The worst part about the whole thing was that they were almost within sight of the castle by the time it finally, actually happened. Well all right, "almost within sight" might have been a slight exaggeration, but they were considerably less than half a day's ride away - Jane had really begun to believe that she'd be able to pull if off after all. That she'd be able to ensure that Gunther would never know.

She had been fixated on that idea for nearly three full days now. Say as little as possible. Do as little as possible, other than simply managing to stay on her horse. Refuse to engage with Gunther. Refuse to respond to his baiting. Just grit her teeth and stick it out, stick it out, stick it out. All the while steadily worsening. And all the while refusing to admit it, even to herself, let alone anyone else.

If she could only make it back to the castle. Just make it back to the castle. There were people there who could help her. Her mother was skilled in healing; Pepper was reasonably well-versed in that art as well, and had any number of potions and poultices at her disposal, courtesy of Rake's many herbs. And anything needed that wasn't on hand, Dragon could go for. She just... had to make it... back... to the castle.

Why, why was that too much to ask?

So much had gone wrong. Could not this one thing, just this one thing, go right?

Of course not. What a ridiculous notion. And it was all her fault. It was all the result of what she'd allowed to happen - what she'd participated in - three nights ago. She'd known it was a mistake. She'd known it was a mistake. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

They had been dispatched a week ago, she and Gunther, along with four other able-bodied men under their command, to investigate reports of armed brigands in the forest. Dragon had been excluded from this particular mission because the villages which bordered the forest lay far from the castle. The simple peasant folk who lived there had had little exposure to Dragon, and the king felt his presence might be disturbing to them. The arrival of the knights was meant to reassure them, make them feel safe again, after all; not traumatize them further.

Additionally, the fact that the rogues had taken cover in the forest rendered Dragon virtually useless anyway. He would not be able to see them from above through the thick tree cover, nor would he be able to negotiate the deep woods on foot. So, although neither he nor Jane were particularly happy about it, he had stayed behind.

The king's orders had been to confirm various witness accounts of the outlaws and, if possible, flush them out of hiding and capture or thoroughly roust them. A fairly straightforward task. Successful, too. Six people had left the castle; six people were returning. In addition, they were bringing three of the rogues back with them to face the king's justice. Two more had been killed in the one brief skirmish, and the rest had scattered; leaderless, demoralized, and frightened. They were not likely to cause any more harm to the law-abiding folk of Kippernium - at least, not for a good while.

A triumphant venture in every respect. No casualties whatsoever. At least, not that anyone knew about save Jane.