The northern palace was originally built several centuries prior. It was originally a fort to guard against raiders. Large enough to house the entirety of the surrounding villages, it was commonly used by the royal family to host large numbers of guests during holidays or other events. Illiam had seen paintings of it but it wasn’t until he laid his eyes on it in person did he realize how large it truly was. 

 Walking through it felt like he was crossing his entirety of his home isle of Ashton on foot without being able to take a break. Just when he was about to ask if he could sit down, the maid that had been guiding him stopped in front of a door, “This will be your room.” The girl opened the double doors. 

Illiam’s eyes went wide seeing the size of it. The room was twice the size of his father’s bedroom, maybe more. It seemed almost unnecessary to him but he couldn’t help but stare in awe. Dropping his bag on the floor by the bed, Illiam flopped down. The maid looked at him confused but seemingly restrained herself from saying something. 

“You will be taken to the capital in the morning,” She said, bowing her head down. “Before you depart there will be a breakfast served. If you are hungry for dinner the chef will make a simple meal for you but we are lacking in many ingredients.” 

“You do not need to worry yourself.” Illiam reassured. “The boat has turned my stomach some, I am just going to sleep for the night.” 

“I will leave you then.” She bowed once again and quietly hurried out of the room, leaving the Duke’s son alone. 

 Illiam looked at the stone ceiling. This was far too much traveling for him, and the destination is a miserable life. All of this was exhausting. 

 Standing up groggily he changed out of his traveling clothes and into some clothes for sleeping. Illiam wasn’t opposed to sleeping in the traveling wear but figured it was probably best not to. The bed seemed far too nice for that and it would probably bring some shame upon his family (even though he didn’t really care about that). If his family had a less status this wouldn’t have happened to him. The king would have no use for a male concubine from a commoner family. But it was unbecoming for a man of Illiam’s age to moan and whine like a child, that wouldn’t fix anything anyway. 

 Flopping face first into the bed Illiam passed out before he noticed.