She knew she was doing something she shouldn’t. But her spirit was alive with the thrill of being outside of her house, especially in these circumstances, when the world was dark and the castle was there, on the horizon.
As she walked through the forest, birds called to her. She heard their screeches. Some of her friends told her that dragons lived in the forest and they ate anyone who dared walk there. Assa didn’t believe those stories at all. Not for a second. Dragons were made up things, she was sure of it.
It took her at least four hours to get close to the castle. That was two hours longer than she thought it would take, and this worried her. It meant she would not get back until after the sun rose, which meant after her parents woke up. She approached the castle, therefore, with th
