Balthazar felt the presence of the pretty maid and smiled.  "Such a delightful toy," he chuckled as he stepped from his swirling prison to the woman's dream.<br/><br/>He did not even pause long enough to see what foolishness Sophie's sleeping mind had sought to conjure.  Instead the maid found herself in a dark cramped cell, rat infested straw that stank of urine beneath her and nothing but cold damp stone and a small barred door.  moaning and wailing filled the air.<br/><br/>Two guards appeared to flank Balthazar as he walked along the hallway and stopped before her cell, turning to look inside and rest his hand on the bars.<br/><br/>"Treason," he said softly, "Such a sad fate for one so pretty."<br/><br/>--==--<br/><br/>From his bed, Darius awoke suddenly.  He ran a hand through his hair and listened.  But only the rough snoring of his father reached his ears.<br/><br/>"Aurora?" he whispered.<br/><br/>No voice answered, but he knew that she was calling him.  And as strange as it seemed, he simply could not resist answering.  Like a man entranced, he rose and drew on his clothes.  Leaving his armor, but not his sword and dagger, behind he walked out of the house and made his way like a spector towards the castle.<br/><br/>His trysts with the serving girls and ladies had given him reson and means to know the least watched and guarded ways inside.  Indeed, it was surprising how easily one might enter or leave without being spotted.<br/><br/>Once inside, he made his way to the hallways outside the Royal Chambers, one place he could not enter unseen and unbidden.  But something told him he was close enough and he waited in a dark alcove.