"Oh, well, I'm...rather busy, most of the time. I'm...in politics." He hated admitting he was a king. He still felt something of a pretender - a little boy in his father's shoes. And it made people so awkward! They suddenly didn't know how to talk to him or what to call him. It was maddening.

"I read, whenever I have the chance. I prefer stories of adventure to adventure itself." He'd had enough of that. He'd had his great quest, his forging in fire...he was well and done with it now. Or...more or less. This didn't count. This wasn't an adventure, it was a nightmare.

The talking was taking his mind away from macabre thoughts, however.