Gwendolyn liked wearing the fancier dresses. It was not a hindrance by any means. While she did have an unconventional childhood, the more extravagant clothing was still part of her life. Besides, while the dress was too expensive for digging around in the dirt and going for walks in the wilderness, but was hardly too fancy for a nice dinner.

"Oh, don't worry about it. I would hardly wear something that I was uncomfortable in or hindered by, so please, do not spare another thought about it. If anything, that dress had much higher quality cloth, and would be more comfortable. And," Gwendolyn continued on, her smile becoming softer, "Meaningful dinner sounds perfect to me."

Aldwin waited nervously for Gwendolyn to answer his question, he was quite worried that he'd already somehow screwed it all up. When it came to matters of the heart, he wasn't very good at putting it all into words. Aldwin really wanted for their relationship to be a great one, and if she preferred just staying friends then that would be okay too. As long as Gwendolyn was as happy as she could possibly be in this marriage, then he was happy too.

Aldwin knew that Gwendolyn liked wearing dresses, but he'd just believed the new one to be too extravagant for such a simple dinner, then again, Aldwin did plan on dressing up a bit too. Perhaps he was being a little hypocritical, telling Gwendolyn that she didn't have to dress fancily while he planned on doing that exact thing. He inwardly scolded himself, mostly for being an idiot as per usual.

When Gwendolyn finally agreed to the dinner being meaningful, Aldwin couldn't help but smile and release a small "yes!" under his breath. As his eyes found Gwendolyn's, he gave her a bright smile. "I promise that you will not be disappointed m'lady, and thank you for your kindness." Aldwin paused, the smile never leaving his flushed face. "It will start at around 7, that should give us both enough time to get ready and finish anything we have to do today right?"

Personally, Aldwin had already finished most of his work for the day in advance, not wanting to risk getting more work and having to push off the dinner for a later date. He knew that Gwendolyn had not been warned beforehand so he'd pushed dinner back a little bit so that she would have more time to get anything she needed to get done finished.

"It sounds perfect," Gwendolyn assured, "I will see you then, Aldwin."

Once Aldwin was gone, Gwendolyn called for a hot bath, and, knowing it would take a while, sat down to finish writing the entry in her journal.

--

we good to just hop right to the dinner?

sorry for the crap reply,,, i have no inspo at all rn lmao, and wasn't sure how far we were gonna go.

It's fine.

~~~~
After exiting Gwendolyn's room, Aldwin couldn't help but do a little happy dance. It was definitely not a very kingly thing to do, but he was very happy with how well asking Gwendolyn to dinner had gone. A maid happened to witness this little display of excitement, and merely smiled at the king's happiness before turning around and leaving, not wanting to embarrass him. Despite that, she would definitely be telling every maid in the palace of what she'd seen.

Aldwin absolutely flew through any and all the work he was given for the day, his advisers were confused, but did not question the sudden energy. Once Aldwin had completed it all, he excused himself and called for a bath. Since he knew that Gwendolyn would most definitely be more stunning than ever that night, he planned on trying to look his best as well. Emphasis on trying, Aldwin was hardly as well put together as his queen was, so it was a definite work in progress, especially now that he was king and could not get away with it anymore.

Looking at himself in the mirror, Aldwin had to say that he looked pretty damn good, even if he did look a little tired, but then again when did he not? The dark blue tunic he wore was almost black in color, and had many silver embellishments along the neckline and the lining of the tunic itself. His black trousers were tucked into polished black boots. The belt around his waist really brought it all together, at least he thoughts so.

Nerves made his cheeks a light pink, which only made him more embarrassed, this was Gwendolyn he was dining with, he shouldn't be nervous. Then again, this was Gwendolyn, a good friend yes, but also the most amazing woman he'd ever met. Although he'd originally hated the idea of an aranged marriage, he doubted that he would've ever found a lady as kind as she on his own, so he couldn't help but be a little grateful for his good fortune.

Aldwin headed down to the smallest dining hall (although it was still quite large, unnecessarily so) 15 minutes early, just to be sure that everything was in place. Even down the hall, he could smell the delicious food that awaited him and Gwendolyn. Upon entering, he was met with a candle-lit room, as per normal, but the lighting was darker, a more romantic atmosphere than normal. Flower bouquets were spread about on the table, though only two seats were actually set. The head of the table and the seat beside it, Aldwin smiled at the sight, he would not be the one to sit at the head of the table tonight.

While Gwendolyn did indeed put effort into her look for that night, she also remained casual, in a way, that she would not do for any public occasion.

Instead of doing up her hair, Gwendolyn kept it down, although she braided back the front pieces of her hair, tying them off once they met in the back with a soft purple ribbon.

The dress was made with fine fabrics, in a new sort of style that Gwendolyn had not seen before. Still, it was beautiful, and as she had told Aldwin - too fine to dig in the dirt with, but not fine enough to wear at one of Aldwin's business dinners.

The dress was comfortable and fit well - even the length was right, something that was not often the case with gifts, as they did not take her height into account. Still, Gwendolyn wore her heels - the one's that made her eye-level with Aldwin, and the one's that lord's seem to hate, as it made her taller than many of them - and decided she was done there. Jewelry would take away from the fine embroidery on the dress, although she did keep her wedding ring on - she always did, unless she was riding - and a thin silver bracelet, which hung loosely on her wrist.

As 7 o'clock rolled around, Gwendolyn was at the doors of the dining room, and with a nod to the guards who stood there as they opened the doors, Gwendolyn walked in.

For the past 15 minutes, Aldwin had been running around with the servants (who had been very pleased that the king was taking time to learn what they were serving that night) and making sure everything was in place. He also did one last check in with the other guests of the palace to make an appearance for a moment before returning to the private dining room. By the time Aldwin sat back down in his chair, he was a bit nervous, he really hoped that Gwendolyn would enjoy the dinner tonight, and enjoy his company as well.

When the doors finally opened, Aldwin slowly rose, a smile sneaking onto his pink tinged face, the candles casting dancing shadows on his face. "Good evening m'lady," Aldwin winked, "please take your seat." With that, he walked over to the chair at the head of the table and pulled it out, gesturing for Gwendolyn to sit with a smile.

A wide smile drew across Gwendolyn's features as she tilted her head slightly to the side, "Gods above - well this is exciting. I've always wanted to try out that comfy chair."

Gwendolyn sat down in the offered chair, tilting her head back slightly to watch as Aldwin walked out from behind her seat, "This is beautiful, Aldwin. I already love it."

Aldwin couldn't help but grin at Gwendolyn's excitement to sit in the 'comfy chair.' It meant nothing to him, but realistically it signified the person of most importance in the room. Of course, technically he was the king or whatever, but right now Gwendolyn was who he was focused on.
Once Gwendolyn was settled, he took his place to her left, the darkness of the room hiding the light pink on his cheeks. "Well I hope you are not just trying to make me feel better about the decorating. I did try my best, but I will be the first to admit that I am no expert room designer." Aldwin released a soft chuckle, his eyes fluttering around the room from the candles to the vases of pretty candles, to the soft, pretty pillows on the chairs. He'd brought his ideas to life, somehow.

"The food should be here momentarily, they were just finishing up around five minutes ago. I do hope you like the food, and everything else of course."

Gwendolyn was also looking around the room, although she turned back to Aldwin when he started talking about the food, "I am sure it will be delicious - I'm not picky, and the cooks here are absolutely wonderful."

Her cheeks were tinted red, and Gwendolyn prayed to the gods that he couldn't tell in the candlelight, "So..." think of a topic Gwen! "I don't really know a lot about your family. Do you have any siblings?"

It was, in all honesty, quite odd not to be sitting in the head chair. Not like it was a bed thing of course, but the last time Aldwin had sat anywhere but the head chair had been when he was a child, and although he was much older and wiser now, in Gwendolyn's presence he felt quite awkward and clunky.

At the mention of family, Aldwin released a soft sigh. Of course, Aldwin meant this with no ill intent, but family for him was nonexistent. "Ah, well not really. As you already know, my dear father died not too long ago, and my mother died giving birth to me before she could bear any more children for my father. Of course, the advisers always told him to remarry just in case something happened to his only heir but my father could never quite get over my mother's death." Aldwin paused, looking up at the door to the kitchen as he heard people approaching.

"My father loved my mother very much, and she meant more to him than anyone in the world. Alas, my father was just a man and did, on numerous occasions, lie with other women. I suppose I have a few half siblings, but none that I've ever met." Aldwin stopped talking just as the servants began to pile in.

The meal was of course smaller than a normal feast, but was still large enough. It included all of Gwendolyn's favorite things to eat, and Aldwin waited till the servants were done before saying, "do not fill yourself too much. There is a special dessert planned once we finish."