September 11, 2004
Bhree hurried into the sittingroom without knocking and went right through to open Kiista's door. The young woman, not much more than a child herself, slept peacefully. Sleep took years off of her, and she easily could have been a girl of twelve or thirteen. Her small fist was curled up under her chin, and her fair hair was fanned out over the pillow.
"Kiista," Bhree said urgently, making her way to the bed. When the girl did not stir, Bhree said her name again, this time emphasizing it with a little shake.
Kiista's eyes popped open and she sat up suddenly.
"What is it? Is it Meggan?" she asked before she was even awake.
"In a way," Bhree told her. "She's in danger. We have to leave the castle immediately."
Kiista's eyes widened, looking luminous in the moonlight coming in her window. "What is it? What's going on?"
"I'll explain as we go."
Bhree went over to the girl's wardrobe and pulled out a sensible pair of trousers and top. This gave Kiista a little privace as she yawned and crawled from the bed. Bhree handed the clothes to her wordlessly, then went to get the princess while Kiista was changing.
She debated over whether or not to wake the child. She didn't know whether it would be worse to scare her beforehand or to have her wake up frightened in the middle. In the end, for the sake of speed, Bhree gently pulled the sleeping princess up onto her shoulder. The girl was getting a little heavier, Bhree noted, and she seemed to have grown just in the past two days since she'd seen her.
Princess Meggan made a sound in her sleep, but did not awaken. With one hand, Bhree dumped out the top pillow and put the princess's favorite blanket and stuffed animal inside the pillowcase. She then went and picked out two changes of clothing. She figured the princess would miss but could live with everything else in the room.
Then she remembered the small wooden horse Kiista's favorite brother had carved. Meggan usually slept with that as well, so Bhree did a quick search of the bed. She finally found it hidden under the bottom pillow.
When Bhree reentered the sittingroom, Kiista was already there. She looked a lot more awake, but her already fair skin was about three shades lighter than its normal color. She showed no other signs of fear as she came forward. She had followed Bhree's example and a pillowcase, not even half full, dangled from her hand.
"How is she?"
"Asleep, and I think we should keep it that way for now."
Kiista nodded in acceptance and waited for Bhree to tell her what they would do next.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Good. Come on. We've got to get to the library."
The library was a floor below them. Bhree hoped that they would see no on on their way there. Members of the household would ask questions and waste precious seconds, and enemy soldiers would surely kill them.
To her credit, Kiista accepted this without comment. She also reached out to take the pillowcases in Bhree's hand. Bhree willingly gave them to her, knowing the princess would be easier to carry without them.
"We have to be as quiet as possible," Bhree told her. "Invaders are taking over the castle. If they find us, we're dead."
Kiista looked like she wanted to aske a million questions, but instead she swallowed and said harshly, "I understand."
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