[Ealasaide]

Benia

Having at last managed to saw through the rope that had bound her ankles, Benia pushed herself carefully to her feet. The candle had flickered out some minutes earlier, plunging her back into an inky blackness. Putting her weight solidly on her strong left foot, she stood for a long moment in silence, listening for any indication that the bounty hunter had returned. When she was satisfied that she was alone, Benia hobbled across the dark floor in the direction of the staircase, her amber eyes squinting into the darkness. She found the banister with her hand and, after first testing it for sturdiness, put her full weight against it and began to work her way slowly up the stairs.

She had gotten no farther than the third step when she heard the unmistakable sound of the trapdoor bolt being drawn stealthily back. Certain that Kaldir had returned after all, Benia scarcely breathed as her hand closed tighter around the hilt of Gilly’s knife. The trapdoor cracked open. She felt behind her with her injured foot for the next lower step, intending to back down off the stairs where she might better defend herself, when she felt something lightly brush her face. Startled, she threw up a hand to flick it away and, for the second time in nearly as many days, lost her balance and landed with a crash at the foot of the stairs. The trapdoor slapped shut.

Benia stared up the dark staircase toward the closed door as the muffled sound of scurrying footsteps filtered down the stairs then stopped. It most certainly did not sound like Kaldir. Emboldened, Benia pulled herself back to her feet and, once more, began to work her way to the top of the stairs. When she neared the top step, she reached upward and pushed cautiously against the closed door. The rusted hinges creaked easily open.

Encouraged, she pushed the door open and hobbled up the last few steps to freedom.

Poised like a doe at the edge of a strange meadow, she listened closely for any indication that the stealthy intruder was still there. Then, she heard the distinct low rumble of a growling stomach.

“Gilly?” Benia called in a loud whisper.

There was a thump, then a small shadow rose from the jumble of dusty, broken furniture that clogged one end of the small room. “Miss Benia?” Then, “Oh, bless me and keep me, it is you! My goodness, you gave me a fright!”

Benia smiled broadly. “Me, as well, you know! I didn’t know who was bumping around up here. It could have been anyone.”

“Lucky for both of us it wasn’t that Mr. Kaldir,” Gilly rejoined with a smile of her own. “For a minute there I thought my empty stomach was going to be the death of me!”

Benia laughed. “I did hear it. But -” she cast an uncomfortable glance at the dim light growing in the eastern window. “- we must make haste. He said we would depart at dawn, so he could be back at any moment.”

Gilly nodded her agreement and, without another word, handed Benia her boots. As Benia sat to put them on, Gilly told her of her trip back to the inn and of how she had stashed Benia’s sword and rucksack in a nearby hedgerow. Benia listened in silence, grimacing only a little bit as she worked her boot on to her injured foot. Freed from the coarse pressure of the ropes and supported by the sturdy leather of her boot, Benia’s ankle felt remarkably better than she had expected. The healing hands of the two elves, Lespheria and Vanwe, had indeed worked wonders.

“Can you walk?” asked Gilly, concern showing plainly in her face even in the dim light, as Benia carefully regained her feet.

Benia nodded. “I think so… for a bit, anyway.”

“Then, we should go at once. Lean on me, if you need to,” Gilly told her. Then, the two of them made their way silently out of the old building with Gilly leading the way into the fresh air of the waking dawn.