Juliette felt she was getting the hang of looking princess-like in the cumbersome new outfit, but then was distracted from her immediate concern by the arrival of “Lady Fool.” Admittedly, Erin’s antics could make a bad mood worse, but for the most part Juli appreciated her presence. The soldier was admittedly capable of enough immaturity to enjoy clowning around for its own sake, but what she appreciated more is that the role of fool allowed one to voice unpopular truths to royals and nobles who surrounded themselves with sycophants. There were opinions even Juliette could not voice to the king and queen, but Erin could allude to them if she was careful about it. For her part, Nira was scowling at the sudden intrusion.<br/><br/>Erin’s rhymes unsettled Juli slightly, though there was no obvious outward sign of it. A political marriage or two might be the only foundation lasting peace could be built upon. But Juli would much rather marry out of love, or not do so at all. Still, if she was willing to sacrifice her life for fellow soldiers on the battlefield, sacrificing only part of her life to save many more was surely a better bargain?<br/><br/>“Some treat,” Juli replied ruefully. “I always figured if I was going to be impaled on an Aserit ‘sword,’ it would be in the literal sense rather than the euphemistic one.”<br/><br/>“Major!” Nira said reproachfully.<br/><br/>“How about you, Erin—do you feel more hope than dread today?” Juli asked the girl.