Danyla and the nobles of the Seven Kingdoms had spent more than two months in the Kingswood, allowing her to forge warm friendships with many of them.
But while the royal family and the nobles enjoyed the splendor of this prosperous age, the land for miles around the Kingswood hunting camp had been left in utter disarray.
Those two months had filled many merchants' coffers, however. The nearby royal estates and the local lords, great and small, had also cleared out their stockpiles and made a handsome profit.
"Gods, we're finally leaving! The smell here was almost worse than King's Landing used to be!"
Inside the Royal Carriage bound for Summerhall, Walda could not help complaining. Her words made everyone, Danyla included, struggle to hold back their laughter.
It was hardly surprising. Tens of thousands of people had been crowded around the camp. With her son's merchants, theater troupes, and all sorts of other people joining them, the population around the Kingswood hunting camp had swollen to well over a hundred thousand toward the end.
Human waste alone had piled up into mountains, never mind all the livestock dung and household refuse that needed disposing of. Fortunately, wagons from the nearby royal estates came every day to collect the waste for composting. Otherwise, they could never have stayed so long.
Still, Danyla had accomplished quite a few important things over those two months.
First, the First Legion had filled all its ranks. After finishing Dragonstone Fortress, which would guard the Kingswood, Sevan had taken them to Goldmine City in Dorne for intensive training.
After Danyla thwarted the assassination attempt in Otheryon City by the Dornish nobles led by Marquess Martell, the Dornish lords had paid enormous reparations. Even so, she had no intention of letting them off lightly.
But with