"If you had tried to stop them.. you'd be dead.. or worse. She might've tossed you inside as well."
He knew this, of course he knew this, but again, his heart had other plans. He figured that was a good thing. He hadn't lost his humanity. Too bad it didn't make him feel any better. She moved to him suddenly, taking his hand into hers, tenderly, assessing the damage. He'd have plenty of broken blisters, and normal he wouldn't let her be bothered with such a thing but instead, he let her. Her hands felt nice against his, even though they were cold. "We should probably clean and wrap that. We can't let anything get infected out here. Where are the bandages?" She said and he nodded toward the satchel of clothes, and other things. His face held it's usual position, a deep brooding frown, as she moved to the satchel and then turned to him, wrapping his hand.
"Where are we going, Winn? Are we really hiding out here until things.. what? Blow over?"
Winter pursed his lips, a clear sign he wasn't eager for this conversation. "No....we're not going to wait...." His limited pride had him hesitate. He knew she believed in them, but he never did. They had plenty of conversations to that end. He barely believed now, but it was his only option. It was a gambit that he wasn't really prepared to put off of his faith in. "Um....I heard whispers....more than usual of the Shadow Children...I know I didn't believe in them before, but...It's all we have....If we press further into the forest, the locals claim they'll find us."He said and sighed, still not meeting her gaze. He realized then for all of his training, for all of his work, he was completely out of his depth.
"There is still the small chance they won't help us at all....It's not as though the Crown has done much for them, provided they do exists."He said, with his usual logic. "In which case we'll need to find allies of the Crown, in the other lands, which would require more travel and more hope in that the Red Woman hasn't already aligned herself with them, but since you are the rightful heir and she came in as an invader, chances are high they'll side with you....honestly, even if the Children exist, and are willing to help, we'll still need allied kingdoms. " He said and then sighed, running free hand through his hair again, frustration evident as his mind worked over what they could possible do, as a contingency, and legally. "It's not much I know, but it's options, the best I could in such a short amount of time." He said and sighed. He was a knight, a bodyguard, not a politician, nor was he even a general. He knew War, in all it's forms but he never saw battle. Just read about them. Lack of Knowledge was a sure fire way to lose, and that he seemed to have an abundance of.