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I’m posting from my current writing WiP, Song and Shadow, a prequel to Song and Sword. It’s a rough draft and I still don’t have an actual outline for it so it’s going to be a fun ride.
Keep in mind this is a rough first draft. (The big paragraph in this snippet needs to be beaten a bit.)
Picking up from last week.
…“a prince should mingle with all of his guests.” He nodded toward the crowd of nobles and Hierik made a face.
“I don’t want to. And they don’t want me to.”
“Being a ruler means doing things that duty requires, whether you want to or not,” Pashevel said gently. “Besides,” he added, his eyes twinkling with mischief, “it doesn’t matter what they want. One of the first things you need to learn is to do what is right, regardless of the opinion of others. That’s not to say that you don’t take others into consideration when making decisions, but there are times when trampling on toes is necessary if you want them to dance to your tune and not their own.”
“I don’t know how to step on toes,” Hierik said softly. “I’ve spent my whole life not doing it.”
Novel Notes 
I didn’t have any problems with your long paragraph.
Thanks, Ed. It just needs a bit of rearranging or something. But that’s a worry for next draft.
Nice few words of wisdom. He’s really good for the young Hierik.
Yup, Hierik has so many lessons to learn in the coming year! Enjoyed the excerpt…