"Gods, this looks delicious," Gwendolyn turned to smile at the servants that brought in the plates, "Please give the cooks my thanks, and thank you all as well."

Once the room was empty again - save for Gwendolyn and Aldwin - she began to load up her plate with small portions of every dish on the table, "I'll try to leave room, but I am definitely going to have to try every one of these dishes. Some of these I haven't even seen since I left home!"

A wave of homesickness washed over Gwendolyn at the familiar smells of home, yet it was gentler than what she had felt when first moving to Britain. While Roman Empire was her birthplace and home, this castle, and its residents, were beginning to feel like home as well.

Aldwin couldn't help but smile at Gwendolyn's kindness towards the servants, what a woman!

Following Gwendolyn's lead, Aldwin began to fill his plate too. "I'm happy you're satisfied with the options, I tried to get everything I knew you liked. The chef was kind enough to help me figure out a few more dishes as well." Aldwin grinned proudly, it was not often that he was able to say that he took part of something that seemed so common to others.

Gwendolyn dug into her plate, and with the first bite, hummed happily, "This tastes wonderful!" Gwendolyn exclaimed, once she was finished chewing, "It tastes like home. Thank you for

doing this."

The two ate in silence for a while, before Gwendolyn slowed down and started up the conversation again, "So... I think Delilah is going to have her puppies soon, right? Do you know what you are going to do with them once they are old enough to leave her?"

The smile that graced Gwendolyn's face at the food's taste filled Aldwin with relief. Of course he'd known that she was familiar with all the foods before her, but he hadn't known if they would taste differently from previous times she'd had them and if she'd end up hating it.
Once he got Gwendolyn's approval on the food, Aldwin took his first bite of the foods on his plate and allowed a comfortable silence to fill the hall while the two ate.

At Gwendolyn's words, Aldwin immediately looked up and swallowed the food in his mouth. Her question caught him mildly off guard, as he hadn't realized that Gwendolyn had really even noticed Delilah, let alone her pregnancy. Granted, the huge Irish Wolfhound was pretty hard to ignore. "Ah yes, she'll have them within the next two weeks. She has been dutifully stealing my blankets and pillows to make herself a little den in the corner of my room." Aldwin released a soft chuckle, a grin forming on his face at the mention of his dear dog.

"As for the pups, well I intend to keep one or two for the palace. I love Delilah dearly and would enjoy keeping her lineage for however long I can. I don't want to strain her though so I believe this will be her first and only litter. Why do you ask?" Aldwin looked up at Gwendolyn with a curious glance.

Gwendolyn blushed, and shyly voiced the request she had wanted to make since she noticed that Delilah was pregnant, "I was wondering if I could have one of the puppies." Back home, Gwendolyn had also had dogs - her favorite being a sweet greyhound named Silvia - although she had to leave them behind in her move to Britain.

Even though Gwendolyn missed the dogs dearly, she knew they would be much happier in Rome, as they adored Quintus and Vita, who were her younger siblings, and were fiercely protective of the two children.

After moving, Gwendolyn had, so far, been too busy to miss any canine companionship, but after seeing Delilah lounge around Aldwin's feet, and her loyalty to him, it struck a cord within Gwendolyn, and made her want to make her request to Aldwin.

Delighted surprise flashed across Aldwin's features, and a happy grin slipped onto his face. "Why of course you can Gwendolyn, you need only ask. You can have as many as you want, the more the better. I'll enjoy having her lineage around." If anything, this just meant that Aldwin wouldn't have to worry too much about training the pups himself, unfortunately he just didn't quite have the time for such things.

"Just so you are aware, these puppies have been specifically bred to be the best of the best hunting dogs. I have no doubt that you'll be able to handle them, but I wanted you to be aware. Of course, if you don't find any puppies in the litter that suit your tastes we can always look for other dogs as well. Whatever you want Gwendolyn, I want you to be as at home here as you possibly can." The grin on Aldwin's bright face shone true, and he was most definitely not kidding.

___

Sorry this is dialogue heavy and kind of clunky looking on your phone probably. DX

luckily! i am on my laptop! clucky-ness is not a problem here!!!!

-

Gwendolyn's laugh was bright and joyful, "Well, I do not need multiple puppies. One will certainly be enough of a handful," Someone had to be the voice of reason around here in regards to dogs, "Although if it ends up being a large litter, I am certain that some of your close advisers and knights would be overjoyed to get a dog."

At Aldwin's warning, Gwendolyn's face split into a wider smile, "That is good. I enjoy hunting - and I can certainly take care of the training. I did so for my greyhounds back in Rome."

--

eh?? notice teh "in rome" compared to her previously thinking of it as "at home/back home" ???? gwens starting to see aldwin and the palace as her home and i!!! love IT!!!!

It did not slip by Aldwin that Gwendolyn had referred to Rome as 'Rome" and not her home, and he could not help the small smile that slipped onto his face at that. He knew it must have been terrible to have been forced to leave everything Gwendolyn knew behind and marry a man that she did not know. For awhile, Aldwin had feared that she would never truly accept the palace as her true home, but it seemed that with every passing day she was getting used to the place.

Gwendolyn's excitement at the opportunity to get a new puppy made Aldwin elated. It was so nice to see her genuinely happy. "You had greyhounds back in Rome?" It wasn't really a question, more of an observation. "Why did you not bring them? If you do not mind me asking."

Aldwin knew that most royalty had greyhounds, they were some of the best hunting dogs and as a boy he'd had a retired hound that had been loved dearly until his passing. He would have been delighted to have greyhounds in the palace again.

"The greyhounds were more of the family's dogs, rather than solely mine, although I did have a hand in training them. The two that I had before leaving adored my younger siblings - much more than they liked me - and I did not want to separate them," Gwendolyn gave a minuscule shrug, "Plus, they hated boats and the water. They are happier back in Rome."

There was also the fact that their particular greyhound line went back decades - all dogs of the royal family. If she were to take them with her, that would end their line as Roman dogs, and despite Gwendolyn missing them, she wanted their heritage to continue more.

It all worked out in the end, though. There were new puppies being born - a new lineage for a new country. It seemed fitting, in Gwendolyn's mind.

"Ah, so you left them more for their own sake rather than your own, you are very selfless Gwendolyn," Aldwin observed. His glass clinked as he brought it to his lips, lost in thought for a moment before returning it to the table. "You are very kind Gwendolyn, and," Aldwin paused, his next words hesitant and thought through. "I am very happy you're here," he finished simply, a small smile gracing his features. "I hope the puppies can bring you some sense of home here, I know it will never truly be the same but I do hope it can be similar at the very least." He knew that his statements were a little bold, especially for one such as himself, but he had to let Gwendolyn know that he was willing to do anything to make her stay at his home as comfortable as possible.

And maybe, one day, it would be her home too.