The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 5

                                                                                 Aaron

I had expected the teachers to take us all to the cafeteria where everyone else were, or maybe to the headmaster's office for some reprimanding, but to my surprise, they led us up the winding staircase on the left and through hallways that we've never been through before. As the teachers walked briskly to wherever we were headed, we jogged to catch up and look around in wonder at the same time.

The halls that we pass through were different than the ones that we were used to. Portraits and paintings adorned the walls, along with tapestries that looked like they belonged in a medieval manor. I recognized some of the portraits as past Rosewood Elders and headmasters/ headmistresses, but others were completely unknown to me. I saw a portrait of a stern-looking man who seemed like some sort of a professor to me. His face was fixed in a permanent scowl, but his eyes seemed to hold some sort of secret in them. There was another one that made an imprint in my mind. It was the picture of a beautiful and elegantly-dressed lady, but her gaze was steely and she had a warrior sort of feel to her. Somehow I imagined that's what Katherine would look like if she was older and had that fancy dress.

I shook the thought away as the teachers led us down yet another winding hallway. This one was filled with artifacts and objects in glass display cases. We passed a few busts, a couple of swords, and several weird-looking wooden things. Lucian pointed out a wizard's staff to me.

I had so many questions, and my legs were beginning to tire from climbing a lot of stairs and walking down a lot of halls. And I was a runner; my legs were used to long-distances. Where are they taking us? What are these portraits and objects? Why have we never been told of these places before?

Katherine dropped back to talk to me quietly. "Where are we going? I thought I knew the layout of Rosewood Academy like the palm of my hand but now these extra weird-but-cool hallways popped out."

"I have no idea," I answered. "I didn't know the academy was so big."

"You see all those rooms we passed by? What do you think are in them? Do you think they might have held classes here?" Katherine asked, her eyes shining with curiosity.

"I didn't pay much attention to them," I confessed. "I was looking at the portraits and artifacts."

"Dude, the swords are so cool, and did you catch sight of that awesome cloak in one of the hallways---"

"Kids, we are going to go through a secret passageway. Please be quiet and follow closely," came the voice of Mr. Watts.

We looked at each other with surprise and excitement. Secret passageway! In our very own school! Katherine was practically jumping up and down.

I watched as Mr. Loren walked to a picture of the early days of the academy. Pressing a secret panel in the wall, the painting swung open. Inside was a keypad of some sort, ancient and worn. Mr. Loren touched the tiles in a certain order, and with an echoing boom, the walls slid back in front of our faces and revealed a dark tunnel.

We walked through that tunnel in pairs, one after each other. Each pair held a torch, and I couldn't help feeling like those explorers from the old days who explored caves and other mysterious places. I noticed Katherine, who was my partner, trying to conceal a small glow in her hands. I poked her, and she sheepishly revealed a gold orb the size of a golf ball.

"I previewed some spells and stuff, and I found that when you say this one spell after rubbing some of this blue powder on your hands it'll form an orb to act like a light source," she whispered. I rolled my eyes exaggeratedly at her; it was so typical of her to read ahead and do all this advanced stuff. I preview too, but Katherine was better. She actually tries everything out while I just read the information.