The days leading up to our departure were filled with nearly as much impatience on my part as the preparations to leave for the Eastern lands for an engagement, but the day finally came. Our things were thrown into the carriages and we made it onboard, beginning the journey of about a month to make it.

  Mother did not come, of course. She found it a lady’s job to stay in the palace and manage matters there. With how smoothly things were run with minimal staff, I had to say she did a fine job, and if she said it was so, it must be.

  So off Father and I went without her.

  Khu was given the option to join us in a carriage, but he of course, declined such an offer, politely. He took his duties quite seriously, and would make no show of minding to walk so far on foot for a third time with relatively short reprieve. Yet he still helped me out of the carriage each evening and had me run through the simplest of positions, promising a return to our usual routine once we settled down into our temporary stay in the Northlands.

  “She’s caught on quick,” Father said, watching as I went through the moves I had been taught in the short time we’d had.

  “She has.” Khu agreed.

  “I suppose she’s quite serious about it.”

  “Oh yes, quite.”

  The attention made focusing on matters more difficult, and– though I’m shamed to admit– gave me a strong desire to show off in someway, but I thankfully lacked the kind of skill needed to do such a thing, so instead resolved to act as though the menial training did nothing to exhaust me, even after the hours spent in the carriage.

  “And done!” He said, and I stopped, but I made a point not to break my stance too quickly, or lower my sword in a hurry.

  “Thank you for teaching me.” I tried to keep the exhaustion out of my voice, with much success, if I did say so myself.

  “It’s my honor,” he bowed, straightening and glancing up at my father. “It would seem it’s more than a fancy.”

  “Yes, so it would.” He said. “Let’s go to bed now, Nefret. You’ve done very well in your training.”

  “Thank you.” I beamed, full of more pride than I should have had.

  And so each day and night went. I spent the early portion of our carriage ride going over lesson materials, simple reading and writing. Things to prepare me for when I came of age to begin learning other things. Things such as managing a household and managing politics. I found both to be equally admirable. Of course, that was to say I found anything my mother did admirable, as she was an admirable woman.

  There would be other things to learn too, of course, but those were the things my mother learned, and I desired to learn anything she had.

  Suffice to say I was astute in the reading I had been tasked with reading each day of the travel, doing so much as to finish them before arrival if I kept my trajectory, which I very much intended to do.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “It was quite a fuss convincing your mother to let you come on another trip again so soon,” Father said one morning, pulling me from my day’s reading. “Do you know why that is?”

  “Is it because I’m so small?” I asked.

  “No,” he said.

  “Have I been too much trouble?” I was aware, though I might try to push the matter aside and ignore it, that my declarations of intent to marry someone they found crude and vulgar, within reason, was quite troublesome, and I had yet to go back on it.

  “No.” He smiled. “Though you certainly have been so.”

  “Oh, what is it then Father?” I wanted to glide right along past such a statement.

  “Now you know she doesn’t like to be apart from you or your brothers,” he said. “She’s not going to be here for your birthday, but she wanted you to be with more of your family. She won’t say so to you, but she was quite upset about the matter.”

  I felt guilt for my quickness to disregard such things. At this rate, I would spend more of the year away from her than I would near.

  “I didn’t tell you this so you could mope,” he said.

  “Why then?” I asked.

  “Well,” he said. “I think you need to do something special with your mother when you return.”

  I nodded. “I will Father. Thank you.”

  “Yes.” He said. “Do be aware of your actions. They’ll be affecting people the older you grow, you know.”

  “Is this about Ryuunosuke?” I asked.

  “It’s about more than that,” he said. “But I would keep the matter in mind. We can’t keep you as young as we’d like to.”

  “How young would you like me to be?”

  “As young as you are.” He smiled.

  “I am that young.” My brows furrowed.

  The carriage came to a stop for our afternoon rest and meal, and he made no move to continue the course of our conversation. I was still plenty young, and his words left me so much to ponder I neglected the reading for the rest of daylight. I was going to be older, that much was certainly true. One day I’d be old enough I’d be like Mother, my Mother who I had no idea I could even cause to be upset so easily.

  Perhaps that was what he meant. That I would have to be more conscious of feelings? But that couldn’t be all he’d meant to say.

  And of course I was aware he disliked my interest in the admittedly beastly Prince from the East, but he wasn’t so terrible, and it wasn’t as though I was enamoured by him. I was very well aware that what my parents had was quite unusual, and not a given, or even common thing for a marital relationship.

  Maybe that was what he meant, more than anything else.

  Choosing to marry would have more effects for my people than military and economics. They were quite concerned with my happiness. With me. Mother had a mask for show that alleviated many of her people’s concerns. I supposed I’d be coming closer to needing one of those.

  I sat and thought about what he had been meaning to tell me for days after it had been spoken, but he didn’t bring it up, and neither did I. Even naive as I was, I held enough understanding to know I would not truly get what he had been meaning until I was far older.