"See what?" Callia asked innocently, though Cliodne was sure she had seen her sister roll her eyes.
"The door!" Eurielle said. "It wasn't there, but then it-it was!" Everyone simply stared at Eurielle for a moment. "Well it wasn't..." she trailed off, trying to direct the attention away from herself.
The princesses looked among one another, trying to decide what their next action should be. Eurielle and Raia were watching Eralie, who was staring a little blankly at Petra, who in turn was eyeing the necklace around Callia's neck. Petra's hand began to reach towards the necklace, but she stopped herself before anyone other than Cliodne could see.
"Well, there's nothing to do except to go exploring," Thaleia announced, reaching for the ring to yank open the trapdoor. Cliodne's hand shot out, pushing down on it and forcing it to remain closed. Thaleia glared at her older sister, but in a rushed tone Cliodne addressed all her sisters.
"I'm not saying that we can't go down—" Thaleia's expression softened, "—but Valeria will be here soon to wish us goodnight, and how would we explain a random trapdoor in the middle of our floor with us nowhere to be found?"
"I do see your point," Thaleia agreed. As soon as the words left her mouth, there came a heavy knock on the door. All the princesses whipped around in panic, staring at the entrance to their chambers. As a second knock issued, they sprang into action.
"Just a minute!" Cliodne called out. "Thaleia, Eurielle, cover the trapdoor with the rug. Petra, Raia, and Callia, clean up the evidence. Eralie... just go brush your hair or something."
Everyone quickly did what they were told. Thaleia and Eurielle pulled the rug over the trapdoor, smoothing out the bumps and making sure that it was completely covered. Raia and Callia set about picking up the various props they had been using in the story, stashing the toothbrushes near the wash basin and the light blue sheets in a wardrobe. Petra rushed to her trunk to make sure it wasn't hurt, then retired to her bed to leave the rest of the work to her sisters. Eralie, who nearly always floated around in a dreamlike state, glided over to her bed, pulling the covers up to her waist and watching her sisters scurry about. All the girls ran to their respective beds, throwing back the covers and jumping in as if the floor was about to swallow them whole. Just as Cliodne reached her bed the door started to open and, right as she pulled her covers over herself, Valeria appeared in the room.
"Good evening, m'ladies," Valeria said cheerfully. There was a murmur of "good evenings" heard from the princesses, all of whom (except for Eralie) were slightly out of breath. Valeria walked over to the windows, checking to make sure they were locked and the curtains were drawn. Her job was to keep an eye on the princesses and she took it very seriously. Every night the middle-aged woman would come to the royal chambers to make sure that all was well with her charges.
"Now you ladies must get your rest," she demanded, walking to each of the princesses' beds and extinguishing their candles one by one. "You have a very full day tomorrow. Your father has hired a dress-maker all the way from Deturus to fashion your new ball gowns and it will be a very tiring day after you've been poked and prodded by pins all afternoon." Cliodne had to stifle a giggle when Valeria's back was turned; yes, it would simply be exhausting to stand still all day looking like some frosted party cake.
The chattering woman then proceeded to tuck each of the girls in, even Eralie, who, at twenty-two, was a bit too old to be getting tucked in. As she came to Cliodne's bed, the princess couldn't help but smile. Valeria was a kind woman who had watched over the girls all their lives. She was head of housekeeping in the castle, but after the death of their mother Gustave had requested that she watch after the princesses in addition to her other duties. Though she was not terribly aged, she had an old soul, which made her appear to be beyond her years. She had darkly tanned and leathered skin, a mark of having done much field work in her youth. There were deep worry lines in her forehead above her eyebrows that stood out even when she wasn't frowning, probably the work of chasing after seven growing girls. There were also noticeable laugh lines around her mouth and eyes from watching after the princesses. Whenever there was a scraped elbow or a trouble to be had, Valeria was there, and many a time Cliodne had rushed to her caretaker's arms for a reassuring hug.
As she tucked Cliodne in, she kissed the young woman on top of her many tawny curls. The princess grinned and buried herself into her covers, staring up at the stone ceiling as Valeria finished her rounds. As the last candle was put out, the motherly housekeeper offered one final goodnight wish before securely bolting and locking the door behind her. As much to keep us in as it's meant to keep others out, Cliodne thought slightly resentfully.
All was quiet. The light of a full moon could be seen through the sheer curtains, and somewhere outside an owl had started to hoot. While they were waiting, Cliodne took the time to carefully think about the trapdoor.
Fact: it hadn't ever appeared before tonight, because the girls would have found it before then.
Fact: the way it had appeared had been in no way an illusion only her eyes could see, as all seven princesses had witnessed its sudden appearance.
Conclusion: it was the work of magic. Cliodne shivered involuntarily. She hadn't seen magic—real magic—since she was a little girl, when her father still allowed traveling magicians and sorcerers to enter the kingdom. But that had been a long time ago, before her mother had died, and the closest she had come to witnessing magic since then were the court jesters, which was nothing compared to what she had seen tonight.
So, there's a magic door. Where would it lead? She tried to think of all the possible outcomes of going through the door: another room in the castle, perhaps, or somewhere on the grounds. Maybe it led to the fairy lands. Her stomach filled with a nervous excitement as she thought about all Valeria had told her of the fairies. She had once said that fairies inhabited the woods nearby, but Cliodne had never dared check—not that she would have been allowed to anyway. Maybe it led to the forest. She suddenly felt a surge of dread; she had been taught that the forest was the most dangerous place in the realm, full of murderous men and beasts alike. She had never set foot in the woods, and she had no intention of ever going there.
Cliodne was lost deep in her thoughts, trying to figure out all possible situations and outcomes that might arise from opening the trapdoor, which was why she was startled so badly when she heard stirring from across the room.
Petra sat up in bed, pulled a box of matches out from under her pillow, and lit the candle on her bedside table. One by one, the remaining princesses sat up as well, staring at the only source of light in the room, however small. Cliodne looked towards Eurielle's bed, where soft snoring was coming from. Bless her—the poor girl always fell asleep as soon as the lights were out. Eralie went from her bed to wake her, but Raia was the first to say anything.
"That was the closest we've ever come to being caught, I'd say."
"We must take care not to let it happen again. Even though we got away with it this time, we can only catch so many lucky breaks," Cliodne cautioned.
"What about the tra-tra-trapdoor?" Eurielle yawned as Eralie prodded her to get her awake.
"I'd nearly forgotten that," Callia whispered. "I was so nervous about Valeria."
"Well I haven't forgotten!" Thaleia said, throwing back her covers and leaping from her bed.
"Nor have I," agreed Cliodne, sliding out of her bed and walking to the rug. Together, she and Thaleia pulled back the rug and stared at the trapdoor. All of the other girls followed, though no one made a move.
"Maybe we shouldn't go down there?" Raia whispered. Petra cocked an eyebrow at her sister, then looked at Cliodne.
"We really don't know where it goes," Cliodne said logically. "It could simply lead to the outside. Or maybe to the forest... it could be dangerous, so maybe we should wait for the guards to check it before we just jump in—"
"Or maybe," Thaleia cut in. "We should just open it, go in, and poke around for ourselves. Just to explore a little bit..." She gave a half-smile to Cliodne, who couldn't help but return the gesture.
"That sounds like a plan." Cliodne inhaled deeply, reaching out her hand to the ring on the door. She exhaled through pursed lips, as though she was concentrating very hard, before quickly grasping the ring and pulling up on the door.
Cliodne thought that it would have been difficult to open. It was an older-looking door, and there was a keyhole below the ring so she half-expected it to be locked. But the door moved without much effort, swinging open so forcefully that Eurielle had to dive to the side to avoid being hit by it as it landed against the floor. As it opened, a great rush of wind came out, blowing Cliodne's curls back as it came. All was still and quiet after that, though she could swear she felt some sort of tingly sensation moving down her arms. Past the immediate light of the solitary candle, it was pitch black and calm beyond the door.
"Well, let's not just sit around here all night," Thaleia exclaimed. She jumped up and went over to her nightstand, pulling out a lantern from the cupboard section. Most of the girls followed suit, grabbing lanterns and candlesticks from their own bedside tables as they put on their dressing gowns and slippers. Cliodne saw Petra extract a very ornate oil lamp from her trunk and had to grin at her sister's taste for such fine things. From her own table Cliodne took one candle and lit it, then quickly threw on her light ginger dressing gown. Meeting her sisters back at the trapdoor in the center of the room, she addressed them all.
"Listen, we can explore this tunnel under one condition—we leave as soon as this candle burns down. It takes about an hour, so we have that much time to explore."
"But what if it takes longer than an hour to fully explore?" Eralie questioned.
"Then we'll go back tomorrow night, or the night after, or however long it takes. But only one hour." Thaleia rolled her eyes, and Cliodne argued her point. "Just to be safe, should Valeria or anyone come to check on us. Like I said before, it would seem a bit odd if someone were to waltz in and we weren't in our chamber."
"She's right," Petra said, picking up the hem of her nightdress and stepping down the smooth stone staircase. Everyone waited a moment, but then there was a mad rush to be the next one in. Cliodne managed to slip in, and just before she was pushed down the stairs rather roughly by Callia, she glimpsed a plaque on the wall of the tunnel. It looked to be made of pure gold and had some writing on it, but she shrugged it off and kept moving. She could always read it on the return trip.
Even though Cliodne would normally have been affronted at Petra leading the way—after all, Eralie was usually so lost in her daydreams that it was up to Cliodne to take the role as leader—she was glad to be second, for once in her life. Petra had more light to offer, and as Cliodne was behind someone, she could focus on the scenery instead of leading the charge. It was a nice change of pace.
At first the tunnel had been made of soft earth. She could feel the slightly damp grains of the dirt beneath her feet and knew her slippers would never be the same. The floors were simple, deep gray flagstone, and the walls had seemed to be of the same material in a lighter shade. There were rusty brass torch brackets on the wall, and Cliodne made a note to tell Petra to filch some torches to use if they decided to come back again after tonight. There were cobwebs in the corners, but no spiders. There were no windows, no paintings or tapestries, and no decoration of any kind.
She tried picturing all the rooms in the castle in her mind, attempting to figure out where this large tunnel could fit without notice. In fact, it did seem to get wider as they went further. At first all they could manage was a single-file line, but now Cliodne was flanked on her right by Eurielle and on her left by Raia. Thaleia jogged up and managed to squeeze her way past the three so that she could be in front with Petra.
Cliodne hadn't been paying much attention to the walls and floors since she had entered, but she now noticed that they had... changed. They were still the same color, the same dull gray, but they had become smoother, finer. The floor was no longer bumpy and rough, but flat and easy to walk on, almost like marble. Cliodne giggled at the sounds their footsteps made, especially Eralie's, who always seemed to have a heel on her shoe no matter what type of footwear it was. The walls were extremely even as well, and Cliodne found herself moving towards the side of the passageway so she could touch it. It was cool and surprisingly smooth. When the light was brought closer, Cliodne could see tiny flecks of ruby and gold in the stonework. Had they been there before? With a small smile she realized that the tunnel would look magnificent in torchlight, almost like it was aglow on its own. Whoever crafted this passageway knew their stuff.
Cliodne was so lost in admiration of her surroundings that she almost ran into Petra. She was about to tell her sister off for stopping so suddenly when she looked past the younger girl and saw a door. It was made of dark mahogany with a golden ring handle, similar to the trapdoor. There were ornate carvings in the door and frame, everything from satyrs and fairies to animals that could presumably be found in the forest. Cliodne ran a hand over a carving of a stag and stared. Perhaps it was the exquisitely unique carvings over the door, but she couldn't help but feel that it was the door and what might lie beyond it that made this tunnel so special. She didn't know what lay beyond, but, as her hand pulled on the ring, she was determined to find out.