Shanna laid down on a couch in the living quarters. Argus stood next to her and poked his nose against her arm. She petted him whilst keeping her eyes on the ceiling, leading to a soft whine from the mabari. She turned her head to look at him and could not help but having to smile at the sad puppy eyes that were looking at her. "Silly dog... sorry, but I do not feel like it at the moment." She sighed and gently pushed him away. However, Argus was not to be persuaded that easily and gently grabbed her leg and started to pull it. "Hey, stop that! If you need to go outside you can do that yourself!" The angry tone made the dog cower and flatten his ears.
At that moment the door opened and the young elven boy came in. When noticing the warden-commander he stayed in the opening of the door. "I eh... is there anything I can do for you mylady?" Shanna sighed and turned her head to face the boy: "I suppose you don't want to walk the dog, as he is quite annoying today... Further I can't be arsed, to be honest." The boy blinked for a moment, as if carefully thinking about an answer. "I expected that you would have left with the others mylady, otherwise I would have knocked before opening the door..." "Sorry, it was not my intention to direct my annoyance to you." She sighed deeply. "I cannot stand that they just left be here 'for my own good' whilst they went outside to look for Nathaniel... I... I am worried." The boy took a sidestep into the room, after which he closed the door, but remained quite a distance from the mabari. She continued: "Anders has done quite some healing. Sure, I should not get another blow, but it is not like I am badly wounded anymore... I want to look for Nathaniel. I am afraid that those hotheads will hurt him. To be honest, I do not believe that he is behind that whole poison-thing." The mabari started to pull on a leg again. "Stop that!" She snapped at him. This time the dog only cocked his head instead of cowering.
The boy looked from her to the mabari and back. "If he is that eager to go outside... why don't you two go out? You could pretend to go for a walk with him and in the meantime look for the lost warden?" She smiled faintly: "I had the same plan earlier, but sadly enough Alistair instructed the guards to not let me go outside the keep... and of course they listen because the King is of higher ranking than me." She groaned. "I'll get him for that..." The elf pondered a bit. "Maybe... you can use the emergency exit?" She looked at the boy with a questioning look on her face. "In the kitchen", he explained: "There is a hatch which leads to a hidden entrance. I have been told it was created ages ago in case the keep would come under siege." Shanna rubbed her forehead and the boy quickly lowered his gaze to his feet. "Of course... alright, lets do that..." She stood up from the couch, whilst Argus bounced around her happily.
The three of them went towards the kitchen. The guards and other servant were busy in other parts of the keep, which allowed them to stay unnoticed. In the kitchen, the boy removed some large barrels in a corner, revealing a hidden latch. He opened it, showing an entrance to a tunnel. Shanna stared at the tunnel. Memories flashed by of what occurred over a year ago: fighting, screaming... finding her parents and finally being dragged away by Duncan through that exit... a similar one. The nudging of the mabari against her leg got her out of her memories. "You're right Argus... this is not the time to remember." She stepped into the tunnel, quickly followed by the dog. "M'lady?!" She turned around and looked up. The boy kneeled and handed down a package. "Please, take some for the road." She accepted the package and smiled at him. "Thank you... I have never asked your name, haven't I?" "Jennis, m'lady" She nodded: "Thank you, Jennis." Then she continued walking via the tunnel.