Gabe charged down a winding dirt road towards his target, his troops faithfully following behind him. He was in pursuit of a man who had been involved in plundering a nearby Avaloran village and thought to be colluding with the Delgados, Avalor's worst criminals.
As he and his horse Fuego finally neared the thief, Gabe launched himself off Fuego and towards the man riding along side him, knocking him off his horse and sending both men tumbling to the roadside. Gabe grabbed the satchel where the man had been carrying the stolen goods and tossed it to one of the other guards. He then grabbed the thief by the collar and demanded to know where the Delgados were.
"They're long gone now" The thief said laughing. "While you were all coming after me, they escaped Avalor. I was just a diversion"
"Dammit!" Gabe vented as he tossed the thief to the side where two guards took him away to be taken into custody. He then turned to his Lieutenant and friend Rico Villalobos. "We're so close to the Paraiso border, they probably are looking to hide out there or travel further south. If they were just spotted in Avalor this morning then they couldn't have made it that far over the border right?"
"Are you thinking about going after them?" Rico asked.
"I don't know" Gabe replied honestly. He wasn't sure what to do. He didn't have jurisdiction in Paraiso but he knew that he was so close. He looked up at the darkening sky, storm clouds were rolling in and he was reminded of something. A smirk began to settle on his face as he came up with a plan. "Rico, can you lead the troops back to Avalor and make sure that thief is locked up?" He asked.
"Gabe! You can't go after them by yourself!" Rico argued.
"Just go! Don't worry about me. I'll be fine" Gabe insisted. "I just have something that I need to do before I head back to Avalor"
"Yes Captain" Rico replied, taking his orders.
After being informed that she was needed in the Paraiso throne room, Isabel headed down from the room that she had been offered by the royal family. She wondered what it could possibly be and crossed her fingers that it might be good news. Perhaps she would be able to head home after all. After even more storms had ravished the countryside the night before though, she highly doubted that the roads would be able to be cleared in time.
Upon entering the throne room her eyes widened as she saw a man standing in front of the King and Queen of Paraiso dressed in an Avaloran Guard uniform. She knew at once who it was and when Gabe turned around and flashed his ridiculously handsome smile her way she immediately ran to him.
"Gabe!" She squealed as she threw herself into his arms "You've come to take me home haven't you?!"
Gabe just laughed as he returned the embrace of Princess Isabel. "Of course! You didn't think your favorite guard would let you spend the holiday so far from home now did you?"
"Well if you weren't my favorite guard before, you definitely are now!" Isabel teased much to Gabe's delight. He was very fond of the youngest of the Avaloran princesses and had come to look at her much like a little sister of his own. He loved her dearly and was proud to be her knight in shining armor.
"But I thought the roads were closed? And the storms?" Isa inquired.
"To a coach the roads are closed… yeah…. But with Fuego, the fastest and bravest horse in Avalor, it's possible to navigate the main road to Avalor." Gabe replied. "And it appears that the storms are finally finished. I mean, it won't be an easy ride, there's a lot of debris and obstacles and definitely some flooding but I'm up for it if you are"
"Definitely!" Isa responded to which Gabe smiled with admiration. At the young age of 12, Isabel was already just as brave as her older sister.
"Alright then!" Gabe told her. "Why don't you go pack up just the necessities in your Go pack and we can be on our way. The rest of your belongings can be sent back to Avalor once the roads clear"
"Great!" Isa said as she excitedly skipped off to ready herself for their journey.
Gabe then turned back to the King and Queen to finish explaining to them the situation with the Delgados. They had agreed to have the Paraiso guards on double duty to aid in the search for the criminals. It was the most that Gabe could do about it all for the time being and his stop to discuss the matter had the added benefit of being able to take Isa back to Avalor. It was a silver lining to the fact that the Delgados had escaped him and his troops.
"You doing OK Isa?" Gabe asked as Isa gripped his arms tightly once they had finished trudging through some deep flooding and trotted over some debris.
"Uhhh yup! Just trying to stay on" Isa replied, sounding a bit unsure of the bumpy ride.
Gabe chuckled a bit before reassuring her that he had her and wasn't going to let her fall.
"If I'm going to return you to your familia, I'm going to make sure I get you there in one piece!" He joked and Isa giggled.
"Thanks again for coming to get me Gabe" Isabel said sweetly.
"Of course! Elena was so upset when she heard that you weren't going to make it back because of the storms so when my mission brought me so close to Paraiso, how could I not go and pick you up!" Gabe explained.
"So she doesn't even know you're bringing me home?" Isa asked.
"Nope!" Gabe replied and a satisfied smile spread across his face over his good deed. "Just wait until she sees you! She's going to be SO excited! I can't wait to see the look on her face.. I mean you should have seen her Isabel, she didn't even want to help with the Navidad preparations! But now… well… none of those things even matter cause the holidays are about who you spend them with right? And who's more important to Elena than you? No one!" Gabe babbled on and on about Elena, causing Isabel to grin an all knowing grin. It had always been obvious to her.
"You'd do anything for Elena huh?" Isabel said in a soft tone that implied she knew that Gabe's feelings for Elena were a bit greater than friendship.
"I um… I just…" Gabe stuttered nervously. "I mean of course I want her to be happy. She means a lot to me. You both do. Your whole family does"
"Yeah but Elena is just a little bit more special to you isn't she?" Isa boldly asked, humored that she had caught Gabe off guard with her previous comment and a little proud of herself that by his reaction, she seemed to be right.
Gabe just chuckled and shrugged it off, never giving Isabel a straight answer but knowing that she didn't need it. Instead, Gabe chose to change the subject to her lecture and Isabel was more than happy to carry on about her impressive experience and the overwhelmingly positive response she had received. The two continued on their way, staying alert, jumping debris, and even having to navigate through the mud at some points. They were filthy and exhausted but also determined to get back to Avalor before the holiday festivities began.
