A Rumour I Heard

Gwen's hand was perfectly caught in Alexander's as they ran up the stairs. Her hair, disordered, with mud coating her boots.

He had fallen asleep on her shoulder, and since she could not carry him back, Gwen had laid him down on the grass and lain beside him. They remained there until the rain forced them to return to the castle.

"Your Majesty?!" Edmund exclaimed, rushing out to meet them, bringing an umbrella with him. "I would have fetched you before the rain, but I had no knowledge where you were."

Alexander ran past the kingman, pulling her with him. "You are generously lucky for the lack of that knowledge." He said to Edmund. As soon as they got under cover, he stopped. "You are lucky indeed." Though he spoke still to Edmund, his eyes were on Gwen. She flushed.

The drunken haze from when she first found him had vanished, and the serene expression he wore while asleep was lost. In its place was the arrogant and commanding look she knew so well.

"I love it when the colours come ali