From the throne room, the Southern Hall appeared dark compared to the throne room which was lit by large windows, but it wasn’t completely dark. High in the southern wall were tiny clerestory windows that allowed a few beams of light in, creating bright spots on the floor and on the pillars that seemed irregularly spread out across the space and reducing the darkness to gloom.

Once the last of the candidates was through into the gloom., Sir Henrik turned and bowed. Over his shoulder Bria briefly saw the king who had moved down to the centre of the throne room. As he straightened up, he quietly shut the massive door, moving it easily despite its size. The click as it latched shut wasn’t loud but the finality of it made the hair on the back of Bria’s neck stand on end. Up to now it had been a game, but now, now all the fun had drained away, leaving her feeling small and rather scared.

Bria was not the only candidate cowed by the moment. All stood just inside the hall, cowed by the moment, the isolation from the people they knew and not least by the presence of some of the most feared and legendary warriors in the isles.

Sir Henrik came to attention. ‘The vigil will be conducted in absolute silence. Should any speak, all candidates will fail and new ones be chosen. Stand with your back to a pillar facing your guide.’ He indicated the double row of massive pillars that held up the roof. ‘We will know when you are ready to move on.’ The knights moved to take up places around the hall. As the candidates went to stand in the space their guide had chosen, they realised that the pillars curved inward on each side and that the knights had chosen strategically. No candidate could see another.

Bria took her place in a niche that faced south where she could see the motes of dust shining in the beams coming through the high windows but watching them palled after only a few minutes and she let her eyes drop to the only other thing she could see. Her knight or was it her escort or her mentor. Her guide, that was it.

She stood there, acutely aware that she was also being scrutinised by the man standing opposite her. Was he Sir Henrik? He was standing there completely motionless in his pale pink armour, although there were hints of a darker red in the seams and creases. Pink seemed an odd choice for warriors. She couldn’t recall ever seeing it on a man at court before. Bria tried to focus on his halberd without taking her eyes off his face. It was made of common ash-wood and steel but polished until both parts shone. The blade looked heavier than the halberds the regular guards trained with. Would she need to train with one?

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Her mind drifted off to the other candidates. Would Adelyn, Camryn and Nia make it through? How would Camryn cope with being quiet? Bria didn’t think that Camryn had held her tongue for more than a minute in her entire life.

Her mind drifted to the boys who had been chosen. Three of them were nobles. Well, all of them were nobles if they made it through and became knights. Had the king ever considered marrying her off to one of them to cement an alliance? Would she like them?

Her mind came back to the knight in front of her. She had trained with the castle arms mistress in archery, knife-fighting and unarmed combat. All the nobility were expected to be able to protect themselves to a certain extent, but the Dragon Guard represented a whole new level of skill. Would they teach her other weapons?

She looked back at the beams of light and noticed they had moved around as the morning changed into afternoon. She realised that she had been standing for nearly three hours. Her back was twinging and her bladder had decided to make its presence felt. Her stomach wasn’t overly happy either. The petition was the start of the mid-summer festival and she had always been on the other side of the door before. When the doors closed, servants would bring in tables and load them with food. The first feast of mid-summer was underway and she was missing it.

Bria re-focussed on the bottom half of the knight's face to try and take her mind off her bladder. What she could see of his nose suggested that it had been broken at some stage. Would she get hers broken? Dragon’s fire, she needed the privy. She’d been standing here for ages. What did they want her to do, embarrass herself? What were they expecting? What were they waiting for? What was the point of this?’ Her eyes narrowed.

Actually, what is the point of standing here? Any fool could stand in silence, well maybe not Camryn, but maybe it was up to her to decide when the vigil was over. The knights were known to be strategists, capable of not only fighting but making good decisions with the information at hand. She thought about it for a few more minutes. She had proved that she could wait in silence and stillness an uncomfortable position for a protracted period of time. Maybe now she needed to seize the initiative now and…

… The knight raised his finger to his lips and then pointed to the wooden door in the south wall that led to the refectory. Bria’s mind reeled. Was he some sort of mind reader?

The knight pointed again and Bria stepped out of the niche. As she looked around she could see several of the other knights all standing to attention, as hers had done, but she realised that she would be able to leave the hall and none of the other candidates would see her go. They had chosen very carefully and every candidate had a route to the door that couldn't be seen by anyone else. For a featureless hall there were a lot of hiding places and opportunities for sneaking. She would have to remember that.

She tiptoed across to the door and slipped through the narrow gap between the door and the frame that the knight had opened for her, into the velvety darkness beyond.