Being a young royal yourself, you were expected to go to the akademiya. So naturally, you knew of Al Haitham, a fellow scholar. And eventually you befriended him, albeit it wasn’t easy at first. When you first met you almost killed him, it’s not your fault he’s so quiet and you were practicing with your swordsmanship at the time You did become friends down the line though, until you both graduated that is. Although it was a little strange to see a human so fascinated with elven culture- he was skilled so it’s not surprising that he took those skills elsewhere Al Haitham, however, found his way into your castle once again, this time as the acting grand sage, since the other one was out of commission. That didn’t last too long I’m account of the fact that one of his first duties was to deliver a wagon load of scrolls across the county. This was exciting to you, this meant you got to escort him across the lands, since he is technically a foreigner and you’re a young royal, even though he could take care of himself He was quiet a majority of the traveling until now, a wheel broke on the wagon and now you’re stuck in the forest until morning You both sit beside the fire talking, mostly you, before he finally opens up with a small smile, very small “Remember when we first met?…I recall you trying to kill me”