The Mystics Of Valenthia

25. Secrecy

I walked the deserted hallways alone, aimlessly. I skipped dinner and avoided all humans who resided in the Warmage Academy. The hallways were cold as the day gave in to night. It would practically be freezing if it weren't for the magic that kept it cosy and warm. It was dark and everyone was either off to bed or lazing about in the common room. I still sought isolation and hence, here I was.

I took a turn and found myself in a completely different part of the palace. The hallways here did not branch out into classrooms. Instead, just two doors were visible which, as I had guessed, was locked. I sighed as I turned back once I reached the dead end of the hallway. I stopped as something odd caught my eye. It was a fireplace. In a corridor.

"Weird," I muttered to myself.

Above the fireplace was a tapestry. I looked at it closely and saw that it depicted a man, holding a sword in the air. Through the tip of the sword, it seemed as if a dragon was erupting, and the corners were surrounded by flames. It was ancient yet alluring. I reached out and ran my palms over it. Soft. It was still unusual. The placement, the..I don't know. It was pretty atypical.

I pressed my palm harder and tried to slide the tapestry aside. At first, it didn't budge. I tried harder and it slid aside, noiselessly. A wheel sort of thing was staring back at me. It was cool to touch. Some non-corrosive metal. I pushed at it. Nothing happened. I pulled at it, then. Nope. I stood back surveyed the scene.

That's when it struck me. It looked like a wheel, didn't it? Maybe if I just....

I reached for the wheel and turned it to the right. It didn't move at all. Frustrated and cursing under my breath, I turned it to the left. It moved a little but was jammed. I pushed harder, both my hands stuck to the wheel. It made a slight squeaking noise as it rotated. I jumped back, holding my breath. My heart rate had increased and was threatening to burst out of my chest. Nothing happened. I couldn't help but chuckle as the title of one of Shakespeare's plays made its way to my mind. Much Ado About Nothing.

I was about to walk away when I heard a low rumbling sound. I looked back but the wheel was as it was, with the tapestry moved aside. I should've put it back, I thought to myself. But the rumbling wasn't coming from above. It was below.

I looked down at the fireplace. I gasped and jumped back. The bricks were slowly falling away, revealing a gaping black hole. I crouched down as I pushed aside the bricks that cluttered the entrance. Was it really what I thought? If I just navigate through this, will I be....free? The only way to find out was to go inside. And that is why, within a few minutes, I found myself navigating through the dark, musty secret passageway.

• • •

"Thank you," I said, as I stuffed on a second corn dog.

The secret passageway was dirty and led from the palace straight to the city. I found no branch outs or rubble to stop me. I had to sneak out of the store room of an antique shop and no one even noticed me. (YES!)

The city, at night is totally different. It is the Valenthian Las Vegas! Lights shone everywhere, every shop and building. The roads were crowded with all kinds of people. Couples holding hands, families, old people living their lives. I breathed deeply. It felt as if I had forgotten how to breathe a few hours back. I did what I wanted to do this time, for once. I walked the streets and I could blend in well. I stopped at the glass doors of a shop and dusted all the cobwebs off me. I walked inside random stores and walked out. I was almost on the verge of going inside a pub but thought better of it at the last minute.

I was faintly aware of my growling stomach as the smell of corn dogs wafted through the air. I turned and saw a middle aged man selling them from a truck. I walked towards him, craving corn dogs.