The Secret of the Seven Princesses

Sanctum Chapter 4

A hush fell over the princesses as they filed into the room. They gathered in a tense cluster near the door, though there was plenty of space in which to spread out. The mahogany door had opened to a room of such splendor and span that Callia was rendered momentarily speechless. Her imagination—which had already been working overtime in memorizing the description of the stone tunnel—threatened to burst as she attempted to catalog the new details to add to her journal in the morning.

The princesses' chamber could fit easily within the room, along with the throne room, the royal dining room, and perhaps a broom closet nestled in the corner. Magic seemed to hang in the very air from the moment the first princess stepped onto the plush, off-white carpeting. Callia felt it in her very bones as it wiped away the last vestiges of her fatigue, leaving her as energized as if it were mid-afternoon instead of after midnight. Flames burst into being from the immense golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Thin tapered candles were also spaced around the walls, held by golden sconces to provide further illumination for their observation.

Three of the walls were covered in a light lilac fabric that—when Callia drew near enough to touch—turned out to be soft velvet; it shimmered and shone from the effects of the many sources of candlelight. She had never felt anything as soft as the velvet that covered the walls, nor had she ever stepped on any carpet as thick as the one beneath her feet. A dozen purple armchairs stood in a corner, adding to the hominess. It was as if the decorator of this room knew exactly what elements were needed to create a comfortable, yet elegant atmosphere.

Nine different doors, including the one the princesses had entered, stood at intervals around the lilac-colored walls. They were all carved from the same dark mahogany, matching the wooden trim around the bottom of the walls. The wall directly across from the entrance featured a colorful sunset landscape over a platform raised about four feet off the ground.

Her sisters had long since spread out to examine the chamber more closely. Eurielle dashed in and out of the doors along the walls, exclaiming at the top of her lungs to absolutely nobody that seven of them led to medium-sized rooms, while the eighth was blocked by a cave-in. Thaleia practiced falling off of the raised platform. Petra was examining one of the golden sconces, feeling around its base for any sign of weakness. Eralie sat in one of the purple armchairs while Cliodne felt along the velvet wall behind her. Raia stood at the opposite end of the room, admiring the walled landscape.

Callia simply remained where she stood near the doorway, allowing her sisters' excited voices to fade into the background. For a moment, she became lost in admiration of her surroundings, in the play of light off the walls and the beauty of the chandelier. She could tell that it would take several pages in her journal to adequately describe the room before her.

"Girls! Come over here!" Raia's voice finally broke through Callia's reverie. Oddly enough, her voice failed to echo around the cavernous chamber; Callia suspected that the magic hanging in the air absorbed the sound.

Raia excitedly beckoned them over to the colorful fourth wall. Callia could understand her sister's fascination with the beautiful landscape; it was almost like looking out a window onto a vibrant seaside sunset.

The remaining princesses clustered around the platform that Raia stood upon. Callia hefted herself on top to join her sister, taking care not to spill any wax from her diminishing candle. As she approached the landscape, her candle's flame reflected strangely on the wall, and only then did she realize why Raia was so enthralled: the sunset scene was composed of millions of gemstones.

"Wow..." Eralie breathed, approaching on Callia's left to finger the rubied sky.

For the first time since she had entered the room, Callia regained her ability to speak. "This place is amazing," she said. "I've never seen anything like it."