Untying the Knot

chapter 3 part 2 of 5

Ruby slowly opened her eyes and tried to sit up, before realizing what had happened.  From where she lay, one look out the window confirmed the time. It was near sunrise or sunset, but she couldn’t tell which it was. Ruby studied herself carefully. Both her big toes were blue from the mouse traps, and they looked swollen. Her finger ached too, and she couldn’t even move it. Her dress was sullied in many places from the struggle she had with Regina, and she was positive her hair was dirty. Her wrists had rope burns around them, and so did her ankles. Though she could not see it, she knew her back must have had bruises all over it. In spite of her external appearance, her heart was alive. Charlie understood, and he did not want to end their friendship! She had a mysterious friend who was willing to help her. She felt she could withstand anything now.

As she looked around the room, she was surprised to find no animals. Then, she spotted a mouse, sticking its head between two floorboards. Slyly, it entered through the crack and disappeared. Ruby wondered how the mouse could fit underneath the floor. Unless, she reasoned, there was hallow space there. Ruby, anxious to test out her experiment, struggled to free herself, to no avail. After thinking for a few minutes, Ruby realized something. She could easily free herself, with the help of a mouse. She noticed that a mouse had gnawed through some of the rope holding back her right hand. After pulling hardly, she was able to free her hand. With that hand, she reached toward a piece of cheese and carefully took it off the trap. She put the cheese on the rope by her left hand, and waited patiently. After a few minutes, a mouse came by and quickly ate it, breaking the rope in its process. Now that both hands were free, she was able to easily free her legs. Then, she got down on to her hands and knees and began to search for a loose board. Ruby succeeded quickly. She slowly lifted the loose boards and gasped. There was a ladder that led into complete darkness. Ruby mustered her courage and slowly climbed down, shutting the trap door after her. She tried not to think of all the creatures that escaped from her cabin to here. The walls were close together and Ruby, hand on each wall, walked quickly. She didn’t hear many animals, but she ran into a lot of cobwebs and spider webs. Finally, she reached a ladder. She quickly climbed up and cautiously pushed on the trapdoor. It wouldn’t budge. She tried to push harder, and finally, it opened. The first thing Ruby saw as she slowly popped her head through the opening was a desk. It was a beautiful mahogany desk, and behind it was a fancy leather chair. Ruby recognized this place immediately.  She studied the organized desk, and the few folders that lay on top of it. It was obvious that it contained business papers and bills. Ruby opened each drawer one at a time, and found them filled with many things waiting patiently to be discovered. Nobody has stepped into this office since her father left, since only he had the key. Unfortunately, Ruby did not have the time for that now. She hastily walked towards the door, but stopped for a moment so she could study the painting on the wall. The man looked really young, and his hazel eyes were filled with happiness. He was smiling, and you could see his dimples. His chestnut hair was combed nicely, and his arms were down by his sides. You could see the ring he had on his finger, his marriage ring. This was Ruby’s father, and this was his office. Ruby felt happy seeing this picture. She hadn’t seen any picture of her father in so long that she was starting to forget what he looked like.