Joshua whimpered at the sight of the dark haired man standing over him. The man’s pale ice blue eyes looked as if they could suck the life out of the peppiest puppy. Josh cowered at the intense icy gaze.

“Did I permit you to sleep?” he bellowed.

“N-no, sir,” he replied meekly.

“PRECISELY!” the man yelled, even louder than before. It made Josh stumble into a corner. “Now, you’re going to stay awake until notified otherwise! Understand?” Josh could only nod sheepishly, making his own thick forest of dark locks fall into his dark brown eyes.

“But…. but what am I to do? Usually you have me do something like sweep, or—” The man cut him off.

“You’re to do nothing until I come back! Nothing but sit awake and talk to yourself. Quietly! If my guards hear you…” He walked away, mumbling in a mixture of Scottish and Gaelic. Josh never could figure out what he was saying. He just sat in a corner, with his back against the hard, cold stone wall, having a conversation with himself.