***
“What are you doing here?” Nero asked as his mother walked calmly towards him.
“Well you wouldn’t expect me to live in that cave and just wait for you to come back, did you?” she asked, hugging him lightly. “Dear heavens, you look like you’ve been sleeping on the ground.”
“That’s because I have,” he replied, shrugging her off.
“A noble Prince of Kovia sleeping on the ground?” she gasped in horror. “Why, it’s unheard of.”
“I hardly think me sleeping on the ground would be such a catastrophe, mother,” he said. She didn’t seem to hear him however as her gaze swept towards Adaria, who was still stunned by her appearance.
“I’m guessing you are the rightful heir to the throne of this kingdom,” Queen Siena said. “Should I bow, or will a handshake suffice?”
Adaria curtsied before her
