Kade's estimated arrival time was a bit skewed, as the group of traveling men soon discovered. Due to a heavy rain, the men spent a cold, wet night in another forest, huddled under a few low-hanging pine trees, bedraggled and miserable beneath blankets. Antony secretly enjoyed the rain for it distracted him a bit from the previous day's events.

After the cold night had passed, and unable to start a fire with wet wood, they had eaten the cold leftovers from yesterday's rabbits and moved on.

By noon, they reached Jurmala, a sizeable border town with a large port from which a great amount of trade issued forth. The city was set upon a hill, and, under the noonday sun, the horses trudged up the slope. The men were now hot and equally as miserable as they had been wet. Kade and Antony rode at the party's head, uncomplaining, stopping every once in a while to make sure that no one fell behind.

As they crested the ridge, they were met by a small party, three in number, of the soldiers that were stationed in Jurmala.

"Sire," they said, bowing collectively to Antony who simply nodded back. "General," they added, with a respectful salute to Kade.

Kade swung his leg over his horse and dismounted, Antony joining him soon after. Antony watched as Kade greeted each man, asking after their families and thanking them for their service. He felt somewhat lost. He should probably be doing that instead of Kade and yet he was just sitting back and letting his general do the work.

"So, any news to report?" he heard Kade inquire, after finishing the pleasantries. Antony watched the soldiers' faces, and saw some discomfort and unease at the mention of the trouble Jurmala and other neighboring towns had been having to endure of late.

"Nothing has changed, Sir," they admitted. "The same sorts of attacks, always pulling back before much damage has been done. We would almost write it off as a group of looters, but...We've had injuries...fights...two deaths. Aside from that...they seem to have some sort of strategy. There's a pattern."

"What pattern?" interrupted Antony, dismounting Emery and coming to stand at Kade's side.

"They've always attacked government buildings, or Lords and Ladies loyal to Astoria and you, Sire."

Antony mulled over this news in his mind. The attacks, at first, did seem to be simply looters, but...if there was any sort of strategy to them, it was probably something more sinister.

"Have you found anything about where they stay, or who's commanding them?" asked Kade.

"No, Sir," answered the man who seemed to be in charge of the group. "We've tried to follow them, but we...lose them everytime. That's how the two deaths occurred. A small contingent of men followed them for longer than we ever had before. Two of them were shot fatally by an archer, Sir."

"You said there was a contingent," said Antony. "Only two of the men died?"

"Yes, Sire, although most of the others suffered non-fatal wounds and are currently recovering."

"Might we have a chance to speak to these men at some point?"

"Certainly, Sire," said the soldier, inclining his head. "Whatever you wish."

Turning back to Kade, the soldier began to inquire after the state of their journey.

"Was it comfortable?" he asked, as the three soldiers led the travelers into the town.

Kade merely pressed his lips together in a thin line, and frowned, but he finally sighed and spoke. "We ran into some trouble. Looters. We lost one man. It rained the whole next day. If you have a place where we can get a bit of rest, we'd appreciate it greatly."

"Of course, sir."

Antony had felt Kade watching him carefully as he had spoken about the events of his travels, yet he had chosen to ignore this and focus on looking around at the buildings lining Jurmala's main street. They were different than the ones in King's City, and closer to being like the buildings he had known in Hampshire: multi-storied, painted white, light blue, and gray, with laundry hanging from the windows. Children ran through the streets, watching the soldiers, curiously.

Antony envied them for their innocent curiosity. They didn't understand the problems that might face the kingdom, they didn't even recognize Antony as their king. They were lucky to be so far removed from the politics of the empire.

The leader of the guards that had come out to meet them, who Antony had learned by now was the Captain of the soldiers stationed in Jurmala, a sturdy man named Pierce, now brought them to a comfortable inn.

"I thought you might like something more comfortable than the barracks after your travels," he explained, gesturing to the inn.

"We thank you," said Kade. Antony nodded thankfully, too tired, really, to care where he slept, as long as sleep came soon.

"You should go in and get some rest," said Pierce. "When you wake, I will give you a more thorough report, and you may see the men."

"Thank you, Pierce," said Antony, speaking for the group this time rather than letting Kade constantly speak on his behalf.

Pierce merely bowed one last time and then turned to leave with the other two soldiers. They were soon far down the street on their way towards the city gates, presumably to speak with the gate guards.

Antony made his way into the inn with the rest of their traveling group. Inside, the air was cool, and candles lit the tables and the bar, leaving the place with a dim aspect. However, even if it was a bit dim, it didn't seem threatening, only comfortable. Someone was playing softly on a piano and patrons had quiet conversations at tables, some with a drink in their hand, some playing cards, and some eating a quick lunch.

"Treat you to a drink, Antony?" asked Kade.

Antony shook his head. "I confess I'm interested only in sleep at the moment, Kade." He fished an ell out of his pocket. "How about I'll treat you as an apology for declining your offer."

Kade laughed and took the ell, before turning to the barkeep, who was rubbing down the counter and greeting a few of the new soldiers. Antony watched Kade go and then went tiredly to the owner of the establishment to question which of the inn's rooms were the ones Pierce had reserved for their party. He trusted Kade to only have one drink and to stay sober and keep an eye on everything, as well as to decide whether or not it was necessary to wake him; he wouldn't have appointed Kade his general if he didn't.

The inkeeper seemed not to be surprised by the king's presence in his inn and Antony guessed that, if he had been at all shocked, he had gotten over it much earlier, when Pierce had first told him who exactly was staying in his inn. Of course, it was also possible that he didn't recognize the man with his hair so messy, his tired eyes and the smudges of dirt he had somehow managed to rub on his face. The wisened old man, his beard tinged with gray, simply inclined his head slightly to Antony and pointed him the direction of his rooms.

Antony nodded gratefully and trudged up the stairs to one of the rooms, finding one with one bed: a more richly furnished room that Pierce must have taken care to reserve for Antony's use. At another time, he might have protested, saying that he didn't need all the trappings of royalty and could do just fine with a regular room.

At the moment, however, he was simply too exhausted to care. He washed his hands and face with the water from a basin, removed his chain mail, and fell into bed.

The afternoon following the night of the servants' party, Meredith busied herself with changing the linens on Isabella's bed. Isabella had insisted that another maid could do that work, but Meredith found herself longing for the housework, if for no other reason than that it was simple and sure: she knew how to do it and there was nothing to surprise her.

She made her way downstairs and retrieved a pile of sheets. As she made her way towards the front staircase, she found herself diverting from her usual track and charting a new course up the back stairway to the east wing.

She reached the second floor and the window, still open and letting in the cool outdoor breeze. She set the sheets down upon the window seat and sat on the velvety cushion.

She sighed. How she wished that things were simpler. She still felt so confused about John and she wasn't even sure where her hesitation was coming from. He was a perfectly nice man after all: kind, generous, friendly. What was holding her back?

"Meredith?"

She jumped, the newcomer a completely unexpected presense. What would they think of her, to find her in the king's hallway?

She turned, slowly, to see John, a pile of clothing in hand.

"John," she said, relieved that it was him and not the housekeeper or the butler.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked her, his head tilted to one side, his expression curious.

"I was just..." She searched for a reason that made sense.

"Oh, I see," he said. "The sheets."

"Right," she said. "I wasn't busy this morning so I volunteered to do some other work again. I'm...changing bed linens."

"Best get a move on then; I'm sure there's other things to do too. Anyways..." he held up his pile of shirts. "I'm also headed to King Antony's room, with this."

She nodded and stood, feeling grateful that Isabella had the same sheets that everyone else in the palace used, and had not insisted on having flowered sheets or something of the more feminine sort. She'd just have to change Isabella's sheets later.

The two walked down the hallway to Antony's rooms, where John put away the clothes and Meredith started in on the sheets. When he was finished, he came and helped her and she laughed at his attempts to put the fitted sheet on.

Once they were finished, she gathered up the old linens and made her way to leave.

"Meredith?"

She turned as John spoke.

"I just...You left quickly last night. Was it something I did?"

She shook her head. "No, John," she said. "It was nothing you did."

"Then...what?"

She sighed, her fingers absentmindedly picking at the hem of the sheets in her hands. "I'm just...not ready. I...can't."

She left the room, and her guilt at hurting him was so much that she wished she could cry.