I woke into early dawn and staggered into the latrine off the bailey to empty my stomach into the ditch, leaning against the curtain wall. I looked up and met the eyes of a knight in the same pose.
“The wine is no good here, Princess,” he offered with a wry grin.
I smiled back, happy to accept the excuse.
As I crossed the bailey towards the stronghold, I felt Aurien’s eyes track my progress.
In the rooms assigned to me, I opened the chests and dug through, searching for my clothing.
“Princess,” Ashara said as she and Mesandre entered. Mesandre carried with her a jug of mint tea and goblet. I accepted it and surrendered my search to Ashara.
She produced a change of clothes and I sipped the warm tea as they washed my face and hands and repaired the night’s damage to my hair. They changed me into new clothes. I closed my eyes as they dressed me and thought back onto the history of what I had learnt about Uyan Taesil and its holdings.