Once he was done kissing her hand, he gave a momentary thought to the problems, "The first is simple; if he becomes insistent, there are things you can take to make you seem ill. The effects will pass, but he will not want you that night. As to the other...which one of these fellows is the one that should set the example?"

It was just as well that things got under way, but a part of him often wondered if he might not be able to leave this place on his own some time. But the King, he would have a servant hunted down for such a thing. There was the matter of the pendant around the Queen's neck as well. It was a chain on him as much as it was ornamental jewelry, binding him. The winterscape around them was silent -- snow fell gently and without wind to stir it, so it came straight down. So he was able to speak softly; that and he used his hand to help block his mouth-- it seemed a silly precaution in such a trusting place, and yet he knew that soon, the place might not remain such for very long...