176 AND THE HAWK HAS FALLEN

HANNA was thankful for the distraction that came along in the form of a uniformed Black Hawk Knight that approached her mother.

The knight politely greeted them, then he leaned down and whispered something in her mother who suddenly looked nervous. But her mother caught herself immediately, then she dismissed the knight calmly before she turned to them with a smile.

"I'm sorry, girls. I have to step out for a while," her mother said with an apologetic smile on her face. "Please continue your talk, ladies."

"Mother, is everything alright?" Hanna asked worriedly. The Black Hawk Knight might have said some urgent news to her mother earlier. "Is Father alright?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart," her mother assured her. "Your father just needs my ability to get his job done early. I'll return with your father so don't worry too much."