Eleanor Dandelion

Tenth

The princess and the key

The last thing Eleanor was expecting to see was a staircase leading down, a long, dark staircase. And Eleanor doubted which way to take, either go outside, to Alessandra's room and fight the lunar bugs, and probably get harmed, or, worse, eaten alive. Or, she could go down a seemingly creepy staircase she had never seen or even heard of.

Eleanor sighed, knowing she was not in the mood to fight pale and furry creatures that wanted to see how much blood she could spill.

With a simple hand movement, forming a circle in the air with her index finger, she cast a spell, creating a light orb that floated alongside her.

It was amazing how she had learned to do magic even without the staff, sure, she was clumsy at first, but with hours of practice, including sleepless nights where she tried to master spells, she was able to become advanced, not just because of her age, but for her time.

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Eleanor walked down the stairs, although they seemed infinite, they seemed endless, and Eleanor wondered if she had gotten in some sort of loop, perhaps she was destined to stay here, trapped?

But overreacting wouldn't get her anywhere, as she noticed the last stairsteps, leading to a big, brown door. Eleanor pushed the door slightly, but it wouldn't budge. Using all her body weight and strength, she managed to open it slightly, checking to see if any other threats were hiding there, but all she saw were tiny cockroaches, that probably had been living there for years.

Eleanor walked past them, trying not to step on them, as she explored the long passage that she had discovered.

The passage was almost empty, except for a few things, swords, paintings, and portraits of the past rulers.

And then, the passage became a big room, adorned by books, hundreds of them! Piles and piles of books, bookcases filled to the brim with books, maps, and folders, it was all so organized, Eleanor noticed the candles that were suddenly lit as if they were commanded to do so when anyone walked in.

Eleanor stared in confusion, it was a strange spell, useful, maybe she could learn it.

But what sparked Eleanor's curiosity the most, was the real-life-sized porcelain hand that was on top of a table in the middle of the room.

From the cold, white hand, a key hung. It was a small key, Eleanor let out a soft gasp, as she rushed to it, grabbing it from the hand statue. Eleanor sighed, relieved to know that was possibly the key to the diaries.

As she explored the room, she noticed various things, from globes of the world, to maps pointing out the stars and their constellations.

Vials filled with strange liquids, with all the colors of the rainbow, she was smart enough to check the labels before opening one, "pain-be-gone", and Eleanor sniffed it, it had an orangey scent, similar to its color.

She decided to place it inside the pockets of her cloak, maybe it could be useful someday.
Or maybe she just liked hoarding stuff.

The next one she saw read "Visibility-No-More!" Eleanor wondered if that meant it was an invisibility potion, or perhaps a blindness potion. If it was the latter, that would be a really stupid idea, right? There was no way that could ever be useful.