It was the breathing that woke him up. He had an arm around a warm body, somebody lying beneath the thick blankets with him, breathing into his chest in their sleep. He murmured his wife's name before he remembered where he was. This was not his home. This was not his wife.
He pushed himself out of the bed and gave little thought to the chill in the room. The fire had died several hours ago and the sky was the dull grey just before dawn.
The young man in the bed stirred, rolled onto his back with a groan. "Now will you have me?"
Ing had slept in most of his clothing, with a knife hidden in his fist. He didn't care whether anyone took his b
Although it had been months since he'd seen his family alive, they refused to leave his dreams.
He'd forgotten the last time he'd had a decent night's sleep. No matter how he exhausted himself, he could not prevent their faces intruding upon him during the night. He would feel panic, grief, anger; he would wake feeling no more rested than when he'd closed his eyes.
Grief was slowly killing him. He traveled until his feet could no longer carry him, and whether there was an inn nearby or a barren field he would lie down to sleep, to dream, to chase after his lost family until he shivered awake, sweating and anxious. When he could find an inn
"Thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six "
Sarah visited the village square when she noticed Uldrid sitting outside with Gwen. Gwen seemed to be poking about in his mouth with a broken pencil. "What are you two doing?"
"I'm counting Uldrid's teeth," Gwen announced without looking away from her task, pencil poised so she wouldn't lose her place.
"Gwen "
Uldrid turned his head at Sarah's warning tone. "Don't worry, I get to count hers afterward."
"Uldrid!" Gwen whined. "Now I have to start all over again."
"Sorry." He turned back to Gwen and let his jaw hang open, obediently sitting still.
Sarah waited until Gwen had counted all t
Gwen knew she wasn't allowed to be out of bed so late, but she couldn't ignore the strange noises any longer. She'd crawled carefully out of bed, as if making any sound would frighten away the unexplained noises before she could find help from an older student, and timidly found her way down the long corridor. The monastery looked so different in the dark. She willed herself to be brave.
When she came to the first dormitory, the closest to the children's wing, she quietly slipped through the unlocked door and huddled next to the nearest bed. "Uldrid?" she whispered, shaking him by the shoulder. "Uldrid, I heard a noise."
He grumbled sleepil