~"The Twa Knights" Climbing out of the dark cell, Elspeth handed the torch to Hob. He shut and locked the door, and Elspeth turned back to lay her hand against the door, pressing her forehead to the rough wood. Her breath came in a shallow rhythm. She felt numb, suspended in a dark void without emotion or sensation. She was afraid to feel, knowing how much it would hurt when she did. Hob set a large, gentle hand on her shoulder. She turned and followed him down the corridor. In her stockinged feet and without the cloak, the stone passageway was chilly and damp. But she did not care; she hardly felt the discomfort. Hob approached the guard who had admitted her, thinking her to be Robert Gordon. The man gave her a startled glance, but Hob murmured something that made him laugh softly. She walked outside, to where Alasdair and the others waited in the dark courtyard. Kenneth rushed to her, taking her arm. Behind her, she heard Hob speak in hushed Scots to Alasdair and Hugh. When she turned, Hob gave her a kind nod before going back inside the bleak prison corridor.
