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distant horizon, a banner being raised, higher and higher. She squinted,
and again there was no mistake: it was the banner of the MacGils. It could only
mean that King’s Court was now back in the hands of the MacGils.
    On
the one hand, Gwen felt elated, and wanted to return at once. On the other
hand, as she looked at the road they had traveled, she thought of all Argon’s
predictions, of the scrolls she had read, of her own premonitions. She felt,
deep down, that her people still needed to be evacuated. Perhaps the MacGils
had recaptured King’s Court; but that did not mean that the Ring was safe.
Gwendolyn still felt certain that something much worse was coming, and that she
had to get her people out of here, to safety.
    “It
seems we have won,” Steffen said.
    “A
cause for celebration!” Aberthol called out, approaching her cart.
    “King’s
Court is ours again!” called out a commoner.
    A
great cheer arose amongst her people.
    “We
must turn back immediately!” called out another.
    Another
cheer rose up. But Gwen shook her head adamantly. She stood and faced her
people, and all eyes turned to her.
    “We
shall not turn back!” she boomed to her people. “We have begun the evacuation, and
we must stick to it. I know that a great danger lies ahead for the Ring. I must
get you to safety while we still have time, while there is still a chance.”
    Her
people groaned, dissatisfied, and several commoners stepped forward, pointing
to the horizon.
    “I
don’t know about the rest of you,” one bellowed, “but King’s Court is my home!
It is everything I know and love! I’m not about to cross the sea to some strange
island while our city is intact and in the hands of the MacGils! I’m turning
back for King’s Court!”
    A
great cheer rose up, and as he left, walking back, hundreds of people fell in
and followed him, turning their carts, heading back down the road toward King’s
Court.
    “My
lady, should I stop them?” Steffen asked, panicked, loyal to her to a fault.
    “You
are hearing the voice of the people, my lady,” Aberthol said, coming up beside
her. “You would be foolish to deny them. Moreover, you cannot. It is their
home. It is all that they know. Do not fight your own people. Do not lead them without
good reason.”
    “But
I have good reason,” Gwen said. “I know destruction is coming.”
    Aberthol
shook his head.
    “And
yet they do not,” he replied. “I do not doubt you. But queens plan ahead, while
the masses act on instinct. And a queen is only as powerful as the masses allow
her to be.”
    Gwen
stood there, burning with frustration as she watched her people defy her
command, migrating back to King’s Court. It was the first time they had ever
openly rebelled, had openly defied her. She did not like the feeling. Was it
portending things to come? Were her days as queen numbered?
    “My
lady, shall I command the soldiers to stop them?” Steffen asked.
    She
felt as if he was the only one left still loyal to her. A part of her wanted to
say yes.
    But
as she watched them go, she knew it would be futile.
    “No,”
she said softly, her voice broken, feeling as if her child had just turned her
back on her. What pained her the most was that she knew their actions would
only lead to their harm, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. “I
cannot prevent what destiny holds for them.”

*
    Gwendolyn,
despondent as she trailed her people in the return to King’s Court, rode
through the rear gates of King’s Court and already heard the distant cheers of
celebration coming from the other side. Her people were elated, dancing and
cheering, throwing their hats into the air as they all poured through the
gates, returning to the courtyards of the city they knew and loved, the city they
called home. Everyone rushed to congratulate the Legion, Kendrick, and the victorious
Silver.
    But
Gwendolyn proceeded with a pit in her stomach, torn by mixed feelings. On the
one hand, she was of course