Dominic made four of the modified orbs before bed that night, and then prepared to leave first thing in the morning.
"Should we try to come up with some sort of cover for our departure?" Princess Alexis asked nervously as she packed her supplies into her storage rings.
"Not a bad idea. The King knows, but nobody else does. I will leave a note." Dominic agreed.
Given the current situation, and the demands of the Dagos Prince, which will surely be the gossip of the Palace by the time that you receive this, I have decided to elope with the Princess.
Please inform her father that I would ask for his forgiveness when you see him.
Or don’t. That’s probably safer.
Then he wrote Pops on the outside and sealed it with his thumb pressed in hot wax.
Alexis donned the same disguise that she had the last time that they snuck out, and gave Colonel Wilkes an affectionate thump on the armour as she left her suite.
The Royal Guard wouldn’t be with them this time, as it would draw too much attention, both leaving the Palace and when Dagos citizens saw them in combat. The laws of both nations required that the Royal Guard not fight while out of uniform, so they simply couldn’t accompany the Princess without causing a spectacle.
They made it to the staging area, where the Princess climbed into a supply wagon, and Dominic took a seat next to her.
"The Guards will go out training in five minutes, with Ella from my Royal Guard retinue dressed in my armour. That should be enough to distract any spies, as long as her visor isn’t flipped up during training. One day to get out of town is all that we can ask for before Dagos will have spies hunting for me and Josephine." Alexis explained.
The convoy started moving, and Dominic settled in for the trip. He wouldn’t be able to work until they were out of the city, or the smoke from the forge and the sound of hammering would give them away.
But the Natural Sons Regiment would be the primary suspect in Princess Alexis’ disappearance the moment that she was discovered to be missing.
They were assigned to her, and even if she hadn’t officially left with them on this mission, someone would be sure to come looking.
The convoy moved smoothly out of the city, and then northwest along the dirt roads between fields and farms, headed directly toward the border, as would be expected of a military deployment.
"We’ve got a full morning of travel, and then we will be in the thick woods on the other side of Aramos Village. From there, we can strip the insignia and move like a private military force belonging to one of the Nobles.
It’s normal for them not to fly banners out of combat, so nobody should question it too deeply." The driver explained, leaning toward the window, so Dominic could hear him.
"Got it. Let me know when you change. The Princess surely has something prepared, but I was intending to be somewhat flamboyant. Every good mercenary force needs a visible employer.
I’ve got enough fancy clothing to pull it off for at least a few days until we reach the border." Dominic explained.
"Just keep your hat on." The driver agreed.
Nobody even looked up as another convoy of Cygnia soldiers moved back toward the border.
News was already spreading that Dagos had refused the terms of the Armistice, and the war was likely to begin again any day. Whether that meant that Dagos would strike again with underhanded tactics like the Goblin invasions, nobody knew.
As they passed Aramos village, the driver knocked on the carriage roof to let Dominic know that something was wrong.
"Do you need me to come up?" He asked.
"And put on your best act." The driver agreed.
Dominic put on one of the flat caps he had gotten with his new "rakish playboy" fashion, and added a pair of crystal lensed goggles, as was fashionable in the city. Then he climbed out onto the running boards and up beside the driver.
"Who is leading this force?" A deep voice was shouting from the front.
"I am. Why are you blocking our way?" Dominic shouted back.
A knock at the window behind the driver caught his attention, and Dominic took a rolled scroll from Alexis.
A cursory glance showed that they were deployment orders, and she had filled in the Earl of Totbu as the unit’s Commander.
The Earl of Totbu was long dead, with no heirs that Dominic knew of. But most would just assume that the title had been given to someone else as a reward for service.
"Who are you, then?" The Captain of the team blocking the road demanded.
"Earl Nick of Totbu. I have deployment orders from His Majesty. Now, why are you blocking my unit?" Dominic demanded, holding up the scroll, with the Royal seal visible.
Then he rolled it before the Captain would have time to fully read anything.
"Our apologies, Earl Totbu. We have been alerted that a member of the Royal Family is missing, and we have been ordered to secure all roadways." The Captain explained.
"Understandable. Missing children are always an urgent matter. However, there are none in my convoy, and we are urgently needed at the front." Dominic replied.
"Of course, My Lord. However, we do need to search the carriages."
Dominic frowned. "Are you questioning my word, or my honour?"
"Of course not, My Lord. Please, proceed. We will mark the search as performed by yourself personally."
Dominic nodded, and gestured for the cavalry to move, even if they had to run over the blockade soldiers.
Thirty minutes later, they were sure that the area was abandoned enough to take down all their heraldry, and the Royal Army unit became a personal cavalry force of the Earl of Totbu.
Then, Princess Alexis came out with her hair dyed black and a much less ornate set of armour on. Her cloak was light, suitable for the weather, but hooded to keep her face out of the sun. That made her look like one of the guards, or perhaps a ranking servant of the Earl.
Perhaps even the Countess.
She was the only woman in the procession, as while the recruitment was open to everyone, the Natural Children’s initiative had only attracted younger sons, earning it the moniker ’The Natural Sons Regiment’.
"Keep going. Let’s get as far as possible toward the border before we have to stop." Dominic instructed.