Indignation seeped past the self-pity. ‘In bed, you have my leave to call me by my given name.’ Self-serving, spoiled ass. He called Grunthal Forest Reach outdated and mired in traditional beliefs. Well, better that than believing they could trample a person’s free choice. Grandfather might preach piety, but it was preferable to the loose values the royal family obviously lived by.

With nothing better to do, he loitered about the incoming carts, listening to Seganny drivers complain about the weather. Seganny horse soldiers were as glum, casting dark, unhappy looks about the Aldanian camp. Ungrateful, considering very few of the Aldanian soldiers wanted to be here protecting Seganny’s freedom.

The rain let up a little. Enough so that men began to move around camp, trekking through mud, performing ritual, daily tasks that could not be put off, rain or no. At the supply depot, the carts were being hurriedly unloaded. A Seganny officer was having a loud argument with an Aldanian one. There was much waving of hands and posturing. It was almost entertaining, those men not engaged in unloading supplies circumspectly loitering about to eavesdrop on the altercation. It took Illya’s mind off his own problems, until that problem came marching though the rain and mud towards the supply tent in the midst of camp officials and aides. The Seganny officer took one look at the prince’s storm cloud expression and shut up quick. Illya turned on his heel and fled the scene, praying that he hadn’t been noticed.

He spent the afternoon worrying that he might be summoned back to the prince’s tent, but no such summons came and he finally settled down in his own, which was a little soggy inside from the damp weather, with a cup of tasteless, thin soup and hard bread to dip in it. Kenthy did not comment about their conversation that morning. Vanthuval came by after supper and sat with them and spoke about their next assignment.

“Some Seganny lord came in with the supply train. Wants to see the state of things here at the front line. Avahine is coming in to take him and his party on a little tour of the hills flanking the river. We’ll go up there tomorrow morning and flank them up in the hills, just in case any overly eager Guntharian decides to venture across the lines.”