The royal library was imposing, like most rooms of the castle. Arranged in a semicircle, the shelves covered the walls to the glass roof, built so that light would fall straight on the oak table in the middle - the reading table. It was the only room where you could see the sky, as grey as it was. She heard the Prince liked to relax here, reading. She imagined him sitting on one of the fifty massive chairs surrounding the table, submerged in one old, thick book that spilled dust on every turn of the page. Or lying on a divan with golden legs by the fireplace which burned a jolly fire. She would have loved to read with him.
The smell of print ink invited her to open old books no one has read for hundreds of years. But she was there with another purpose in mind, so she scanned the library with her gaze. Tall wooden ladders leaned here and there against the shelves filled with volumes brought from all over the world. There were thousands, maybe tens of thousands of books. Where to start? She looked at the library guard - a broad-shouldered young lad, watching her, waiting for her orders. She signalled him she didn't need his help and when he left the room, Eliza explored the library carefully.
After looking around for a while, searching for a place where the secret map might be hidden, she was about to give up; she was getting dizzy from all this spinning. She took her shoes off and she laid down on the fir tree floor and gazed at the sky through the thick sunroof. She felt sleepy after the restless night she had, when the sound of heavy steps accompanied by a rhythmic sound woke her up. Someone was in the library. Not knowing why, Eliza hid under the long oak table. Through the chair legs, she glimpsed a long, black robe and a walking crane. It was Constantin, the Great Wiseman. She watched his footsteps approaching the middle shelves and stopping by the rows of books with red bindings. She could hear him pulling books off the shelves and then leaving the room as fast as he came.
After she was sure there was no sound of anyone approaching, Eliza came out from under the table and headed right for the rows of books with red bindings. Looking up, she saw a thin book from underneath which she could swear there was light coming out. After reaching for a ladder, Eliza climbed and pulled the thin book off the shelf. The book wasn't special in its own. It was calledTwins and their strange connections. When she looked inside, a folded piece of paper fell from between the pages. Eliza unfolded it carefully over the large table; she could barely hold a shriek of astonishment at its sight. It was the map she was looking for. After folding the old yellowish piece of paper, she walked out of the library, rushing for her bedroom. Not before putting her shoes back on, as it was expected of a princess.
As she got to her room, she turned the key in the lock and jumped on the bed where she examined the map. It proved not that hard to read. The secret tunnel started in the Throne Room, and a drop shutter hid the entrance by the fireplace, over which stretched the fur of a saber-tooth tiger. The tunnel continued winding under the palace and stretched beyond the walls of the castle. Right by the castle walls, there stood the Forest of Whispers. After long days of dismal and angst, Eliza was smiling again. She drew the map on a piece of paper which she found on the table as if someone put it there for her. She knew she had to return the map as fast as possible. For she wouldn't want anyone to discover that she, the Princess, has taken a secret map, forbidden to her.
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After drawing the copy of the map, Eliza stepped through the library door and after the door was shut behind her, she hopped towards the shelf where she got it from. She felt the need to sing, but she thought that, after her last attempts at singing, she would be better off. She had learned the walls had ears and she wouldn't want someone to know that she, the Princess who sang more beautiful than a bird, was lacking a voice completely.
'I see you are most cheerful today," said a voice behind her. Eliza shuddered. Turning around, she saw the Prince laying on a divan with a book in his hand. Just as she has always imagined him. Eliza crumpled the piece of paper holding it behind her back and slid it up her sleeve.
'It is right so, Your Majesty. What reason could make me not be?'
'You are right, there is none. I take you enjoy your new home and no one caused you any annoyance. Because if there was anyone, I would have his head off.'
'Oh, no,' rushed Eliza to answer. 'Everyone has been very nice. I have nothing to complain about.'
'Very well. But tell me, how is your voice?'
'Unfortunately, not well,' said Eliza coughing. 'But I am sure that for the engagement I shall sing like never before.'
'This comes only as good news,' said the Prince standing up. 'Tell me, Princess, what brings you to this place? Can I be of help?'
Eliza looked at him with great interest. This time, they were much closer. And, to her surprise, his presence wasn't bothering her like the first they met. On the contrary, it was quite pleasant.
'Well... I was bored, and I thought I might enjoy reading a book.'
'Of course,' said the Prince. 'As you can see, there's plenty to choose from. I was careful to collect books from all corners of the earth. You see, you can find out so much about a country from the books written about it.'
Eliza was looking for a ladder, and before she could realise, it was already next to her. The Prince pushed it with a swift move she did not see. And, while the Prince seemed to look for other books from his vast library, Eliza pulled out the book about twins and stuck the map inside. Unfortunately, she forgot the page she found it on but hoped no one would notice. Then, she also began to look for a book as if she had spent her whole life among them. Luckily, her father, the miller, had agreed to send her to school. It would have been a drag not to know how to read.
From the corner of her eye, she was watching the Prince. And she had to admit she was impressed with his agile moves, his imposing stature, even the scar crossing his cheek. Picking a random book, Eliza sat on the divan looking as if she was reading. Instead, she was peaking over the pages of her book, observing the Prince.
'Interesting book you have chosen,' said the Prince smiling. Eliza read the cover and went pale. The book was calledTactics of war. A book just suited for a princess.
The girl smiled, flames coming to her cheeks, but the Prince left her no time for a reply. 'Speaking of, I want to inform you I shall leave for war. My princess deserves a wedding present, does she not? And what better present is there than a country of her own where she can rule?'
Eliza couldn't believe her ears. 'I was thinking the one neighbouring the country you come from,' continued the Prince while the girl was becoming more restless. 'It's a small country of hardworking men, wheat growers, and animal farmers. And from what I've heard, you have a passion for baking. I have to admit you're good at it.'
'Your Majesty, please,' interrupted the girl, trying to bottle up her tears. 'I don't need an engagement present. I need nothing; I have everything I could have ever wanted. Please, forget about this war!'
The Prince stepped closer to her, so close she could see the flashes in his eyes. 'What say you? You dare refuse my gift?'
'Oh no, Your Majesty. Only it is not the right gift for me. You can offer me anything else but this. I beg of you!' she said throwing herself at his feet.
The Prince did not seem to care for her supplications. 'I made my decision. I will leave tomorrow at dawn. It shouldn't take me more than a few days to conquer it. In the meantime, you should get well and have your voice back.'
This said, the Prince left the library. Eliza cried for hours, her face buried in the palms of her hands. Tommy, who was hiding under the divan, came to her and played with her hair. A small comfort for his mistress who would have never thought this was what the life of a princess was like.
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Eliza had decided—she had to reach the Forest of Whispers that night. There was no time to waste. And she didn't see any other way to get her voice. If she had wobbled, it would have been too late. Because she couldn't sing, her small country, where her father, her friends, and acquaintances lived, would become a battlefield. And she couldn't live with such a burden on her soul.
So, after the castle lights went out one by one, Eliza made her way to the Throne Room. This time, she didn't allow Tommy to follow her. She didn't know if she would return alive from this journey to the unknown. Armed with just one sconce to light up her way and with the map inside her pocket, Eliza walked with great caution through the hallways leading to the Throne Room.
The corridors' walls were covered with paintings of the Prince's grandparents. She felt those long gone eyes following her every move. She wanted to make a run for it, to get out of there faster, but she was afraid the flame might go off, leaving her in pitch black darkness, surrounded by those dead eyes.
When the old horologe at the end of the hall stroke midnight, Eliza finally arrived and she could breathe at ease. For the moment. Because the hard part was just starting. With smacking steps that broke in dozens of echoes, she put the sconce on the fireplace and tried to pull down the tiger skin covering the tunnel entrance. But this took longer than she expected. She was scared of grabbing the tiger's head with those glass eyes staring at her, so she grabbed the tail and pulled and pulled until it moved away. Enough for Eliza to open the hatch.
Thick spider webs covered the entire tunnel entrance, a sign that none has gone through there in a while. Shouldn't the tunnel entrance have been locked, since the Shadows used this as a gateway to the castle? Eliza brushed the chilling thought off her mind and went down the cold stone steps which led to the entrails of the castle.
At the entrance, she stopped. The abyss stretching in front of her gave her the creeps and her heart was beating so hard, that it was close to bursting. She looked at the map again under the dim light of the sconce and set off; timidly at first, then, more and more determined to end this charade at once.
The tunnel looked like a stone maze dug inside the entrails of the castle. But it was its width, not its length that gave her the shivers. It was so wide that a small mounted army could go through it in a single row.
All of a sudden, she thought she heard whispers coming from behind her. And with a swift turn on her knees pointed the light towards the spot where the noise was coming from. Even though she felt like she was being followed, she saw nothing. Then, groping in the darkness before her, she saw beams of flickering light. She wasn't at least surprised to see that the tunnel was lit by torches ingrained in the wall's deep holes. And she didn't just imagine it. Blurry, ragged, bird-like shadows were following her for some time. She wanted to scream, to make a run for it, but then she wouldn't remember the way back. So she had no choice. She went on, with her heart beating in her eardrums.
To whisk the fear away, she began a song with that voice that sounded more like a fork scratching a pan. And suddenly, her pace was fast again. When she finally felt the cold night air caressing her face, she almost gave out a joyous shriek. But refrained from doing that, seeing the shadows were also there, following her in silence. Behind her, she saw the mighty castle, covered in thick dark clouds predicting bitter times.
The moon was shining above the forest like a round, white bread. And a powerful wind was blowing out of nowhere, pushing her towards a small path sparkling in the night's gentle kiss. But what frightened her the most was the phantasm that has been walking beside her since God knew when without her noticing it.
She calmed her breath and noticed how the shadow went by her and journeyed on. Now, she could get a better look at it. She was certain it was the same one that has been following her since she left for the Dark Castle. Not too tall, rather crooked, leaning against a wry cane, the shadow appeared to be her guide. And the other ragged shadows that followed her in the tunnel were obediently walking all around her, leaving no room to escape.
The Shadows, whatever they were on to, seemed to lead her to a specific place and all she could do was follow. It was like she was sleepwalking, floating in a dream she couldn't wake up from. As soon as she entered the forest, she felt like someone was guiding her steps and she could barely walk on her own. Whispers were flying from all directions, night birds sang their gloomy roll and the once pleasant wind was now throwing leaves and branches in her face.
For over one hour, Eliza didn't let the Shadow out of her sight. And she stopped only when the master-shadow appeared to stop. They had arrived.
Eliza had seen nothing like that before. Before her, there stood a mighty castle, right in the middle of the Forest of Whispers. It was not an ordinary castle, rather made up of sinuous tree blocks forming dozens of bowers and towers. The wood appeared to be ebony due to its dark colour, but the branches were entirely leafless.
The master-shadow reached the gates of the castle which opened crackling and moaning when touched by its crane. Eliza entered, pushed by unseen hands. Inside, she found only blocks and logs and an enormous fire surrounded by big white stones, burning in the middle of the castle. Dozens of doors led to God knows what other rooms, just as dark and twisted. And soon, she saw the stall on which the master-shadow took a seat.
'Come closer, child,' said the Shadow's disturbing voice. 'I've been waiting for you for some time...'
Thank you for joining Eliza on her trip to the unknown! Please vote, comment, and let me know what you think! Happy (and thrilling) reading!