With most of his day already spent, Locke decided to head back to the Vaugrenard Manor, just on the outskirts of the inner city. He had thought on what Felix had said for some time as he unfastened his armour and surveyed himself in a nearby mirror.

It was true that he had gotten... undisciplined in his time after keeping strict to the knights training regimen, although in his defence, his parentage had played into that. Regardless, everyone who saw him in person could be sure there was no stronger man in Beneš. Locke might not have been as fast anymore but having strength was better than speed. The latter only increased the likelihood for a man to run.

He dismissed the image in the mirror and quickly put on the rich fabrics of his evening clothes.

If he married the princess, he would certainly be surrounded by all the finest things the palace had to offer. But then again, if he failed, Locke was sure he would make a very good meal for a dragon.

However, deep down, a part of him he thought long dead now, felt sorry for the princess. Unfortunately for her, either way she would lose, being held captive by a beast or married to him seemed like equal fates.

It still puzzled Locke as to how his name had made it on the list at all, let alone was the only name there. The curiosity behind that thought alone was enough to make him want to ask the princess herself. Could it have been a misspelling? Not with the uniqueness of his given name combined with the infamy of his sires'. Then a thing of magic, perhaps one of his mother's spies in the castle? But even with all the magic in the world there was no way to mimic a signature, not perfectly at least.

If he wanted to succeed, the black knight of Vaugrenard was going to have to rely on more than brawn to keep his head. In the library of the fourth floor of the family mansion there would be a collection of carefully curated novels about the deadly magical beasts of the kingdom. Dragons would undoubtedly be amongst them.

When he entered the mansion Locke didn't so much as give his mother a sideways glance as he headed to his private chambers. In her unseemly way, the Lady of house Vaugrenard appeared to unfold from the darkness, her long silk sleeves draped against her side and dragged alongside her skirts.

"I'll be out for a few days. Don't send a messenger after me," he said over his shoulder. An incredibly cold welcome and goodbye for an incredibly cold relationship.

Vera Vaugrenard, who was currently wrapped in a deep purple robe, followed him to the base of the stairs her son was already ascending and smiled.

"To rescue the princess?" she asked.

He stopped in his tracks and turned on his heal to slowly face his mother.

When Locke raised an eyebrow and looked over at her suspiciously, Vera gave him a cunning smile that said something like 'I have my sources'. 

"You'll have to be careful, Lailoken. It won't be a journey for just any man." She said, never having to ascend one stair to make sure her voice rung in his ears.

Locke began his climb again. He hated the sound of his name, the insidious slithering of her tongue forcing every syllable out as a hiss. Of course none of this 'well-meant' concern was for Locke, he was beyond aware such forms of attachment did not exist in this household.

"Well, we're lucky I'm not just a man, aren't we." Locke puffed, his face tight and red from the strain of speaking with his mother. 

He had hoped for this to be a quick word of goodbye before his swift departure. If Felix had been sent to chase him down then the castle was likely already prepared for his arrival.

"You will succeed, or die trying" Vera said, that smile still fixed to her lips. "For the family."

Locke had met the other Vaugrenard members, their existence as unsavory and unpleasant as his and his mother's. He would succeed, despite them, and then get as far away as he could.

"And you'll have to meet with the king to declare yourself as champion," Vera spoke one last time, her voice just the slightest bit clipped. "All that formality and pomp must be seen to first."

Locke sneered when he saw his mother's grin widen from over his shoulder. She knew how much he would hate that. Appearing before the king who had disgraced him might be even worse than the fighting the dragon part.

His mother could talk until her tongue fell out, his ears were deaf to its spite but he could feel his abdomen tense and his gut churn at her words. There was a twisted, evil force running through the Vaugrenard family and now it ran through Locke just as strongly. He had been trying to out-run it all his life. He was almost close when he had been a part of the king's knights.

If he could rescue the princess, not only would his record be erased, he would have everything he could ever want and escape the clutches of his ambitious relations.

"I'll be fine," Locke sighed deeply after he made it to the fourth floor. His strength certainly wasn't in vertical heights. Hopefully, wherever the dragon had taken the princess -and if she was even still alive- he wouldn't have to climb very much.