I'll Grant You One Wish

She seemed puzzled, and yet she wasn't any less puzzled than William.

"May I ask what's going on here? And who are you?" William wasn't acting impolite, but he hated to be in a situation that he didn't understand while everyone else seemed to know the ins and outs of it.

"We found him outside the capital," as if he wasn't here, or as if no one heard what he said, the old master who brought William here responded, "he just came out of the blue, without using any of our formal routes."

"Interesting," the ongoing discussion was something that told William that all the paths leading towards the capital were closely watched by this young lady's masters.

And that made him hurriedly change the topic, avoiding any unneeded curious questions and doubts, "can you tell me what's going on here?"