The storm chilled her to the bone and she pushed herself inside the warm castle. The door echoed loudly in the hall and she shut it. Leaning against it, she heard a knock and opened it back up. She stepped aside and allowed Johnathan into the dry place. He ran a hand through his soaked brown hair and caught his breath. Footsteps echoed down the hall and she found Grace approaching with dry towels. The woman stopped in front of them and handed one to her cousin. "You should dry off immediately and get changed." The woman attempted to hand Eve a towel but she stepped aside. "The children?" "Leon and Abigail took them straight up to the West Wing." She climbed the steps quickly and walked to the private wing. Lights filled the hall of the West Wing from two doors and she stopped at the first door. She found Abigail wrapping a warm towel around the girl by the fireplace. She knocked on the door and the two looked up. "How is she?" The girl hurried over to her and threw her arms around her wet pants. Abigail smiled and said "Kara is just fine." Eve knelt down and ran her hand through the drying red hair. The girl looked up at her and pushed wet hair from her face. "Is my brother okay?" She glanced over at Abigail and found the woman looking back at the fire. She looked back at Kara and caught her shoulder. "I'm going to check on him. Stay here with Abigail." The child slowly nodded and she stood up. Silently she left the room and walked into the next one. Leon was tucking the boy in bed and smiled when he saw her. "You look nearly as pale as him." She crossed the room and sat next to Trevor. She placed her hand on his head and found no fever. "He should be fine. Just needs a place to sleep and warm up." She let out a relieved sigh and closed her eyes. The day had left her bones weary and she felt Leon watching her. "You really should go get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold." She smirked and said "I'll be all right." The butler chuckled and asked "Can you say that with your eyes open?" Slowly she opened her eyes and found him studying her. She could only imagine how drained she must look and climbed to her feet. Quietly she left the room and stopped at Kara's. The girl was sitting by the fire and she walked up to her. "Trevor is fine." The girl smiled and said "Thank you so much." She felt Abigail look up at her and left the room. Pulling the door shut behind her, she leaned against it and caught her breath. Exhaustion threatened to tumble her over and she forced herself into her room. Pushing the door open, she was tackled by a golden blur and picked up him up. He licked at her wet face and she dropped down onto her bed. He nudged her face and licked again. "Good to see you too." He wagged his tail and she closed her eyes. All she could think about was taking a nice warm bath and going to sleep. The children came back to her and she groaned. Pushing herself up, she pulled her wet boots off and placed them in front of the dead fireplace. She pulled her hair free and walked to the bathroom. Stripping out of her soaked clothes, she slid into the warm bath and leaned her head back. A sigh escaped from her lips and she felt the warmth begin to easy her tired body. Slowly she stood up and tried herself off. Wrapping her robe around her, she tied the belt and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Eve?" Hearing Grace's voice from the bedroom and Tanner's welcoming barks, she left the bathroom. The brunette sighed in relief when she was spotted and patted the bed. Quietly she took a seat next to the woman. "I was afraid you weren't going to tend to yourself." She closed her eyes and said "I had to see to the children." Grace smiled and said "It seems this place is slowly filling up all thanks to you." The words were meant to be a compliment but she couldn't take it as such. She slid to her feet and walked over to her wardrobe. "Come sit down and let me get you something. You're awfully pale." Returning to the bed, she drew her knees underneath her and Tanner curled up on her lap. Grace dug out a warm white turtleneck and a pair of black pants. The woman handed them to her and moved to the fireplace. She lit the charcoal and the heat slowly began to fill the room. "That's better. I'm surprised those maids didn't get the room ready." "It isn't a big deal." Grace smiled and watched the woman slide to her feet. She entered her bathroom and shut the door. Shaking her head, Grace picked up the wet boots and dried them off. Thankfully the inner soles were still dry. She left the boots by the fire to warm up and heard a knock from the bedroom door. It opened before she could reach it and she watched her cousin enter. He looked better now that he wasn't soaking wet and in dry clothes. His hair was slicked back for drying and he work a black shirt with navy pants. Tanner barked at the man and was greeted with an ear scratch. "She is getting changed." He looked back at Grace and she watched the bathroom door open. They watched Eve enter the room and she met the man's gaze. Grace could hear the electric sparks and fought back a smile. Quietly she left the room and Eve took a seat by the fireplace. She pulled her boots on and watched the man scratch the pup's ear. "You're really a handful." She stood up and ran her fingers through her hair. He looked back at her with his stony brown gaze and she walked to her window. "Someone had to help them." "That doesn't mean it has to be you every time." She closed her eyes and wished that were true. The whole reason she was here was to bring these people back from the brink of destruction. That meant giving all of herself to them and bringing back their sense of self-worth. "From now on you will have an escort when you go to the valley." She smirked and looked back at him. "I suppose that will be you?" His eyes flashed and she couldn't fight back the soft laugh. It lightened the tension in the room but reminded her of how exhausted she really was. He could see it in her eyes and watched her look back out the window. "The storm will be sticking around for a few days. You should stay inside." She looked back at him and he stopped touching Tanner. The puppy whined but he left the bed. She watched him move to the door and glance back at her. Silently he left the room and she walked over to the bed. Collapsing on her back, she let Tanner curl up in her arms and closed her eyes.