Cindra confronted them in the hallway outside the room she shared with Garrick.

“What happened to him?”, she demanded, “Where did you take him?”

Eallair slowly began to explain, “We were out following up an oddity that the scouts discovered when they were exploring the as yet uncharted parts of the island”.

Cindra glared at him expectantly as he continued his story.

“We were discussing this… oddity, when we suddenly noticed Garrick clasping his hands to his ears and crying out in pain. Then he grasped his stomach and collapsed. We have been unable to awaken him so far”.

Cindra turned angrily from her cousins to face the door, behind which her unconscious husband lay.

Eallair gently put a hand on her arm but hurriedly removed it when he saw the expression on her face. Looking at her Lochan was reminded of a lioness that had once been brought to the court for the entertainment of the royal family. Despite the chains it bore, Lochan could see that lying beneath the submissive appearance, was a fierce creature that would attack if only given the chance.

He was slightly surprised at this change in his little cousin. He was used to a playful mocking smile fixed on her face, not a look of such ill-supressed fury.

“Yes, Eallair… I know you have been unable to awaken him so far… I have spent the last three hours with him trying to awaken him and if he won’t respond to beard-tugging you can be sure he won’t be waking up anytime soon”, she almost growled at him between her gritted teeth.

Suddenly the mask of rage covering her face fell and her expression became one of raw terror, her eyes growing wider and her soft, pouty lips downturning at the corners.

This was replaced almost as quickly by a mocking sneer.

“Well done your Highness”, she said as sarcastically as she could manage, but Lochan thought he could hear a faint tremor in her voice, “How well your kingdom is doing so far”.

“The building is progressing slowly as we head ever onwards to winter, no crops have been planted and now your Baron has been struck down and you cannot even explain what is wrong with him”, she was waving her arms wildly for effect now.

“Listen here Cindra”, Eallair retorted angrily, “Just because you are cousin to the King does not allow you to say such treacherous things. You would do well to remember your place in this, and remember that it is well below mine”.

Cindra’s little face drooped, her lower lip trembling as she fought a losing battle with her composure.

Lochan was suddenly reminded of the little girl he would comfort when she fell over and scraped her knee.

He felt a wave of pity washing over him as her body crumpled and he composure finally broke giving way to a raw and uncontrollable sobbing.

Suddenly the small girl was wrapped in his arms. He did not remember crossing the corridor to reach her, even deciding to do such a thing. He was just there, his strong arms wrapped around her tiny frame, with her wet, tear-stained face buried in the crook of his neck.

He held her there until her body stopped trembling and then stepped back.

For a long moment they gazed at each other, Lochan surprised that he still had any compassion left in him, and surprised that despite the tears running down her cheeks and her red puffy eyes, his little cousin was not that little girl with the scraped knee, but a beautiful young woman.

Cindra finally looked away and then without a word she turned and walked hastily into her room.

She was greeted by the image of her husband, lying in the bed before her.

It almost looked as though he was just peacefully sleeping, except for the small whimpers and moans that told her he was not in the realms of sleep but somewhere far more unpleasant.

Occasionally his face would crease into an expression of shear terror, and she longed to wake him from this ongoing nightmare he was experiencing.

She carefully unbraided her hair and lay next to him, on top of the covers She was determined not to sleep, not to even change into her nightdress until he had awoken and some normality had been restored.

Depsite her wishes she began to doze, but awakened with a shock as Garrick sat bolt upright in their bed and cried out, “Isabelle!!! Nooo!!!”.

Almost immediately Cindra was next to Garrick, wrapping her soft arms around him and whispering soothing things in his ear. She did not know who Isabelle was and right at that moment she did not care either. She was just glad her husband was awake, and as she stroked his head and nuzzled his ear his trembling gradually subsided.

“Oh God Cindra… Oh God… it is all my fault”, he squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

But Cindra was right there with him, “It is alright Garrick, you are safe here with me. Nothing is your fault… do not worry yourself about anything. It will all be fine”.

Cindra did wonder what he meant, but she thought she could ask him about it later. She did not want to upset him at this moment when he was so terribly distressed. For a long time they lay together, tiny Cindra, holding her bear-like husband in her arms, whispering to him until he could fall asleep, gently twining strands of his beard around her tiny fingers.