It had been a day later that Grizel had cornered him.
"Sandor, what was that yesterday?" She hissed.
"What?" He blinked.
"Yesterday. When we were patrolling. About Ro." Her voice was agitated, furious, like she was just about ready to kill him if he said the wrong thing.
I'd like to see her try, he thought to himself, I'm pretty sure I would win that fight.
He probably wouldn't win easily, per se, but he usually won their old sparring matches back at Gildingham.
"What about the patrol?" He asked, puzzled
"About her being irresponsible?" Grizel jabbed at his chest with her finger, looking him dead in the eyes.
Oh. Not this again.
"Yeah? And? You know I'm ri-" He hadn't even finished his sentence before she pushed him back against the wall.
"Listen here, Sandor. We might be dating, but I don't want to hear you say a single word about Ro. She's amazing at her job, you hear me?" Grizel's eyes were narrowed, and Sandor was suddenly grateful that they had opted to stay in the hallway while the kids were in Fitz's room.
"I don't understa-" Grizel interrupted him, and a spike of frustration cut through him.
"Good. Fine. I don't care. Don't you even dare talk like that again Sandor, she's a kid. I know you don't really understand what that means, but she doesn't deserve that."
Sandor's eyes widened.
"What?" he asked, aghast. Grizel looked at him oddly.
"She never told you? Ro is nineteen years old. Definitely not old enough for you to be complaining about her, and definitely not in this new environment." She leaned back a little, giving Sandor some space, "The Ogres live their lives so different, Sandor. From what she's told me, it's almost the exact opposite of Gildingham, in Ravagog," She sighed, "Poor kid doesn't know how to navigate her dad, much rather the Elves," Grizel's eyes filled with fire again, "You remember how hard it was when we first got assigned to the Elves? Think of that, but double the confusion,"
Sandor scoffed. "That doesn't excuse her behavior. So what if her dad was a little hard to deal with? She's part of the royal succession, she should know better than to be so reckless."
Grizel took a step back, gaping. "Sandor. Sandor, do you even hear yourself right now? She's nineteen, It isn't her responsibility to carry the weight of her entire species. I thought you of all people would know that. 'It takes a kingdom to change the world?'" She quoted his ranking speech, from when he was assigned a member of the Goblin Army, "She's in a new world."
Sandor frowned, "And? Her responsibility is to show the best that Ogres can offer, Grizel. Thats her duty as Princess, especially here."
Grizel crossed her arms, "You aren't listening. She's nineteen. Her father threw her out the moment he got the chance, sending her off with the first elf to beat him in his sight, uprooting her whole life. She was thrust into this world of peace and calm after spending her whole life in a hostile environment." She leaned against the opposite wall, "I feel bad for her."
Well, don't, Sandor wanted to say, but he stayed quiet.
