opposite direction. He spent the rest of the night cowering in his bed, wide awake, listening to every creak of the castle.
The next morning, a bleary-eyed and exhausted Sam appeared in the kitchen. The whole castle was abuzz, for Lord Arik had been murdered last night, as well as every single one of the heavily armored guards who had tried to protect him. It had to be the beast that did it, but Sam knew no one would believe him. Werewolves had not appeared for many years now in the kingdom, and certainly not in the castle.
The servant girl was back that night, walking in quietly. Sam wordlessly handed her the tea, and got up, preparing to leave, when the girl spoke.
“My Queen wishes to see you.”
Sam jumped, twisting around, mouth open in shock. She’s pretty much never spoken before! What could the Queen want with me? Realizing that the girl was staring at him, waiting for an answer, he murmured, “Sure, I’ll come."
The girl led him up the stairs and down long hallways, heading away from where most of the royalty were staying. Soon, they were in a part of the castle where Sam had not visited before.
The girl finally stopped at the end of a corridor, which was a dead end. A tall woman, will a glittering gown, stood there, staring down at Sam.