards the great plains in the distance. She's happy to see that from where they stand, she can see over the ramparts clearly, and feels less claustrophobic than she did on the first floor of the castle. "I thought you might like to be able to see we don't entirely live in a dungeon," Michel turns to her, pulling the curtains back from the windows. Annalei smiles gratefully.

He guides them down a smaller hallway that comes off the sitting room, the walls feeling close, but in a more comforting sense. The walls are made with dark wood, and have a slight pine smell to them. Doors appear intermittently on both sides of the hall. Michel turns to his right, and slides a key into one of the locks. It clicks softly and the door opens quietly upon its hinges.

Annalei is more than relieved to see the sunset light streaming in her windows. She walks in the room, studying the bed carefully. It's close to what she's used to, a large canopy draped over a large bed. She sits down on it, sinking deeply into the down-packed mattress. She didn't realize how tired she was until now. At the very least, she wouldn't be spending another night on the hard ground. She notices a second door, and leans over to look through the opening. It appears to be a bathing room, as a large, white clawfoot tub is filled with steaming hot bathwater. She stands up and wanders over to the door, surprising the woman inside of the room.

"Oh!" She exclaims, dropping the metal pitcher she was carrying in her hands, boiling hot water splashing all over the floor. Annalei jumps back away from the steaming puddle, perturbed. "So sorry, Princess." The woman mutters, shuffling away to grab a towel and start cleaning up the mess.

"Nertia, you really should be more careful." Michel says, striding over and helping the woman rearranged the disaster she caused. "We've talked about this. You know His Majesty-"

Nertia flips up her head with a scoff. "Oh I know very well what His Majesty says about clumsy maids. You've told me often enough, Michel. I don't need another reminder." She waves him off. Annalei is a little dumbstruck that a maid would talk to her superior like that, but perhaps they have known each other long enough to develop that level of familiarity.

"Well, try not to let it happen again, Nertia." Something in Michel's tone of voice suggested he'd had this conversation more than once, and to no avail. James coughs softly into his hand, drawing attention to the fact that he and Annalei were still in the room. "Ah, yes. Your Highness, Nertia has already drawn your bath it would seem, and I'm sure we can have your things brought up swiftly to your room with plenty of time for you to prepare for this evening. As for you, Captain. I'm sure you're looking forward to settling in and having a hot meal yourself. If you follow me, I'll show you where you and your men can expect to be lodging for the duration of your stay."

James nods, beginning to follow Michel out of the room and leaving Annalei to her own devices. He hesitates a moment, grabbing Annalei's hand gently and pulling her close to him. "Are you sure you'll be alright?" He whispers.

She thinks for a moment, but knows if they're to salvage the situation at all, she's going to have to be on her best behavior this evening. "It's just a bath and dinner, I'm sure I can survive it." She says it, but she doesn't truly feel it.

James nods to himself, deciding something. "I'm going to put a guard on your door tonight. I don't trust this at all." He sidles towards the door. "Honestly, I don't want to leave you here alone."

She bristles a little. "James. I can handle myself, I promise. I won't misbehave again." She tries to joke and grin, but it doesn't seem to soothe James entirely. "We have to do our best, at least until we hear back from Father." This seems to placate him for the moment, and he turns on his heel and catches up with Michel.

Annalei begins to undress after the men are long gone, her dirty clothes falling to the floor in a mangled heap. She reaches towards the water, testing the temperature. It's a little hotter than she'd like, but after her fall earlier today, she's more than happy to climb in. She grits her teeth as the hot water hits her tender flesh.

Nertia appears from behind the divider, carrying a small vial filled with purple liquid. "Would you like some lavender oil, Your Highness?" She asks, as polite as any servant should be. Annalei looks over the maid closely. Her hair is a shade of russet brown, nearly red, and her eyes are somewhere between green and brown. She is pretty by anyone's standards, including Annalei's. Maybe not the most stand-out beauty, but pretty all the same.

Annalei motions her over. "I'd love the oil, thank you." Nertia pours some into the tub at Annalei's feet. The soothing floral aroma quickly permeates the air, and Annalei finds herself beginning to relax. She goes through the process of soaking her long silver-blonde hair thoroughly, pulling loose chunks of grass and dirt. The heat from the water works wonders on her tired and sore muscles, and she finds herself sinking lower in the tub, the water just beneath her chin and her knees bent, sticking up above the surface of the water.

Her maid continues busying herself around the bathing room, rearranging things here and there to her liking. Annalei estimates Nertia must be close in age to herself, and so begins conversation, hoping to make a new friend. "How long have you worked here, Nertia?" She asks.

"Oh, about two years now. I hated farming, so I came here, looking for a job. Michel didn't really want to hire me, but even he admits it's hard to keep staff in the castle." She sets down the towels she's folding, and leans against the table.

"Oh? Why's that?" Annalei knows it might be dangerous to pry, but if this maid was more than happy to provide information about the culture in the castle, she felt it was in her best interest to find out what she could.

"Well, most of them aren't good enough for King Xeraxes. He's very strict about his staff. You have to be good at your job to work here." She smiles smugly, and Annalei can't help but wonder why this particular maid is still employed, considering the event she just witnessed.

"Hmm. Must be hard to work under him then." She can't imagine having to deal with his surly attitude on a daily basis, let alone have him bossing her around and telling her what to do.

"Well, like I said, if you're good at your job you don't have to worry about it." She shrugs, her tone slightly condescending. Perhaps Annalei has misunderstood the beast's character, but she had a very different impression of the dragon in question. "He definitely keeps his favorites around the longest too." She winks, insinuating something Annalei isn't sure she wants to understand. It makes her uncomfortable, and she's now thinking about how to escape the conversation entirely.

"Oh, you probably haven't met him yet, that's why you don't know." Nertia giggles.

"No, I met him, briefly, when I first arrived." Annalei didn't elaborate, sure that her opinion of Xeraxes wouldn't mesh well with the maid's.

She leans forward, clutching her hands over her heart, and sighing deeply. "Isn't he the most attractive man you've ever seen? He's what you call a real man; tall, mysterious, and moody." She sinks down into a chair pulled up beside the table filled with towels.

Annalei has to choke down the mixed emotions rising up through her. She finds the maid's desperate attraction to a dragon both hilarious and unsettling at the same time. She fights back the urge to laugh. "Well, he's not exactly a man, is he? He's as much a beast as anything I've ever seen." She cups water in her hands, and dumps it over her head, the warmth running through her again.

"He looks like a man." Nertia pouts, her earlier pleasantness dissipating. "Maybe it's because you're not from here that you don't see it. Are you done with your bath already?" She asks, reaching for the bathrobe beside her.

Annalei wasn't really, but she was happy to use this as an exit to the conversation. Nertia, by her estimates, was a bit mad and misguided. How could anyone find a beast attractive? She neglects to remember she had also found him attractive earlier, but that was before she knew what she knew about him now. Plus, personality was half of the equation anyway, and Xeraxes was a pompous asshole in her opinion.

Annalei was happy to see her luggage had been hauled up to her room in the interim between when she first entered the bath and now. She hugged the robe tight around her, and began going through her things, hoping to find the best dress she had brought with her. Xeraxes hadn't found her impressive? She disappoints him? Well, she is set out to show him exactly how regal a true royal could be.