Garion looked up as his oldest son and daughter approached the throne, where he slouched. "Father?" Geran asked. "Beldaran and I have something to ask of you."
"Yes?"
"Um…well, father, as you know, we haven't seen Aunt Polgara and Uncle Durnik for a while."
"Almost a year," piped up Beldaran.
"Yes, and…"
"You wanted to visit them?" Garion asked wearily.
"Yes, we want to see them, but… we were wondering… well… could we go alone? You know, without guards?"
Garion stared at his oldest son. It was true that he had been thinking almost the same thing as this a few days ago, but when confronted with the idea of having his two oldest children leave him – leave all by themselves… but he couldn't just forbid them. He couldn't deny them the right to their adventure, when he had been thinking that something like this was just what Geran needed. "I'll think about it," he said gruffly, and dismissed the pair with a nod.
