[Tevildo]

Tevildo sat watching and twitching his tail as Mistress Ellie returned to the room and began her preparations for bed. Before long, she had slipped between the covers and was snoring away. Bone tired from the heavy workload earlier that evening, Ellie had carelessly neglected to latch the door to the room. Pushing his small pink nose against the wooden panelling, Tevildo felt the door give way, opening just enough for him to slip through and escape from his prison. Slinking along the shadows of the corridor, he had run out the front entrance and made his way to the stables, hoping to catch a fat mouse.

The pickings in the stables were all too sparse. So many guests were still up and about that the mice remained hidden in holes and refused to come out where Tevildo could pounce on them. The cat poked his nose inside several crevices and crannies but was unable to discover any dinner. Resigned to the growling of his stomach, Tevildo finally made his way up into the rafters of the stables where he could look down and spy on everyone underneath.

He watched with interest as Dublong and several of his family maneuvered their way into the stalls and began to lead out the finest of the steeds. What they were doing was all too obvious to someone like Tevildo who made his living by stealth and deceit. They vaguely reminded him of some of Melko's less reputable servants. The cat was content to sit up on the rafter and lick his coat until he happened to notice that one of the horses being led outside was the one that belonged to Ellie. It was Ellie's only possession of real worth, and even Tevildo could not help but feel a little upset seeing what was happening . . .