She Waited

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. 

That was the sound of Islinda's heart at that moment.

This was stupid. 

She was stupid. 

Islinda realized at the last minute how stupid her plan was. Aldric had arrived at the dining room, so what? She should have just run and joined the others before he realized what happened. But no, she panicked and made a stupid decision. One she had no idea how to get out of right now. 

Aldric's approaching footsteps were like impending doom and she dared not to breathe. No, her lungs seized, all of her senses on hyper-alert and waiting for that ominous moment to be over. 

Step. Step. Step. 

Islinda didn't even realize she was counting his movements and how long it would take him to take his seat. 

Step. Step. Step —

Aldric suddenly stopped close to her position and her soul nearly flew out of her body for the second time today.