"Wakey wakey prin-"

"I'm already awake. You walk too loud." Tigris groaned into her pillow. Roche parted the curtains with a far too cheerful hum. Tigris flopped over onto her side to glare at the offending maid. Roche had shadows staining under her eyes. Tigris couldn't help but notice that she wore the same rumpled dress from last night. "Did you spend the night in my chambers?!"

"You made a mess last night when I came to wake you, remember?" Roche huffed, looking away.

Tigris vaguely remembered tossing a few objects at Roche's head last night when she'd been awoken in the middle of the night. Surely that wouldn't take all night to clean up.

Roche shrugged when she informed her as much. "You threw three goblets of wine. I don't even know how those got into your room."

"No, that's not it." Tigris rose then, inspecting her room. There, by the curtains. The thick fabric was tangled and askew, something that Roche was desperately trying to fix. "You... slept on my floor."

Roche's cheeks darkened with a blush. "I did not!"

"You did!" Tigris insisted. Roche stamped her foot in frustration.

"Fine," the maid snapped, "If you must know, I just wanted to make sure no one would come in and ruin the floors I scrubbed so thoroughly last night."

A strange bit of warmth filled Tigris then. The maid had been guarding her. It was kind of sweet, like a puppy trying to guard a shark. Tigris chuckled. "I'm honoured, Roche, truly. But you know as well as I do that Sir Harold and Sir Caed are competent knights."

"Whatever." Roche muttered, storming into Tigris' wardrobe. "Get your royal, 'defended' butt out of that bed before you're late for your interviews."

Tigris laughed and trudged to get ready, already feeling less anxious about the attempt on her life.

-------

The interviews had led to no new trails. All of the knights who'd been on patrol last night had reported nothing suspicious. A few of them had seen a dark cloaked figure running about, but when they went to investigate they found nothing, like the assailant had vanished into thin air.

Roche had been glued to Tigris' side. It was starting to go from endearing to annoying. Tigris took a break from interviews for training. Hopefully the swinging weapons would deter Roche from any more of her concerned looks or glares at the knights.

Finn showed up as well. Kai slid onto the bench beside Roche. Tigris turned her attention to her knights.

"Pair up! We'll be working on hand to hand sparring." Tigris ordered. She turned to Finn, "Brother, you'll be with me."

Together, Tigris demonstrated the restraining hold they'd be practising. It was simple, a good lock around the neck and hips of the victim. The offensive side would be working the move into their takedown while the defensive side would learn how to break free from it. Tigris wished she didn't need to resort to such basics, but they'd lost a lot of knights over the past months. There were many fresh recruits mixed amongst the group that needed the practise. Tigris tried to mix the newer recruits with some of the more seasoned knights before letting them begin.

She walked among them, correcting forms and grapples.

"This is pathetic to watch."

Tigris spun around as Aodh walked up, grimacing at the sparring knights. "They shouldn't even have been knighted yet."

"You know that we're short on recruits. After the incident with the plague, nobles have been hesitant about lending their sons to the royal guard. Besides, they're probably holding back to avoid revealing their strengths before the tourney." Tigris chided gently, even if concern still fluttered in her chest like a trapped butterfly. Her mind unwillingly turned to Ivie. She'd surpassed the skill of most of the knights here. She half wished that the girl had stayed, just to show these new recruits what they could be.

Tigris shook away the thought. There was no point in lamenting over what she couldn't have.

Aodh's eyes snagged on some of the more seasoned knights. "Getting your personal guard to fight?"

Tigris followed his gaze to where Sir Harold was currently sparring with a newbie.

"I figured that if Father ordered someone to follow me around, I might as well put them to use." she muttered, ignoring the bitterness that rose with the words.

"You picked the knights." Aodh shot her an bemused look, "I don't see why you're upset."

"I don't need guards." Tigris huffed resentfully before she could stop herself, "I'm more than capable of protecting myself."

"Yeah, well, more knights are always better when there's an inkblood around." Aodh reminded her. Tigris grumbled but didn't disagree. She understood her father's reasoning.

That didn't mean that she had to like it.

A flutter of wild movements across the training grounds caught her eye. Tigris watched Sir Harold easily grapple his newbie partner, his muscled arms locking around their neck. The new knight flailed, his eyes bulging with panic as his artery was compressed. Harold didn't relent. In fact, he seemed to tighten his hold.

Tigris frowned. That was unusual. The seasoned knight usually went light with new recruits.

"Harold!" Tigris called, striding across the grounds. Immediately, the knight released the recruit, who crumpled to the ground, hacking for air.

"My lady?" Harold asked. She crossed her arms, waiting for the new recruit to stop spitting out harried curses before she asked,

"I thought you'd be on defense."

"I wanted to practise my offense a bit more, my lady. I've been a bit out of shape." Harold rubbed his neck, looking ashamed. He glanced at the recruit, who was still on the ground coughing. "I apologise, I must have underestimated my strength."

The recruit managed to flash a forgiving thumbs up from his place on the ground. Tigris frowned down at him.

"While he recovers, you can fight with me, Sir Harold."

"Fight?" Harold repeated, his green eyes blooming with concern, "With you?"

"Just so that you can better understand your strengths without choking out a new recruit." Tigris told him gently. When he still looked hesitant, Tigris placed a hand on his shoulder, lowering her voice, "I know you want to be back to your old strength as soon as possible, but I doubt the new recruits can help test what you need. Besides, this will be a good way for the newer recruits to understand what a spar should look like instead of whatever it is they're doing." She jerked her head towards a pair of newbies nearby who had resorted to hesitantly slapping one another's hands away.

Harold's lips twitched with a grin. "As you wish, my lady."

Tigris nodded, whistling loudly until the new recruits gathered around them in a loose circle. Even Roche and Kai seemed intrigued. They stood behind Finn and Aodh, who'd drawn closer.

After a quick explanation, someone found an hourglass to time the match. Tigris rolled her shoulders, relieving some of the tension that had gathered as more sets of eyes landed on her. She bounced on the balls of her feet experimentally. Sir Harold was oddly stiff, his eyes darting about the crowd. Tigris felt a stab of sympathy for him. He might have felt anxious about fighting his first real fight since his disappearance in front of an audience.

Perhaps she should have offered to do this privately. Oh well, it was too late now. Tigris ensured her washed out reddish hair was tied back tightly.

"Ready?" Aodh asked, holding up the hourglass. At their nods, he flipped it, "Go!"

She and Harold prowled around each other as murmurs and cheers swelled from the watching recruits. Tigris knew that Harold wanted to go on the offensive, so she waited as he strode about, his eyes calculating her defenses.

She noted the rapid coiling of his muscles a millisecond before he lunged forwards. Tigris immediately leapt back, light on her feet. She barely felt the impact of her feet hitting the ground before she was ducking beneath another blow. Harold didn't waste any time. He lifted his knee, nearly catching Tigris in the stomach. She managed to block him with her forearms, hooking her arms around his knee. With one well timed yank, the knight stumbled, his back crashing into the ground.

His breath whooshed out of him audibly.

Tigris vaulted forward, ready to pin him in place. To her surprise, the knight rolled away, popping up to his feet easily.

A blur of movement had her arms up over her temples. Harold's fist crashed into her arm, and the impact rocketed up to her elbow. Tigris hissed.

"Easy now. Watch your aim." she growled. If she hadn't blocked in time, a blow like that could easily knock her out... permanently.

Harold's brow began to bead up like sweat. He didn't acknowledge her chastisement, simply firing off a rapid set of jabs. Tigris managed to block or move out of range of most of them, but her breath quickened. The lithe, brown haired man was a blur. Tigris felt a thread of unease at his intensity. He was pushing her towards the edge of the circle.

Tigris moved to block another punch as she caught a flicker of movement, but the impact never came. Her breath stuttered as she recognised the distraction for what it was at the same moment his leg connected with her ribs.

Tigris choked back her cry of surprise as she stumbled to the side, her breath leaving her in a rush. Harold seized the moment easily, his eyes gleaming with startling intensity that made Tigris pause. He looked wild as he hooked a punch for her temple again, one that Tigris easily deflected. She noticed his foot turning towards her a moment before he tried to slam his leg into the back of her knees. She couldn't quite get out of the way in time.

The kick brought her to her knees, near the edge of the crowd. She immediately tried to roll out of the way, but Harold had caught onto that move. He flung himself forward, pinning her legs down against the mulchy ground with his weight. His arm wrapped around her neck.

Tigris tried to fight off her gasp as her air cut off. She quashed the instinct to squirm. Instead, she tried using her body weight to swing them both to the muddy ground to no avail.

Her hearing began to ebb, but she could sense the surrounding knights growing less amused and more concerned. Tigris struggled, tapping Harold lightly to signal the end of the match.

He didn't budge.

Tigris would be concerned if she wasn't so focused on trying to breathe.

No more defense, she decided then and there.

Time to show the recruits how to break out of the hold.

She slammed her elbow back into Harold's ribs. The man let out an audible oof, his grip loosening. Tigris gratefully drank in the air, using the opportunity to lean forward, flipping Harold onto the ground, his face pressed into the mud. The crowd parted immediately to give them more room. Harold struggled for a moment, managing to flip onto his back with a grunt.

Tigris leapt on top of him. She placed her knee over his solar plexus, pinning his arms down with some effort. She held him there for a few moments before asking, "Yield?"

Some of the fogginess in Harold's eyes seemed to fade. He nodded gratefully. "Yield," he agreed. Tigris eased off him, watching the tension seep out of her friend's form. She eased back, clapping her hands at the new recruits. They jumped at the sound.

"That," Tigris announced, trying to catch her breath, "Is a spar. Not slapping your partner's hands away."

Two recruits looked away bashfully. Tigris hid her smirk.

"The tournament will be on a similar level of difficulty, so I expect you all to be prepared to fight at such a standard by then. You have the week. You're all dismissed!"

Tigris turned back. Harold was still on the ground, his brow tight with exertion. Tigris held out her hand to help him up.

"You alright?" she asked, concern seeping into her voice. He nodded, shame colouring his face as she helped him up.

"I got too carried away again, didn't I?" he murmured, his green eyes avoiding her gaze. Tigris chewed her lip.

"I admit, I was worried when you didn't accept my tap out," she replied. Harold slumped further.

"I'm sorry, my lady. It won't happen again, I promise."

Tigris hesitated. "I know you wouldn't ever hurt one of your fellow knights on purpose, Harold. But if you're not ready to be back yet-"

"I'm ready." There was an urgency to his voice that took Tigris by surprise. His hand tightened over hers. "I promise, my lady. I just got a bit caught up today."

Tigris sighed, a headache beginning to form behind her brows. She could hear the desperation in his voice, and she didn't want to deny him. "I trust your judgement. But I am going to insist that you get Leinos to give you the all clear to ensure that you're truly ready. Physically and mentally."

He nodded, his shoulders relaxing. His wiry frame folded over into a bow before he hurried back into the castle. She watched him go, trying to push away her concern.

"You alright?"

Tigris turned, finding Aodh standing just behind her shoulders, watching Sir Harold go. His eyes were narrowed.

Tigris cleared her throat, trying to smooth out her expression. "I'm fine." Aodh raised a disbelieving brow and she added, "I'm just worried about Sir Harold."

Aodh crossed his arms, glaring daggers at the retreating knight's back as it disappeared into the castle. "I thought I saw you tap out."

"You know I never tap out." Tigris lied smugly, trying to erase the concern dancing in her brother's eyes. She couldn't afford Aodh to go into protective brother mode with the most trusted knight in the city and risk her relationship with her knights. She needed to finish the interviews and find the inkblood willing to take on the royal family. She'd need the support of her knights to do that.

"Really, Aodh. It's all fine." Tigris assured her brother, placing a hand on his shoulder, "If you're so concerned, you can try fighting me yourself."

Aodh scowled. "You fight dirty. Last time, you threw mud in my face."

"I would never." Tigris lied again, fluttering her lashes. Aodh rolled his eyes, muttering something about stupid princesses with a sword as he stormed off to do gods knew what. She turned to find Finn, Kai, and Roche huddled together, all of them donning serious expressions.

Tigris rolled her eyes. They were probably panicking over that stupid 'prophecy'. Tigris couldn't have that. Her father would have Finn's head if he overheard that nonsense again. She began marching towards the trio, wondering what could make cheerful little Roche look so sombre.

A/N: 

Tigris: Aw, Roche is trying to protect me, that's adorable.

Roche, after slamming an assassin into a wall: O:

Anyway, how'd you like the chapter?