Re: Penthouse Level: 12:00 am
Deirdre had been listening at her door, trying to figure out what was happening on the other side, but the still-falling snow muted any sound that tried to filter through. At times she thought she heard voices yet, but there was no way to be sure without opening the door. At least she hadn't heard again whatever creature had made that awful noise earlier. Probably trolls, she thought, they're forever making a racket outside my castle. Something didn't seem quite right about that thought, and she tried to chase it away with little success.
Finally pulling her shoulders back, drawing herself up to as regal a height as she could be while barefoot, she undid the lock on her door and turned the knob. The second there was even a sliver of light from the corridor, the icy wind kicked up around her again and sent a drift of flakes swirling outside. It only increased the more she pulled her door open.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust from her dim rooms to the light of the hallway, and the shock of it brought sense back to her for a moment. People gathered near the stairway, the remains of a thorn hedge falling to the ground, and...
It was the creature that made her step backward for a moment, blinking before her chin tipped up stubbornly. It was not trolls, but they were still too close to her castle.