A few moments ago, Alistair had woken up from his uncomfortable slumber that early noon. He lay on the hard mattress of the bed, feeling disoriented.
He was going to stretch his paralyzed limbs until he felt the servants scurrying out of the rooms as some noise reverberated through the corridor, signaling the presence of someone important.
Alistair caught a glimpse of a young maid who had just walked into his room, carrying a basket full of clean sheets. But immediately, she quickly spun around to make her exit, as the noise of footsteps from outside grew louder.
"Hey, wait!" he called out, stopping her from escaping. "What's going on? Who's coming?"
She glanced at him briefly with a nervous expression and replied, "The Esteemed Lady, sir." Then she quickly left the room, not bothering to close the door behind her.
He had expected to hear some footsteps in the hallway, but he had not foreseen that the footsteps were about to head straight for the very room where he was lying.
