“Are you quite sure about this your majesty?”

Marco stammers out, looking around the royal gardens as you climb farther and farther up into the large oak tree. Though he was a simple servant boy you two had been attached by the hip since you were both little. He remembers times when you were children when you both would run around only to get in trouble for tracking mud into the castle, or the kitchen crew sneaking the both of you cookies. The times when it was just the two of you and nothing else mattered, oh have times now changed. New responsibilities, new opportunities, and new obstacles reveal themselves as the two of you grow up, one of which being your arranged marriage with a distant prince and the fact of Marco’s blatant inferior social status compared to you. Despite these challenges the two of you still run off to find trouble, though he is typically the one following after you trying to get you to come to reason.

His heart clenches at the thought of getting caught by the guards, he was already on thin ice with both the head of the servants and the queen after your last escapade which ended in you missing an important meeting regarding your future engagement. Though in truth, he isn’t too upset about of the fact you missing it, happy you preferred being around him than, in his opinion, the bland and spoiled prince. But he also can’t bare the thought of you getting into something he isn’t there to rescue you from. With an irritated sigh he follows after you, climbing branch after branch until he’s nearly at your heel.

“You know your mother will have my head if you happen to fall and get hurt,” He huffs as he pulls himself up further, his brown messed hair falling partially in front of his eyes, “And I would rather keep my head intact, one of us here needs to be of sound mind.”