Chapter 11
The castle was quiet. No one stirred, from the simple kitchen maid to the King himself, all was quiet. Moonlight filtered through the wide windows of the castle; illuminating the courtyard and surrounding areas. Looking out over the courtyard, centaur guardsman and healer Graywood made sure everything was secure.
"All is quiet tonight," he commented to the fox sitting beside him.
"Indeed, but I feel…" The fox paused mid-sentence, testing the air currents. "You smell something?" the centaur queried. "No. I thought I did, but not now."
~o~o~
A dark figure, hidden within a small alcove just below, smiled to himself. Eluding such a keen nose as that fox's was no small task compared with what he had to accomplish tonight.
With all the stealth of a cat he slid over to the tower, opened the door, and ascended the stairs. Thanks to his informant he knew his way around the winding hallways and was able to avoid being spotted by sentries. If he was to be successful, he had to finish his job quickly.
There it was–the door to the princess' room. Quietly opening the door, the figure stepped inside. She stirred; he pressed himself against the wall. He must not be seen! The princess relaxed and slept on, unaware of the danger she was in.
~o~o~
A loud crash! reverberated through the hallways. Guards rushed from their various stations along the walls toward the princess' room. The king and queen ran down the hallway from their chambers. They found a prone figure on the floor with the princess standing over it, a wooden stool in her hands. Another figure stood next to her.
Everyone clamored for an explanation, but the princess remained in a shocked silence. Ayron did his best to explain.
"I saw him," he gestured toward the prone man, "in the courtyard. As I did not recognize him, and he did not seem to be one of the guards, I watched his progress; tracked him inside and followed him here."
"Wait." The king interrupted. "You mean to tell me that this intruder wasn't caught by the wallguards?"
"Unfortunately, yes. But I can't figure out how he did it."
"Nevermind that, we'll deal with him on the morrow. Put him in the dungeons for now and hopefully we can find out what his intentions were."
So saying the king returned to his rooms with the queen; everyone else retired to their own respective places soon after.