Anticipated Report

They arrived at the gates of the Latimer household, and Gwen poked her head out of the carriage windows to see that Vaughn had reeled up the metal gate from the tall surrounding border walls of the mansion for safety. The gates rolled up smoothly into the interior walls, and they were finally in a familiar space of hers.

The carriage stopped, and Dawn's head lulled back and forth since she had fallen asleep earlier and was still drained. Gwen caught Dawn's head before it fell off her shoulder which startled her awake. Dawn pulled the pale blonde strand out of her mouth with much haste, and Gwen covered her laugh with a light cough.

Silas pulled open the carriage doors, and Gwen stepped out first to be greeted by more knights that were standing nearby. She waved her hands at them, knowing that her knights must have gotten word that she was in danger and needed reinforcement. They bowed deeply with one of their hands behind their back and one above their stomach.

Vaughn immediately closed the gate shut and made sure that everything was where it was supposed to be. The rest of the ladies stepped out of the carriage as well, and Gwen was shocked to see Avery running down the pavement straight at her with open arms. It was a stressful day, and Gwen hugged Avery tightly.

"What were you thinking?" Avery exclaimed. "I heard that you were caught in a dangerous crossfire."

Gwen sighed. "That's not true. Although it was dangerous, we saved one life in the during."

"They could have done so without your life on the line."

Gwen placed a calming hand on Avery's arm. "It was fine. It's my life. Now, we need to get inside and cleaned up."

Avery shook her head. "Let me lead you there, Your Grace."

Gwen nodded and turned back to the knights. "I expect a full report in the next three hours."

"That is doable," Silas noted. "We will do as you have asked, Your Grace."

"I'll leave you all to it," Gwen said with an incline of her head.

Silas bowed, and Gwen pivoted back on her heel to walk back into the mansion after Cosette and Avery. She needed Cassian back as soon as possible to try and put all the details and information together, but at the same time, they needed time to do so which was why she gave them quite a bit of time.

Three hours should be enough and more to get what needed to be done. She only hoped that everyone was safe and everything went smoothly. Dawn was still trailing behind all of them, and Gwen made sure to keep a close eye on her in case she went into a tangent that could actually be an extremely good hiding spot for those who wanted to get away.

She didn't know her way around at all, but she took in as much scenery as she could with the lovely mountains in the background of the mansion with the sea located far in the other direction. The condition here was wonderful indeed. She felt the tips of the colorful tulips nearby and scared the gardener on her way there.

Gaines flinched when she startled him by practically poking her head through the bushes that he was carefully hedging. She waved her hand in apology while he tossed his head back and laughed.

"Hello, Your Grace."

She smiled. "I see you're doing an amazing job, Gaines."

"Thank you, Your Grace. I'm still deciding on my last piece since it is to be the center. What is your pick?"

She brought a hand under her chin. "Pick?"

"Either a tiger paw or fish eye."

Now, it was Gwen's turn to laugh. "What?"

Gaines kept a straight face when he said the line above but broke into a smile. "It was only to tease, Your Grace."

"I see," Gwen laughed again. "I seriously do hope that those are not in the running."

"No, no. It'll be another animal that represents the Latimer crest."

"What will that be?"

Gaines looked up proudly under his large-brimmed weaved hat. "A swan."

Gwen smiled. "I'm sure the final product will be lovely."

"Thank you, Your Grace," Gaines beamed.

Gwen waved as she said goodbye, and she was startled by Dawn, who was waiting for her around the corner as quietly as a mouse, and almost burst laughing since she was about to get what she got for scaring Gaines.

Dawn's arms were crossed with her eyes closed which honestly looked peaceful until they fluttered open to expose the turmoil brewing underneath.

Parting her long golden locks so that some were down the front and tossing her shoulder, Gwen brought her hands together. "My apologies. Should we get going?"

Dawn nodded. "Yes. I was just admiring the wonderful greenery."

"I also was surprised when I first arrived as well. It certainly is spectacular."

"I'm sure it'll look better in the daylight."

"You're welcome to visit again and walk through the gardens," Gwen said kindly.

"When I ran through earlier it wasn't exactly the first thought on my mind."

Gwen placed an arm around Dawn's shoulders. "We'll come to see it again."

They walked out onto the paved ways where Cosette and Avery were waiting for them while they were still speaking about another matter. Zinnia was looking around at everything around them in interest.

When she and Dawn approached they quieted down, and Cosette placed a hand on her hip with the other hand still holding the basket of goodies like it was her baby.

"Did you go see Gaines, Your Grace?" Cosette asked.

"Yes. He was in a great mood," Gwen answered.

Walking up the steps into the mansion definitely was going to need some time to get used to since the walk to and from the mansion outside to inside was already quite the distance.

Her legs trudged up the stairs, but she finally made it up to the top along with the other women, and she often liked to turn back and look at the sight.

Since the Latimer mansion was stationed up high on the hill, it had amazing views of the town below that had small little glowing lights that were like a painting no matter if it was night or day. The lights were constantly moving and flickering signaling the bright and active people down below.

Gwen breathed in deeply and took a silent moment to realize to reflect. It was always at the oddest times, but it was truly during those times when it was then that it gave her strength and motivation to carry on. Everything was going to work out in the end.

When she turned back to face the front, she had four curious eyes staring back at her and Gwen tilted her head to the side. "Am I pretty?"

There was a slight pause before they burst laughing.