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Gwendolyn stood there, at the edge of the cliff, watching Thor walk away, and feeling uish than she ever had First her father; now Thor It was a day unlike any she had ever had She could not even describe the unfathoht of her father being dead Dead by some assassin&039;s hand, taken away from her without even a ht of her life, and soood

When Gwen had discovered the news, she had wanted to die herself Last night had been like one long night, like the peak of it As his body went into the earth, she had wanted to leap in with him, and never come out

When Gwen burst fro over the edge of the cliff herself Until Thor arrived

Seeing his better, had taken her h in another way, it had also s far worse She was still furious with hi a fool of her in that brothel She had taken a chance by being with a coht about her recklessness Including her ine

And now the gall of hiht, while he himself adht of it was enough to make her sick

As she watched Thor hurry off, down the trail, away from the cliff, Krohn beside hi, of despair; she wondered how things could get any worse She looked out over the endless expanse, over the dips and valleys of the Kolvian Cliffs, looking ard over the kingdom She knew that sohlands, and beyond that the McCloud&039;s kingdom She wondered if her sister was already over there, with her new husband, if she were enjoying her life She was lucky to be far froain, her sister had never been that close with their father, and she wondered if she would even care if she heard news of his demise She, Gwen, of all of them, had been the closest to him Reese and Kendrick had been close, too, and she could see how hard it hit the at him, she was surprised to see his upset, too And then there was Gareth He still looked as cold and emotionless as ever, even with their father&039;s death He had looked preoccupied As if his eyes were already on the power he so desperately wanted to seize

The thought of it made her shudder She re the rule of the kingdom to her for some far-off day, for a day she was sure she would never see She remembered her vow to him, her prodom plopped into her hand Would they make her rule? She hoped not How could she? And yet, she had vowed to her father that she would What was to become of her?

"There you are," came a voice

Gwen turned to see Reese, standing a few feet away, looking at her with concern

"I orried for you"

"What did you think, I was going to jump?" she snapped back at him, too harsh She didn&039;t , barely able to control herself

"No, of course not," Reese said "I was just worried about you, that&039;s all"

"Don&039;t worry about me," she said "I am your older sister I can take care of myself"

"I never said you couldn&039;t," Reese said, defensive "I just want you knowyou&039;re not the only one who&039;s suffering I loved father, too"

Gwen thought about that She saw the tears in his eyes and knew that he was right; she was being selfish Their father&039;s death was hurting them all

"I am sorry," she said softly "I know you did And I know he loved you, too Very much In fact, I think he saw himself most in you"

Reese looked up at her with a hopeful, sad look He looked so lost, her heart broke for him Who would raise him now? she wondered He was fourteen, not a boy, but hardly a man This was the time a boy needed his father the most, needed a man to model after Since the news of his death, her mother had been nearly catatonic, withdrawn, not present for any of theone; Gareth was never present; Godfrey lived in the alehouse; and Kendrick lived on the battlefield Gwen felt that it fell on her to be Reese&039;s aining courage herself as she said it "We are all going to be fine"

"Did I see Thor coht of it made Gwen&039;s stomach turn

"He did," she answered flatly "And I sent him on his way"

"What do you ht you tere close"

She grunted

"Not anymore Not after what he did"

"What did he do?" he asked, wide-eyed