To Commander Lothian, the most interesting thing about royals was that they seemed so minuscule and powerless when they didn't have an entourage of people around them.
This realization had held him throughout his entire career as a commander. The worship of royals as if they had been sent from heaven themselves always rubbed him the wrong way but it only further escalated.
It helped that the commander was over six and a half feet tall while the king was barely over six. Plus the man was getting older and, despite his layers of cloaks and furs, you could see his frailness starting to show.
The commander and King Alfred sat in his formal study together after he had been summoned from the jousting tournament.
It was clearly a calculated move because when they arrived, a fire was already burning in the large fireplace with a stone chimney that reached the ceiling. There was even tea set out for them that was steaming. The timing of the palace never ceased to amaze him.
