The redheaded knight leaned into his view. He was coated in white powder, and some of it rained down into Solace's eyes. He'd not heard the man approach. “Need some help?” Reed asked. His expression was one of barely contained fury, but Solace didn’t think it was directed at himself. However, it was a change in attitude from everyone else except Charlotte. He wasn’t being friendly, but he wasn’t hostile or frightened.

“Yes,” Solace admitted sourly.

Reed lifted the chair off him and set it upright. He stepped over Solace then and handily lifted him from beneath the arms, tossing him into the seat before Solace could get his feet under him to help.

"Is it possible for you to not toss me around like a bag of laundry?" Solace asked sourly.

Reed snorted. "Maybe if you didn't throw yourself on the ground so much." He kicked the brake off and rolled him down the hill.

“I don't seem to have any strength. It isn't my fault." Solace paused, then twisted in the chair to look back at Reed. "You seem to have gotten over being frightened of me.”

“Ran out of fucks to give." Reed wore a neutral face that looked vaguely annoyed.

“Does that happen often?” Solace asked in shock. What a strange way to put it, but he knew the feeling.

“Today’s just used them all up.” He fell silent as they reached Lorrie and Kelvin.

"It's your responsibility to keep watch of it!" Kelvin accused Lorrie, jabbing her in the chest with his finger, reminding Solace once more that he did not like the man.

Reed locked the chair again before saluting.

"What do you want?" Kelvin rounded on Reed.

"Just delivering the prince back to his maid, Knight Commander. Regardless of what’s goin’ on, he’s still a prince. I’d get hanged for leaving him in the grass like that,” Reed said, sounding bored. “Besides, Her Majesty would string us all up if he’s late for dinner. You know how serious she takes it.”

The Knight Commander’s lip curled in disgust, flicking his gaze down to Solace. “Disgusting practice.” It was clear to Solace that he thought Solace was disgusting as well. Since he was close enough, Solace kicked his shin again.

“If you’re so disgusted, then leave,” Solace ordered.

Lorrie flinched straight, gripping her apron.

Reed flinched as well, but Solace couldn’t see his face.

The insult lit a fire in Kelvin’s eyes.

“What a mouth. Too bad killing royals is treason,” Reed mentioned offhandedly. He sounded amused.

“That’s if this thing is royal at all,” Kelvin growled. “Which I will get to the bottom of.” He jabbed a finger at Solace’s nose. “Don’t get too comfortable, imposter." He shot Reed a glare. Lorrie looked pale and shaken. Turning, Kelvin stalked away, stomping on the flowers.

"What right does he have to speak to anyone like that? I really don't like him." Solace looked after the man and added, "I hope he chokes on something."

"There’s an audience for that," Reed said blandly.

"Reed," Lorrie admonished between her teeth.

Reed stepped around beside Solace’s chair. “What? Kelvin’s an ass, and I'd pay to see him choke on something.”

Lorrie slapped Reed's arm, raising a cloud of plaster. "Antagonizing him isn’t good for any of us, and you know it. Off with you, lout! And clean up whatever mess you made to get like that. I can’t imagine how you get so filthy in the span of a half hour."

“Sorry, Lorrie. It’s been a long day already. Have a good evening, Your Highness.” Reed put his fist to his chest and bowed.

She took the brake off Solace's chair and started wheeling him away.

She had to take him back around the gazebo to the doors. Unlike before, two men in grey and white uniforms now stood on either side. One of the brawny men had white paint on his cheek. They both stared at Solace as if he had several heads until he was past them.

“Lorrie, could you tell me who everyone is?” Solace asked.

She cleared her throat. “The redhead is Barracks Captain Owen. He runs the Western Barracks. The man you kicked is Knight Commander Kelvin. He is in charge of the Palace Guard.”

“What about the dark haired man that was with Sir Owen earlier?” Solace asked.

“That would be Vice Captain Davis. He’s Sir Owen’s second.”

“And those two at the door?”

“Sirs Avery and Timmons,” Lorrie said.

“Where were they earlier?”

“I… am not sure. They take their duty seriously, so Sir Owen must have had good reason to call them away from their posts.”

Lorrie sounded sure of that statement and more than a little puzzled, so Solace decided to take her word for it.

They reached the room Solace had first woken in just as the clock struck twelve. A young redhead woman wearing the maid uniform was wiping dust from it. She turned to look at them, her pale complexion going whiter as she gasped. "Lorrie! He's sopping wet! What happened?" She didn’t notice Solace staring at her. Instead, she opened the second set of doors in the room, revealing a sparsely furnished bedroom.

"He went swimming." Lorrie parked his chair in the middle of the large room. There was another door across the way.

“Blessed Sun, we’re going to have to wash him head to toe! Whoever did this should be flogged!” Marigold complained. Solace looked around as the redheaded woman left the room. She called back, "The red outfit, right?"

"That's what I was told," Lorrie said from the new room he could only see part of.

Getting out of his chair, Solace went to the window on his left to look at the flowering trees outside.

"You're going to be a handful from now on, aren't you?" Lorrie asked.

He looked over his shoulder at her. She had wrapped her hands in her apron. Her face exposed her continued fear of him. Legs beginning to shake, Solace pushed off and went to stand before Lorrie. "Not intentionally."

"Come this way, Your Highness." She went into the next room, which was split into two sections. The side that caught his attention was the large tub set into the floor, filled with water. The room was warm and a bit steamy.

Lorrie grabbed his coat at the top of his shoulders and tugged it down. Startled, he collided with a shelf.

"Stop!" Solace yelped, trying to defend himself from Lorrie's aggressive stripping. He lost balance and slipped to the floor, his hand catching a few bottles on the way down. They shattered around him. "Why are you being so rough with me?" He looked up at her desperately.

"I wasn't," Lorrie clutched his jacket between her hands, eyes wide.

Solace closed his eyes and lifted a hand, finding it sticky and smelling of something stingingly sweet. His whole arm trembled. Taking several breaths to calm himself, he looked back at her. Admittedly, she'd not been rough. He was just weak. "I'm not a child you have to hold down and scrub."

"Then sit," she pointed at the bench nearby.

Crawling across the floor, he pulled himself onto it. Removing his shoes, he tossed them toward the basket. Lorrie left the room briefly and returned with a dustpan and short broom to sweep up the sticky shards. Solace got his shirt and pants off with some struggle and had to sit momentarily. Maybe undressing was a bit more than he was capable of...

"Lorrie," the redheaded girl called from the bedroom. "Reed and Patrick were here earlier." She started giggling. "Reed is so weird. He crawled around on the floor like he was sniffing for a fox. Then they said Prince Solace walked! How absurd is that? Oh, his chair is out here. Did you get him on the bench by yourself?"

Setting the remains of the sticky glass aside, Lorrie put her fists on her hips, looking down at him. "All of it," she told him.

"I need to catch my breath," Solace objected.

"We've only a few hours to get you ready, and given how slow you are, it's going to take that whole time. Hurry up," Lorrie reminded.

"Lorrie?" Marigold called from the bedroom. "Who're you talking to? Do you need help?" Marigold’s voice trailed off.

“Have you overcome your fear?” Solace asked as he shuffled to get the last remaining item off and tossed it toward the basket. He couldn’t help but grin.

The noise in the bedroom had ceased. "Lorrie?" Marigold slowly peeked around the door frame.

"A gentle breeze can knock you over. I think I can outrun you,” Lorrie retorted.

Solace chuckled. “Given how swiftly you fled earlier, yes. You most assuredly can. Though I promise never to raise my hand against you.” Leaning his forearms on his knees, he tipped his head to look at Marigold.

Marigold withdrew.

A thump resounded from the bedroom.

Lorrie sighed, got a bucket of water from the tub and set it, a soap block, and a washcloth near Solace. She went to deal with the other woman. Starting with his hair, he scrubbed his scalp and worked the suds down to the ends. Meanwhile, he could hear Lorrie speaking.

"He's moving on his own?" Marigold asked, voice trembling. "You told him to bathe himself?"

She burst into the bathing room, hands on her face in horror. "No!"