“Oh, for mercy’s sake,” Bitterblue snapped at her advisers. “I’m proposing a walk to the smithy, not an expedition to the moon. I’ll be back in a matter of minutes. In the meantime, you can all return to work and stop being annoying, if such a thing is possible.” “At least take an umbrella, Lady Queen,” pleaded Rood. “I won’t,” she said, then swept out of the room as dramatically as possible.
