'I was out like a log the moment I hit the bed'

The commotion between the three ladies died down by the time Arabella arrived. Laila asked what took her so long, and she said that their grandfather suddenly showed up in town and went to greet the duke. Behind the lady assassin were two abled men in plain dark blue uniforms. They must be new knights-in-training since Amelia remembered the same hue she wore before.

Each one of them took boxes and luggage they could carry with both arms, and they were swiftly out of the room. After all their belongings were carried out, Amelia swept the room with her eyes and peeked through the window. Who knew how long she would have to wait to come and visit again? From the tug on her arm, the duchess returned her gaze to the ladies before her and followed them out.

Waiting at the entrance were the duke and her old advisor talking to each other. Osmund was also there, as well as Ayland and his secretary.

"It sure is a nice weather for a trip back home," Vance and Vernon stopped and turned to look at who spoke after clearing her throat to alert them.

"It sure is," Vernon answered, his hands extended on both sides. Amelia smiled at him and took wide strides to accept his invitation. "I will miss you, Lia, my daughter. You take good care of yourself and don't skip your training. You don't know what's lying in wait somewhere. It's not that bad to be prepared. I'm sure we'll be able to meet soon." The duke said in a low voice. He tucked a stray hair behind the duchess' ear and kissed her lightly on her forehead, almost to her hairline.

"You take good care of yourself too, Uncle. I'm a little sad that the duchess wasn't here. I would love her to see me with longer hair than before."

"She has some business to attend to and left yesterday. I'll be sure to bring her with me when I come and visit your duchy. Or, on your coming birthday."

"I would love that, Uncle."

With his arm over the duchess' shoulder, Vernon guided Amelia down the short steps and gave her another tight hug when the door to her carriage opened. Her ladies-in-waiting and Christa already stepped inside, but Amelia had to go over Ayland's carriage just a few feet behind them and say her goodbye with a hug. She went to Osmund and did the same before Vance placed a hand on her arm to take her attention.

"We should be well on our way, Lia," he said, and Amelia bobbed her head, linking arms with her advisor.

After a few more goodbyes, the door to the carriage was closed. The horse neighed in front, and the carriage rattled a little then they felt the wheels turning towards the palace gates until all there was to see were huge trees and barracks scattered about.

An hour or so passed, Ayland's carriage changed its direction as they came across a forked road. The trip to the Capital from Aclador is about three days, but they'll be staying at an inn near one of Aclador's barracks instead of camping out.

The trip to the Capital involved going through some rough roads; most were bearable, but there were ones that they had to hold on too tightly or else they'd be thrown to the floor of the carriage. The ladies laughed at each other struggling, and Arabella sarcastically noted that Osmea's roads were even better than the Capitals.

Amelia, too, wished that the roads were a little smoother—for her—especially as she had to wear layers upon layers of fabric and a corset. Though the wind that kissed her cheeks had cold hands, she was still dripping tiny beads of sweat. The way to the Capital involved a vast barren land because of the current season, then a forest of dead trees; some small villages that came to watch as their carriages passed by, then another barren land. Around this time, the duchess felt sleep caress her. She fought it at first, saying that she wanted to look at the changing sceneries and the people that came to see them, but it pulled her with a soft lull of the carriage finally treading through the smoothest road they'd been on the entire trip. As Amelia leaned to the side, she found Arabella's shoulder, and her lady-in-waiting shifted on her seat to accommodate her better.

The moon was waving at the last few rays of the sun as it slowly started to ascend when the duchess was awakened by soft taps on her hand. Blinking to clear her sight, Amelia saw that it was Christa. She looked at the opened door and saw Ancel waiting. At the distant door talking to an old woman wearing a brown dress with long cuffed sleeves and an apron tied about her waist was Mr. Vance.

"We're here at the inn," Arabella informed her as Amelia straightened herself.

"I told you to wake me up when we reach the border settlement. I wanted to at least greet them as a duchess."

"You were sound asleep. We couldn't possibly wake you. They understood, and it's not like you're not going to travel again here. The duchess can greet them next time—when you've had enough sleep," was Christa's sound reason, and for a second, Amelia thought she was talking to Marchioness Berdwell herself.

Amelia gave out a small smile, then took Ancel's hand as she got off the carriage after the others.

The inn was unexpectedly quiet. The village was small and only had a few houses. With Duke Mulford's celebration just ending, Amelia thought it should have at least a handful of guests traveling home. Have they arrived early, or were they late? But the stable was bare, too, aside from the two carriages parked at a distance.

Seeing Amelia walking towards them, Vance bobbed his head lightly and introduced the innkeeper's name simply as Rose. The duchess greeted her, and so did the ladies behind her. Then a group of young boys came running out, almost hitting Amelia, only she was quick to dodge. In their hands were rolls of blankets to give to her knights, who would be camping outside to guard. Rose yelled at them, waving a finger rather violently, then stopped when she realized that she was still keeping her guests waiting.

Rose apologized and wiped her hands on her apron before gesturing for Amelia and the others to come inside where the firewood was already crackling in the fireplace. Inside, five cushioned high-back chairs surrounded the fireplace. At one corner, near the window, there was a long-cushioned bench; then at another, there was a tall half-filled bookshelf. The décor was animal heads mounted on varnished wooden frames and hung. A tapestry depicted brave men pushing through hordes of enemies, and swords on their hands with blood-stained armor and faces, spread against the wall underneath the mounds—it's an imaginary scene from the first Great War that divided the land and started the empire. The stairs to the second floor, where their rooms were, creaked with only some light weight.

Since it was Vance who recommended the inn, Amelia thought it would be a little grander—actually a lot grander. She looked back at the ladies following her, and Christa and Laila had the same confused look; their eyes wandered naively everywhere. Arabella did not fuss, and Amelia understood since she must've been in more unconventional places than this one during her missions.

There were ten doors: five rooms on each side of the hallway. Amelia was given the third room from the stairs, with her advisor just across hers. Laila and Christa were on her right, then Arabella and Ancel on the left. Ancel would oversee guarding the hallway, but his sister would join him maybe halfway through it.

A simple dinner of beef stew and freshly baked bread was delivered to her room shortly after she bathed. The room was small, but it was spacious enough for a single decent bed with two pillows, a dresser with a small mirror, two side tables—one of them with a lamp, the other had nothing on it—a small chair and a drawer for some things. Unlike downstairs, the room was bare aside from the thin, laced curtains flapping slightly at the small, opened window where just enough wind to keep her comfortable came in.

After checking at her knights outside, Amelia settled cozily between the sheets that smelled delightfully to her taste—floral. She turned off her lamp, and sleep came for her not long after.

**********

The first ray of sun came, and the rustling of dead leaves being stepped on gently woke Amelia. She opened her eyes and looked around, remembering that they stayed at another simple inn for the second night. If they wanted to arrive at the Capital by midday, then be on their way to her duchy by sundown; they should be on the road by sun up.

Opening the door for the person behind it, Amelia gathered her cloak about her and walked back to her bed.

"Pardon my intrusion. How was your sleep?"

"It was good. I was out like a log the moment I hit the bed. Are we leaving?"

"After we've had breakfast. Laila and Arabella are already downstairs to take care of the water for your bath."

"I haven't traveled so much, Uncle. I feel so tired and sleepy," Amelia yawned halfway through her statement, and her advisor smiled at her gently. Vance didn't stay long and left the room when the duchess' ladies-in-waiting arrived with fresh towels, her change of clothes, a pitcher of water, and a silver cup that her advisor brought with them.

After the refreshing bath and new set of traveling clothes, Amelia went down and greeted the innkeeper when she was walking through the entrance after talking to some young boys who ran away, smiling; one was clutching to a small purse.

"Boys from the village. They come he'e eve'y mo'nin' hoping fo' some change. So, I ask them to go buy me some eggs at the fa'm nea'by," she said in a rough but sort of singsong voice that went up and down like the waves.

"I see…" Amelia smiled curtly, nodding her head, "How come… no one's here too? I was expecting that it would've been full."

"We have two guests staying at the small cottage just behind the inn. Vance and I go a long way back, so when he told me you'd be staying ove', I denied those that came by." The innkeeper named Sylvia smiled broadly, and Amelia mirrored her. She later excused herself to tend to breakfast, so the duchess went out to greet the knights. The inn's stable boys were surprised to see her, stammering with their good mornings; the knights who were used to the duchess visiting them laughed before greeting back.

Not long after, Amelia was called in by her ladies-in-waiting for breakfast, and some male servants she didn't notice earlier came out behind Laila. They brought three baskets covered with a plain white cloth on top of it and gave it to the men who gathered at the wooden table beside their makeshift tents.

"They must be tired. Riding and guarding." Amelia murmured as she returned her attention to the front.

"Oh, they're used to it. They could even go about a week without food and sleep." Answered Arabella, who joined them from the foot of the stairs.

"Even I didn't go without food and sleep for a week during training."

"Well, yes—a week does seem a bit much, but you know what I meant," she shrugged her shoulders, and the others couldn't help but let out a giggle.

At the table, Vance was already waiting with Sylia talking to him while standing. For a moment, Amelia thought that they looked good as a couple. The innkeeper did say that she and her advisor knew each other way back—maybe they were lovers before? Or maybe she was one of the ladies her father introduced to him that he had to decline? But her father wouldn't choose someone so far from the duchy. And not to judge, but she was far from what she expected her father wanted Vance to marry. Sylvia looked acceptable and respectable but also looked like any ordinary woman around. She didn't look like someone her advisor would prefer.

But what was her advisor's preference? And what was the real reason he didn't want to marry? She knew all about the arranged marriage scheme orchestrated by her father from Duke Mulford, who loved telling her stories about him, her father, Vance, and the emperor's when they were younger. But now that she thought about it, a lot didn't make decent sense.

What if she's the reason why Vance didn't want to marry? Maybe he had a crush on her, but she's married? Sylvia didn't seem to have a ring or have proof on her finger of wearing one. Could she be barren, so she declined his proposal?

"Duchess?" Amelia's thoughts were cut short when she felt a hand on her arm. When she looked to see who it was, it was Christa. "Are you alright? You seem to be in deep thought."

"Oh, I'm… fine, Christa. Thank you for asking. I was just thinking why the emperor suddenly wanted to see me," she answered. Amelia couldn't possibly tell the lady that she was contemplating her advisor's love life, could she? That would be weird.

"I see. I'm sure he's talking about the coming winter, or maybe about what happened at the duke's birthday?"

"Or maybe both."

"Maybe."

Christa had a point—and she hoped that that was really it.