She reaches the window

Luckily Christina was a good climber, because the window she was trying to reach was quite a long way up. She took one last quick look around for guards and then began to clamber up the wall. The cracked stone offered a few small handholds, mostly gaps she could wedge her fingers into, but almost no footholds so she was glad that the soles of her boots were scuffed and roughened from her long trips on foot.

Scaling the wall proved to be slow and hard work, but she didn't feel in danger of falling. She also knew to stay away from the occasional razor-sharp black protrusions that made the rest of the castle wall so hazardous. Grunting with effort, Christina finally reached the window.

It was an arched stone window about two feet wide and tall, and Christina could see small holes where the bars had been removed. She clung to the wall just underneath the window and listened for noises inside. When she heard nothing she dared a quick peek inside.

Christina saw a small room with stone walls and floor, but care had obviously been taken to furnish it nicely. There were some pretty rugs on the floor, a set of shelves against one wall with an incense burner, and in the far corner was a long canopy bed with expensive covers and some very soft-looking cushions. There didn't seem to anyone inside, so Christina quickly hauled herself up to the window and clambered inside.