Irene felt pathetic, rushing forward but stopping short in front of her father.
The urge to jump into his arms was overwhelming, but she knew they would further accuse her of acting like a girl so she merely folded in half, bowing to the man as she resisted what she really wanted to do.
The knight chuckled as he witnessed his daughter's struggle and he merely ruffled her hair that she had been growing out again because it was winter. She had cut it a few times over the warmer seasons but she was allowing it to brush her shoulders to stave off the cold. Since she wasn't the only one, she always figured it was alright to do.
"What brings you this way, father?" she asked. "Last I checked, you were supposed to go to Earl Auden's for the Winter Solstice banquet. When an apprentice for the Royal Knights accused you of not keeping up your duties, I told him as such."
