001

*1*

The toddler made his way down the dark hallway with a piece of bread held tightly in his left hand. He talked to himself as he walked, asking himself where his toy horse was. He couldn't hear himself over the shouts of the men above and the screams of the women, but he knew what he was saying. The torches in the wall scones flickered in unison as the castle walls shuddered. The toddler was knocked off of his feet as the floor jumped with the impact. The bread fell from his hands and topples just out of reach.

Shaking his head the boy sat up. He looked for the bread with his hands groping the floor in the unsteady light. Another impact above sent dust raining down upon his head.

"Bread. Bread. Bread." He said aloud, shaking slightly, his toy horse forgotten. "No man. No man." He rose to his feet, hands empty, eyes still scanning the floor. Another impact from above shook the entire hallway sending him into the inner wall and back to the floor. More dust and the occasional stone fell.

The hollow ringing sounds of the large boulders striking the castle grew in frequency until the young boy believed that it was one long rumble. He was crying as the walls fell in around him.