I threw myself into planning my royal progress while he was gone, planning to go during the spring when rivers were swollen, dangerous but easy to navigate according to his people. Not something that he would deny me, but a trip where I would need to listen to him exactly. I would see the lands where my people were from, see where my mother hailed from, the land that she had never returned to since entering the palace. Her family had come each time that she gave birth, making the long trek to the palace, and doting upon the children that she bore. The tying of our bloodline to hers had raised their status hugely, making them more happy that she had given birth like a dutiful wife than they were to have grandchildren, stopping by their village to honor them was a must.
I planned to only t
