The village of Cameron was not an especially welcoming place. Its buildings looked shabby and run-down, and so looked its inhabitants. Smiles there didn't appear easily in people's faces. Distrust seemed to be the rule. Payments were expected up front. Goods were never left out of sight. Appraisals of commodities and of people were thorough, scrupulous, and seldom flattering. It was not a kindly place.

On the cold evening when the trader delivered her to the inn at Cameron, Guinevere's heart pounded. She'd stood looking about her on the street for a moment, and spoke silent words of assurance to herself. I'm going to take good care of you, Guinevere. Don't be afraid.

She'd paid for a room to in which to stay for the first few nights, and spent her days searching hard for a place to work and live. It was unsettling, knowing that her money was limited, and that she needed to find a position soon. She'd been tempted to save her money and camp in the woods, but she knew that risking her personal safety (bandits were a danger anywhere) would not be a responsible nor kind choice toward herself. She felt worry in her belly about survival, but always she spoke to herself reassuringly.

At last she found work on a farm outside the village. She was allowed to sleep in a corner of the barn that had been made over for hired help. It boasted a fireplace to fend off the worst of the cold, and stalls were allotted for private sleeping areas. She shared this odd human corner of the barn with three other workers (two women and an old man).

After scouring the town for work, she knew she was lucky to have a place anywhere, and she chose to be grateful. Her duties were not easy, but she took pride in doing them well. She managed the hens, the sheep and the pigs. It was messy, smelly work, but it was work. It gave her time to think.

Gwen's thoughts always turned, inevitably, to Arthur. She missed him. She wished irrationally for a way to atone for the pain she had brought to them both - to have a final encounter with him that reflected their years of love rather than their endgame of despair. She knew reconciliation was impossible, but she wished for it anyway. Her heart, completely independent of her mind, would not be brought to sense.

Guinevere survived the bleakness of Cameron by speaking consolingly to herself. Her sojourn there was a difficult one, but it was not an especially long one. After scarcely over three weeks of work on the farm, raiders took the entire town. Many of the unfortunate villagers were killed or scattered, but Gwen's fate was different.

She was taken captive by a man called Helios.