She's Alive

Inside the castle, I walked the huntsmen, including Joanna, down to the Academy's locker rooms. They were empty, as I suspected. "Towels are in here," I said, opening a cabinet. "Clean clothes here," I went on, opening a closet. "Showers are back there."

"Thank you," the first huntsman said. "I'm Gris," he added. Then he turned to the rest of the group and introduced them. I forgot the names as soon as they were mentioned but appreciated Gris's efforts.

"Good to meet you all. I'm going to get changed too," I said, though that wasn't strictly true. Joanna was suffering and I needed to be there for her. "If you need us, Joanna and I will be in the dining hall in an hour."

"You are most kind." Gris saluted as we walked out.

The castle was like a ghost town. A servant or two would scuttle along, keeping their eyes down, focused on putting one foot in front of the other.

I hurried up to my rooms where I sent Joanna in to shower, hoping the warm water would get her out of her funk. Insi