[@Eviledd1984]

Kara walked along with her lover to the more secure room, her eyes darting around every corner as if an assassin could burst forth from the shadows at any second. "If every day is going to be like this, I'm going home. I can't live with that sort of stress. I mean, my family would occasionally face threats from those who wanted to get at my father, but none of them came half as close as that guy just now. As it is, we really should find a way to root these malcontents out and bring them to justice, whatever that is in this land." She looked at Smith as she spoke, her voice firm but not strict. "Well, you're my boyfriend. I guess this is your chance to protect me, my prince." 

[@bloonewb]

"Let us hope that your brood doesn't have to face the hard choices my family did. When you are this powerful, you make enemies no matter what you do. Raise taxes and the poor want your head. Lower taxes and the army and bureaucrats who get paid from them want your head. Crack down on crime and families of the executed hate you for it. Go soft on crime and the families who were victims of criminals hate you. Be too harsh on your vassals and they rebel. Be too lenient on them and they won't obey you. And no matter how hard you try to balance it, there's no way to be perfectly-" Ternoc's little speech was cut short by the arrival of a messenger.

"My Prince, the arrangements for your tour have been made" he handed Ternoc an itinerary and a few security notes. After quickly reading them over, he put the papers in his robes and turned back to Ardasa, dismissing the messenger without a word.

"Excellent. Now, let's get out of the palace, shall we?"