the blow was even harder for the queen , for the rapidly growing scarcity of food meant that most horses ( at least those that escaped being eaten by the famished multitudes ) were engaged in carrying provisions to the castle , so that the messages from the barracks became first weekly , then monthly , and then dwindled to a silence she was too terrified to ponder , because to even fleetingly think of her beloved fantyr lingering out there , gaunt and hollow-eyed , while those revolting scavengers were said to be building an army , was so painful she wanted to die .