CHAPTER 138: DOWNTIME

Compared to the strategy room of the Keep, not much changed during the ride back to the Palace.

Fifteen minutes into the ride, Princess Alexis had her feet up against the wall and her head on Dominic’s leg as she read, while her brother simply shook his head at her and then returned to reading a magical tome.

Dominic couldn’t help but notice that it wasn’t just their names that were similar. Alex and Alexis had inherited the same personality, more interested in books than anything else.

They were staying on the main roadway, with its stone surface, so it would be a bit longer than the more direct secondary route that they had taken to get to Burton, but Dominic wasn’t thinking about the amount of time that it would take them.

He had an idea of how to improve the Ogre Hunting Rifles, to make them more effective against things that were not Ogres.

After a few hours of peaceful silence, Prince Alex looked up from his book.

"We really are the nerds of the Royal Family, aren’t we?" He asked.

Alexis lifted a hand to give him a thumbs up. "Definitely. Can you imagine how annoying it would be if we were trapped in a carriage with brother Claudius? I swear, that guy gives me the creeps. He just appears in places."

The Prince laughed. "He uses a gem of silent movement and one of diminished presence all the time. He actually enjoys sneaking up on people to see what their reaction is."

Dominic chuckled. "I thought that he was hiding in the room somewhere. But maybe I just didn’t ever notice him until he started to speak."

Alexis nodded toward the snacks on the table in front of them, and Dominic dropped a chocolate in her mouth as Prince Alex laughed.

"He started that after he was named Crown Prince. People would follow him around everywhere, trying to become his ’friends’, so they could be closer to power in the future. He’s incredibly intelligent, gifted in combat, but his people skills were always lacking as a child.

So, eventually, he just gave up on dealing with them and started to hide his presence except when he wanted to be noticed for official reasons." He explained.

"And now it has become his signature ability, and everyone thinks that it’s a sign of his extensive combat training." Alexis added with a laugh.

Now that was ironic.

The rattling of steel banded wheels on stone roadways was their constant companion as the light faded from the sky, and the Regiment pushed forward toward the river crossing, where they planned to camp for the evening.

That would put them into the capital early afternoon if they left early, and it would leave everyone properly rested, not exhausted from an overnight rush.

The driver pulled them to a stop, and Prince Alex gestured toward the back of the carriage.

"We should set good tents. It gets cool here by the river overnight."

Dominic nodded, then smiled as he realized he hadn’t actually set a tent in years. A rain tarp many times, but he never used a proper tent. He didn’t like being confined within it when he was sleeping on the ground anyhow.

"It’s a shame we don’t have a forge wagon. They’re the best sleeping spots." Dominic sighed.

"How is that?"

"You just bank the forge for the evening, and the whole place remains hot and dry all night. If you worked too late into the night, you can just sleep on the roof, with the warm metal under your back, instead of the cold ground."

Prince Alex frowned, then nodded. "I will keep that in mind for future journeys. I’m not the sort who likes that much heat at night, but the roof of the forge wagon doesn’t sound too bad.

Plus, who would think to look for the Prince there when they searched tents in the middle of the night?

It’s an excellent way to avoid assassination attempts."

Dominic sighed. "Those are getting old. Seriously, more people have tried to kill me in the last three months than the last ten years."

"Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that now that the most aggressive portion of the war is over, you should break that streak. The bad news is that the politics aren’t going to get any less annoying than the people who actually tried to kill you." Prince Alex joked.

The Prince gestured to the staff of the Regiment, and they began erecting a large round tent, which made Dominic laugh.

"You know, if you don’t want to be noticed, the huge round tent might not be the best idea."

Alex shrugged. "Protocol. You know how it is. Unless you want to actually end up married to a Princess, you can’t sleep in the carriage. I certainly can’t, unless I want the most distasteful of rumours to spread. But I also can’t sleep in a lesser tent than the Officers of the unit.

It would be considered an insult to the Royal Family.

So, because they use a tent like this, so do I.

However, you can take one of the camp cots inside. It will be more comfortable than the ground. The Royal Guard will be cycling out through the night, so you don’t want to sleep under or on the wagon this time."

Dominic vaguely remembered a portion on camp etiquette from his lessons.

He was going to have to apologize to Lady Camilla for not listening more intently to the portions on Royal Protocol. He thought that he knew most of it, but he certainly didn’t recall anything about tent sizes.

The Regiment’s support staff set the tent up in under ten minutes, and Dominic tossed his bedroll on the cot by the door, traditionally the guard’s position. Except that there were no guards sleeping in the tent today.

They had their own.

Prince Alex pulled the curtain that separated the front area from the sleeping area, and both settled in for the evening.

With separate Area Barrier spells over themselves.