anything fast enough. His sister had insisted on sharing the first meal with him. He could barely be contained in his seat.
The south gate came into view and Qwinn slowed his Ou'tani to a trot. The guards spotted him a few moments after he had them and they bowed their heads slightly. Qwinn rode right to them and dismounted. One of his guards grabbed the reins of the Ou'tani and pulled it off to the side.
The soldier in charge stopped in front of Qwinn and bowed his head, placing his fist over his heart. "The wall is patched, just as you have asked."
Qwinn noticed a shrimp of a man hovering behind the soldier. The king assumed him to be the builder. He nodded and walked toward the wall where the hole had been just the night before. Silently, he placed his hands on the wall and closed his eyes, sucking in a few deep breaths to focus his energy. In his mind's eye, he saw the wall, then dove in deeper, into the stone and mortar. He sensed the stone for any weakness, and pressed his magic against the wall, securing it from any future attack. It didn't matter, the Torin would not attack in the same spot twice.
When he was pleased with the wall, he pulled back and faced the builder. "It is strong. Good work."
The small builder smiled hugely. "Thank you my King," he said, bowing lowly.
Qwinn nodded at the man, ready to leave. The farther he rode from the palace, the more anxious he became to return. "My Ou'tani," he ordered. A soldier handed him the reins and he mounted with ease. "As you were," Qwinn said as he turned the animal and nudged it with his heels. The Ou'tani leapt forward into a quick pace as he guided it toward the palace.
Alison lay on the bed staring at the ceiling. She had pounded on the door for over an hour and she hadn't heard so much as a peep. Maybe they left me here to rot? She thought grimly.
Then suddenly the door opened and a small woman entered carrying a tray. It was full of what looked to be food. She set the tray on the small table by the bed and quickly left, the lock sliding into place behind her. Alison sighed heavily. She should have ran for the door when she had the chance, instead she had frozen at the sight of one of those creatures. How am I ever going to get out of here?
Her eyes settled on the tray the woman had brought in. Her stomach growled viciously at the sight of food. Poison! The word screamed through her mind. She turned her eyes away from the tray and stared at the ceiling again. Her stomach growled. She ignored it. It growled louder, as if trying to get her attention. She rolled onto her side, facing away from the food. Then suddenly her mouth watered at the thought of warm bread and she was helpless to stop herself. She faced the tray one more time, praying that it wasn't poisoned, and even if it was, that the poison would act quickly and be done with her.
Cautiously, she reached for what looked like a fruit. She figured that it was the safest choice on the tray. The strange round purple fruit had little spikes in a few random sections, but to her surprise, they didn't hurt when she touched them. They folded easily under her touch. She brought the purple fruit to her nose and sniffed. It smelled divine.
Her stomach cramped again with hunger, her mouth watered. It seemed she had no choice but to taste. Her teeth broke the flesh of the fruit easily and its juices burst into her mouth, causing her to moan. She was starved and the fruit was unlike anything she'd ever tasted before. The spikes did nothing to hinder her experience.
When the fruit was gone, she turned back to the tray, eyeing the other foods with a new curiosity. If they want to kill me, why feed me? She wondered. But her stomach wasn't complaining. She picked up what looked to be a big slice of bread, only it was black. One bite and she found that her taste buds agreed with the black bread. She ate ravenously and was about to reach for the next item on the tray when there was a knock at her door.
She instantly
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