“Welcome back to our great warriors.” Nela’s first words were to poke fun at their appearance as they made their way into Cliforge’s walls. Almost a nostalgic thing after the weeks they had spent trailing around the country. Whilst they had not been as fast as a scout could have been, Braydon and his knights had still pushed his men to make it back to the viscounty as soon as possible. After so long on the campaign, it had been a good long while since any of them had thought much about their appearance.

“And these ‘great warriors’ thank you for the grand procession.” Braydon shot back, something he would have regretted if they had the time to relax after coming back. They had sent word ahead of them, so Nela and Lani knew that they would need to go to the capital in the morning. Considering the official occasion, more thought had to be put into what they wore. And Lani had not put the time they had remaining to waste.

“Well, I am sure that we packed the red carpet somewhere.” Lani smiled at their antics, looking at the carriage that she had brought from her territory with clothes for her and Nela. One of the things that she had noticed when they were told about the celebration was the lack of truly fancy clothes that Nela, or anyone at Cliforge for that matter, owned. Being a countess, with a wealthy trading city, she was more than happy to rectify that.

“It looks like I will have to thank you then.” Braydon could tell that there was way too much for Lani herself to use. And he had an idea of what she was thinking with the amount of clothes that she had packed. It was once the greetings were done that he turned to Mireille, who had joined Lani and Nela in the courtyard.

“You seem to have kept yourself busy, want to show off?” Mireille was dressed for riding, that much was clear. Braydon did not think that he had seen her wear anything other than dresses since Nela and Mea had taken over her wardrobe. Now was that time. She was wearing a light tunic and trouser, with heels that could only be meant for riding; it was not hard to figure out what she had been spending her day doing.

“Not today at least. We were barely able to get her out of the stirrups to come meet you.” Lani shook her head. Whilst she knew that Mireille would love nothing more than an excuse to ride again, that would have to wait. The sun was already low and if they were to leave early in the morning, riding until sundown was not the way to go about it. She had spent long enough in Cliforge to hear about how famously bad Braydon was with mornings.

“Then the first thing we do when I come back.” Braydon was not to be deterred. He could tell that the ceremonies were going to be a slog. The least he could do was have some fun when he got back. Seeing Mireille nodding enthusiastically before anyone else could say anything only made his smile wider.

“Are you sure that Mireille should not at least come to Boshil with us? Even if she cannot take part in the ceremonies?” Nela asked. She knew that it was a long shot, but after spending so long with the girl and not much to do she did not want to let go of her just yet.

“You know how unsafe that is. Especially after our mysterious guests last month. It is one thing for her to be safe in Cliforge where my men are everywhere. It is another for her to be in the capital when every man and his dog is going to be there at the same time.” Braydon was not kidding when he said that. By the time they had passed through Wathamalin on their way back, word of the ceremony had long reached the city. He did not doubt that the people looking for Mireille would have some kind of presence in Boshil on the day. He may not know what they wanted with her, but to chase her across a continent it could hardly be something good.

“If she wants company, I am sure that Roan could at least spare some time. It is not like the border is going to up and run.” Rhydian proposed. Since both he and Gerald would be accompanying Braydon to the capital, it fell to Roan to manage Braydon’s armed men whilst they were gone. And seeing that nothing had gone wrong under his watch in the past month another week or two would hardly make that much of a difference.

“I am sure that he would be more than willing. By the way, did Colin and Steven say if they wanted to come?” Braydon decided for Roan, no was not an answer he would take. Not when it came to Mireille’s safety. As for coming to join him in the ceremony, that was something he would not wish upon someone.

“Colin said that he was too old for that kind of thing. Steven said that he would follow you but does not want to actually be part of the ceremony. Said something about being unsure if you knew how to put on fancy clothes.” Nela chuckled, sharing in Steven’s sentiment. She could hardly imagine Braydon wearing ceremonial attire.

“Cheeky bastard.” Braydon shook his head. He was not about to admit that Steven was right. Not on his life.

“Then how about we get something to eat. As much as the cooks in the army are good, they have yet to find a way to make that shit appetising.” Food was the only part of war that Braydon loathed. When you had to feed an army, good food was a luxury you could not afford. And Braydon was dying to eat anything but the gruel that he had choked down over the past few weeks.