Large processions travelled on a main road for Regila's Capital, each within a few months of each other. Other Kingdoms were closer than Ojun, so the representatives sent were either there already or almost there. Ojun was destined to be arriving last.
King Lanin of Lino decided to go personally and Palari accompanied him as his fiancée. The wedding was to be held after the new year started. King Railin and Queen Malari were the first to arrive at Regila's capital. They were accompanied by their sons and the second princess of Feri, the Crown Prince's fiancée.
Crown Princess Elira of Heln got there third, just before her brother who was accompanying his wife, appeared. "Who did Ojun say they were sending?" Heri asked Lion as they stood on a balcony of a restaurant, looking down at the row of carriages that filled the street.
"They didn't, but the latest news is that they left earlier than needed to, which means that they should've been here by now." Lion turned and looked at her. "Are they stalling or trying to play a trick?" She asked, her eyes narrowing.
"I don't think that's the case. The citizens of Ojun are docile and soft spoken. Something may be causing them to move slowly." He quickly analyzed. "Good. I would've hated to send some people out to check." Kai said as he took a sip of wine.
"We can still send people out, but we can't use riders." Lion waved his hand and a man formed from his shadow. "Young Master." The man bowed. "Send some people to monitor the procession from Ojun. Once you've confirmed what it is that's making them so slow, return.
"Yes, young master."
*****************************************************************************************
A fifteen-carriage procession was making their way to Regila's Capital with seven hundred guards accompanying it on horseback. This is the scene the men sent by Lion saw, unaware of the three hundred more watching from the shadows.
"We're being watched." Kain told his older brother, who nodded. "They must be from Regila. They think we're taking too long." Rain replied, keeping his eyes on the road ahead.
The group watched them for most of the day. They saw two women approach the men leading the procession, but they wore veils so they couldn't see their faces clearly. The men wore masks so there was no clear picture to take back.
The only piece of information that they could take back was that someone was sick. Someone that seemed extremely important to both the men and women. The guards around that carriage were the thickest and that carriage was the largest.
The older children would often go in and out of the carriage when the procession wasn't moving but there was no change in their behavior.
The group left once night fell. Rain made a slight motion, and three shadow guards followed the group that was spying on them. "Who do you think sent them?" Varin asked.
"The First Prince and the Second Prince are close to each other. The two must've talked and decided to send their men here." Soria replied. "We'll know when our people return." Kain said as he sat down at the table.
"How is mother?" Varin asked him. "She's asleep. The coal is burning and she's covered by a blanket. The twins insisted on sleeping with her and she agreed." Varin nodded.
"There's one more town before we reach the Capital, shall we stay there tomorrow night? With the chill really setting in, it may snow." Rain asked them as he sat next to Varin and kissed her forehead before pulling her towards him.
"Let's see how the day goes tomorrow." Kain replied to his brother. "No need to wait until then." Soria said as she held her hand out. A snowflake floated down and landed in her palm. "It's started."
Servants walked over and handed the four thick cloaks that were prepared beforehand. "Check mother's carriage." Rain instructed. "There's no need to, your highness." The servant bowed. "Madam's carriage was checked by the first princess and she had instructed us to change the curtains to heavier ones already." The servant bowed and left.
"Looks like the children are even more considerate towards their grandmother than we thought." Soria chuckled. "They all adore her and look after her. Especially the twins. Even at their age." Kain looked up as the sky just as Rain stood up.
"Let's go to the tents. It'll get colder as the night goes on." Rain held out his head to Varin and she took it. As the four of them were preparing to enter their tents, a servant appeared and bowed.
"Your highnesses. Madam said that her daughters-in-law will ride with her tomorrow." The servant bowed and went back to what they were doing. "I thought mother was sleeping?"
"She's probably woke up, realized it was snowing and wanted you to accompany her tomorrow." Rain nodded to Kain and they walked into their tents, pulling their wives inside with them.
Just before dawn, the procession began to move again. Despite her thick blankets, thick curtains and coal fire in her carriage, Opal began coughing again.
The doctor said it was because of the sudden change in the weather. Although they were preparing for it, they hadn't expected that it would come with such a sharp drop in temperature.
Luckily the twins decided to stay with her, or it would've been worse than if it'd waited until morning. Sena noticed the coughing and woke up but she thought that her grandmother just needed water, but the coughing didn't get better.
Sera had gotten out of the carriage quickly and ran towards the doctor's tent. She almost dragged the man across the snow but not a sound was made. Only when the doctor said that Opal needed to be wiped down because she had a light fever was the entre camp alerted.
Opal sat up on the bed, leaning on an arm rest, watching the doctor take the pulses of Varin and Soria. She coughed twice and the two instinctively moved but she held up a hand. They settled down.
"Your Highnesses, Madam is better now. Thankfully the Princesses caught it early and the fever was gone before it fully formed. She's still in her recovery stage, so a few light coughs are normal. Once we settle in Regila's Capital, I'll be able to do more with her health." The two stayed silent and just watched Opal.
The doctor moved back and turned to Opal. He bowed deeply. "Congratulations, Madam. Your daughters-in-law are pregnant. The oldest is four months and the second is two months. Both are stable." Opal nodded.
"Keep the news silent for now." He nodded and the doctor left the carriage. He got onto his awaiting horse without trouble. In this procession, even the servants are martial artists.