Before anyone in the Palace could figure out what had happened, Crown Prince Lukas and Karl were already leading a small procession out of the Palace.
They were accompanied by a dozen guards, four maids from the Crown Prince's suite, and one grizzled carriage driver, who looked more than a little annoyed to be sent away from the Palace just when things were starting to get interesting.
But he wasn't told the whole story, only that the Crown Prince's hatchling needed a calm environnt for her early developnt, and that would not be available in the Palace during renovations.
He didn't know that they were the target of the attack, or even that it was an attack at all, and not a tragic accident during training.
Everyone knew that there was a new training area in that wing, but none of them knew yet that the training area was intact and functional, not the source of the problem.
"Why didn't we just fly? It would have been so much faster." Cara asked once they were out of the Capital.
"Because we have a hatchling with us. They don't do well with cold temperatures and high altitudes during their first few months." Lukas inford her.
"Really? I didn't know that. We could keep her warm, and Karl is big enough to carry the carriage in his claws." Cara suggested.
The thought of a World Dragon carrying a carriage for a hatchling minor Princess was enough to put a smile on the driver's face.
"I don't think that the Raptors would handle that well. They're not big fans of flying." He joked, with a gesture to the reptilian carriage beasts.
"Hmm, good point. Well, at the very least we can have Karl buff them up so this isn't so slow." Cara decided.
"Are you in a hurry?" The driver asked, wondering why the strange girl was so impatient.
"No, she's just easily bored, and travelling at a walking pace frustrates her at all tis." Karl joked.
"Ah, to be young again. Well, you can always fly along with the carriage if you would like. But you'll be doing a lot of circling." The driver suggested.
Cara shook her head. "No, a Chaos Badger is pretty recognizable, and the whole point is to go on vacation and not be bothered for a little while.
If everyone sees where we're going, they'll just co bother us in a new spot."
"I see. Well, I can assure you that nobody cares where I'm going, so if you can wait long enough, we can get to your destination without a single problem." The driver agreed.
"We can play gas. I have cards." Rue suggested.
Cara smiled at the Princess. "Why didn't you say that earlier? I have a rather extensive knowledge of popular card gas. Now, what are we going to play first? I am thinking Baccarat, or perhaps Poker?"
Rue frowned. "I don't know those ones. What about go fish? Do you know that one?"
The Crown Prince was doing his very best not to laugh at the Chaos Badger, who was more likely to be a card shark than a casual children's ga type of person. But Cara brought out a small folding table, and set it between her and Rue.
"Go fish it is. Who else wants in on this action?"
Mildred shifted to sit in on the ga, while Karl moved to give them space.
"I will keep watch in case we are followed. I don't sense anything, but if we are, I can send sothing to deal with it without breaking our cover." He whispered to Lukas.
The Crown Prince got a dangerous look in his eyes as he smiled. "If you're certain that nobody will trace it back to you, go ahead."
"Other than the Supre Lady, I doubt that anyone on this continent even knows that I have the skill. But if we don't use it, I will call them once we arrive at our destination, and I can have the summoned creatures work as guards.
They don't need to sleep, and it makes for a great advantage when you are camped and in need of rest."
The carriage was making good ti down the roads, as the Raptors were much faster than horses were. But with a hundred kilotres to go, it was going to take them all day to get there, instead of a few hours at the very most while flying.
In fact, if Karl had flown them all directly, they would have been at the retreat faster than it had taken them to get out of the city.
It would not have been subtle, though.
With the size of his dragon form, especially when enhanced to carry passengers, he would create a spectacle that nobody who saw him would soon forget.
The girls' card ga managed to pass a few hours before they got bored, and then an afternoon nap, with Cara, Rue, and Lukas' hatchling all piled up on the floor, took another few hours.
That got them into the mountains, and the retreat was finally in sight.
It was no re villa.
No, this was a full-fledged mountain castle for the Royal Family. It wasn't large, but Karl was certain that it could hold fifty guests with ease, and it had its own guard detachnt.
That was not optimal, from a security standpoint. None of them knew who the guards might be loyal to, or their political affiliation in the never-ending drama that was the life of the Royals.
But they should be loyal to the King, and with the Crown Prince present, Karl had so hope that they wouldn't cause any issues, even if they were from families that were loyal to the Queen's faction.
"Alright, this looks like a good spot to teach a hatchling to fly. Not too high, but thin enough air to give those wing muscles a workout.
We will add the little one's physical conditioning to the mix, since she's born a Commander." Karl decided as they wound their way up the gravel road.
"That's not necessary, Envoy. We will get to her training soon." Matilda whispered, while protectively cuddling her little one.
"Nonsense. Everyone loves to fly. Plus, it will do her a lot of good to start early in thin air, so she will have an advantage over the others her age when we finally get back to the capital."
Plus, it would keep Cara from getting bored.
Keeping Cara from getting bored was always a priority, and while they were up here in the mountains, there wouldn't be much else for her to do outside of training Rue.
So, having the hatchling to play with would satisfy her need to cause chaos, as well as serving a productive purpose.
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