Rise of the Warrior of Everfen

Chapter 70: Afraid

Erinne stopped in the hallway to put one hand against the wall and the other against her belly as her baby kicked and kicked and kicked. "I thought I told you to stop." She huffed out loud, but the little one didn't seem phased by her words. She pushed harder and only received another onslaught of furious kicking that seemed to time itself to her rapid heartbeat. "You will be a relentless warrior." She grumbled and started forward again.

She didn't know if her heart was racing because she desperately wanted to get to Andol, or because of the sudden realization that the beast was up and walking. Cold Hammer pulled out it's heart. She didn't know how it was possible and it was a terrifying thought.

She waddled further down the hall before she spotted a servant and held her hand up to him, "Excuse me, another servant told me the way to the children's play room, but I think I am lost." There was a place where the lords and ladies would take their children to play during the day while they attended court. Wren had assured her that Andol would be safe there and able to play with other children while Myre had excitedly offered to take him. She'd only met the young servant last night, but she made an impression on Erinne. She was as sweet as Wren had promised.

"Quite you are, milady," the servant replied with a nod and motioned behind her. "You should have turned where the hall split. It's not far down, I can take you there."

"No, no, I can find it, I'm sure." She waved her hand through the air, "But you need to hide yourself in a room, sir, King Wren is locking down the castle. All doors and windows are to be barred."

His eyes widened and he stepped closer, "Are we under attack?"

"No, no," she said quickly, "it is a precaution." At least, she hoped there wasn't imminent danger. That creature could be anywhere out there. Ancestors forbid it find the city and wreck havoc on it. Wren had said that any humans that were bitten by the monster died in great pain. In the city, there were too many innocent lives that could be taken. Too many children that could get caught in the monster's path.

A shiver stole through her as those horrifying thoughts whipped through her mind.

She finally found the hall where she'd gone wrong and turned, walking deeper into the castle. She wasn't accustomed to twisting halls and staircases. She barely remembered her parents' manor at Broc'tannen, and after that she spent many years in a small barn before she lived with Cold Hammer in a small cabin with no rooms.

She traveled the hall at her slow, waddling pace until she finally heard the laughter of children and steadily reached the room. She gave a breath of thanks, wiping sweat off her brow. She was too exhausted to spend so much time in these endless halls with swelling feet and a large lump in front of her.

The door was open and as she stepped inside, she saw several children playing in several small groups with a few caretakers nearby. A wet nurse was at a window, staring out while a babe suckled, another caretaker was sitting near a small group singing a soft song to them. In the center of the room, a few boys were playing with wooden horses, calmly, sitting almost still on the floor. She was a little surprised.

None of the children were up and running or moving. They were all sitting. They were all soft in voice or completely silent while the adults hovered nearby. It was a stark contrast to how orcs let their children play, allowing them to wrestle day in and day out, encouraging their warrior skills from a young age. They let them run so their legs would grow strong. In fact, had they been in orc lands, Andol never would've been sent up here to play while she worked, he would have sat with her, listening and learning. These children were tucked away out of sight.

She had to wonder if this was how she'd been raised before Broc'tannen. Before the manor and a simple farm life for her parents, had she been tucked away into a room like this? She wanted her children at her side, within reach. Not worried about where they were when she received news that a fearsome creature was roaming loose with no heart.