He moved the bush from the front entrance and she stepped inside. It was slightly damp due to the rain, but mostly dry. She gratefully stepped in, bending to avoid knocking against the ceiling of the shelter and sat down on what she supposed was her cot. She was shivering beneath the cloak, drenched in rain. He asked how she was, truly, and she looked up at him. There was the guilt in his eyes again. She wasn't sure if it was because of her or because of the guards or both. "Winn. What happened wasn't your fault." She said softly.
She looked down at her callused hands, at the cuts on her arms from the thorns in the gardens, before she answered him. "I'm..." Broken? Bruised? Beaten? Cut? Cowardly? She could go through the alphabet and pick out words that described how she felt for every letter. But there was one, a "b" word that only made sense to say now that she was free. She could tell him the rest later. "Better. Now that I'm out. Now that they.. well technically they can't hurt me now. Not like they had, but.. All those people.. my people. I just.. left them." Well.. that was more than she had intended to share. Tears pricked in her eyes. A sob and a shiver rocked through her body and for once she wished she could just be still.