Ardhana received them in a smaller chamber than the throne room, lamplight instead of the great hall's high windows, only Mentari and two silent guards standing witness to a conversation the king had clearly decided didn't need an audience. He looked older by lamplight, the weight of whatever reports had reached him that afternoon sitting visibly across his shoulders in a way the throne room's careful staging usually managed to hide.
"Sit," he said, gesturing to low cushions arranged before his own seat, an informality Rama hadn't been offered before. "I've had a difficult day, traveler, and I find I have less patience tonight for ceremony than usual."
