9
The day had passed by sluggishly in the woodland camp as Princess Theodora and her retinue awaited the return of Gwilym and the scouts that had been sent out ahead of them. Many of the soldiers fidgeted nervously around the dying embers of their campfires, whilst those on guard shuffled restlessly, their eyes darting to and fro. Theodora herself was sat off to one side, a worried look on her face as she held a quiet conversation with Captain Almar. They were all uneasy about staying put in the wilderness for so long.
For Torben, Eleusia, Antauros and Egberht, however, the hiatus in the relentless routine of travelling that had dominated the last few days was welcome, and they lounged by their own small campfire, making a show of not caring about the pause in the journey, but in reality
