The mention of Domenic so directly made Owen pause- oh, he could not avoid this subject any longer than he already had. Omission was very close to outright lying- too close for his comfort or his conscience. "I would save your thanks until you know the truth, my lady," he replied, quietly. Owen's hands moved to his lap, and he looked down at them, trying to think of how to say this- there truly was no easy way, and he had no idea what her reaction might be. If she cared for her brother enough to chase after him this way, surely she would be upset...
"I should not have accepted your generosity," he continued, voice quiet but level. "I apologize sincerely for that- you were the first genuinely kind person I had come across since that day, and I took unnecessary advantage of you."
Owen raised his head, but didn't look at Gabrielle- instead he looked straight ahead, staring off into the distance. "We had nothing but bad luck on our journey. Everywhere we went, there were signs of the sickness, but no one had heard of a cure. Even the charlatans had given up preaching their pretend miracles- everyone knew there wasn't an ounce of truth in them, no matter how desperately they wished it."
"We were ambushed in the middle of the night. I don't know if the rogues thought that we were in possession of a cure, or if they were simply after whatever money we had or armor and weapons that could fetch a handsome price at market. Frederick and Victor were on watch, and they were both dead before they could sound a warning. The rest of us, though taken by surprise as we were, we fought. Alfred and Gunther were the next to fall, and I was disarmed and captured not long after. It was only through Domenic's skill and quick thinking that I escaped- though by the time I had turned to fight our attackers, he was-" Watch out for her- now run! Domenic's last words echoed in his mind, as they had so often since that night. "He was killed as well." The five simple words hung in the air for a moment- Owen knew he should say something more, but he couldn't.