Lucas's steps slowed slightly as they moved further along the quieter edge of the encampment. For a brief moment, his attention shifted away from the constant calculations running through his mind, settling instead on the person walking beside him.
"You asked about me," he said calmly, glancing toward her. "What about you."
The elder princess seemed mildly surprised at first, as if she had not expected the question to be turned back on her so directly. Then a faint brightness entered her expression, subtle but genuine, and she clasped her hands lightly behind her back again as she walked.
"I suppose it is only fair," she said.
Her tone carried a lighter energy now, less formal than before, as though the question had opened a door she did not often step through in conversations of state.
"I was not trained to sit quietly and observe court politics all day," she began. "Though I can do it when I must."
