Anya felt guilty about what she was subjecting her beloved Prince to. But she had no choice. Royalist spies had informed the royalist cause that the rebels had determined Prince Jasper magically took a new form to escape during the coup. With rebel forces increasingly threatening Wind's Grove, Anya had to ensure no one would suspect Midnight's true identity. And no one would. No one would even dream of Prince Jasper taking the form of a pregnant broodmare. It was beneath him.
By the time Anya returned, Midnight would be well and truly pregnant, as Borealis was their most virile stallion. At least Midnight would have fun. She would certainly enjoy her week more than Anya would hers. Anya would not be having any sex on her trip. Anya spurred her steed, a chestnut mare named Victory, faster. Wind's Grove was near the border Karagot shared with the kingdom of Estrellia, but she still needed to move fast to get there before nightfall.
Rosilla, one of the other members of Prince Jasper's harem, was Estrellian-born and escaped to her home kingdom during the coup. There, she caught the eye of the unwed King Ernando. After a whirlwind courtship, impeded slightly by Rosilla being pregnant when she fled and not yet given birth when Ernando saw her, she was Queen Rosilla. Estrellian Kings did not take harems or multiple wives, putting Rosilla in a rare position of power to influence her husband.
Through this connection, Anya had been able to arrange for an audience with King Ernando and Queen Rosilla, to make her case for Estrellia to back the royalists, not the rebels. And perhaps Anya could meet Rosilla's young son, Arenite. She was curious whether he resembled his half-brother, her son Osswald.