(my brain is exploding sorry for the delay aaa)
Ziva Elain
Ziva eyed the masked man who seemed to move like the shadows himself. He was almost hard to spot at first, silent to her ears, but not her keen eyes.
She looked up at him, curious, as she tightened the grip on the axe she had been polishing as a signal to him to mind his presence.
"It is not wise to sneak up on a royal knight, you know? What business do you have here?"

...he really didn't want to have to go through the entire ordeal once more. It was annoying. But then again, she said she was a royal knight. So he didn't have to answer to her, and he kept walking.

Ziva Elain
Did.. Did he just brush her off?
Well, she sure didn't know who this mysterious stranger was, but she didn't like the look of him.
She wasn't going to take any chances after earlier and started quickly following him, resting her axe on her shoulder as she walked, furrowing her brow.
He didn't even seem to turn around at her tailing him. What was with this guy?

He long had heard her footsteps behind him. He was even more annoyed at that. Why can't people in this place avoid him? Its more than big enough. Although one couldn't see his face, he was wearing an annoyed expression as he stopped walking and turned around to her.

(what kingdom is this guy from, out of curiosity if he was taken in as a slave?)
Ziva Elain
A mask? Man, this dude really was a clown, wasn't he?
She steadied her stance, dropping her axe to rest the handle between her hands, ready to swing if need be.
"Who are you and what's your business here? I might not be a knight of this palace, but in light of the night's events, I doubt the Empress of Arkaos would take well to any strange men like yourself sneaking around. You hold your tongue, I might have to cut it out personally."

(Mmmm I'd like to say hes just a northerner. No specific kingdom, but he isn't native to Arkaos or any surrounding countries)

His eyes narrowed at the mention of the empress. He could easily take out this knight, but she was a royal knight, just not one of the imperial family. His actions could start a possible war, depending on what her house was. But judging from her speech she was no noble. However, it would be best for tonight to stay bloodshed free.

" Im sure empress seraphina won't mind me walking around. " he said to the woman.

Ziva Elain
"So you're a servant then? Strange, your type doesn't go walking around all dolled up.. At least not in my country. What's the occasion? You're not a vampire or anything, right?"
She said with a bit of a joking smirk, lowering her axe to telegraph she meant him no harm now. She found it mildly interesting he lacked the typical accent of the Arkaos locals. This man was from somewhere else, but without actually seeing his face, she found it difficult to identify his nationality, let alone his intentions.

(not sure what I needed to reply to with Lowell, but I said not to wait on him since he really doesn't have much to say. If Erwen talks to him, I'll reply, but he'd probably bite off Phoenix's arm or something if they kept standing around. XD)

" ...No. This is my usual attire. " he said. Even if she lowered her weapon, he trusted absolutely no one. " and im waiting for orders. " he could at least tell her that. There was most likely no harm.