place for that time of night was on the first floor as some of the children liked to sneak food out of the kitchens. She was an expert on their comings and goings as her handler took her to dinner around that time. The influx of students sneaking around meant they could sneak around and not look too strange. Ackerley was worried that a noble would notice her, seeing as she was wearing a bright green dress, but she was prepared for that as well. She managed to sneak a dull gold everyday dress from the laundry room the day before. Apparently she frequented the laundry room at night as it was the first, and for the many months, the only place she could sneak to after Madame Thrindle went to bed.
The first floor was indeed crawling with people when they arrived. Ackerley nervously tried to walk in front of the princess so no one would notice. For her first time out when everyone else was out Cerise acted as though her disguise was foolproof. To Ackerley’s surprise it pretty much was. With her hair down and no make up on no one seemed to notice the oft aloof princess. He couldn’t figure if it was because nobody ever really got a good look at her or if it was because they would never guess she would wander about.
They came to the door that hid behind it the nobles’ residences. They stood far enough away to see the nobles coming and going regularly.
“You want to check in there?” Ackerley asked.
“No, I want to check there.”
She pointed to a plain door nearby.
“What’s in there?”
“No idea. Sometimes on my walks I see sneaky people going in there. I have a feeling it hides a way to a hidden area. Stay close.”
She tried the handle and the door opened.
“It can’t be that secret.” Ackerley assessed.
“While these nobles like to keep people out of places they never think to lock the doors. For one the Great Spirit will help keep things secret and people away. And for another they don’t want to have to make too many keys.”
The door led to a staircase that went down into darkness. Neither of them knew the castle had a basement and they started down the mysterious stairs with a hint of excitement that continued to build the farther they went. After quite a while of stopping and listening they came out in a small room with doors all around the walls.
“Aha, I’ll bet this is where they keep all the secrets.” Cerise exclaimed, her eyes wide with delight. “Now which one to choose first?”
She tried the first one. A storeroom full of brooms and mops. The second had extra blankets, but the third—the third held a twisting corridor. It crooked one way and then the other, making it impossible to see all the way to the end. Cerise practically skipped down the hall, certain that they were about to come to a treasure trove of jewels and gold.
There was no door at the end. The corridor spilled out into a large dank room with a high ceiling and thick stone walls. Small carpets were situated every few feet. Each carpet had some combination of a large comfy chair, a desk or table, a footstool, or a small bookcase. Much to their dismay quite a few of the comfy chairs had nobles sitting on them.
It was quite a sight. Ackerley immediately felt like they came into a scene that wasn’t meant for their eyes. Something about the strange set up and the startled looks on the nobles’ faces made Ackerley feel like he’d fallen into an alternate reality. Yinnib, who as always appeared out of nowhere, stood before them with an unusually grumpy expression. He directed them back into the strange corridor and out of earshot of the other nobles.
“Now what is this?” He chided. It was then that he noticed Cerise. “What in all of Chell is this? How did you—Ackerley why did you drag the poor princess out of her residence. I thought we had an understanding.”
“I snuck out sir.” Cerise said. “I found Ackerley and wanted him to show me around. I am very sorry and I will go back to my residence at once.”
“I hope you do.” Yinnib said.
It was clear to Ackerley at that moment that Yinnib had no control over what Cerise did.
“What is this place?” Ackerley asked, still more worried that he may have inadvertently found the spirit realm than whether Cerise was recognized.
“This place,” Yinnib barked uncharacteristically, “is where we go to unwind. It’s our—well never mind that. Get out of here at once.” He stomped his foot until they disappeared down the crooked corridor.
“Did you feel as perturbed as I did in that room?” Ackerley asked.
“I’m just glad I got us out of that mess. And I think you realize it was all my doing.” She smiled uncontrollably at her success.
Ackerley couldn’t keep a smile from his own face at her joy of being so independent for once. He hoped Yinnib wouldn’t blab to the harpy, but didn’t want to say that and spoil Cerise’s mood by telling her he might.
“I guess that’s all for tonight, huh.” Ackerley said as they climbed the stairs back to the first floor.
“I doubt the jewels would be down there where any old noble could get at them. No, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before, but I really know where they are now. Let’s get to it.”
“It’s awful late.” Ackerley pointed out, not actually sure what time it was. “If we get caught again I’ll get in trouble. Not that I care,” He added quickly, “but it might be harder to look for them with Yinnib knowing we’re out. That man can appear faster than you could imagine.”
Cerise looked put out. “But I may not get another chance at this. If I find my necklace tonight, I don’t have to get you out of bed again.” She said, grabbing Ackerley’s arm.
He laughed. “Alright, but after this we need to get to bed. Where do you want to look?”
“The fourth floor.” She said simply.
“The fourth floor?! We—or at least I am definitely not allowed up there. How do we even get up there? If there’s any place in this castle that’s locked it’s definitely there.”
“Maybe.” She beamed. “But we won’t know unless we try. I don’t know where the stairs might be hidden. We’ll have to get to it. Not just yet, though. Let’s go back to my place and wait until everybody’s definitely in bed.”
And so they went back to that columned room and sat around waiting until it was late enough to venture out safely. Ackerley thought of all the ways he could get caught. The one that kept being replayed in his head was Yinnib suddenly falling from the ceiling of the fourth floor, grabbing him, and then the both of them sinking down to the basement where he would be forced to clean the bizarre carpet room for all eternity. It might have been a little farfetched, but if he was going to get into trouble he would rather there be a wow factor about it.
They talked a little. Ackerley told Cerise about his daily routine. She was in awe by it all. There was nothing she wanted more than to just be allowed to have a regular class. Ackerley told her to stand up to Thrindle and threaten to tell her parents that the old witch wouldn’t let her do anything. The conversation suddenly took a sorrowful turn as Cerise had to remind him that her family was in a constant state of war and that letters could no longer be sent or received.
A couple hours later they set out, determined to find the fourth floor. They went around the entire first three floors that they deemed safe and found nothing. Surely there had to be a way up there. As far as Cerise knew the fourth floor was only blocked off after the castle turned into a hiding place for the kingdom’s privileged children. There’s no reason she knew of that would cause them to destroy the way up. Unless of course it was to hide the jewels in case something bad happened. But everyone knew the Welgos wouldn’t be able to get past the wall.
Stumped, Cerise sat on a window sill on the third floor and crossed her arms irritably. “It’s got to be here somewhere.” She complained.
“Maybe they boarded it up after he died.” Ackerley suggested.
“Who died?”
“Lord Chellion.”
“Oh, He’s probably fine. Or on
the beach in Vloraisha.”
“Then maybe one of the nobles has the entrance in their room and they’re looking after it.”
“But why would the stairs to the fourth floor be in a room? Surely anybody could get up there before the war. You can’t just hide a staircase when you need to. At home we have a number of hidden staircases and tunnels that lead all over the place. I used to look for them constantly when I was little.” She smiled nostalgically. “I found a fair few as well. My parents would get mad at me for looking. They kept saying, ‘Cery’ that’s what they called me. ‘Cery, don’t go looking for those. You might not like what you find.’ I didn’t know what they meant. And then one day I found the dungeons. I most certainly did not like what I found. People from town chained to the walls.” Her smile long faded. She made a fist where the pendant should be and sighed. “I wonder if there are dungeons here. I doubt it. This was always just a house for Chell.”
Ackerley sat beside her. “We’ll find it. There must be a place we—” He suddenly had an idea. “Have you ever been to the nursery here?”
“Nursery? I didn’t know there was one.”
“Maybe it’s not a nursery. I don’t know what it is. I found it by mistake the other day. It may not be anything. Do you want to take a look?”
They hurried down to the first floor and looked for that strange room Ackerley stumbled upon after his first