Make for home

"We can't stay here" you begin "Royalty or not, they'll be looking for the killer, and the missing ****"

"Well, yes" Gabrielle retorted angrily "That's obvious, but where? There are few places to go where she will be safe, and fewer where we can find proof."

"The safest place for her to be is the last place the Emporer would think to look; in the ruins of the castle."

"Michael! That's insane!" she began to respond, fiery as ever

"Which is why it will work" You respond quickly, but calmly, not raising to her emotional state. "Nobody in their right mind would go to that city and proclaim themselves queen, and nobody of consequence would make their home out of a kingdom's corpse"

"Fine" She replied, her body tensing as she worked through her frustration, armored hand coursing through her hair. "You've made your point. It's annoying to see the rate at which at your dumb ideas seem to work. Gods must be on your side" She swiftly moved the conversation.

"What's your plan when you arrive?" She asked, crossing her arms across her chest

"Safety is paramount, and with that, anonymity. Salvage what we can to create some form of subsistence, and try to rebuild, one brick at a time if we have to."

"Which leaves it to me to find evidence of our claims. This is going to be dangerous for us both in this case, and we don't have great chances, but you're right in that it's probably the best we can do."

"I will accompany the Princess" the gnome added "there may yet be books, texts, or other relics to look over. Moreover, proof or no, Our Lady needs to be learned in her letters and numbers if anyone is to actually treat her as royalty, and I will be proud to lend my assistance"

You turn to the princess, who has been wide eyed and quiet as prey this whole time "What are your thoughts, Your Majesty?" You ask as you give a slight bow "You are the Queen after all; we are subjects to your will and desires, not the other way around. We serve at your pleasure"

"This is still too much to take in" She responds as her fingers gravitate towards her temples "I still can't really believe what you guys are saying, but you're the experts. If you think thisis the best plan, than I'll go along with it."

"Very well." Gabrielle spoke up "Michael and i will prepare for us all to depart. Relax and collect yourself, you've had a very trying experience, and what we are about to engage in will tell all of us. Rest as well as you can." You could see the princess gulp, processing what possible hardships could be in front of her. Gabrielle turned to you, motioning towards the door. You follow her instinctively as she begins to leave.

"yes?" you ask as you stand outside

"I just felt the need to speak alone, for one moment. I cannot stress enough to you the importance you being discrete and subtle as you move forward."

"Of course" You nod slowly "Right now our best defense is that nobody is looking for her. For us. We need to capitalize on that"

"well said, and I will do the same on my end, though it may prove more difficult. Be patient, this will likely be an exhaustive search." The paladin looked behind her for a second, hesitating to bring her eyes to meet you "there is one other thing."

"Go ahead. It's not like you to be nervous like this. You're normally fearless to speak your mind."

"I'm not nervous" She snapped in a second, her temper leaving quickly in embarassment "Sorry. I just wanted to say, you have proven to be much more capable and comitted to this than I would have have expected, and we couldn't have gotten to where we are without you."

"Thank you Gabrielle, and I think we're working better together than either of us thought was possible, even if you have a tend to criticize in public but complement in private. That's a little backwards."

"Point well made" She said as a rosy color rose in her cheeks, her head nodding gently as she thought over that "I will work on that, should we rejoin" She studies your face in silence, the staring making you uncomfortable.

"You're a good man, Mastbreaker. Better than the Empire deserves, by far."

"Good thing I'm a traitor than"

Gabrielle begins to laugh gently at the comment; you giggle as well. It's a muted response as you try to watch her and see her face light up in the first time you've seen her laugh or even smile.

"I suppose you're right. Come on, we have work to do, and should hurry with it before someone finds us, or before our wizard friend tries to experiment on the Queen"