Since the arrival of Lewis' family in Tristan, time has passed slowly. The two weeks that had passed felt like an age to him as he sat in the dining hall, turning the last few pieces of potato aimlessly with his fork. While his mother was still finding it hard to come to terms with the loss of her father and the news of her husband’s murder, the rest of his family had settled into life at the castle as well as they could. Robyn, on the other hand, despite Lewis' offer to let her stay at the castle, had seemingly vanished off the face of the earth. He had contemplated going in search of her on several occasions but had been pulled away for 'official' business. Still, it wasn't like her, and he was beginning to worry.

Robyn wasn't the only person that he was worried about, though. She might have slipped back into her duties as a Sister to Tristan, but he could tell Emily wasn't happy. He could see why she had felt alone in the castle before as his eyes scanned the six women at the far end of the table that made up the other Sisters of Tristan. Though there wasn't anything wrong with them talking quietly between themselves, it was the frequent glances in his and Emily's direction that worried him.

'Everything alright?' Emily muttered beside him, her hand appearing on his leg under the table.

'Fine,' he replied, his eyes leaving the group of women for a moment as he glanced at his plate. Dropping the fork beside his knife, he pushed it away from him. 'Were they always like this, the other sisters?'

'More or less,' Emily said, not even bothering to spare them a glance. 'They just used to say what they wanted to say in front of me before, though. At least over here I don't have to listen to them.'

'Maybe I could find a way to get rid of them; I don't like it,' Lewis said, eyeing them warily. Something about them didn't feel right to him.

It's inadvisable,' Thomas said around a mouthful of beef, a stray drop of sauce running down his chin. Sitting across the table from him, Thomas swallowed before wiping the sauce away with the back of his hand. 'Sorry, I still can't get over the meals I've been missing for the last twenty years.'

'It's alright,' Lewis assured him with a laugh, with Emily hiding a soft chuckle behind her hand. Beside Thomas, Edmund scowled at his plate. Clearly, he didn't feel the same way.

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'As I was going to say,' Thomas continued, ignoring his brother. 'It would be inadvisable to remove the Sisters of Tristan, especially given the current situation.'

The current situation, Lewis thought, since he had returned to Tristan, it was all anyone spoke about. For the first week he had been back, there had been reports each night of strange creatures attacking the outskirts of the city. With the help of Thomas and Edmund, he spent countless hours speaking with citizens in the hope that they could shed some light on what was going on. The rest of the time, the small portion that remained, he spent in the library trying to figure out what was going on. So far, they have gotten nowhere.

'What are we going to do about that?' Edmund asked.

'What can we do?' Lewis said. 'We have no idea what we're up against.'

'At least things seem to have quietened down the past week,' Emily said as brightly as she could. All of this had taken its toll on her as well. Not only had she been working on the creatures, but she had been doing all her regular duties as well. That had left precious little time for the two of them to spend together, let alone relax.

Before Lewis could reply, there was a loud knock on the heavy oak door. The door creaked open a moment later as a man in a guard uniform stumbled in, breathing heavily. 'They're back. In the forest. We saw them from the wall.'

Exasperated, Lewis tipped his head back, gazing up at the wooden beams across the ceiling. What did they have to do for a moment of peace?

'Alright, talk to me,' Lewis said, turning his attention to the guard. 'What can you tell me about the creatures?' He asked for what must have been the thousandth time since he had been back in Tristan.

'Big and black, like moving shadows. Fast as well,' the guard replied, stepping into the room, the door swinging shut behind him with a bang.

'Anything else?' he asked. Lewis, along with half the people around the table, had heard all of this a hundred times over.

'They aren't running away. Normally, when they realise they've been spotted, they run off again,' he said.

'What are they doing if they aren't running away?' Thomas interrupted, a look of curiosity crossing his face.

'Nothing. They're just sitting there, watching,' the guard said. 'It's like they're waiting for something.

'Well, they can wait for us,' Lewis said, making up his mind as he stood up. 'Arthur, Thomas, I think it's time we took a look at these creatures ourselves.'

'I'll come as well,' Emily piped up, getting to her feet.

'No, you stay here and get some rest,' Lewis said.

Even though she tried to object to his decision, he saw a bit of relief on her face when he insisted she stay behind.

'Lead on,' Lewis said, catching his bow when Arthur threw it to him. With a wave and a smile to Emily and a nod to everyone else, Lewis, Arthur, and Thomas strode out of the dining hall, following the guard, who had just about managed to catch his breath again.