Bria woke in the darkness to a strange buzzing. She lay there for a moment trying to work out whether a wasp had found its way into the hall somehow or if it was just her mind playing tricks on her.

‘Camryn! Are you awake’ she whispered.

‘Yes’ came back a whisper in the darkness. ‘Can you hear that buzzing or is it me?’

‘We should get up and investigate’ came a voice from the direction of Adelyn’s bed.

‘What if it’s really dangerous?’ Nia was awake too.

‘Are you still not really a valkyr?’ hissed Adelyn ‘Let’s get up quietly, gambesons and helms on, knives now and we’ll grab those poleaxes off Rosa’s table.’ There was a very quiet thud as her bare feet hit the ground.

‘Sounds like a plan’ whispered Bria and she through back the covers before swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. All the girls kept their helms close at hand so that they could see even in the complete blackness of the Lady’s Hall at night, so she reached out and crammed it on her head. She could see Adelyn was just putting her helm on and the other two were struggling with their gambesons. She waved at Adelyn and pointed to Nia, before creeping over to Camryn and helped pulling the heavy garment into place and then dumped Camryn’s helm on her head.

Once all four girls were dressed and had their knives out, they stole out of their side room into the main hall. The girls always shut the door at night but now it was ajar and they could see the glow of lanterns from the Southern Hall through the crack.

Bria tapped Nia and Camryn on the shoulder and pointed, first to Rosa’s empty chair and then to the row of poleaxes line up on the table ready to go out into the garden the next day. Nia nodded and the two girls crept over to the table on bare feet, silently lifting the weapons off the table before taking a back-to-back guard position. Bria and Adelyn then repeated the process so that all four girls were now well armed.

Nia waved to attract Bria’s attention and pantomimed throwing her knife towards the door. Bria nodded. The knife would attract the attention of whoever was on watch in the hall and turn the eyes of any invader towards the door.

Nia switched her poleaxe to her left hand, fished her knife back out of her belt and threw it down the length of the hall. Bria lost site of it in the greys and greens that the helm bestowed until it clacked off the ground just in front of the doors and skipped off the floor before clattering to a stop outside.

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For a moment, Bria thought that it hadn’t worked but then the horn of one of the watchers sounded, shattering the silence, before being joined by the horn of the other watcher.

More horns started to sound across the palace and the girls heard the crash as both doors from the throne room burst open, followed by the sounds of lots of feet.

‘Bria. Report’ Sir Bern’s voice bellowed from outside the door.

‘The door has been opened and there’s a buzzing noise loud enough to wake us. We were all asleep so we think someone or something else has go in.’

‘Good thinking. Can you search? We can’t come in but there is a company of guards and all the knights out here. The trainees have all gone to the wall to watch just in case this is a distraction. Try to flush what ever it is towards the door. Yes Jemryn?’

There was a moment’s silence.

‘Jemryn tells me that he’s read about this in some of the very old records. The buzzing is an alarm that an intruder has got past the wards. Stay in pairs.’

Bria touched Nia on the shoulder and pointed towards the armoury door. Nia nodded and nudged Camryn with her elbow. They both crept over to the more or less empty armoury and looked through the doorway before moving on to the meeting room that had held the fateful weapon. Nia turned back to the girls in the centre and gave them a thumbs up and a shrug.

‘We haven’t found anything yet but we will keep a defensive line where we are and wait for dawn. We’ll be able to see anything that moves and we’ll be better able to hunt once the sun is up, lighting the hall.’

‘Very good. We will watch out here.’

‘Send someone out to the throne room please. There’s an old door onto the dais that might be an escape route.’

‘Lars, Anders. To the Dais. Take twenty guards with you.’ The Preceptor’s voice was a welcome sound. ‘Ladies. Take it in turns to get into full armour. I don’t think it’s a secret that we’re all fully alert now. The extra protection may be useful.’

Bria motioned to Nia and Camryn who were still standing by the doorway to the armoury, and then realised that silence probably wasn’t needed any more. ‘Nia, Camryn. Ferry armour over to the table and then begin suiting up.’

About quarter of an hour later, all the girls were fully clad in their red plate, holding poleaxes and standing in a circle, as the first glimmers of light began to show on the crystal roof of the Lady’s Hall.

‘Aieee’

A dark shape hurtled towards them from one of the corners by the door waving a long blade.

Bria’s training took over and she set the butt of her weapon on the floor, bracing her foot behind it and angling the spike to take the attacker through the naval. Adelyn and Camryn either side of her swung into the same position.

The attacker hurled themselves towards the girls desperately trying to get a swing in with their weapon but, in the gloom, didn’t see the spikes. As they impaled themselves, Bria first pulled up as she had been drilled and then drove the poleaxe upwards and backwards flinging her now screaming assailant over her head to crash to the floor in front of Nia who hadn’t moved from guarding their backs. The silence was instant as Nia brought her weapon down hard, tearing through the figure’s chest.