Liam blinked up at Raquelle as she descended the steps, not quite sure what was happening or how this had happened without him hearing about it. "No," he started to say, shaking his head. "No, Raquelle, I don't think this would be appropriate. We don't know what to expect, and there are bandits on the road." But she was speaking and he hated to admit that her points were valid. But they were. Traveling with a lady would make them look less hostile, would look better than a group oof armed men marching across the border. They weren't out to start a war. They were going to cooperate. 

He gritted his teeth, feeling up against a corner as he grudgingly felt himself complying to her will. The only thing he felt he had to object to was when she asked about her carriage. "No carriage," he told her, standing up straighter as though taking a defensive stance. "I suppose I can't stop you from joining us, Raquelle. But if you do you need to ride on horseback like everyone else. A carriage is too large, too slow, and this is an urgent task. We need to move quickly. So no carriage." He looked at her expectantly. "I hope that won't be too much of a problem for you."

~~~

Sam had slipped on her boots and gotten off of the bed. She paused for a moment and stretched her arms, letting out relieved sigh as she did so. Glancing behind her to where Dorothea was still curled up on a pillow, Sam bit her lip. She knew Dorothea was not going to be pleased with what she was planning on doing. But the princess couldn't stop her, especially not in the form she was in now. Besides Sam was, at the end of the day, on her side. If getting home meant helping Dorothea and stopping a war then she had to help in the only way she knew she could. 

Stepping out of the tent and into the clearing she saw two of the three dwarves all ready up and preparing. She could hear the sound of snoring coming from Florian's tent and she smiled. Maybe they had been trying to placate her like she was made of glass, but they had given her shelter and food and were willing to help Dorothea when they didn't have to. She liked them. Coralie had started prepapring breakfast and was packing up supplies while Alphonse was hovering around August. He was very pale, but his eyes were open and Sam was surprisingly glad to see that the chill hadn't killed him overnight. She could hear the two dwarves wondering what they were planning on doing with him and she moved forward. "Well if you don't take him with you then there's going to be no one around to keep an eye on him." Sam folded her arms over her chest and glanced over at Coralie. "I hope there's enough supplies because I'm not staying behind. I'm going to the capital with you." Her tone indicated that she wasn't willing to fight or debate this.