The Sword Maiden

Being Sneaky

I mulled over the conversation I'd had with Daxton as I went to bed that night.  It was clear he was struggling with the choice he had to make, and was equally torn between the two.  I hoped Redwar would be able to tip the scales in the right direction.  If anyone could do it, it would be him.  

I consented to letting Valeria have the bed that night.  After her being such a good friend to me, it was the least I could do.  

Perhaps that hard floor had something to do with the reason I was up a little earlier than the rest.  When I woke up, I knew I wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep.  

I looked up at Valeria.  She was still knocked out, but the lightening sky outside indicated she wouldn't be for much longer.  

Then I listened to the tavern.  It was silent, but I knew that it wouldn't be for very long.  Mrs. and Mr. Finnley were always the first to rise and prepare for the day.  

However, right now would be a perfect time to practice my sneaking skills.  

One of the things Redwar had taught me about being silent was that one was swift but delicate.  If one was slow and worrying about making noise, they'd make more noise.  The key was to move quickly, but delicately, treating everything as glass and being aware of all.  

I quickly buckled on my sword, making sure that it didn't thump against the floor, and also grabbed my dagger.  It'd become a matter of habit to have my weapons always with me.  I felt naked and exposed without them.  

Watching Valeria, and lifting up my sheath so it wouldn't scrape on the ground, I rose up from the floor.  I smiled at the sight of her sleeping.  She looked so relaxed and peaceful.  

For a moment, the wild idea grabbed hold of me to launch myself up her and give her a surprise awakening.  But I quelled it, although that wasn't to say that I wouldn't do it sometime in the future.  Smirking at the thought, I continued my quest.  

Padding across the room on bare feet, I reached the door.  This was the first obstacle.  I knew the hinges didn't squeak, as Mrs. Finnley wouldn't allow that, but the door knob might make some noise.  

The key was that it made little enough noise that no one noticed.  I took a deep breath, grasped the door knob, and turned it in one quick, swift motion.  It was better to get all the sound over with quickly, instead of inching along and making individual squeaky sounds.  

Sure enough, the sound it made was over quickly and smoothly.  I glanced back at Valeria, who hadn't stirred.  So far, so good.  

I pulled open the door slowly, testing to see if the door creaked.  But it didn't and I slipped expertly out of the room, being careful to not bang my sheathed weapon on the door jamb. 

I pulled the door shut behind me, and let the door knob slip back into place with the faintest of clicks.  

Pausing, I listened.  The hall was silent, although small sounds of sleeping people floated across.  Good.  Now where did I want to go today?  

There was no place I could think of that would be better than the stable.  Except, I happened to remember that there was a staircase hidden at the end of the second floor hall.  I didn't know where it lead, and I was curious.

I eyed the boards along the hall.  From previous experience, I was pretty sure none but a few creaked.  Still, those creaky boards could give me away.  Maybe not to sleeping people, but if I was in a Ravagerian fort...  

But if I was quick, the creaks would be minimal and in quick succession.  If there wasn't any singular creaks, but rather a whole bunch of small ones, that would be less suspicious.