Stoic Meeting

Gwen wanted to speak to Dawn more since she truly felt as though she and Dawn were kindred spirits, but it didn't seem to be a good or safe time for them to be together at the moment, and that assumption had proved to be true when all of the sudden Gwen heard loud trumpets flaring outside to notify the arrival of another formal company.

She didn't have any visitors nor did she even receive any visitor invitations at all when she had first gotten married and all of the publications went out about the marriage of the duke to the kingdoms. Either way, the knights must have thought that it was a safety breach, and a ton of knights came running down the hallway.

Gwen lifted her hand to halt them since they looked as though they were ready to run her and Dawn over without a care in the world, and she looked over at the front man who was Weston, and the man bowed his head when they finally made it to her and Dawn. "Who is outside right now?"

Weston straightened. "It is the Marquess Siveyer, Your Grace."

Gwen frowned. "Did he make any announcements at all?"

"No, Your Grace. He is demanding to see you."

Gwen nodded, but Dawn grabbed her arm. "Your Grace, I will come with you."

She shook her hand. "No, you wait here for now with Zinnia while I talk with your father."

Dawn grimaced. "Well, um, wait. Okay."

"You and Zinnia could wait in the foyer if that would make you feel better. I'll be back."

Dawn nodded, and Gwen turned back to the knights. "Station a few knights to Dawn and Zinnia. I don't want them to move on any account. Even mine. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Your Grace," Weston responded before he started to recite off names to which some of the men immediately responded.

"Let's go, shall we?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, let us lead the way," Weston said.

Gwen nodded and sent another look at Dawn to let her know that it was going to be okay despite Dawn's worries, and Gwen set off down the hallway with a large pack of knights leading the way and more knights following her in the back to give her the utmost protection leading for her to assume that they were soon going into a hostile situation.

She sincerely hoped it wasn't going to be the case, but she would have to see for herself before making an opinion. They made their way down the long winding hallways as fast as possible before Weston opened the large double doors of the mansion making them step out into the night sky once more.

The night air was cool, and Gwen walked all the way down the stairs and through the courtyard with the band of knights to support her despite the nerves starting to crawl up her throat, and she wasn't surprised to see her usual knights out with their swords drawn and in a defensive stance ready to strike any day.

The iron gate along with the thick structured walls in between the two groups was still down, and Cassian turned back when Gwen arrived at the main gate. Cassian sheathed his sword and bowed to Gwen in turn making the rest of the knights nearby give her a quick incline of their head in recognition of her presence nearby.

The tension was strong, but Gwen didn't let herself crumble instead held her head high with her shoulders back. Cassian tapped his sword to the ground. "Her Grace has arrived."

Gwen met Cassian's eyes. "Is this the right decision? Will anyone get hurt if I allow them inside?"

"No one will ever get hurt on my watch," he replied smoothly.

It was enough assurance that she needed to make her decision. She didn't want anyone to end up hurt or even lose their lives due to faulty decisions that she made. In her lifetime, she would try her best so that tragedy would never be able to befall those who will walk in line with her. Gwen brought her chin down jerkily before yelling out, "Pull the gate up!"

The gate suddenly rolled up to the air getting coiled smoothly from gears into the wall above, and the horses from the Siveyer household stormed inside only to get halted by the second-highest order of knights. There was another loud trumpet blow that Gwen had originally thought to come from her side, but it was actually from the Marquess.

The front white stallion had the banner of the Siveyer household was loud and proud, and the man jumped down from his horse and took off his metal helmet to reveal the face underneath. The older man was a splitting replica of his daughter with pale blond hair with a few greys and dark eyes, but his lips were set in an unfeeling frown with lines across his face to show his weathered days.

The man brought his hand across his chest before giving her a slight incline of his head. "Hello. A pleasure to meet at last, Duchess."

Gwen let her lips fall into an unnatural smile since she thought to at least put on a kind face for his efforts considering that the Siveyer estate was about a day's worth away, yet the man standing before made it only a few hours with his strong standing men and best horses by the looks of it.

She didn't want to start a war nor did she want to strike a deal without Maximillian considering that she was still new as the Duchess and didn't know much of the background knowledge to help support her along with not wanting to put him in a tight position in the future costing them of her brash attitude in a previous time.

The Marquess of Siveyer was as intimidating as she had expected with his cold features and unforgiving facial expressions, and Bronx moved in to stand in front of her due to his already close proximity in case the marquess would try something that would put her in danger, but she already had started to take few steps backward to keep a more comfortable position.