-The mostly respectful expression on his face twitches into something...well. Not so much arrogant as confident. Unlike quite a lot of the more nobly born, he gained his rank in the thick of things. If he had to bet on anyone, it would be him.-
“Pardon, m’lady. I would rather face a duel with your half-brother than an execution from your father just because I was too prudish to watch a woman swimming and let her get killed or worse. Not to mention one’s professional pride.”
-His accent is decidedly common but he wears the gear of a warrior, and one that’s done well for himself at that.-
“At least I don’t have to worry about you drowning. You swim like a fish.”
Shiera studied him carefully, picking up on his accent and the armor that he wore. Both didn’t go together at all, but it wasn’t a foreign concept to have a knight rise through the ranks by way of skill and talent alone. Wealth didn’t always mean someone was an excellent warrior, after all.
“I cannot decide whether to deem you brave or foolish for choosing that,” she finally said, running the towel through her hair until it no longer dripped sea water. “But my father does have more sway in the kingdom than Brynden. I can see why you’d prefer the duel.” His compliment, although she didn’t verbally acknowledge it, did make her smile a little. Her and her mother’s ties to the sea were well-known, but they were not always commented on.
He wouldn’t be the first man to stare at her, but at least his excuse for it was because he had been assigned to watch her. Shiera moved at the same pace she always did, and when she was done, she handed him her damp towel while she bent down to slip her feet into her corked sandals. “Let’s see how well you do in court, Ser. The battlefield and the throne room are two very different sites for conflict.”
