To where the bards and minstrels have gathered

"Let us treat our ears to some music, dear Sara," you say, trying to sound as natural as Trina. "I'd like to hear songs from far away."

You make your way to the Sandstones, where the sounds of laughter and lutes are just barely audible above the crowds. As you do, you notice that Trina simply does not walk like a common woman; she steps with too much grace, lightly on the balls of her feet, never the slightest off-balance. Once again, it is of course her training with the sword which makes her walk so; you recall that Captain Navarre once told you that she had self-trained since she was a child, and it shows. Then it strikes you that just about everything you know about Trina, you have heard from someone else; she has never really told you anything about herself. It is good that you will not be acting as a married couple for more than a few hours at most; if put to the test, you would not be able to say very much about the woman who is supposed to be your wife!

An elderly woman by the side of the road holds a basket of red roses in front of her, whispering in a voice which can barely be heard, "A rose for your sweetheart... just a penny... one tiny copper for a lovely red rose..."

You reach into your purse and extract two coins, a copper penny and a gold sovereign which you hide beneath it, dropping both into her cup. "For one of your lovely blooms, I will gladly pay two pennies," you say to her.

"God bless you, Sire," she croaks, offering a rose - and you are startled for a moment, surely she could not have recognized you! Then you realize she is only being polite and deferential, and so you simply take the rose with a slight bow.

"For you, Sara," you say, offering the flower to Trina.

She smiles once more, taking the stem between the thorns. "So gallant of you, Xavier," she says. She take a moment to remove the thorns from the stem, then places the rose into her hair, just behind the ear. It is becoming increasingly harder to see the fierce sword-maiden of your Kingsguard in the woman who holds your arm!

Over the next slight rise in the path you find the Sandstones, a hollow in the Earth with great boulders thrusting upward on either side, a formation which Lord Duncan called a "natural amphitheater". It is a favorite place for performers and for ministers, as one who stands at the deepest part of the depression can be easily heard even by those quite far back; about a year after you took the throne, it became necessary to establish a system whereby the use of the site had to be reserved in advance, to prevent conflicts. Once the festival truly begins, there are several planned events at the Sandstones, but for now the bards and minstrels have set themselves up wherever they can find space. It is crowded, but the people keep their voices down so that the music may be heard.

"Sara," you say, pointing out a dark-haired woman who strums a lute. "Is that not Beatrice of the Greenwood?"

"Indeed she is, husband. I heard her sing two days past, at the Inn. Unfortunately, I was on-duty - er, that is..."

You glance around. "No one heard, Sara."

She nods slightly, and forces the agitation from her face. "Her voice is as lovely as the rumors say. Would that I could have lingered and heard more, but I could not stay."

You lower your voice so only Trina can hear. "Do you think she might recognize you if she saw you here?"

"I wore chainmail and a hood," Trina says, equally quietly, "and was only in her presence but a moment. It is most unlikely she would know me again, now that I am dressed quite differently."