"You are lucky that Shiva found you. Even more so, I imagine, that she has remained by your side since then. She must care for you greatly and you her."
"I thought so too, at the time, and every day since then... but with so many attempts on our lives, I'm beginning to think that all royals are doomed to live unfortunate lives.." Kenna replied to him in an equally quiet tone. Though her tone didn't hold any intent. She wasn't trying to argue or attack him for kidnapping her, in fact she was responding to him apathetically if anything. She was speaking her mind, but there was no real anger or even sadness accompanying her words. She was beginning to accept that maybe her fate was to live a short life. It would make sense... The wealthy die young to repay Leirina for their easy lives while the poor are given long lives to make up for the struggles they faced, "My mother died young... and this is the second time in my life that I've nearly died, apparently." She kept her eyes on the sky, and although she didn't really feel up for conversation, there was nothing else to do. Riding all day on Oachi proved to be rather boring in the end. How did he do this for a living? Traveling was nothing like the ballads told. Traveling was uncomfortable, boring, and she really doubted she would enjoy the mountains. She hated snow more than any other type of weather, not that she was very fond of the rain either, "Perhaps the monarchy are simply not meant to live long lives because we've lived more luxuriously than others."
Kenna grew quiet after saying that, unsure of what else there was to say. She wasn't accustomed to getting to know strangers, seeing as she rarely encountered someone she did not know at the castle... so this was highly awkward... especially since flirting would get her nowhere with him. That was a bit dull actually, she might have actually enjoyed herself a bit if he had been susceptible to her charm... but no, he was too much of a textbook assassin to allow her to get in his head.. This is no fun... She thought to herself exasperatedly. She zoned out for the remainder of the ride, seeing as she had forgotten all of the questions she wanted to ask Tannin after their conversation about Shiva.
She had nearly fallen asleep when she noticed that they had stopped moving. She looked up at the mountain wide eyed. She was amazed, because she saw only mountain as far as her eyes could see. It was so tall... She'd never seen a mountain so up close before. She was aware that they were massive, but she never imagined that they would be that enormous. The mountain probably touched the sky.. She didn't even pay attention to Tannin as he set up the camp, she just walked over to the mountain, reaching forward and touching the cold stone. It was almost worth the boredom, but she really was starting to miss home.
"Is there anything that you prefer to eat? I had not thought to ask you before."
"I prefer to avoid eating meat when possible... It makes me sick just thinking about an animal being harmed.." She replied, which probably explained how she was so slender and fragile. She didn't have any protein in her diet at all. Questions finally entered her head, although she doubted he would answer them. They were far more personal than those she'd asked before.. What is a guy like Tannin doing here? He is short, but he is also relatively aesthetically pleasing... Why doesn't he have a wife and kids? Why is he living this horrible life?
"What brought you to this point...?" She finally asked, leaning against a nearby tree instead of sitting on the ground. She ran a hand through her long brown hair, doubting she'd get a lot of sleep tonight.. She never really thought about it before, but it was terrifying being outside at night... especially so far away from home, "Don't you want to get married and have a family?" She asked, staring at the fire once he got it lit. She didn't understand him at all.. Then another thought came to mind and she giggled a bit. Perhaps he did have children... just not in the conventional way? Then she shook her head, "Or do you simply take lovers to handle that..?" She asked in a nonjudgmental tone. She honestly was just asking out of curiosity.. because most men at the castle.. their main goal was to find a hole to fill. She was perplexed by the fact that Tannin didn't seem sexually inclined at all. In fact, he was rather professional for a man who had a princess captive, "I've never met a man who isn't interested in producing sons... and as we've discussed before, society automatically expects female captors to be defiled.. What is it that makes you so different from those men?" She was honestly being serious. She wasn't taunting him, although she did find the topic to be rather entertaining. Despite being chaste, she did enjoy talking about the matter. Just because she couldn't partake in it, doesn't mean she had to be entirely oblivious to the act. Kenna knew a lot about how children came into this world, despite her father's best attempts to keep his daughter's mind pure. She was a persuasive young woman and Mahayana was always willing to teach Kenna, regardless of what the material was. She was meant to teach Kenna how to be a good wife after all, of course Mahayana would educate her in how to please her future husband... it was pretty much what her father hired Mahayana to do... He just didn't want to come to terms with the idea. Kenna spent a good deal of her time flirting with the guards, mostly because it was a great pastime, but yet nothing she did seemed to have an effect on Tannin. He was... interesting.