"The Shadow Children?" Winter felt like a fool. He knew she believe but now that he did, or at the very least wanted to, made this seem so much more dire. If it were even possible. She moved over to the satchel, going though the clothes. She looked over at him, breaking him from his brooding and asked. " Are theses for me?" He merely nodded. An odd feeling came over him at the thought of her wearing his clothes, his shirt specifically, but he abandoned the thought before that got too interesting.
She looked down at the clothes, gripping them as if they were her only line to the past and she as floating away. Winter wanted so to reach out to him, but he didn't. He just flexed the hand that she'd bandaged, loosening it for ease of movement.
"I don't know about getting help from the other kingdoms," She said softly. "Father never shared their relationships with us to me. We have visitors all the time, but I was always ushered off to some lesson or to play with visiting children.. well you know." She said and he listened. That was good, she didn't know it but that was playing politics, if she'd made friends with those children, who would be adults by now, Lords and Ladies in their own right, then perhaps they would recall such a friendship and help her. He didn't speak on it yet. He just needed to get her safe now, and worry about taking back the Valie later. She sighed. "The Shadow Children are probably the best hope for Valie now." She said before her mind wandered and she looked to the front, peeking out at the forest."When are we leaving?" She asked and he sighed "Once you've changed, eaten and rested, first thing" He said, by the Gods he was tired. "I'll try to find some dry wood, the rains let up, so we'll be able to get a fire going, you go ahead and change." He stood -well, hunched, and ducked out to give her privacy. "I won't be far," he told her before moving from the fort a bit. The hopelessness of it all, brought him to a stop, and he leaned against another tree, resting his head and arm on the wet bark. He then gave himself a moment, however quick to grieve. His father was gone, his home burned, he killed so many today, and the Princess...Drew, she'd been used, and abused in a way that turned his stomach. She was still a maiden and that was taken from her by sheer force. It wasn't right, none of this was right. He clenched his fists and hit the tree. "Dammit all!" He hissed quietly. He didn't want the Princess to see him so frustrated, so woefully out of his depth, he had to be strong for her but it was hard. He didn't know what he was going, it the Shadow Children well and truly didn't exists they were doomed. they had a small chance of finding allies out of the country but that was a long shot, a pipe dream at best, but then again so were the Shadow Children. All he had for sure right now was a sharp blade and good intentions, neither of which which were going to do them any good without help.
With that, he made his way around collecting dry firewood, or rather what he could find.