"He’s already without a weapon! How long will ye continue to treat her own brother like a common criminal? Please, I beg of ye to let him out."
"I cannae. Erica is right. Even if we do manage to subdue him, he’ll injure someone. He seems out fer Hector's blood. I cannae risk that."
"Trust me, I’ll snap his head right off his neck when I get me hands on him." Gawain taunted from inside the cell, much to Davinia's disapproval.
"Gawain, please stop. Emer," Davinia turned to her sister, who pursed her lips immediately. "Please, I just need to check on him. Please let him out. I promise ye nae harm will come to anyone."
"But—" Erica was about to complain but was shut up by Davinia's hard stare.
"Emer, please, I promise ye he will nae attack anyone." Davinia clasped her hands together in front of her sister before Emer sighed, looking up at her husband with a nod.
"Alright. If anything happens—"
"Nothing will happen.” Davinia cut off Caillen, turned around to face Gawain, who had gotten stable on his feet.
"I want to be sure of our safety, permit us to be on guard." At Caillen's words, Hector drew his sword.
"Like he can stand up to me." Gawain chuckled dryly. Davinia looked back and forth between Gawain and Hector. She desperately wanted to know how well he was doing, so she nodded. Hector would not be coming close to them anyways.
Davinia stepped back once the cell doors opened. Gawain stepped out, leaning against the frame of the cells, arms crossed in front of him as his eyes swept over them before landing on Davinia. He mustered a small smile, but that was all she needed before throwing herself at him, pressing her lips against his in a soft yet heated kiss that was returned with as much energy.
Davinia ignored Hector's shouts of protest and wrapped her arms around Gawain, locking her fingers behind his back. "Are ye alright?" She asked after he had pulled away, licking her wet lips as she spoke. "‘Tis so cold down here. I’m so sorry I did nae come earlier. I thought ye would be locked in yer chambers. I only found out this morning that ye’ve been here."
"Nae, do nae blame yerself. Hector has been whispering nonsense in me brother's ears. Did ye sleep well without me?" Gawain teased as he brushed his nose against hers.
"Well, this is quite nauseating to watch," Hector said, and Gawain's eyes snapped up to meet his.
"Yer face is quite nauseating to look at, but I do nae complain. Ye ken what else is sickening? The way ye treat women. Ye ken ye almost forced yerself on that foreign dancer and with the way ye handled Davinia yesterday. Disgusting!"
"Aye, he gave me a nasty bruise even," Davinia complained to Gawain, who inched toward Hector before Caillen stepped in.
"Nae more arguments between the both of ye." Caillen stepped up, arms wide between both men as Hector sheathed his sword. "Gawain, I’ve some questions to ask ye. If ye remember the plans that went missing a few days ago. The one Scott and I drafted."
"Aye, ye mean the one Scott stole?" Davinia looked up, shocked at Gawain's accusation. "Oh, is the prisoner nae allowed to make his own accusations? Where is the man?"
"Gawain, what are ye going on about?"
"I’m nae sure meself but since everyone is throwing accusations left and right, why nae add mine. Scott made those plans and stole them, as he probably plans to take them back to his clan so they could raid us blind. Hector is plotting something against me because he thinks I still want his position and cannae stand the fact that Davinia chose me over him. Ha! Erica, the damn servant, is probably working with Hector."
"This is what a night in the cells can do to ye. Ye speak such rubbish one more time, and I’ll strike ye." Hector reached for his sword while Gawain pushed Davinia behind him, readying himself to throw a punch but was stopped when Davinia threw herself back in front of him, her grip around his waist tighter.
Caillen sucked in a deep breath, loud enough for Davinia to hear. "Gawain, I’ve heard what ye’ve to say, but it was nae just the plans that went missing. "
"Then Scott stole the plans to put all attention on that so he could steal something else that sparked his interest," Gawain answered without missing a beat.
"Well, ye’re partially correct. The deeds of our land went missing as well, and unfortunately, they were found in yer chambers along with the plans."
"Well, I certainly did nae steal them."
"Then why would they be in yer chambers? These are confidential papers, Gawain. I hope ye’ve an explanation fer this." Davinia buried her fact in Gawain's chest as she racked her head for any possible answers. Coming up with nothing, she looked up at Gawain, who reached behind him to unlock her fingers and pulled her away from him so he could move closer to his brother. Davinia stayed at his side, ready to protect him in however way she could.
"Aye, ye made plans before I returned from the village. Me guess is that ye started working on them with Scott after I left yer study that morning. If ye remember, I had declined Hector's position and told ye to think about it a bit more before I left. When I returned, I came to see ye to relay yer people's complaints to ye and found ye bothered about the upcoming good shortage. I offered me connections and suggested we buy food, but ye were hesitant. Ye told me to give ye time, and ye shared the issue that was eating ye up with me. I miscalculated thinking the thief would come through the window until it hit me that perhaps someone had a spare key, and it was revealed that Hector's key to yer study had gone missing."
Davinia immediately perked up, being able to finish this puzzle Gawain had set out. "Aye. Hector's keys went missing on the day of the fire if I’m correct. The person who attacked him must have stolen it to get into your studies. Their main objective was to steal the deeds, but they needed a cover-up, so they tricked ye into creating battle plans and stole that along with the deeds. The person who did this was Scott. He was the only one who knew about the plans other than ye and Gawain. Gawain could nae have taken it because he did nae even ken about it until it was stolen. This proves Gawain is innocent. He did nae start those fires, and he did nae attack Hector."
"Nae, I ken he—" Hector started, but Caillen spoke over him, forcing him quiet.
"If Scott attacked Hector, then why would Hector defend him, and how would Scott have gotten into yer chambers?"
