PELAIR. The Gems of the Golden Serpent.

7. The Angmar Castle

"We are almost there," said Aela. "We'll be getting out through a door hidden by a column, which gives entrance into a room used to store old furniture and obsolete weapons. "There won't be anyone there!" she said with absolute certainty.

The passage finally ended in a wall. The girl put her hand through a narrow slit, triggering a mechanism that released with a short faint click; a bolt that held closed a well-concealed door.

Stealthily, the girl pushed the door cautiously, poking her head into the room. She waited until her eyes adjusted to the darkness, not wanting to take the torch out, in case there was someone in the room. As she predicted, there was no one.

"This is my little sword!" Aela exclaimed with undisguised joy, taking a nice carved sheath that was leaning on the wall next to the door. "I left it here last time I went out. I only took my hunting gear when I went hunting to the forest," she explained.

The girl removed from the sheath a small sword forged for her. It was shorter than a regular sword, but it was evident it wasn't a toy but meant to do whatever a sword was supposed to do.

"And you know how to use it?" asked Balin, amazed. "A child to be aware of!" he said maliciously. "Maybe it's me who needs protection," laughed the dwarf.

Rinna smiled pleased. She felt glad to have encountered that spirited girl.

The girl hung her sword at her waist belt, and beckoning Rinna and Balin to follow her, walked through a series of twists and turns that maybe she alone knew, so abandoned those passages were. There were cobwebs everywhere and pervasive musty smell.

Not long after, they heard the clashing of pots common to the daily activity of a kitchen. They also heard low voices commenting on something.

"Sshhh!" motioned the girl, taking her index finger to her lips to indicate silence. Rinna laughed to herself, enjoying the sagacity of her pupil.

"What a clever and lively lass," thought Rinna, very pleased. "If I confirm my suspicions, she should be trained. Thank goodness no one else found her," the old woman sighed.

This time, Balin took the initiative to look out into the room. They were inside the castle, and now he had to ensure first and foremost, the safety of her protégée.

Two women talked rowdy while preparing a stew that gave off an exquisite scent.

"The lady likes it very seasoned," said one.

"Yes. Very peppery," commented the other.

"Could that be why she has those so weird grayish eyes? Wondered the woman who seasoned the stew?

"Shut up, you idiot. That could cost you your life!" remarked her companion. "That's none of our business."

The furtive visitors decided to go along searching for the chamber of Princess Rosala.

"How am I going to tell them about Aenor?" Aela wondered while feeling an excruciating pain that crossed her chest? She had to make an effort to keep from crying. "How I miss you," the girl thought about Aenor with infinite sorrow.

"There it is, finally," Aela said, pointing to a beautifully carved door that remained ajar. "Come on!" Aela said excitedly only to be tackled with force but with kindness by Balin.

"Wait for, kid!" said the dwarf. "We don't know who might be in there."

Indeed, a couple of bulky female warrior, recognizable by their contours even though their gender went unnoticed due to the heavy leather breastplates they wore, left the room followed by a strange woman.