"There should be a towel on the edge of the bath-" he said until he heard her state that she had found one.

"Don't put on your old cloth-" he said before he was interrupted by her walking out in the old and dirty clothing. He sighed a huge sigh and grabbed her hand to pull her down the hallway to another room. "If you so wish, we'll get you the same outfit but sewn better and cleaner. For now, you get to choose from my mother's old outfits."

He pushed open the door to a room that looked like it hadn't been touched in years, which in fact it hadn't. Ever since the passing of his mother the room had been left undisturbed so as to keep it in pristine condition as a memorial to the great lady.

"The wardrobe is over there and there is sure to be something in there that you can wear," Zachary gestured in a general fashion to an ornate door, "You should be able to change in there while I wait out here. If not, my room is directly across from this one in the hallway.This is also the room that you will be sleeping in." Zachary then sat on the bed, twiddling his thumbs.

Her reactions amused him. It was if she hadn't grown up with him and his language. Just the way she looked at him upon the usage of various words made him chuckle. After all, they were just words.

As he stood outside the bathing room, hearing her hiss et cetera, he thought to himself about the question. Time had passed in such an unusual way that he was slightly hesitant. "It may have been five years? I gained the throne when I was 20 and I assume I am twenty-five now. Time has progressed weirdly, with too many events to really accurately retell how old I am."

He sighed, attempting to recall the events of the previous years, since he had last seen Ava disappear into the woods on that troublesome day.

"Well, let's see. The day I saw you disappear into the woods was also the day that Father died, that old Bastard. Never understood how he let himself get killed. The rest of that day was spent in chaos as people rushed to mourn and crown me as the new king. At that point in time, I never suspected that I would become king so early. I supposed that I would have been taught everything by my father until he passed away in safety. But nonetheless, I jumped into the throne and essentially learned the ropes as I went. After that day, I was busy doing my kingly duties until I figured out how to do them and give myself free time."

"That is when I started courting. You wouldn't believe how many young (and old) ladies came to have me court them. Reverse-courtship, if you will. So many came that I became known as the King of Hearts, as it seemed I would woo every female I passed, even if they were married. No matter to their husbands, as I would make them understand why. I don't understand it myself, but that is the idea of the people, as you will. I personally believe I am just a young man who happens to be the king of the people."

"This next event is paired with the passing of Tripes, who had stayed with me in the castle up until his death. It came a year or so ago, as my mother was just starting to slow her mourning down. Drought struck, so badly that we had to ration everything. We had to ration the amount of time one could take a shit, so that they could run on that food for as long as possible. It was also at that time that a neighboring kingdom decided to attack. In the process of their siege, the wall was knocked down and they ran rampant through the castle-town, defeating most of the soldiers stationed. They reached the castle but not could not enter. By that time, our men had awakened and attacked the attackers from behind. The enemies were all slaughtered and delivered to their camp. They soon left, not willing to exhaust any materials."

"Not without seriously injuring me, that is. I now have a scar all down the leg that gives me a slight limp, but one that I have nearly gotten over at this point. I had to resign my duties to my mother while I was in the intensive care of the healers. They couldn't do much beyond stop the bleeding and stitching my leg up, which now bears a very gruesome scar."

He sighed and rested his lungs for a bit of time before starting up again. "Enough about my exploits, let's hear yours!"

Zachary laughed at his friends language. "And the other things of this castle are mostly bullshit." He opened a door randomly and motioned for all of the servants in that room to leave. "Now come on, let's go get you cleaned up." He said as he shoved her inside and directed her to the bathing room.

"I'll be standing out here so as to not intrude upon your privacy," Zachary announced after explaining to Ava all of the bathing necessities. "And also- don't worry about having to live the castle life. We'll be the most casual motherfuckers ever."

Zachary watched in slight disgust as the sheriff tried to kill his childhood friend, especially after the king's explicit instructions. Shaking his head, he called to the leaving Sheriff "Expect a demotion, Sheriff. And soon." He sighed and turned to Ava. "Don't call me that. Call me Zachary." Zachary smiled a little bit and turned to the dais.

"What we're going to do now is go upstairs to the rooms and get you cleaned up. You look kinda dirty," Zachary said as he grabbed her hand and ran up the dais and to the left, into the doorway that not many actually knew about. Taking the stairs two at a time, he dragged Ava along and into the private quarters of the king.

At the top of the winding staircase which opened up into a tapestry (it was a hidden entrance, one of many). Cautiously he looked out and stepped out, walking down the hall with dignity (and Ava's arm in the crook of his own) towards his rooms.

Zachary looked down at his childhood friend with disdain, but there was still of a hint of joy in his face. This was the first time in around ten years that they had seen each other. Sadly, it was in such a situation that took away from the occasion.

"The problem is not that you are a thief, but a thief that got caught and put up to trial in front of your childhood friend," he said as he tossed his jacket onto the dais, being only in a long sleeve shirt and his pants. Slowly, he paced around her, looking her up and down. Stopping behind her, he spoke in a low voice, looking at the door to the throne room. "No matter what, it's good to see you again. I will pardon you, but you'll be staying with me for a while. I guess to make up for the years we have been apart."

Spinning around on his heel, he walked around to stand in front of her, looking into Ava's eyes. "First, we'll need to clean you up," he commented as he noticed the grime plastered onto her face and in her hair, both of which were pretty in his eyes.

With a wave of his arm, the doors to the hall opened and in came the group that had left so they could discuss things in private. "I have made my decision. Captain, you will get the reward for bringing her in. And you shall think nothing else of her, see the Treasurer to claim it. If you must know, she will be staying with me as her punishment," he winked at Ava, "Now, you may leave. We will be retreating to my quarters."