"Altair its All Hallows Eve and I haven't been to mass."

He had laughed it off as superstition and told her to pray in her usual private fashion, "If God is there Maria he will hear you whether there is a priest in attendance or not."

She scowled at her new husband muttering under her breathe about heathens and their lack of understanding but the subject was dropped because a novice arrived and Maria didn't want to seem superstitious or weak in front of him.

Now hours later and long past the witching hour Maria was beginning to suffer the effects of her unborn baby pressing onto her full bladder. She looked to her right but he was asleep; she wanted to ask him to accompany her to her garderobe but her pride would never allow it. She lay there listening to the sounds of the wind rattling against the windows, flapping the flags and pushing open any door left loose.

'England might be gloomy and cold but at least we have the sense to put a door from the bed chamber to the small room.' Here she would have to leave her bedroom and walk around a corner to the room the assassin had specially arranged for his wife and her convenience.

She looked around the room peering into the ominous shadows trying to determine their true intent. If ever there is a night for lost souls to be lurking in a small dark corner this is it. She cautiously drew her legs from beneath her covers and pulled on her bed coat. She crept to the door of their bedroom and softly pulled on the handle, slowly creating enough space to peek through. The corridor certainly seemed clear but that was no real guarantee of safety.

She summoned all of her courage and stepped out into the dreary corridor. The stone was cold underfoot and her breathe left her body to create a small fine wispy cloud in front of her face. She tip-toed along the grey stone as fast as she could uttering small curses at her pregnant state for yet another inconvenience in her life.

Just before she reached the corner she had to turn Maria caught sight of someone ahead of her glide across the end of the passage. The white robes of the assassins gave him away immediately she knew it to be a novice wandering around after hours or perhaps a scholar unable to sleep because of all the bloody thinking those men did.

The corner came sooner than she hoped but not soon enough for her now loudly protesting bladder. The matter had become really quite urgent but at least it distracted her from her foolish childish fantasies. Her garderobe was the last room here and it was in fact the only room in this corner of the castle, somebody is using her facility without her permission. Not that she would grant them permission even if they asked.

She tapped gently on the door but got no reply.

Knocking louder now she asked of the interloper, "Not only are you using my pot without consent you add insult by keeping me in this draughty hall waiting for your exit."

No reply.

Frustrated now she blew a furious puff of air out of her nostrils and pulled the door open and if she caught them in the act well then they should have replied.

The room was empty.

She darted inside quickly barely inside before she closed the door behind her. She had seen someone come this way that had not been a fancy.

"A mere trick of shadows and moonlight Maria; take hold of your self."

She relieved herself quickly very much regretting her stubborn pride preventing her from having Altair stand outside waiting for her. She looked to her left and right constantly and noticed a small grating sound from the other side of the door. Half heartedly and in a voice weak with uncertainty she called out, "Who is there?"

No reply but the grating sound seemed to have moved further away. She stood with her ear to the door and listened but soon there was nothing to hear. She stayed put for a few moments feeling the draught sneak under the door turning her feet colder than the stone before it shifted the skirts of her bed clothes softly brushing the fabric against her calves.

Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for the handle tugging it softly preparing to perform the same ritual she had upon her egress from her chambers. It never budged; she tugged harder. This time it came in a couple of inches before it was yanked back hard and slammed into place. She almost screamed but Maria Thorpe does not scream like some soft hearted damsel in distress. She does however gasp and draw her hands away from the door.

She hears a small voice from the corridor but can't make out the words, she is sure they are Arabic but it is spoken in the softest whisper. She suddenly realises her husband heard her creep from the room and was probably playing a trick on her because of her earlier comments.

"Altair if that is you I want you to know I am in danger of giving birth right here on the floor; stop this foolishness at once."

She hears the whisper again but this time it is spoken against the crack in the door frame "Stay inside."

She heard it clear as day it sounded like the voice of a boy. Standing stock still her mind ran over every possible reasonable explanation for these events. Her mood had been ruined by pregnancy and her appetite for the spicy foods of her adopted country had increased unchecked. She had indigestion and it was upsetting her entire constitution. She hadn't slept a whole night in weeks; clearly her over tired brain was falling victim to the elements nothing more. That faint soft voice had been a gentle breeze sneaking between the gaps in the door.

She reckoned she had been standing in here for the best part of ten minutes and nothing else had happened surely the greatest sign yet that she was simply being imaginative. Her hand reached far more cautiously than before, the slight tremble now pronounced. Her finger tips brushed against the cold steel of the handle but nothing more.

She felt icy breathe on her neck and the same voice as before grated in her ear. "I told you to stay inside."

Some silly Halloween fun since I can't sleep if anyone actually reads this I'll do the conclusion tomorrow

To be continued maybe ?