Owls hooted from the branches of trees around the castle. Rikilda had been listening to them ever since she had arrived in the palace. Nocturnal lives nearby the palace were not anything which could bother her. It was barely audible, but the sound kept her awake. Or thinking, at least.

Was he the one who attacked Maester Rudolph? The question she had asked for the entire day kept her eyelids apart. It was a queer thought to have before the wedding. Just last night, her major concern was how she would kiss someone with her parents watching.

Thinking of another man right now is not a wise thing to do. Her bridal senses told her. Maybe she had stolen a maid's tongue.

She sat on her bed and made a knot on the waving curtain. She had not felt cold in Winstrova before tonight because the place had not been windy after their arrival. Rikilda did not think of closing the window for warmth.

She dropped her feet on floor and slid them inside cotton slippers. She tip-toed out of her room, then started knocking on Nortze's door. Rikilda kept thumping it even when she heard Gisella's voice.

Nortze stepped out of his room with sleepy eyes.

"Who's there?" Gisella yawned from her bed.

"Rikilda." Nortze said.

"Father, something is not right here."

"There's nothing right in waking at this time."

Rikilda reached for the knob of the door and shut it.

"I doubt Maester's attacker is in the palace." Rikilda whispered.

"You had a nightmare, child?"

"I wasn’t asleep!"

"Are you sure it was him?"

"I am not sure." She shook her head, "This is why I am worried. The man who chose servants got killed too. Haven't you heard of it or what?"

"The killer died along. In fact, it's hard to tell who even the killer among those two was."

"Whatever. I want to see the face of that white servant tomorrow. I feel he has been hiding from me and Braden."

"If it pleases you." Nortze nodded and opened the door.

"Father."

"Yes."

"I have to go to bathroom. Will you accompany me?"

"Fine." Nortze said.

He went in and came out wearing slippers. Gisella had slept again, so he did not bother telling her where he was going. He reckoned Rikilda didn’t want him to tell her about it, too. They walked down the stairs, getting past the torches about to die in silence. Nortze could not believe this was going to be his last memory with his daughter as a normal family member. Emotions filled him with a burst. He started cherishing in it for a while.

The father-daughter reached to the passage of the privy. Nortze stopped and gestured her to get in.

Ashamed in herself, Rikilda went inside and locked the door. Nortze wiped her tears once she was out of his sight. He needed to appear unemotional like a stone when his daughter would return. It seemed one of the most difficult tasks he had ever done.

Nortze was ready to embrace the failure. At least he was going to get some more minutes of conversation with his daughter. Nortze breathed in and barred more tears from leaving his tear-duct. He was scared Rikilda would cry too after seeing him in this state.

He realized he was in desperate need of something else to occupy his mind in order to restrain his feelings. The empty passage served him none, so he moved his head in different directions. He turned to the privy door after hearing thud behind him.

It wasn’t Rikilda. It wasn’t even the door from where the sound had come from. Nortze did not need to look further to know the source of sound.

Iron clubs holding the main door of passage intact were trembling. Nortze approached closer to the door and sensed mild impact on it from the other end. He placed his ear close to the door. Doing so, his eyes found the loosened holder of the clubs.