Alanna watched as Jonathan and Thayet sat down on a knotty wooden bench in a dank cellar. They smiled half-hearted smiles at each other, and then looked down at the table before them. It was bare except for a small piece of crumpled parchment, a clean sheet of parchment, and an ink jar and quill. Jonathan grasped the crumpled piece of parchment and began to read to himself. He gave a short gasp and dropped the letter. Thayet picked it up and read it fast, her eyes widening in shock. "They're dead. They're all dead." she whispered. She began to sob silently into Jon's shoulder.
Jonathan tried his best to ignore her as he grasped the quill and dipped it in the small ink bottle. His fingers moved slowly across the page, shaking as he wrote. At the sound of a large thud, the quill fell from his hand and splattered the already dirty table with ink. A scream of fright sounded from above. Thayet stopped sobbing as she struggled to hear what was being said.
"Where are they, man? I know they're here!" a loud booming voice was easily distinguished above the noise of breaking dishes and a woman's cries of outrage. They couldn't here the reply. "What! You don't know who I'm talking about! Don't play stupid, you pig. We have evidence that you're hiding Prince Jonathan and Princess Thayet! If you refuse to tell us where they are, we'll have to find them OUR way."
Thayet screamed as a stream of light poured from the top of the stairs in their cellar. Men appeared in the doorway and on the staircase, yelling cries of triumph. Jonathan pushed Thayet under the table, and pulled a silver sword from its sheath. Old blood dulled the sheen of the sword, making a bedraggled Jon and his bloody sword a frightening sight indeed. Men advanced towards him and Thayet. Alanna watched in horror as first Jon was cut down, his body falling to pieces on the floor, and then how Thayet died with a knife stabbed through her back as a soldier snuck up on her. Neither of them made a sound as they fell to the floor, their lifeless eyes staring off into the dark of the night.
Alanna woke with a start, sweating terribly and her face wet with tears. She shook herself awake, and brushed the tears off her face. "Just a dream," she thought, "It was all just a stupid dream."
Still somewhat shaken, Alanna climbed out of her bedroll and folded it up. She gently awoke Moonlight, and gave her an apple covered in brown spots as a reward. Moonlight blew on the apple in disgust on yet another lousy meal, but took the treat anyway. Alanna tied the bedroll to the side of her horse, and grabbed a stale muffin that she had got from George out of her pack. As she bit into the blueberry muffin, she covered the evidence of her campfire and all evidence that someone had been there with clumps of pine needles and leaves that lay all over the forest floor.
She decided to check out the soldier's camp, and wandered over to the stream's edge. All the soldiers were asleep, though some did not lay in bedrolls. Many were slumped on barrels and across the ground, most likely from too much to drink the night before. Alanna wished them the worst of hangovers before spitting on the ground in disgust. She looked around the camp for sentries, but laughed to herself as she realized they were all asleep! She kept one eye on the camp as she filled her canteen with water from the stream.
Once her canteen was full, she wandered back to her campsite. She took a swig of her canteen before untying Moonlight from the thin birch tree. She led Moonlight back near to where the stream was, but kept out of view. The moon shone over head, and stars sparkled like a sea of diamonds overhead. Alanna bit her lip as she recalled the last night she remembered to be as beautiful as this one. Her seventeenth birthday had been interesting indeed.
Shaking away the memories from her head, Alanna concentrated on walking straight. When at last she thought she had reached a fair distance from the soldiers, she led Moonlight close to the stream. Alanna cursed under her breath as she realized her stream was not quite a stream here. It had become a full-fledged, raging river, the water frothing and coursing away from her. She decided to keep walking to see f she would ever reach a bridge. She discovered that where she was walking was well worn, and chose to ride along the river's bank instead of walking it. She mounted up, and urged Moonlight to a trot.
At last the came to a sturdy stone bridge, just wide enough to admit a horse and rider. She crossed with ease, and then made her way to the main road. Moonlight galloped down the road without Alanna's urging, kicking dust up into the sky. Alanna's heart beat faster, and blood pounded through her body. For the first time in quite awhile, Alanna was happy. It felt so good to be riding this fast, and evidently her horse didn't seem to mind it. The night air chilled both of them, as they sped down the country lanes, passing numerous farms and inns.
Alanna came to a stop before a very small inn. It bore an illegible sign, but the picture on it was unmistakable: a sword dripping with blood. And indeed that was the name of the inn: The Bloody Sword. Alanna shuddered as she remembered the awful dream that had awoken her. She dismounted and walked up to the door of the inn. She knocked three times, then once softly.
The door slid open a crack, revealing a timid eye, at a level even lower than Alanna's waist. A child's voice called out, and another eye appeared. A gasp sounded, and the door opened all of the way. A burly man appeared at the door. Alanna cried out in delight: It was Coram!
Author's Note: I have no comments. Goodbye, I'll miss you, I'll see you all next time I write another chapter! (PS: See, I have the muffin I promised you Maureen!)
