Calming the village people was more of a hassle than Maric thought it would be. All of those in charge were old and stubborn, while the others lacked any experience to say anything against the old ways. Plus it took a while for him to get some of those in charge to realize that he was a paladin despite not wearing the usual armor of one. Once they realized who he was though, word spread fast enough that he had no need to worry about it anymore. Instead he had to worry about getting mobbed by all of the onlookers that came to see 'the great paladin'. Though he could not stop for each one due to the vast amount of people vying for his attention, Maric did his best, saying words of encouragement to young men afraid for their family's safety, giving the children eager to become heroes themselves words of encouragement and wisdom, and even stopping to bless a few babes as their worried mothers rushed them to him.<br/>Even though he'd been through this sort of treatment for a few years now, Maric was still not used to it. Even though he had gone from the status of a farmer to a knight, his heart was still that of the shy farm boy in some ways.<br/>He sighed as his thoughts were drawn towards his peacful past. As he gave the captain of the guard a few last commands, he wondered if he could ever regain that peace some day. Again, Marics mind wandered, but instead of thinking of home, his thoughts were of Nimue. He really felt something with her. Maybe, just maybe, when this fiasco was all over, they could have time to bond and perhaps even settle down to have their own peaceful lives. Maybe meeting her was the universe's way of telling him that he'd done enough to finally earn that peace he'd always wished for. The past couple of days with here had already brought a calm to his mind that he had not had for a long now.<br/>He almost wished she was here now. But it was better that she had left for the Tor, as shed be safe from the prying dyes of the priests... There...<br/>Maric stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring at what appeared to be Nimue winking at him from the well.<br/>Of course she followed him. She cared too much for people. Why did he even think that she'd go back and leave him on his own? Maric was still upset that she followed him here though. What if the monks or priests tried to hurt her to get at him for not doing as they wished? What if they spread rumors that the only reason that he was defending the dragon was because she enchanted him and turned the village against her?<br/>Walking forward towards with greater speed than usual, Maric approached the woman that he had fallen for and grasped her hands in his, his eyes full of worry gazing into hers, ignoring the jealous stares from nearby women.<br/>"What are you doing here my sweat dove?" He asked, his voice as soft and gentle as a spring breeze. "You could be in danger here with the church being this riled up about Layla. They may try to connect you somehow to manipulating her for your own needs. You know how they fear what they don't understand. They'll pin the blame on whoever they can to get their way."