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As the two distanced the beach, the feeling of claustrophobia and unsettling aura finally fading with each step. Asriel leaned close to Alister, still shaken by what just happened. But the grip on her hand, the hand that held her own, reaffirmed her of what was real and what wasn't. She closed her eyes, still trying to calm her breath. She squeezed Alister's hand before she spoke. "Y...You don't know what that was, do you?" She murmured quietly. Something in her throat dropped, and her hold on Alister's hand tightened again. She knew something Alister didn't and she didn't think he'd want to know. No, knowing what she knew...It left such a horrible taste in her mouth. and to think, what Alister's father might've told her may have been the truth. But Asriel remained silent. She wasn't too sure what the ringing sound was either.

She cleared her throat, loosening her fingers so that Alister was holding her hand rather she to his. "But...I don't think those ships had anything to deal with what we heard...You know what they were, right?" She asked, already knowing the dreadful answer. She looked away, almost ashamed, and stopped walking so that she tugged on Alister's arm. Her face looked sickly pale, her voice whispered like she had seen a ghost.

"Foreign warships hired by Eureka."

If he already knew, why did he answer! Asriel didn't speak, embarrassed and in deep thought, as Alister tugged her along. She glanced at him from time to time but it didn't look he'd say anything. Alas, they came near the castle. The two would have to sneak back in, not such an easy task as sneaking out. However, Alister disrupted her formulation of a plan to do so without being noticed.

She knew it. Alister was very observant and could tell easily she was troubled. He was serious too and she didn't want to lie to him. Her heart gave a painful ping. "Alister," she murmurered, almost like a defeated whisper. "I...There's a secret I cannot tell you, no matter if you think you can help or do something about it. I just can't. So if possible, please don't inquire further." She meant to say this firmly but it came out sort of defeated. "All I know is that my grandfather is plotting something. I...don't have anything to do about it and please don't think bad of my country...I...want to figure what he's planning first...I'll reveal everything after that," she offered, hoping he'd be fine with that. She didn't intend for him to get angry or feel like he was kept in the shadows, no, and truthfully Asriel felt she should tell him what she knew. But she was promised not to talk about it. At least, not yet.

Asriel gave a sigh of seeming relief, happy in the fact that Alister understood what she was going through and didn't inquire further. She didn't know if she would've broke down and spilled everything if he did but was glad he didn't. With such relief in mind, getting back to the castle seemed all too easy. The two neared the wall. Asriel looked up. Their room was three windows up. She glanced at Alister before back up before chuckling.

Asriel ended up laughing, looking at Alister's postition. "You look so serious..." She covered her mouth. He looked so ready to climb that wall. "You still have that wound on your side, Alister. Besides, I'm not as weak as you think I am." She looked up and then to her left. A terrace with grapling vines hugged the wall. It surely looked unsafe but it was the only way to get up and onto the balcony. Asriel scrambled to get on first so that Alister wouldn't have any time to argue with her. She clenched a vine and pulled herself up before easily climbing the terrace with her light body. After several minutes and a moment that looked as if she might fall, Asriel creeped up and over onto the balcony, disappearing from Alister's sight below. She stuck her head out over the side to look down at him and see his progress.

Asriel moved back as he climbed over the railing, suprised at his strength. She would make a mental note of it and watched him as he smirked and proceeded inside. She tailed him quickly, blushing mad when he chuckled. She could not retort, no words were made audible from her mouth. She blushed deep until her hands covered her cheeks. "You!" She stood there, trying to formulate words sensible enough to speak. "I...I forgot...And it wasn't like I did it on purpose!" She then marched into the closet and hung up her cloak. "Besides! I wouldn't have blamed you if you did look! I thought all men were to fancy the chance to peek at a woman's underneaths...To their wives, no less," she whispered the last part, mostly to herself and exited the closet, her face still blushing and embarrassed but her temperment had calmed. She paced around, crossing her arms or fiddling with the cloth of her dress before finally stopping and sighed, looking at him as she stopped by the table.
It took quite a lot out of her but she minded she say it. "But..." She glanced away, her fingers playing with a smooth yellow apple, "Thank you," she murmured quietly, peeking at him before turning her head to not humble him. With that she went to her trunk and opened it, digging out something until she pulled out some fabric and clothes for her to wear. She'd thought it best to bathe and change, with sand still in between her toes, and took quite a deal in picking out clothes and setting them on the bed before grabbing some towels and went to the back of the room, far behind the couch to a room in the corner with lavish bathing quarters. She opened the door and glanced back at Alister before looking straight ahead. "I'm going to take a bath. I suggest you should mentally prepare yourself before we report to my grandfather. You'd wish you would," she added before going inside and closing the door behind her.

Asriel took a great deal in cleaning herself and washing her hair, enjoying the bubble bath that warmed her skin. She sat in the bath a little while longer, finding the water soothing to her body until she had gotten out and had gotten herself dried off. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her grandfather... She wondered what he'd say. Surely not an insult right off the bat...Asriel could only ponder and opened the door, still thinking about it. She skipped off to the bed, a robe covering her left-to-be-clothed body and snatched up her outfit before retreating back to the bathroom and changing. She exited in a matter of seven mintures, finishing tying the sash around her waist before leaving the bathroom at last. She wore typical Eurekan clothes, a tunic that exposed her shoulders but covered her arms. An embroidered scarf circled her waist, detailed in golden thread and beads, and wore pants ( try to think of the movie Aladdin ), not a fancy dress Alister might've been used to. She hugged her arms, her hair air drying but still damp. She made a singly braid quickly and plopped on the couch, feeling refreshed.

She felt nervous, she wasn't going to lie, and it obviously showed on her face. She cleared her throat and looked at Alister. "My grandfather is waiting in his throne room...We'll go there," she commented and stood, motioning for Alister to follow. He looked busy in throught though and it struck her curious. Was he worried? Anxious? Or was he still thinking about what had happened earlier at the beach? She shuddered. She couldn't even possibly guess what that noise was. It didn't sound like it had came from anything but inside their own head. And before that...the warships...Eureka, before the signing of the armistice, was losing the war. The people were in poverty, were greatly outnumbered, and had a dissadvantage over the terrain. Asriel didn't want to think about what those ships meant and she hopefully didn't want Alister to think any differently.
She opened the door and waved Alister along. "I think Cameron is still in his quarters...But I think it's alright if we go without him," she commented.