Marrina Felcar

"Poisoned?" Saedra shrieked. "Gilda poisoned? How did you find out? How could this happen?"

Peter grabbed her arms and firmly, but gently, made her sit down in the chair in front of the vanity. He squatted down in front of her. "A Bird named Fallowtan just brought word. It happened this very morning. She was found dead in her room. Her skin was a remarkable shade of green, which apparently is a tell-tale sign of poisoning."

"But...but who would...?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. Did Gilda have any enemies?"

"None that I'm aware of...I suppose any enemies I have would be hers...but 'enemy' is such a strong word! I hadn't thought that someone loathed me or her enough to kill. I know that Reine did try to assume more power than he had, but I don't think him capable of such a thing...he was my father's-I mean Dane's-best friend..."

"Since speculation at this point would be futile, we need to decide what to do."

"What do you mean, what to do? Why, I must go north at once!"

"Sae," Peter said in a warning tone of voice, "we've tarried too long in Tashbaan for you to be travelling. It's obvious we shall have to wait here until the baby is born."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous," she laughed. "We have plenty of time! Why, I've two months left still."

"But the risk..."

"Look at me, Peter. Do I look like my health is in any sort of danger? I may be in danger of sinking the Splendor Hyaline because of my size, but I'm certainly completely healthy. I need to be there. What would it look like if I didn't go at this time? I'd be leaving Harden without any leader."

"I could assign one of my lords in your place for the time until you can travel..." he offered lamely, then sighed. "I know I can't talk you out of this, but I beg you not to take any unnecessary risks or over-exert yourself."

"I won't," she promised. "And we can keep guards with us just in case."

He stood up. "I'll alert the Navy. We leave on the morrow. I'll find the servants to have them pack our things." He was about to start walking towards the door, but he stopped. "Oh-and what was that about your father?"

"Dane isn't my father," she said, this time much more calmly. The words felt so strange coming from her lips. The man who'd lovingly raised her...wasn't really her father...

"Yes...but who is?"

She paused, a strange expression on her face. "...Abrastan..." It was almost a question, as if she couldn't believe it.

"Abrastan?"

"Yes..." It was no wonder Abrastan had looked at her so strangely when he'd first met her. She must have reminded him of her mother.

"But how?"

"When my grandfather was dying, my mother came down to Tashbaan from Harden. During her stay, Abrastan finally developed feelings for her, and she'd never stopped loving him, so they started an affair."

"And Dane never knew?"

"He was in Harden the whole time. When my mother found out she was pregnant with me, she fled north again with the hope that Dane would think I was his. She didn't even tell Abrastan-no one knew, or at least she thought so. Obviously Sadris found out either then or somewhere down the line, or otherwise she wouldn't have pointed me to the diary."

"Lalevis wrote this all in the diary?"

She nodded. "The big question is whether my father-I mean Dane-knew or not. I don't know how obvious it was that my mother was already pregnant when she went back. She left the diary here, and I don't know if she had one up there."

"Oh, Dane surely knew," Peter said, shaking his head. "There's no way he couldn't have."

"What do you mean?"

"A man can always tell if his wife hasn't been faithful."

Saedra was surprised. "You say that with such certainty. How do you know?"

"Instinct. Whatever the sin, a guilty person is easy to spot a mile away. And when you come to know someone so well, it's even more obvious when you share the same bed if something is amiss."

"So you mean to say that Dane knew I wasn't his daughter and raised me anyway?"

"Does that seem inconsistent with his character? You don't think he would try to conceal the truth for your sake as well as his? You would have been excluded from all good society-who knows what would have happened to you? As for him, he would be shamed his whole life because of having had a wife who neither loved him nor could be controlled."

"It makes sense when you say it like that..." she paused, sinking deep into thought. Had Dane been so noble as to pretend she was his when he knew she wasn't? He'd willfully raised a daughter of a different man?

"I strongly advise you not to tell anyone-and I mean anyone-of this before giving it some thought, Sae. The ramifications could be dire."

"What do you mean?"

She hadn't begun to think of how this information could affect her life. It had happened in the past, so could it still affect her now?

"You could lose Harden. As Dane's daughter, you had a right to be Duchess, but as the illegitimate daughter of Abrastan, the right would go to the next in line, whoever that is. You may have the temptation to tell Abrastan, but you mustn't, at least not now with Gilda's death. We don't know what we're dealing with here."

The thought had crossed her mind to speak to Abrastan about what she'd discovered. The possibility of getting to know him and to know his side of the tale tantalized her. He was, after all, her father—her flesh and blood. Of course she wanted to know him. But Peter was right: she would have to be sure she wouldn't lose Harden should the information get out. She'd have to wait.

"Now, we'd better hurry up if we want to get down to Ed's wedding," Peter said, bringing her back to the present. "I'll have the Navy start to get ready to leave. The sooner we get you safely to Harden, the better I'll feel."

"Wasn't that just the most romantic ceremony you've ever seen, Mother?" Talia giggled, cutting into her meat. The gangling twelve-year-old was wearing a bright green dress and orange Calormene flowers in her dark hair.

They were seated at ovalish tables in Rahai's courtyard enjoying a Calormene feast. Talia sat between Peter and Saedra, and Edmund, Rahai, Lucy, Lasaraleen, and Rahai's sisters were at their table. Rahai's young niece and nephews were running around, throwing flowers at each other, and the other guests chatted pleasantly at the other tables. It was a small, intimate affair, and only close relatives and friends were there.

When Saedra didn't reply, Talia repeated a little more loudly, "Mother?"

"Mm?" Saedra asked, staring in the direction of the next table.

"What are you looking at?" Talia asked, trying to follow her gaze.

"Oh-nothing!" Saedra said, and focused on her daughter. "What was it?"

She had been watching Abrastan, trying to make herself comprehend that the dark, dignified warrior was her father. He was chatting with another Tarkaan, a man about his age who was married to Rahai's youngest sister.

"I was just saying that the wedding was very romantic. I hope my wedding is that romantic someday!"

"I'm sure it will be," Saedra smiled, knowing who the smitten teenager had in mind for a husband. Her eyes sparkled at even the mention of Prince Corin's name.

Edmund and Rahai's wedding and reception was astonishingly beautiful and sickeningly romantic, but Saedra was immunized to the atmosphere. Sure, she went through the motions of smiling and greeting her family members (and putting up with Lasaraleen's gushing about Saedra's pregnancy and the uproar in Tashbaan about all of the arrests of Tarkaans and how funny it was that King Edmund had been her man-slave), but Saedra's thoughts were preoccupied with either Abrastan and Harden, and sometimes both. She wondered wryly if her life could be any more complicated.

"Darling, you've been positively distracted this whole day!" Lasaraleen helpfully pointed out to Saedra.

"I'm sorry," Saedra said evasively. "I've got a lot on my mind." She was aware of Edmund's eyes on her, and glanced at him quickly.

He probably thinks I'm referring to him, but I wish I was! she thought.

The tension between the two of them had never gone away, but she was conveniently distracted from any sort of unpleasant emotions that the idea of his being married to her cousin would elicit under normal circumstances.

"That brings me to something I've been meaning to tell you all," Peter said. "I didn't want to distract from the ceremony, and I don't wish to detract from the celebrations, but we, all of us, are going to have to leave for the North tomorrow."

Sounds of surprise and indignation rose all around the table.

"Something pressing has come up, and we must leave immediately," Peter said, looking at Edmund and Lucy in such a way that they knew not to ask the reason in front of the other guests.

"What?" Lasaraleen cried. "What in the world could be so important?"

"It's not something I can talk about," Peter said sympathetically.

"But surely all of you don't need to go," Lasaraleen protested. "Only the High King can go."

"It wouldn't be wise to split the fleet into two," Peter explained. "It's not that we're necessarily distrustful of the Tisroc, but we've learned that you can never be too careful."

"You here!" Rahai said, waving a servant over. "Tell the household that we will be leaving tomorrow. Instruct everyone that we'll need our belongings packed and provisions prepared."

The servant bowed and left.

"I'm sorry to have to dampen your celebration," Peter said apologetically to Rahai. "If it could be helped..."

"Nonsense, your Majesty!" she said. "I understood when I agreed to marry my dear husband-" here she uncharacteristically giggled and blushed shyly at the word "-that personal pleasures must be put aside when more important matters arise."

"See how lucky I have been?" Edmund grinned, squeezing his new wife's shoulder.

"Blessed is more like it," Lucy corrected. "Aslan knew you'd need a tolerant wife with all of your bizarre ways!"

It took longer than Peter had hoped to get the Navy ready to depart, but two days later they left Tashbaan in a spectacular display, Narnian flag waving and gleaming ships proudly gliding through the river. Peter and Saedra explained the situation to Talia, Edmund, Lucy, and Rahai, and apologized for rushing the newlyweds away so soon after the wedding.

"It wasn't your fault," Edmund shrugged. "Poor Su will be glad to have us back sooner."

Saedra didn't know what she had expected to find when they arrived in Harden, but she was surprised when everything seemed...normal. The marketplace was functioning as usual, though as soon as word spread that the Narnian Fleet had arrived, everyone rushed to the eastern ledge to get a glimpse of the fleet.

When Saedra and the rest entered the castle's gates, they had to be protected by guards; everyone was clamoring to be near the famous Narnian rulers. Edmund and Lucy took it all in stride, but Peter was more anxious, guarding Saedra closely, even though it wasn't her that everyone wanted to see. Rahai looked around with a supremely interested expression, never having been in Archenland before.

When they finally pushed through the castle doors, Saedra's assistant Tina and her mother Mrs. Quigley were waiting for them. The door clanged loudly behind them, shutting out most of the noise of the marketplace.

"Oh, my Lady, we're so glad you're here!" Tina cried, clutching Saedra's hands after a quick, ungraceful curtsy. She suddenly stopped short. "Milady, you're-you're-"

"Humongous, yes," Saedra smiled. "We can catch up on everything else later. I need to know what happened with Gilda."

"Come, my Lady, we need to get you off your feet," Mrs. Quigley said. "Come to the drawing room and we'll tell you all."

Saedra looked up at Peter in a silent question.

He read her look and said, "I'll come with."

Lucy said, "Call for us if you need anything. I'm going to have a look around if that's okay with you, Sae. This place is ancient! Wanna come, Ed? Rahai?"

"I want to come with you, Mum," Talia declared with interest.

"Yes, it'd be good for you to hear this too, Tal," Saedra said. "Come along."

Tina and Mrs. Quigley led Saedra, Peter, and Talia to the drawing room while the rest went off exploring the old castle. After they were seated, Saedra said, "Now speak. What happened to Gilda?"

"I'm sure Fallowtan told you that Gilda was poisoned," Tina began.

"Yes, yes, he told us that," Saedra said. "But by whom? When? Most importantly, how?"

"To start at the beginning, I was the one who found Gilda," Tina said. "She'd been missing for hours, and I wondered if she was sick. When I got to her room, she was lying on the ground in the same clothes she'd worn the night before. A glass of wine was spilled on the carpet, and her face was light green. After recovering from my shock, I instantly had Talan fetch my mother, because she knows about these sorts of things."

Mrs. Quigley joined in. "As soon as I took one look at her, I knew the very herb that was used to kill her. It's a Telmarine plant called the Marrina Felcar."

"I've never heard of it," Peter said.

"It's quite rare, your Majesty. It would have taken me ages to figure out what plant it was, had I not had experience with it before." Mrs. Quigley looked at Saedra pointedly.

"What is that look about?" Saedra asked confusedly. "Was someone else poisoned with that herb that I should know about?"

"You don't know, my Lady?" Mrs. Quigley asked. "Why, it was your very mother Duchess Lalevis who died from that poison mere days after giving birth to you! That's how I was able to identify the poison so quickly. It was the exact shade of green that your mother turned when she died. I did some investigating then for Duke Dane (for he was in a mad state, trying to figure out who would do such a thing to her), and finally figured out which plant if was. It's extremely rare, and very deadly. The only possible way of saving someone who has been poisoned is to immediately start bleeding them to rid the body of as much contaminated blood as possible. Of course, that is extremely risky, for losing so much blood is deadly in itself..."

Mrs. Quigley realized then that no one was listening anymore. All four in her audience were looking alarmed. Saedra was staring into space, Peter and Talia were watching Saedra's expression, and Tina was also looking shocked.

"You mean to tell me," Saedra said slowly, "that my mother did not die in childbirth but was poisoned?"

"Yes, my Lady," Mrs. Quigley nodded. "Your father never told you this?"

Saedra shook her head. "Neither did Gilda..."

"It makes sense that he wouldn't tell you. It's not something you needed to know, my Lady, especially considering..." Mrs. Quigley's voice trailed off. She looked uncertain.

"Go on," Saedra ordered.

"...Considering that it appeared that the Duchess poisoned herself."

Silence followed.

"That's impossible," Saedra said flatly.

"It's not, my Lady. The evidence was obvious, though poor Duke Dane couldn't admit it for ages. Traces of the plant were found in one of her drawers."

"I still don't believe it," Saedra said. "I have been reading her diary-which I recovered from her old chambers in Tashbaan-and Lalevis may have had her faults, but she wasn't a quitter. She would never have killed herself. Someone framed her."

Mrs. Quigley just shrugged helplessly. "We'll never know, I guess."

"But what does this have to do with Gilda?" Talia asked, bringing the conversation back on track.

"We're not sure, Miss Talia," Tina said, leaning forward. "All we can suppose is that some source in Telmar, maybe the same one, provided the Marrina Felcar in both situations. That's the only connection, but it could be vital."

Peter looked at Saedra and squeezed her knee. "My resources are at your disposal, Sae. What do want to do?"

"I want to secure the castle," she said without hesitation. "No one comes and goes from this building without permission. I want guards stationed at the doors, and identification papers will be required to enter or leave. The marketplace will be left alone for now, because it's obvious that Gilda was a target, not just a random incident. I think it's likely that whoever did this wanted me to come back, so we must exercise extreme caution. Talia, I don't want you to go anywhere without a guard."

"Mum! I can handle myself!"

"I know you can, but I won't rest easy without it. The only other option is that you stay indoors all the time."

Talia made a begrudging face, but she didn't argue further.

"Would you like to go in alone, Sae?" Peter asked softly as they stood before the closed door to what had been Gilda's chambers.

Saedra wasn't sure at first. She opened her mouth and closed it. Then she nodded.

"I'll be right out here if you need me," he said, squeezing her shoulder.

Saedra entered the room, and gently closed the door behind her. She turned and faced the bed, taking in the form of Gilda's body covered by a white sheet. The smell of spices filled her nose.

She looked around the room, unable to comprehend that Gilda was really gone. She saw the spot on the carpet where the poisoned wine had spilled. It was near the closet.

The closet.

Visions of her younger mischievous self-filled Saedra's mind. She had hidden in that closet on countless occasions, for various devious reasons.

"Now, what are you doing in here, Miss Saedra?" Gilda would scold upon discovering her. "You should be working on your geography!"

"It's boring!" chubby eleven-year-old Saedra would pout, crossing her arms across her chest.

"If you don't do your studies now, you'll fall behind and have to take them with you when you go up to Narnia this summer."

"Okay!" Saedra would grin.

She had known her father would never force her to do her studies if Gilda wasn't around, and Gilda wouldn't be going to Narnia with them. The governess knew this all too well, but it was the only threat she had against the spoiled girl.

Saedra would hop up and skip out of the room, probably to go ride her horse or bother the stable boys.

"Hopeless child!" Gilda would exclaim after her. "You'll never get anywhere in life if you don't apply yourself!"

Despite herself, Saedra chuckled at the memory. Poor, poor Gilda.

She went over to the bed, hesitated, and pulled back the sheet. Gilda's whole lower body had been wrapped in cloth. Only her head was uncovered. The spices had slowed down the decay.

Warm tears fell silently down Saedra's cheeks as she studied the dear face. Gilda had aged prematurely. The wrinkles on Gilda's forehead and grey hair were probably due to the stress of bringing up a duchess-in-training who always got her way. She had done so much for Saedra, shaping her into the woman she was today. And Saedra had never thanked her.

"Gilda?" she whispered, laughing a bit at her foolishness for talking to an invisible spirit. She wiped away a tear and sniffed. "If you can hear me, I want you to know that I love you. Thank you for putting up with me for all these years. I wouldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for you. Thank you."

After the funeral for Gilda, the focus moved to securing the castle. Narnian soldiers guarded every door, and Saedra's security measures were implemented. Things calmed down, and no other incidents occurred, so Edmund, Lucy, and Rahai were taking three-fourths of the fleet with them back to Narnia.

Saedra was getting too large to be able to walk far distances, so she said her goodbyes from the doorway of the castle as her family left.

"Now Sae, you must make sure Peter sends a Bird the instant my little nephew or niece is born!" Lucy said, embracing Saedra as best she could with the baby's bump in the way.

"I'll do my best," Saedra grinned. "And I want to hear all the gossip to distract me when I have a squealing baby to handle."

"I'll write every day," Lucy promised, and moved out of the way so Edmund and Rahai could say goodbye.

Saedra moved to hug Edmund, but he quickly stuck out his hand for her to shake.

"Goodbye, Saedra," he said with a straight face. He was staring at her nose. "I wish you all the best health."

"Why, thank you, Ed. You be good to my cousin now, all right?"

He nodded and stepped aside for Rahai.

"Bye, Sae," she said, kissing her cheek. "Take good care of yourself!"

After they left, the castle settled back into its usual routine. Talia went back to her school-work, and as fall approached, started plans for her thirteenth birthday.

Saedra wanted Talia's birthday to be as big as Talia wanted it to be, and as the girl was becoming quite outgoing, she wanted a large party. It would be good to show Harden that, though Gilda was sorely missed, things were back to normal. Saedra didn't want commerce to be disrupted by worries, for that would benefit no one. She allowed Talia to invite the twin Princes and Aravis to come stay in Harden for a few days for her party, and also invited the peasants from the surrounding area.

The theme for the party was Knights of Old, so Peter and Saedra conspired together and had a suit of armor secretly made for Talia. On the morning of her birthday, the two of them went to Talia's bedroom after breakfast and knocked on the door.

"Just a moment!" Talia called out.

A second later, she opened the door. Aravis, Cor, and Corin were there also, sitting on the bed and munching on snacks.

"Mum! Father!" she exclaimed.

"Happy birthday!" Saedra and Peter exclaimed at the same time (as they had planned to), grinning in anticipation of her reaction to the gift.

"We brought you your gift," Peter said. "May we come in?"

"Of course!" Talia said.

All three of the other teens hopped off the bed and bowed or curtseyed when the High King and Duchess walked in.

"I know you put together your own outfit for the party," Peter explained, "but we figured it's high time you had a real suit of armor for yourself."

"You can come in now, Talan!" Saedra called.

Talan, one of the stable boys, came in hauling a wooden manikin that had been dressed up in a suit of armor. The teens gathered round and poked and prodded the suit interestedly when Talan set it down.

Talia stared at it in shock. "My own suit?"

"We had a hard time trying to figure out whether we should have the Narnian lion or Archenlander shield," Peter explained, "so we decided to have both."

The armor itself was the typical grey metal, but the tunic was half red and half blue. The figure of the lion was on the red side, and the Archenlander shield on the blue.

"This is really something!" Corin said.

"It's wonderful," Talia breathed. "Thank you so much!"

"It's our pleasure," Peter smiled. "And I have something else for you when you're ready."

"What's this?" Saedra asked. "You didn't tell me about another gift, Peter!"

"I wasn't sure I'd be able to secure it," he shrugged.

"I'm ready now!" Talia said eagerly.

"Then you'll need to get your shoes on," Peter said. "We're going outside."

Soon Peter was leading all of them through the castle, refusing to answer questions. He took them through the kitchens where the feast was being prepared and out through the kitchen door to the stables. He stopped in front of a stall where a beautiful black horse was eating.

"And this is your other gift," Peter said, gesturing grandly towards the horse.

Corin's jaw dropped. "This is a Telmarine horse, isn't it, your Majesty?"

"That it is, Prince," Peter replied. "Bred in King Meridian's personal stables."

"No fair!" Corin exclaimed enviously.

That night was the feast. Everyone from the surrounding area was there, dressed up in their best impersonations of Knights and Ladies.

"So what are you going to name the baby, Duchess?" Aravis asked as the meal was wrapping up.

Saedra grinned. "Well, if it's a boy, I came up with the name of Willem. It's good strong name of an old King who defended Archenland from an invasion from Calormen centuries ago. It'll be a good name for the future King of Narnia."

"And I say, if it's a girl, we name her Caulitha," Peter added.

"Caulitha?" Aravis asked. "I've never heard of it, but it's pretty. What does it mean?"

"It means 'daughter of the stars,'" Peter said.

"His Majesty has an appreciation for the stars," Saedra explained, smiling at her husband.

Peter grinned.

They had restarted doing something they had done the first time they had fallen in love-going onto the roof to look at the stars. Saedra hoped that if they tried to recreate the romance of the past winter when she'd been able to sufficiently let go of thoughts of Edmund, the better for her family. It was then that they debated baby names and finally came up with their two favorites.

"This is swell, Tal!" Corin exclaimed, finishing up his food. "You're the only girl I know who would choose to have a Knights theme instead of flowers and frills!"

Talia blushed appreciatively.

"Who's going to start the dancing?" Aravis asked, flipping her curly dark hair over her shoulder. "It looks like the band is getting ready."

"Why don't you start it?" Saedra asked, smiling. "I'd love to see the northern steps you've picked up."

"I've no one to dance with!" Aravis protested.

"Bah!" Cor interjected. "Now you're just being silly. There are tons of fellows here. There aren't nearly enough girls!"

Saedra laughed. "I'd dance with you, dear Prince Cor, but as you see, I'd be hard-pressed to walk without waddling like a duck!"

It was a becoming an embarrassing joke about how large Saedra was becoming as she approached her time. People would often comment that the baby would be the largest baby born to a non-giant woman ever!

"You should ask Aravis here to dance," Saedra finished.

Cor's face turned a deep shade of red.

"Oh, buck up, Cor!" Corin said. "See, I'll even ask a girl to dance."

He got up and walked to the nearest table where a cute peasant girl was sitting with her family. The whole table watched as he bowed dramatically and stuck out his hand. The girl looked startled to be asked to dance by the famous Prince, but she blushed and accepted. As Corin led her to the dance floor, he winked at Cor.

"Fine!" Cor exclaimed, not wanting to be outdone. "Aravis, would you like to dance?"

"Don't make it sound like such a chore!" Aravis snapped. "You should be honored to ask me to dance!"

Cor screwed up his face dramatically, stood up, and politely bowed to her. "May I please have this dance, oh High Lady of Anvard Upon Whom the Stars Smile and the Mermaids Sing-"

"Oh, I'll dance with you if you'll just shut up!" she replied with mock-exasperation, though she looked very pleased. They joined the other couple on the floor.

Peter nudged Saedra, and she noted Talia's heart-broken expression as she watched Corin with the peasant girl. Corin hadn't asked Talia to dance. Peter stood up and bowed to his step-daughter.

"My Princess, may I have the pleasure of your hand this evening?"

Talia's face lit up. "You may, Father."

Saedra beamed as Peter led Talia onto the floor. She cradled her stomach and smiled as she felt the baby kick. She was so close to her time...any day now she would be holding a new baby in her arms...

"Would you like me to refill your glass, my Lady?" a servant asked.

"Thank you, yes," she smiled, and took the full glass from her. She sipped thoughtfully, watching the dancing pairs. She had taken it for granted that Corin felt the same way about Talia as Talia felt for him; she desperately hoped Talia wouldn't be too crushed if the teenage boy fell for someone else.

Besides, he's young, she thought. He has plenty of time to grow up.

She watched the dancing from the side for a while, but started to feel tired. She got up and found Peter and Talia.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have a lie-down. I'm feeling a bit fatigued."

"Are you going to come back?" Talia asked hopefully. "It's still early yet!"

"I'll try," Saedra smiled sleepily. "I'm sorry, but the baby's taking a lot of energy out of me!"

"It's all right," Peter said jovially. "Rest up! There's plenty of time for running around later. You want me to walk you back to the room?"

"No, I'll be fine," Saedra assured him. "If I don't come back tonight, I'll see you in the morning."

She hugged Talia.

"Happy birthday, dear."

"Thanks, Mum."

Saedra made her way through the dark passages, saying goodnight to the guards she passed. She was in a great mood; the party had been a smashing success so far despite all the security measures, and Peter would be there for the rest to make sure Talia had a great time even if Corin disappointed her. She wished she could have stayed, but maybe she could have a little nap and join them again.

As she climbed the stairs, a warm sensation suddenly flooded through her. She gripped the railing, feeling extremely dizzy. Thinking it was a passing sensation, she paused a minute to regain her bearings. After a moment, the sensation seemed to go away, and so she continued to climb.

Suddenly, everything seemed to get dark. She cried out, grabbing for the railing. It had been there a moment before, but now she couldn't find it! She grasped at the air, knowing she was falling backward, but her vision was blurry and dark.

She heard a cracking noise and the sound of yelling voices and running feet. She vaguely felt the sensation of her body rolling back down the stairs before everything went completely dark and she knew no more.