Nostalgic Remembrance

There was a soft knock on the door rousing her from her nap, and Gwen lifted her head from her comfortable spot on the plush sofa to see who it was. The familiar face of Laura poked her head through the doorway, and her wheat-colored hair which was normally in a braid was tossed freely around her shoulders.

Laura was out in the morning sorting out the marriage gifts that her parents had given to the estate and went to go speak with other workers to get them sorted out to where they needed to be. Now that Laura was back, she must have been stunned to hear that Gwen and the crew had been out on an adventure.

It was funny how the dynamic between her, Laura, and Avery balanced out very neatly considering that Avery was the one who normally strictly chided her while Laura was the one who was the one who comforted her. But at the same time, it was Laura who was quite decisive, unlike Avery who took ages to decide since she like to ponder about it.

Glancing over at the ever-ticking grandfather clock, Gwen was shocked that it read that it was already midnight, and she covered her yawn with the back of her hand knowing that if she didn't get up and make it down to the dining hall soon then she probably wasn't able to for the rest of the night.

Gwen waved at her tiredly making Laura laugh, and Laura came into the room and sat next to her and watched as Gwen cleaned up the tea and the crumbs that were spilled about on the glass table. Gwen stacked the dishes together on the silver tray neatly to make Cosette's job easier when she came back to pick up the tray.

"Aren't you hungry, Gwen?" Laura asked lightly.

Gwen smiled at Laura because it was only during the small moments when the closest people to her would call her name. "Yes, I am. It was a tiring day, so I practically passed out here though."

Laura laughed before fixing her messy golden hair. "I can tell. Let's get you down to the hall."

Gwen nodded. "I feel bad that Issac had to work late into the night."

"Oh no, definitely don't feel bad. He's living it up right now."

"What do you mean?" Gwen grinned. "I need to see for myself."

"He's excited that there are guests because apparently, he hasn't served any guests in over a decade."

"Ah, I see," Gwen said while inclining her head in understanding. She heard that Max wasn't an entertainer and liked to keep to himself. He even made it so that he had to attend the required meetings and outings as the bare minimum to make sure that Solaris was safe and his estate was running well.

Then again, it wasn't as if people were inviting him out in the first place which sounded horrible, but it worked in the duke's favor it seemed. The people were wrongfully fearful of the man only because he had to pick up the slack and dirty work of those who couldn't defend their territories instead of employing one of the best generals of the kingdoms.

She could personally understand why since she also didn't prefer the formal setting of a ball but instead liked the lively atmosphere of what a party could bring. Gwen loved talking and being around people, but it was rare that she had a connection with anyone since she lived in the noble scene which was a blessing and a curse.

Gwen hated putting on a fake face to make those around her happy when she also knew that everyone was showing the best sides of themselves while concealing those that were deemed to be unsightly which was fine since everyone had their share of secrets and things that were private, but at the end of the day, no one was who they truly said they were.

It was a learning curve for her when she was younger, and her parents rose to fame over a long period in the spotlight which made her have some of her earliest memories of being at someone's estate garden playing with whatever was found there with the other younger children were their courtesy of their parents.

She got a flashback to the memories which were funny to look back upon but sad during the time they occurred because she had loved the young girls who she was playing with only to be pulled back to the harsh reality that was exposed to her when all the children were used as pawns from the parents to gather intel.

It was a whole fiasco when it occurred, and her father had been on the case to get down to the bottom of it. It turned out that spies from another kingdom were trying their best to infiltrate when matters were still tense which had been resolved since then, but it was such a long time ago, she had completely forgotten about the events until she recalled it.

At the end of the day, the children's actions weren't a reflection of their character considering they were all still so young and were growing up into their persons. She couldn't recall any of the names there though. It was a political matter that often than not scared children away since the adults would get so tense.

She smiled at the memory and grinned when Laura tugged her up to her feet. Laura winked at her. "Okay, Your Grace. We have to go before the food gets cold."

"Of course. We can't let Issacs's efforts go to waste," Gwen laughed.

They made a quick getaway to the dining room where Gwen could hear laughter from all the way down the hallway and was happy to step into a warm environment. The large dining table that was most often than not full due to her orders was lively again during the night, and everyone gave her a bright smile as she entered.