The Hidden Passage (Short Story)

Chapter 1

 When the girl stepped out onto the paved porch, she was met by all her new maids and the manor's butler.

"Is my uncle at home currently?" Ophelia enquired of her host. To this they gave each other a look, then quickly escorted her to her chambers, to prevent an answer from being revealed. Her dog was carried to her rooms and placed beside her some while later, after being washed and groomed by the staff. When the sun set, Ophelia tucked herself in, and promptly fell asleep.

After hours of deathly silence, the girl jolted upright with an overwhelming and almost unquenchable thirst. She ventured down the stairs for the kitchen, but in a manor as big as the one she was staying at, she could hardly find one. The floorboards appeared to be quite sturdy, although whenever Ophelia trod upon them, they liked to creak and croak in what seemed like an amused teasing – or extreme pain. At first this was the only problem she experienced, then there was a gust of freezing gale, and a howl in the wind. A pale blue light glinted on her glossy black hair, and it made the hairs on her neck stand up straight. Ophelia shivered and ran back up to her chambers.

 It was then and only then that she realised – her dog was missing...

"Cerberus? Cerberus!" the name was called into the blackness of the night. Tears streamed from her eyes as she searched, to no avail. She sunk to the floor in defeat, her back leaning against an obscure gargoyle. After the gargoyle opened to reveal a hidden passageway, Ophelia found herself in a cold and dingy chamber, with grey, tiled floors. And then she gasped.