On those lonely nights when everyone else was asleep except for the palace guards, Ivy suddenly couldn't sleep. After she made love to her husband, she should and usually feel tired, but what she felt was not.
She was hungry and not sleepy. Her stomach rumbled in the silence, it felt terrible and gripping. But the silence of the night did not frighten her.
Finally, Ivy got out of bed slowly so as not to try to wake Theodoric. She came out of the room and started towards the kitchen, looking for something to eat.
The dim lights provided enough light for her to get something to eat. There was leftover soup and some salt bread she could warm up. She also made hot milk and she ate it at the dining table.
"Hi, Ivy!" a voice Ivy hadn't heard in a long time suddenly appeared, sitting in the chair Theodoric usually sat in.