"As much as some people might have wished otherwise, I'm very much alive…"
The crowd responded to Ashlynn's declaration with scattered applause and a few loud cheers, but the reaction of most of the crowd was far from enthusiastic.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"I know you barely know me," Ashlynn said, leaning against the railing of the platform and addressing the crowd in the same way she'd once watched her father address a gathering of dockworkers from the deck of a ship.
"I wish I'd had time to come to know you all," Ashlynn continued as her expression turned briefly dark. "Owain had other ideas, and I barely survived our wedding night. Sir Tommin and Sir Broll buried me in the wilderness west of the march…"
This time the reaction was louder, punctuated by startled gasps and a handful of outraged cries, but still… What did this have to do with them?
