The invitation to accompany Friedrich on his incognito trip to the Netherlands comes as a surprise: after years of being ignored, Peter hadn't dared to hope for anything anymore, had tried - and mostly succeeded - to be content with the life he had and not feel stung by Friedrich's rejection.

When he realizes where they are going, eerily close to the harried route he took a lifetime ago, he isn't sure if he cares for the re-enactment - nor if Friedrich, who is distant and cordial and brusque in seemingly unpredictable patterns, understands that this is what they are doing to begin with: retreading Peter's past, which should have been Friedrich's too and never got to be.

Travelling incognito on the other hand, without pursuers on their tail this time, is also an unexpected chance: the intimacy of their small party and the lack of etiquette required let him witness Friedrich closer than he has since they were young men, exchanging books and warmth during stolen moments, and he begins to see the beleaguered roads and fortified borders that led from the Friedrich of old to the King of now, suspicious and complicated and thorny, but still craving for things to feed both his mind and his heart.