Gwendolyn shook her head slowly, turning her head to kiss his hand as she did so. “In part, I wish to keep you close, yes. However.” She leveled Cameron with a serious look; no longer the demure princess he knew from her younger days, but a queen thrust into the helm of power.<br/><br/>“My father... gods protect him, held great value in your wisdom. He sent you to Runasia with great conflict in his heart— he knew you were needed there, and yet he needed you as well.”<br/><br/>She hesitated. “In fact, he always said that upon your permanent return home, he had intended to make you his own Hand.” She ran a hand down his face, hoping to comfort him if the news was bittersweet for him. “In many ways, I am merely carrying out his legacy for him.”