Trapped. I am trapped. There is no way out.
I returned to Bree to await the sign, to await the bird, but I never saw it. It was hard to get there. My limbs ache even now. They needed more time, but I could not afford it. I could not wait. The patch and the ring, the ring and the patch. I have to find their owners. I must save them to save myself.
More blood. More blood on my hands. Is there not enough?
Drevorin found me there. Found me in Bree. I remember little. None of it made sense. Only the bird does and the bird does not come. Where are the wings and the mournful cry this day? Inside. Inside.
He brought me here. He locked me in this room. No way out.
I have tried. The door is too thick. There is no window. The chimney is blocked by a grate. He took my weapons, my fathers dagger, my mothers knife. Gone. Taken. No escape.
He is gone now too. Why do they always desert me? Oh, come back, come back, please do not leave me!
He is married now. Married to her. He told me so. He told me. I am not sure how I feel about that. Do I feel? It would break my heart, but I am no longer certain that I have one. So many times shattered and trampled underfoot. What lies where once it beat save empty space?
The shadows dance. They followed me here, followed me from the ruins. The whispering walls, the empty smiles, the darkness. I am left alone with them again. They chatter incessantly and I cannot make them be quiet. I scream and I shout but it never drowns out their mockery. Sibilant hissing on forked unformed tongues.
I have to get out. I have to find the bird. I have to find the wolf and the kitten.
Why will they not leave me be?
