for what must be another several minutes. Then there is another scuff.
It comes from the hall where Aela sleeps. Noiselessly, but quickly, I start into the hall.
Still I hear nothing.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I sneak down the short hallway. There are two doors; the right leads to the tiny washroom, and the left leads to Aela’s small bedroom. The latter stands slightly ajar. The room is completely dark.
Without sensing anything, I begin back down the hall. For stealth’s sake I am barefoot.
Still I hear nothing.
I know you are there, I think. I know it.
Then I hear something.
It is furtive and soft. I hear it as a breath of the wind. It comes from Aela’s bedroom.
As I begin back down the hall, I hear a low unrecognized voice utter one single word, “Why?”
A bloodcurdling scream emits from the room. I waste no more time with stealth and bound down the hallway in a single step, blasting through the door.
Two men sit inside the room, cloaked in black. One holds a crossbow, and one a sword. The crossbow points at Aela, who is pressed against the opposite wall with her mouth open in a horrible scream. The men see me enter but have no time to react.
They wear no armor, so they are subjected to the full power of my newly-forged hammer. The first receives a fatal blow in the stomach and the second tries in vain to back away, but the spike on the end of my hammer drives into his chest as I punch it forward. He gasps as I withdraw it, and then falls to the ground as I slam him in the side.
Both lie dead on the ground, bleeding. I ignore the mess, shut the window and lock it, and then turn to Aela, who is clutching her head and crying in a ball on the bed. A sharp dagger lies next to her; she must have dropped it in her fright.
“Are you okay?” I ask, dropping my hammer and gripping her shoulder tightly.
She suppresses her terror and looks up at me with slightly swollen eyes. The tears stop quickly and she sits up. “Yes, I’m fine,” she says.
Nathaniel runs into the room and sees the scene on the floor. His eyes go wide.
“Don’t let Mother see,” I say quietly. “Don’t let her see.”
He nods and turns to stop our panicked mother, who is running down the hall towards the scene. At the same time I open the window again and dump out the bodies.
“Aela just had a horrible nightmare,” Nathaniel lies. “A horrible nightmare. Everything’s fine now. It’ll be okay, just go back to bed.”
“Let me see her,” Mother persists. “Let me see her.”
Nathaniel looks to me pleadingly. I take a blanket and cover the pool of blood on the floor, and then nod.
Hurriedly I pick up my hammer and hide the bloodied head behind my back.
“Aela?” begins Mother. She enters, ignoring the blanket on the floor.
Aela only looks at her.
Mother sits next to her on the bed. I take an opportunity and leave the room with Nathaniel, but I stop outside the door to listen to the conversation.
“What was the nightmare about?” Mother asks.
There’s no answer.
“You can tell me, sweetheart. You’ll feel better to get it out.”
“Men,” answers Aela. “Two of them with weapons. They were going to kill me.”
“Who were these men?”
“I don’t know. They were clothed all in black. Assassins probably.”
“You were scared?”
No answer.
I chance a peek inside and see my mother holding Aela about the shoulders. “It’s going to be okay,” she says. “There are no men here to get you.”
“Anymore,” mutters Nathaniel so only I can hear.
“Will you be able to sleep?” Mother asks tenderly. “Would you like me to warm up some water for a hot drink?”
Aela shakes her head. “No, thank you,” she says.
“Okay,” says Mother. “If you need anything, don’t be afraid to call on me. I’m just down the hall.”
“Okay,” says Aela.
Nathaniel and I hurry to the chairs in the den to pretend that we had not been eavesdropping. “Get some sleep, boys,” dictates Mother as she passes. “It’ll all be okay.”
“Yes it will,” I mutter, looking at Nathaniel. “It is done.”
The next morning I walk to the keep with Nathaniel and enter. First I find Percival, James, and Jericho.
“What’s up?” Percival asks.
“It is done,” I say.
“You mean they tried?” James questions with wide eyes.
“And failed,” I respond. “Miserably. I will leave probably this afternoon. There is no reason for us to stay any longer.”
“Agreed,” says Jericho.
“Good,” I