The thought of it made her shudder. She remembered her father’s fateful speech, his assigning the rule of the kingdom to her for some far-off day, for a day she was sure she would never see. She remembered her vow to him, her promise that she would rule. And now, here she was, the kingdom plopped into her hand. Would they make her rule? She hoped not. How could she? And yet, she had vowed to her father that she would. What was to become of her?
“There you are,” came a voice.
Gwen turned to see Reese, standing a few feet away, looking at her with concern.
“I was worried for you.”
“What did you think, I was going to jump?” she snapped back at him, too harsh. She didn’t mean for it to come out that way, but she was reeling, barely able to control herself.
“No, of course not,” Reese said. “I was just worried about you, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry about me,” she said. “I am your older sister. I can take care of myself.”
“I never said you couldn’t,” Reese said, defensive. “I just want you know…you’re not the only one who’s suffering. I loved father, too.”
Gwen thought about that. She saw the tears in his eyes and knew that he was right; she was being selfish. Their father’s death was hurting them all.
“I am sorry,” she said softly. “I know you did. And I know he loved you, too. Very much. In fact, I think he saw himself most in you.”
Reese looked up at her with a hopeful, sad look. He looked so lost, her heart broke for him. Who would raise him now? she wondered. He was fourteen, not a boy, but hardly a man. This was the time a boy needed his father the most, needed a man to model after. Since the news of his death, her mother had been nearly catatonic, withdrawn, not present for any of them. Her older sister was gone; Gareth was never present; Godfrey lived in the alehouse; and Kendrick lived on the battlefield. Gwen felt that it fell on her to be Reese’s mother and father.
“You are going to be fine,” she said, gaining courage herself as she said it. “We are all going to be fine.”
“Did I see Thor come this way?” Reese asked.
The thought of it made Gwen’s stomach turn.
“He did,” she answered flatly. “And I sent him on his way.”
“What do you mean?” Recessed asked warily. “I thought you two were close.”
She grunted.
“Not anymore. Not after what he did.”
“What did he do?” he asked, wide-eyed.
“As if to tell me you don’t know? As if to tell me the whole kingdom does not know what a fool he has made of me?”
“A fool? What are you talking about?” Reese asked, sounding genuinely curious.
She studied him and could see he genuinely did not seem to know, which surprised her. She had imagined that the whole kingdom knew, and was making fun of her behind her back. Maybe it was not as bad as she had imagined; maybe it was not as bad as Alton had said.
“I heard all about his exploits at the brothel. His time with those women,” she said.
Reese’s face dropped.
“And who did you hear this from?”
Gwen paused, suddenly not so sure of herself.
“Why, Alton, of course.”
Reese grinned.
“And you believed it?”
Gwen stared back, feeling a flutter in her chest, beginning to wonder if she had made some sort of awful mistake.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I was there with him that day,” Reese said. “In the brothel. We all were. The entire Legion. After the hunt. He did nothing wrong. It was more tavern than brothel. In fact, I was by his side when the women came out. He had been surprised to discover there were any women there at all. He had, in fact, tried to flee. The men shoved him forward. He did not go forward willingly.”
“But still, he went forward,” Gwen said accusingly.
Reese shook his head adamantly.
“You have been misinformed. Thor did nothing. He reached the landing and passed out. He hit the floor before a woman could lay a hand on him. He did not touch any woman, I assure you. Alton was lying to you. It was Alton that made a fool of you. Your pride remains intact.”
Gwen felt her whole body flush at his words. She felt overwhelmed with relief, but also with shame. She had been wrong about Thor. She thought of her harsh words to him. She had never meant to call him a commoner; she had not known why she’d said that. She sounded so haughty, so arrogant; she was disgusted with herself. How could she have been so cruel?
“What did you say to him exactly?” Reese asked.
Gwen lowered her chin.
“Something stupid. Very, very stupid. Something I did not mean.”
Gwen felt overwhelmed; she reached in and gave Reese a hug, and he hugged her back. She cried over his shoulder.
“I miss our father,” she said.
“I know,” Reese said over her shoulder, his words muffled. “I miss him, too.”
Reese pulled back and looked at her.
“I will talk to Thor. Whatever you said, I will try to smooth it over.”
Gwen slowly shook her head, unsure.
“Some things cannot be taken back,” she said softly.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gareth walked with his brothers, Kendrick, Godfrey and Reese, and with his sister, Gwen, into the huge castle hall, packed with hundreds of the king’s men, who milled about in an agitated way. The small group of them were ushered through the crowd, as knights from all provinces of the Ring reached out to offer condolences as they went.
“We loved your father, sire,” said a knight to Gareth, a burly man he had never met. “He was a great king.”
Gareth did not know these men—and he did not care to know them. He did not want their sympathy. It was a sympathy he did not share. Now that he had time to reflect on it, to let the reality of it sink in, he was glad his father was dead. His father had never held any love for him, and while the night before Gareth had initially been torn over it, he was beginning to feel differently about the matter. He now felt a great sense of relief—even victorious—that his assassination plot had succeeded. Although he had not actually killed him himself, and although he had not even died in the way he had planned, at least he had set the plan into motion. Without him, none of this would have ever happened.
Gareth looked around at these knights, at this great crowd, so chaotic, and was shocked to realize that he was responsible for all this. He had single-handedly changed the lives of all of these men, whether they knew it or not.