"We've finally made it!" Kasef exclaims in relief as Daisy comes to a stop at the top of the hill that allows them to see the sprawling capital of Katolis. For days they had been traveling on horseback, only stopping at towns for provisions if absolutely necessary and avoiding humans as much as possible. It took them a little longer than expected, since they had to stop because Reyna could not stand sitting on the saddle for so long and because Daisy needed her rest as well, but it was now worth it.

"Can we not ride fast into the capital?" Reyna asks wearily from the front. "I think I'm gonna be sick from you suddenly sending the horse into a run down a hill again and I do not want to be rid of my breakfast again."

Kasef winced at the memory from a few days back when Reyna practically fell off their horse to vomit her meal of berries and bread before washing her mouth off and making him swear not to do that again.

"Alright, we'll take it slow." He promised as he gently pressed his heels into Daisy's side to urge her to walk a little faster. Reyna mumbled a tired "thanks" before slumping back to lean against him. "Are you really that tired? You want us to pull over and rest for a bit?"

"No, keep going..." Reyna manages to say, but Kasef tugs on the reins to urge the horse to stop. "No..we have..."

"To rest first, otherwise you'll be in no shape to talk to your friend or the king." The human points out as he carefully climbs off Daisy, taking Reyna with him before scooping her into his arms and walking over to a nearby tree. "You're really not used to riding animals aren't you."

Reyna mumbles something Kasef didn't understand as he sat her against the tree before making a gesture with her hand.

"Hey don't be rude, just rest against me and relax."

Reyna mumbles something again as Kasef sat down next to her before leaning against him, her head resting against his arm. He could see she was exhausted, not only from riding, but from also staying up late at night keeping guard. While they were assured by the soldiers at the Breach that there were hardly any bandits or thieves to bother them and that the wildlife would stay well away from them, that didn't stop Reyna from staying up with one of her knives in hand. Many times Kasef offered to keep watch so she could rest, but even then he was sure she stayed awake with her back to him pretending to be asleep. The one time she actually managed to get a good enough sleep was when they were traveling by sea, the captain of the ship was kind enough to let Reyna sleep below deck while Kasef stayed above deck watching Peach play with the colorful parrot the captain had that helped out in docking the ship.

Kasef wasn't even sure if he had fallen asleep, but he must have dozed off at one point when he felt Daisy nudge him awake while Peach tugged at his hair to wake him up before doing the same to Reyna.

"Wait, what time is it?!" The elf exclaims as she jumps to her feet, startling Peach and moves out from under the tree. "Kasef you let me sleep the whole afternoon away! The sun is barely starting to set!"

"Hey you were the one who needed a good nap, I'm sure your friend will still be home to receive you." Kasef says as he gets up, dusting the back of his pants off. "Let's depart and hope we can find a place to stay for the night if we're not allowed to sleep in the castle."

Daisy was all too eager to get going, stamping a hoof impatiently as the two climbed back on and immediately started galloping towards the small city. Once they had arrived, Daisy immediately slowed down and gave a huff.

"Okay, just try to act casual." Kasef whispers to Reyna as they ride towards the castle.

He could feel the stares of the townsfolk on them as they rode past, and for a moment this actually felt familiar. Then again they probably looked rather odd; a large draft carrying a Skywing and a tall scarred human with a makeshift eyepatch and a small bird sitting on his shoulder, that was bound to get some stares. He was mostly concerned for Reyna, who was gripping the saddle horn tightly and staring straight ahead with her back stiff as a board.

"Hey, relax, we're safe here." Kasef says softly as he releases the reins with one hand to reach around the elf to take her hand. He feels her tense a bit before relaxing at his touch. She was scared, and that was understandable since the last town they stopped at was very hostile towards them and practically chased them out. The capital was supposed to be a safe haven for any visiting elves, treating them equally and kindly. If anyone was to even lay a hand on Reyna for no good reason, Kasef was very sure the king had a severe punishment for that.

Once they had crossed the bridge and arrived at the gates of the castle, they were stopped by soldiers.

"State your name and business." One soldier ordered.

"We're here to see someone." Reyna responds. "Enya Mulligan, she said she would help us get an audience with the king."

"You know the captain's wife?" A different soldier asks and Reyna nods. "She's probably busy right now, but you can wait outside of the workshop she and her father work in. I think at this point of the day she should be done delivering fixed clothes, but I could be wrong."

"I didn't know your friend was married." Kasef comments as they were allowed to walk into the castle.

"Didn't I tell you?" Reyna asks in surprise. "She and this guy we battled with got married after the war, they've been married for a few months now. Her husband is apparently captain of the crownguard - whatever that's supposed to be."

"I guess he's in charge of the soldiers?"

"Probably. He's a rather...interesting guy."

Once they dismounted Daisy and removed their bags to let a stablehand take her to be stabled, the two had to ask around where the tailor workshop was until a maid was kind enough to point them in the right direction. Outside of the workshop's door lay a black and white dog napping on the warm stones of the courtyard. It raised it's head when they approached and gave an excited bark before jumping up and ran up to Reyna. She yelped in surprise as the dog nearly knocked her over, wagging it's fluffy tail happily while trying to lick her face.

"Hey, hey! Good to see you too!" The elf laughs as she tries to keep the dog from licking her face. "Stop, I stink!"

Kasef hears a sharp whistle that causes the dog to drop to the floor and rush over to a girl carrying an empty basket tucked under one arm. She looked around Reyna's height with long dark hair that was braided over one shoulder and dressed in a simple dark green dress over a lighter green tunic. Was this supposed to be Reyna's friend? She must have been, since her eyes widened in surprise and stopped in her tracks.

"Reyna!" The girl squeals happily as she rushed over to them. Kasef couldn't help but smile as Reyna greeted the girl with a hug, practically getting swung off the floor as they laughed. "I can't believe you are here! It's been so long!"

"It has been!" Reyna laughs. "You didn't respond to my previous letters a while back, what happened?"

"I am so sorry for not responding for a month, we were just so busy with something, and we were away from the castle when the letter came!" The girl says when they release each other. "I got so worried when I got the message, but thankfully Ezran promised that he can give you a hand in helping your friend out. How was your journey?"

"Tiring. I officially hate riding horses."

"Aw such a shame, since I've gotten married horse riding has become a new hobby Soren got me into doing so I could do something other than sewing."

"We actually had to stop and rest a few times because she would get sick from the riding." Kasef chuckles, ignoring the venomous look Reyna was sending him. The girl, Enya, cocks her head at him in curiosity and frowns.

"You seem familiar, have we met?" She asks.

"No I don't think so, I don't recall being here."

"Huh, so odd. What happened to your eye?"

"Got shot in the face, had to remove the eyeball myself." Reyna states as Kasef removes the cloth eyepatch to reveal his scar, earning a gasp from Enya.

"Oh ancients, I am so sorry." She apologized.

"No need, I'm used to seeing out of one eye." Kasef assures her. "This patch was just to not scare any humans since elves don't seem to be bothered by my exposed scars."

"You seem to have a lot of them." Enya comments, nodding at his exposed arms littered with the pale scars before shaking her head. "Anyways, you two must be tired and look like you need a proper bath and a change of clothes."

"All of our stuff is dirty." Reyna admits sheepishly.

"Oh don't worry, Soren and I could lend you both something to wear until we get your things washed and mended. Can't have you show up in the throne room stinking like a barn, Opeli would have a fit!"

"Kasef seems to be the height of Soren, that could work." Reyna says with a nod. "But I'm shorter than you so I'm not sure anything could fit."

"I have some old dresses that may fit, something I can easily fix to fit you." The tailor chuckled before her grin fell. "Wait, did you just call him Kasef?"

"Yeah, it's my name." Kasef responded as the black and white dog approached him and sniffed his boots before she started growling loudly, the fur on the back of her neck bristing. Peach gives an angry screech and flies at the dog, going right for her face before Enya grabs her dog by the collar and yanks her out of the way of the bird.

"Peach cut that out!" Kasef scolds as he snatched the bird from the ground and holds her tightly but carefully in his hands. "I'm sorry, she's really protective of me. I don't know why your dog started getting aggressive."

"Amaya isn't always like this, I've only seen her get like this with people she doesn't like." Enya explains as she tightens her grip on the collar and pulls the growling dog away.

"How strange, does that mean he was here in Katolis?" Reyna asks in surprise.

Before Enya could respond, Amaya suddenly stopped growling, her aggressive expression switching to a more happy one before twisting around to pull herself out of Enya's grasp towards a soldier who was approaching. The man wore armor that looked very different from the Katolian soldiers, his being black and white with an odd symbol on the front and looked to be around their age. He stops to kneel down to greet Amaya, baby talking to her while ruffling her fluffy black and white fur before getting up and hurrying over to them.

"Wifey!~" He yelled as he threw his arms around Enya from behind, practically picking her up off the floor. "I haven't seen you all day! I missed you!"

"You saw me at lunch time you doof!" Enya yells as she tries wiggling out of the man's embrace. "And you always say that when you see me again at the end of the day!"

"That's because I really do miss you!" The man points out before putting the tailor down, turning her around to face him before hugging her to his chest. "But you know as they say, distance makes the love more tender!"

"I'm very sure no one has ever said that."

"I'm pretty sure someone has."

"Is that...the husband?" Kasef asks Reyna. "I was kind of expecting someone...maybe a tad bit older and maybe mature."

"Hey I am mature!" The man yells. "Can't a man show some love for his wife who he hasn't seen or hugged since lunch?"

"And...you are...?"

"Oh this is Soren." Enya laughs as the soldier bent his head to place a kiss on her cheek. "He's my husband."

"Husband?" Kasef asks in surprise before his eyes land on the identical copper rings on their fingers. "Oh, so you were the captain the soldiers mentioned."

"I probably should have mentioned she was married to the biggest dork of Katolis." Reyna laughs

"And I'm damn proud of it too." Soren adds with a grin. "Youngest soldier of the crownguard and the most skilled tailor of the whole human kingdoms, we make the best couple."

"Oh hush you doofus." Enya laughs before craning her neck up to look at him. "Can you lend him something to wear and help him prepare a bath? I'm gonna help Reyna with hers and lend her something of mine to wear."

"Eh, you think he'll fit in anything of mine?" Soren asks, eying Kasef warily. "He probably might rip the sleeves of my tunics if he flexes, and he seems a bit taller than me. But...he seems kind of familiar."

"Uh, we met before?" Kasef asks in confusion and looks at Reyna, who shrugs.

"Yeah, you kind of almost look like this one guy who once flirted with my - OMPH!"

"How about we get you two cleaned up before we alert Ezran about your arrival." Enya interrupts after delivering a swift blow to her husband's stomach with her elbow, silencing him. "Once you are bathed and relaxed, we'll go see him and you can tell him everything. Let me just head to my dad's workshop and get some clothes for Reyna. Soren, will you please be a dear and get Kasef some clean clothes and ask some staff to draw a bath for him?"

"Do I have to?" Soren asks with a small frown before noticing Peach and his face lit up. "Oh hey you have a cockatiel! Haven't seen one of those outside of Duren!"

"Peach is a what now?" Kasef asks in surprise, glancing at his bird.

"Cockatiel! They're these little parrots with these funky bangs and bright red cheeks, and they are either grey and white, or yellow, or even grey and yellow. Queen Aanya has a few of these in her palace." Soren explains as he walks over to them, holding a hand out to Peach, much to their surprise, the little bird steps onto his finger and crawls across his arm before settling on his shoulder and chirps. "Aww, I think she likes me."

"How odd." Reyna mutters.

"Well then, shall we go get you two fixed up?" Enya asks loudly and clapped her hands together. "Can't keep our young king waiting, he does have other things to do before heading off to bed! Come on! And you both will feel so much better too!"