Fallen Angel

Investigation

“I’m beginning to think that the legend was wrong,” Kyle said with a frown. Together, he and Marissa had searched every single passageway within the castle. Every torch could be a hidden switch, every painting could be a secret door, and each tapestry could be guarding something important. Kyle lost count of how many times he knocked on walls and inspected vases. Marissa was beginning to appear weary as well.

 “We’ll have to wait and see what Leira and Will find,” she replied. A couple walked by, eying them warily. Of course they would appear suspicious, maybe a tad insane. Kyle received a lot of confused stares when he pulled on torches.

 He nodded and they proceeded to walk back to the ballroom. Or rather, they tried to head back. The first floor was a maze, and neither of them had been in the castle before. They found the entrance to the rear courtyard, the garden, and the library, but not the ballroom. It seemed luck was not on their side tonight.

 As they continued walking, Kyle noticed a door that appeared different than all the others. He stopped, and Marissa continued for a few paces before realizing that her companion was no longer with her.

 “What is it?” she inquired, approaching him.

 “Doesn’t this seem a bit strange? This one is different than all the others.” Indeed, it was; not only was it a different style, it was built of different material. To top it all off, there were two thick wooden boards in place, preventing one from entering. They exchanged cheerful glances, both believing that their luck was about to change.

 “We shouldn’t,” he muttered.

 Marissa nodded. “Yes, someone will get angry.”

 “We’ll get thrown out of the castle for sure.”

 They hesitated for a moment before hastily snatching the boards and yanking them off of the door. Luckily, they made little noise as they were pried off. The nails holding them were old and weak.

 Marissa grasped the golden door knob and turned it slowly. Its hinges creaked loudly as it opened, causing her to wince. Kyle carried the boards in both arms, ready to store the evidence inside.

 The room was dark with the exception of the moonlight streaming in through a window. Marissa closed the door behind them after they were inside, so no one on the outside would get curious. Kyle propped the boards against the wall.

 The moonlight only provided a small amount of light, so all that was visible was a small speck of tiled floor and some tall object covered in white cloth. Curtains covered the window, but they were thin, allowing the light to stream in. Kyle carefully walked over to them, keeping his hands outstretched in from of him so he did not run into anything.

 “Careful!” Marissa whispered after him.

 He grasped the curtains in his hands and threw them back. More light covered the room now. It was rather small and empty. The tall object, after close inspection, turned out to be an old wardrobe. A shorter, longer object was covered in similar cloth; a bed, missing a pillow and blankets. A short bookshelf was behind it, covered in a thick layer of dust.

 “This probably used to be someone’s bedroom,” Marissa commented as her eyes took in all that there was to see.

 “I wonder whose. By the looks of things, no one’s been in here for a very long time,” Kyle replied, examining the bookshelf. Instead of books, it held many cobwebs. At least the spiders found some use for this room.

 “More importantly, why has it been boarded up? I hope it wasn’t because of a disease,” Marissa added.

 “I doubt that; but someone certainly didn’t want people coming in here.”

 Suddenly, among the cobwebs, Kyle noticed a small lump on the lowest shelf. It could have been anything; a piece of jewelry, money, anything. Out of curiosity, he reached out a hand and touched it. It was covered in dust, and he had to shoo some spiders away from it.

 He picked it up and examined it. It was a gear, small and completely useless. It was broken in some places, and seemed to hold no significance whatsoever. After he put it back where he found it, he heard something click behind him.

 “What was that?” Marissa whispered, looking around the room.

 “I have no idea,” he said with a frown. He picked the gear up again and examined it once more.  Upon closer inspection, he noticed a string tied around one of its spokes. The string was connected to the backing on the shelf, through a small hole. Did this set off some kind of mechanism?

 He put it back down once again and stood in the center of the room. A soft rumbling sound echoed through the chamber. It was a bit alarming, considering someone outside might hear and end up finding them. Surely the loud music and chatter would distract the partygoers from this, right?

 The rumbling stopped as soon as it had started, leading him to believe it was nothing special. Maybe it was a device for calling a servant. That was the case until Marissa gasped and said, “Kyle, you’ve got to see this!”

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A/N: Holy cheese, this chapter is only one page. Okay, now they're getting too short...

Constructive feedback is appreciated :)