The next morning Ivan made a point to be the one to wake Gwen up. Usually he left that job to Dom or Roald as they were the ones that were typically awake and by her tent that early. Dom saw him go in and went to turn anyone else approaching the tent away to give them a bit of privacy. Gwen woke with a gasp almost instantly when Ivan knelt down next to her.
"Shhh, it's just me." Ivan said stroking her hair back and kissing her forehead. "I just wanted to check on you. You went to bed fairly early for you last night."
"I'm just tired. It's not exactly rest that I'm getting in the middle of a camp and on display all day and evening." She sat up and rested her forehead against his for a moment. "I could use a sleep in a real bed away from noise and a day where I don't have at least ten sets of eyes on me at all times."
"We'll be in Corus right after midday and then we should have from dinner on to ourselves. We'll get to sleep in our own bed and no one should object to me keeping you to myself tomorrow. You deserve a day to get settled in. And then we can talk tonight or tomorrow about everything." Ivan assured her.
"You paint a beautiful picture." She grinned at him. "I miss sleeping with you."
"Tonight," he promised her. "And then I'm never letting you out of my sight again."
"That's awfully difficult," she told him as she got out of the bed and dug in her trunk for a pair of brown breeches, a cream colored shirt, and her robes.
"Alright, I may let you out of my sight, but only with people I trust and only when I know where you are going. You have a tendency to get in trouble otherwise." Ivan informed her as she started to paint up her face.
"Yes, dear," she pulled him in for one long kiss before she finished painting up her lips and then stowed everything away before following him out. Dom smiled at them as they came out and he claimed Gwen's other side.
"My dear we have to discuss today." Dom told her as she sat down for breakfast.
"The volume of people has everyone on edge doesn't it?" Gwen asked without missing a beat. She saw Dom roll his eyes. "I won't get off of my horse, I'll smile and wave from afar, and I'll stay close."
"I don't know why I even bother trying to have these conversations with you. You already know what I want to tell you for safety." Dom teased her. "When we reach the city you will ride at the front between the King and Roald. They will each shift a half horse length back to give everyone a better view of you. We estimate it will take nearly three hours to get between the edge of the city and up to the palace."
"I'm going to be awfully tired of waving." She told Ivan with a grin. There was no more talk as everyone loaded up and got ready to go. They stopped for a brief midday at noon just before they reached the city and recapped what everyone was to do. Gwen took her place at the head as her part was actually the easiest. Smile and wave, acknowledge everyone and try not to die if someone decided to shoot at her from a rooftop somewhere.
As they entered the city Gwen realized they were starting in the poorest section and would be walking up through the ranks up to the palace. The rode was wide enough for five horses across with a good amount of spectators on either side. It and the people stretched out in front of her in a long line stretching five miles up to the palace gates. As her mount stepped over the line that marked the border of the city she heard cheers erupt in a deafening roar.
While riding through the small villages and towns had given her an idea of how she was being received by the people, the echo of cheers running down the line made her feel like she was actually doing something. Her smile became plastered on her face as she waved to even the lowliest of peasants at the edge of the city. It was slow moving and the sound of cheering never died out as they moved out of the poorest district and up towards some of the shops. After an hour they were a third of the way up the path and they had reached a place where people were on the roofs waving to her as well. Somewhere behind the cheering she felt a tension growing in the air. She wished there was some way to signal she felt something wrong but she didn't know other than the air was humming with tension. Then at a particularly crowded intersection, the tension broke. The people cheering from the sides of the street suddenly pushed forward in full mass and easily overtook the relatively small amount of warriors. Gwen watched for just a moment as the road in front of her turned into a sea of people.
She looked beside her to see Roald and Jonathon nowhere near her side. Her horse had been forced forward and they were stuck behind the people. She felt hands tugging at her and she tried her best to reason with the people but they were crazed. She saw the look in their eyes. This was their Godssent and they wanted to touch her. She stayed on her mount as long as possible and was thankful the horse did not injure anyone as she was pulled down into the crowd. Her robes caught on the saddle as she fell and ripped off. Then she fell under the feet of the people.
She thought someone would have noticed the Godssent without her robes but the moment she was on the ground the crowd around her lost track and while she curled up to protect herself from the push of legs and feet, she pulled her scarf off and scrubbed at the paint on her face. She received a good kick to the side that left her gasping but she managed to stand up. Unknowningly helpful hands shoved her backwards way from the horse towards the edge as the people tried to get closer to where the Godssent had been. At the edge of the crowd she stood for a moment staring in horror as the crowd discovered she really was gone and turned from crazed type fans into a mob.
"Come on lass, this is no safe place for you." She felt a large hand take hers and suddenly she was running through the streets being propelled by a large man dressed in black breeches and a black shirt. She could easily see the outline of blades under his shirt and breeches while they ran. All around her sane men and women were rushing to get to safe places, pushing children in front of them. She wondered where the man was taking her. His vice like grip on her hand left little room for choice as he tugged her through streets and they were running long after others disappeared around them. Her lungs burned, her muscles screamed, her heart threatened to pound out of her chest. She was about to beg to stop when she was pulled rather abruptly into a side door and they came to an instant stop.
"Who's this?" She heard someone ask as she tried to catch her breath. Looking around she saw a very obvious interior of a tavern with several people sitting around the bar.
"We have a visitor for dinner." The man that had dragged her across Corus informed everyone. "Let's make the Godssent comfortable until this mob is controlled outside."
"The Godssent?" She heard someone gasp.
"But she don't look like the Godssent?" Another man pointed out.
"Does… anyone… look… remotely… divine… when… they… can't… catch… their… breath?" Gwen wheezed out.
"Have a seat," she felt her body pressed into a chair and a tankard was set down in front of her. "Juice, since I know you do not drink." She looked at the man with a look he read easily. "I didn't poison it. We like the Godssent here." She raised her eyebrows with one more question. "Nor did I drug it." After another moment the man took her mug, took a hearty drink for himself and then set it down. After that display she figured she could afford to drink.
"Where…am…I?" She looked around hoping to find a name carved somewhere.
"The Dancing Dove. And you my dear are at the mercy of…"
"The Rogue," Gwen finished her breath becoming a bit easier. "And his court of course."
"Intelligent woman," the man she assumed was the Rogue, the very same man that had dragged her through the streets and sampled her juice, grinned at her. "My name is Erick."
"Gwen," she offered her hand out to give him a solid shake. More introductions were to be had as the few people in the tavern came forward to give names and shake hands. "Will someone alert my guards to where I am? I don't need them to panic when everything is cleared and I'm still missing."
"When all is clear I will leave you in a place you can be found. But until my lookout gives the all clear, it's safer if you just stay put. Can't have the crowd trampling the Godssent by mistake." Erick reached over and touched the necklace that dangled out above her collar. "Pretty trinket? Gift from an admirer?"
"You could say that," Gwen was sure if the Rogue did like her, he had information on her. While she was nowhere near naïve enough to believe he meant he liked her more than a public image, she still wanted to protect Ivan.
"From a certain guard, I believe. The same said guard who you call your hero," Erick's voice was quiet and mocking, the others in the tavern had moved away enough so this conversation was private.
"I'd be in a lot worse position now if he had not played the hero," Gwen felt defensive at his tone.
"Easy there," Erick smiled at her. "I was just curious if you returned his affections for you."
"Does it matter if I do or don't?"
"I'm going to cut to the chase as you don't seem to be in a mood to be teased at the moment," Erick sighed. "I have been speaking with your Captain Domitan when he comes into the city and we write. He did not mention the romance; I did, for the record. But he says you are ever worried about your image amongst the common crowd. It would not look bad for you to return the affections of your hero as insane as he is to be in love with the Godssent."
"Would it look bad if I were to say, marry my hero of a guard?" Gwen asked quietly peering up over the top of her tankard into Erick's gray eyes. He considered her for a moment, and then gave a wry smile. This seemed to be new information though he obviously had kept tabs on her and probably more than through Dom. That her relationship had been only a speculation and not something that was easy to spot meant she and Ivan had done an excellent job at hiding it.
"I think, that now that you have personally spread the word that he is your hero, no it would not. He seems charming enough from afar that I believe the people will see you have good reason to love him." Erick paused a moment about to say something and then he stopped and shook his head.
"What?" Gwen asked noticing the sudden bite back. "You might as well say it or I'm going to pester you until it comes out."
"It wouldn't be a bad thing for you to have some things to make you more human. If the people feel like they can relate to you a bit more, the messages you spread seem more attainable." He paused as a tankard of what she assumed would be ale was set down in front of Erick. "A husband and children wouldn't be a terrible thing at all."
"Well that eases my mind part way about telling the poor man 'yes'. He and I will just have to talk out my other concerns but maybe there will be a wedding in the future." Gwen gave Erick a small smile.
"What other concerns do you have about it? Maybe I can ease your mind completely and your poor guard won't have to work too hard to convince you." Erick leaned forward.
"Well it's simple really. I have enemies. I have enemies that like to cause me pain. Such enemies could, for example, want to harm me by using people I love. A husband and children are far more likely targets to that kind of attack than say my Captain of my Guard or the Prince though I would feel just as heartbroken over any of their deaths on my account or at all."
"I suppose only he can assure you he is willing to put up with your enemies, but it was worth a shot." Erick sighed.
"I appreciate the effort." She gave him a real smile. "So how long do you think this is going to take to clear whatever little chaos I caused?"
"It could be several hours. There were a lot of people and all of the talk recently has been about the Godssent returning to Corus and in full view for the first time."
"So it's going to be a while. I feel terrible with them out there and me all nice and cozy in here." She admitted. "Is there a way to signal them that I'm safe? I'd feel better knowing they aren't terrorizing more people while searching for me." Erick signaled one of the men who went out the door without another word.
"He'll try and get a message out to your people, if it doesn't get the mob riled up again. While we wait, do you play cards? It would be a nice way to pass the time."
"I have learned a few games from the men of the Own but I don't have anything to gamble I'm afraid." Gwen admitted as Erick waved the rest of the people around and cards were produced.
"I feel like it would be in bad taste to gamble with the Godssent. We don't need to bet anything." Erick informed her as he handed her the cards. "Name your rules."
A few hours later as some sort of order seemed to be restored to the streets, Erick and Gwen slipped out of the Dancing Dove and walked up through the temple district up to the stairs that led up to the palace. Erick bid her farewell for it did not do well for the Rogue to be in such plain sight of lawmen and left her sitting on the steps to wait. She had a fairly clear view of the roads now that the sun was setting and she could see men in blue and white regathering in the center of the road two or so miles down. It had not snowed yet but it was cold out and without her robes or all of the running from earlier she finally felt the chill and curled into herself while she waited.
It took about fifteen minutes but the horsemen started to draw near and she saw Lord Raoul at the head with Dom and Ivan on either side of him. Her other guards were behind that and then the full two companies of the Own. She waited until they were almost right next to her and then uncurled from her spot and stood.
"Mithros, Girl," she heard Raoul laugh. "For a moment there I swore part of the step had moved."
"That was my intention, Sir," she called back. She hugged her own body trying to find some warmth.
"Well, mount up. You look like you need to get inside." Raoul nodded back between Faleron and Neal where her horse was riderless. She would have rather mounted up in front of Ivan because she was certain he would be warm and she wanted some sort of assurance he wasn't injured in any way. But it was not worth arguing. She would be inside and warm soon enough. She went back to her pretty horse and clambered up into the saddle.
"I thought you had someone with you," Dom called back.
"My rescuer wasn't exactly a law abiding citizen and too many lawful people about made him a bit nervous." Gwen admitted. "I'm sure he was lurking long enough to see me mount up. I take it the message got through that I was safe?"
"It did. It was helpful to know we didn't have to search the entire city to find you." Raoul told her.
"Or that we weren't going to find some a dead body rather than you alive and well," Neal drawled.
"Lovely, Meathead," Gwen heard Dom say. "We sent Roald and the King ahead to get their royal bums to safety a few hours ago. I'm sure you're going to get an earful the moment you pass through the gates."
Gwen shivered in her saddle wanting to go just a bit faster but everyone seemed a bit too worn out by everything that had happened over the course of the day. She toughed it out though, because complaining wouldn't get her very far. Roald did indeed meet them at the gate and he led Gwen away to a different stable where her mount would go with the royal family's horses. She told him about her escape and Erick.
After her horse was taken care of Roald led Gwen back to meet her guards at a side door to the palace. Ivan reached out to take her hand and hissed as he held it. "You're freezing," he pulled her into his arms and tried to chafe some warmth into her.
"Well it's almost November and I was outside for a little under an hour like this," Gwen shrugged. "Can't say I'm too upset about being cold if you hold me like this."
"You must be tired if you aren't hiding this little love affair," Roald teased.
"This isn't some little love affair." Gwen admitted. "This is the man I'm going to marry." She hugged Ivan a bit closer.
"Is that a yes?" Ivan asked her after the initial gasp.
"It's a 'you're stuck with me now'." Gwen teased. "But we still need to talk."
"Let's get you inside your room where I can wrap you up in blankets and get some food in your stomach," he smiled at her as her stomach rumbled against him. He hooked his fingers through hers and gave a nod to the others so they could start the long walk through the palace to her rooms.
"Did you actually ask her?" Roald asked.
"What he means is: Are you insane?" Neal demanded, albeit quietly.
"Probably," Ivan admitted. "But she's worth it."
"Can we talk about me like I'm here? I know you all got in the habit when I was missing for three months but come on."
