The Flawless Beauty

Congregation

Arya is busy planning her escape from Castle Elaine Doonan, secretly mapping her route through the forest and leaving hair ribbons behind like breadcrumbs. With her plan nearly accomplished, she sets out to shake off her two shadows, finding a distraction in the form of a dwarf girl to make the pair fight. Arya needs a weapon now, so she goes to the kitchen to get a knife… where she is stopped by Mrs. David. She advises Arya not to get ready to take the oath.

"I assumed a Saxon wouldn't be welcome at such an important event," Arya says. (And, really, it's not that far-fetched for her.) But Mrs. David insists that she's an honored guest, and like a tartan-clad fairy godmother, she dresses Arya for the big night. They wear

Joseph: "I see your place is as bright as a new one."

David: "Oh, that beautiful dress again. You wore it so well at the last party."

Point: David.

As the ceremony begins, Gandalf is the first to take his oath to James, with the rest of Oscar's men lining up behind him.

Arya uses the "you've seen one you've seen them all" excuse to dismiss herself, but Robert follows suit. He begs her to stay until he "bags the girl for the evening." All class, that one. Arya takes a swig from a flask hidden inside her robes, offers it to her guard (and invisibly spits out the contents as he downs almost all of the offered port). "It's too strong," he muses. Little does he know that Arya's secret recipe includes a sedative? (Better than a laxative!)

With Robert cheering and arranging, Arya rushes to the surgery to retrieve her Castle Alien Donnan Escape but is met by Lucy on her doorstep, asking about a love potion for Jayden. "It's to get his heart going," she explains (meaning he doesn't need any back support). Distraught, Arya uses the horse dung lying around and tells Lucy to sprinkle it on Jaden's doorstep and tap her heels three times, saying "There's no place like love."

With Lucy sent away, Arya wanders through the dark corridors of the castle until she meets several drunkards who try to attack her. Rescued by Gandalf, her relief is momentary as he pins her to the wall and kisses her (even trying to get his hands up her skirt).

"Go away, girl, before you pay dearly," he growls. But then he sees Arya's dropped belongings and reaches for them. She quickly pulls it off of the stool.

As she emerges into the night air, it becomes clear that Arya has planned her escape with Jason Bourne-level precision. "Fifteen paces to the well, keep northwest to avoid the sentry who usually faces south. Sulfur is on the right, fourth stall from the door." But she stumbles (quite literally) on an unexpected obstacle in the stable: Jayden. When he tells her that James has deployed extra guards because of the Gathering and that there's basically no chance of her escaping, she collapses badly. He offers to take her back to the castle, but she's scared since he has just clocked the second-in-command.

"I hope you left a good mark so he remembers his error in judgment," Jayden says with a smile. "It's alright Saxon."

But when they go back to the castle, all is not well. They are flanked by guards, who insist that Jaden be taken inside to be sworn in. The entire hall is noticeably tense as Jaden walks in, and once again, Arya is at a loss for what tradition dictates. One of James's men explains that, basically, if Jaden commits, he will join the ranks of potential heirs to the position of laird (a position that would ultimately be chosen by clan vote). Is). Gandalf wants to be a laird, obviously, so if Jaden takes the oath, Gandalf will kill him. But if he refuses to take the oath (a big mistake), Gandalf will kill him too. Jayden's best way to avoid this conundrum entirely was to stay hidden.

Being the smart guy that he is, though, Jayden devises a perfect solution: he doesn't swear but instead promises to obey James as long as the clan stays on Oscar's land. And that's good enough for James.

Back in her surgery, Arya has resigned herself, at least for now, to her fate. She would probably never leave the castle. The wait was too soon. Gandalf enters, thanks his kind management for his dying friend and tells him they are leaving the castle. He has to collect taxes and Arya is accompanying him as a healer.