There was nothing Louis loved more than the sea.
Any body of water really, as long as it was open. There was a sort of freedom that the land couldn’t grant him. It also made it extremity tricky for his guards. The same scene happened many times before but they did not learn. Louis had more than a little fun constantly reminding them. He wanted to swim, he couldn’t go alone, this was as obvious as it was annoying. He stripped quickly when they finally made it to open water. On the inside, Louis couldn’t help but smirk as the guards squirmed, some looking away.
Today at least, he had did some form of garments on. To cover his lower half at least. Then he dove in and for a while, Louis swam around, letting himself be scene before going under. And as always they waited, panicking when he didn’t come out and started to search, Louis though, he had been long gone under the water. Today was a little different.
When he resurfaced, a little bit of a ways away, there was someone standing on shore. He could hear his guards yelling for him, foot-steps coming closer. Louis locked eyes with the mystery person (he wasn’t too far out but it was a little hard to see) and made a motion of a whisper before ducking back under. Hopefully, the mystery person understood and would get the guards to go away, then he could resurface and allow them to time to panic a little more.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Launce’s knight status often made him feel a bit, well, superior to others. Gave him the impression that he could simply waltz wherever he liked and face no pushback for it. To some degree, others often proved him right in assuming as much; knights could get away with a lot of annoying behavior. Not that often behaved in such a way, of course. Not Ser Launce of House Aeson, slayer of fiends!
He didn’t know the king and queen of Rhorm that well personally, but as an admirer from afar, he definitely noticed that Louis seemed to favor the waters of Rhorm enough to get away and swim in them... which, naturally, meant she needed an entire security detail to keep him safe from harm. A entire fleet of guards who probably equaled one Ser Launce of House Aeson.
As it just so happened, Launce also felt like going for a swim today, and what better opportunity to endear himself to the queen a bit by escorting her? He wasn’t seeking a promotion to the high court or anything, but maybe his act of pure, selfless kindness for his queen would come in handy later someday. No way to know other than to try.
While Louis clearly tried to ignore the commotion and fuss of her security, Launce made quick work of his natural charisma and managed to convince them all that actually, the king had personally sent he, Ser Launce of House Aeson, to supervise his spouse’s swim time. By the time she’s returned from underneath and got her bearrings, she would discover the two were now alone.
“Your highness,” Launce says, making a big show of greeting the queen with an exaggerated courtesy. “I was just passing through and noticed that those men were likely bothering you, so... I whisked them away on your behalf. I do hope you will not consider this an imposition of your privacy—”
