The carriage bumped along as it rolled down the cobblestone streets of Omega towards the castle, passing numerous citizens who didn't give it a second glance. They were not entirely unjustified in shrugging it off either. For a royal carriage, it was exceedingly plain; taken care of, but unadorned. It wasn't even purple. There was, essentially, no reason for anyone who was unfamiliar with this carriage to think that it would be in any way associated with the royal family.
Which was, of course, precisely the point. The reason that the Queen, and by extension, her acting bodyguard for the moment, were in this carriage on this specific occasion, was that they were returning from a fortress on the outskirts of the city, to the castle proper. The reason for this being the little assassination attempt of last night. Since someone had been so kind as to warn them ahead of time about their uninvited guests, Queen Violet had been removed from the building hours before the attackers had even arrived. She'd had faith that Phoenix could handle the situation well enough, but it was better to be cautious. Speaking of which, she fully intended to find out where exactly this "anonymous tip" had come from. Anyone who knew when assassins were going to appear on the Queen's doorstep had some questions to answer.
The young monarch glanced over at the knight across from her. Despite the fact that he was sitting upright, she honestly couldn't tell if Sir Goron was actually awake. Well, intellectually she knew he was alert and prepared for just about anything, but, seeing as he had failed to so much as remove his visor, and he was sitting completely motionless, she had no way of visually confirming it. Not that there was any need to, but it was still something that Violet kept in mind.
Goron was, as it turned out, not sleeping, but going over recent events in his head. He was not particularly pleased with the way that this whole situation had worked out. Oh, he understood the need to ensure the Queen's safety, as well as the fact that Kota was... otherwise occupied, and unable to preform her usual duties. He took no issue with any of that. What did not sit well with him was the way in which the assassins had been dealt with. Rather than facing them directly, the plan had, the last he had heard before leaving with the Queen, been to allow them to get into the castle, lure them into a trap, and then kill them. And while it was a decent strategy, and killing one's enemies was often necessary, the idea of engaging a foe who was not aware of your presence without announcing yourself and giving them time to defend themselves just seemed... wrong. He understood that it was how Phoenix did things, and he bore the man no ill will for it, he even fully understood the tactical advantage behind it, but it was far too dishonorable a tactic for him or one of his knights to employ.
But, of course, the vows of loyalty came before those of chivalry, and he would have done the same thing if ordered to, That is not to say that he would by any means be happy about it, but he'd do as commanded.
When the carriage ride was finally over, delivering them as close to the inside of the building as it possibly could, Sir Goron stepped out, his armor immediately bursting into light as it moved into the sun. Taking the Queen's hand when she extended it, he helped her down. "To where shall we go first, Your Majesty?" It was the first he had spoken since they had set out, so Violet knew that this matter must be concerning him more than he showed. Well, in so far as one shows anything with their entire body encased in steel. "We'll retrieve Kota first. Alterez can wait. Once Kota has again taken her place as my guard, you are temporarily dismissed. Find your men, tend to any dead you may have, but do not go far. I shall need you again shortly." "Yes, Your Highness."
So the two proceeded into the dungeon, down a number of flights of stairs and winding passageways designed specifically to confuse anyone attempting to make sense of them, and finally arrived outside the door, behind which the Queen's true bodyguard waited. With a nod from Violet, Goron opened the door, and stepped inside. The cell had been carefully constructed, silver lining the walls, regardless of the unclarity of its effect on werewolves, and that of the occupant's relation to the mysterious beasts. Stepping forward, metal boots scraping softly over damp stone, the knight lightly tapped the girl's shoulder to wake her.