Aster allowed North to open the door, not because he wished to hide behind the giant's strength but, rather because the giant's strength was crucial to their entering: someone would have to force the thick door from its hinges, and that was right up North's alley.
"It's open," North said, simply turning the knob, peering inside.
"Open?" Aster hesitated. "Close it then. There must be something wrong. Why would something as valuable as the Prince's private zoo be left unlocked?"
"It smells of animals something awful in there," North said. "Did I get a whiff!"
"Let me think," Aster said; "I'll figure it out," and he tried to do his best, but it made no sense. You didn't leave diamonds lying around on the breakfast table and you kept the Zoo of Death shut and bolted. So there had to be a reason; it was just a matter of exercising your brain power and the answer would be there. (The answer to why be unlocked was really this: it was always unlocked. And the reason for that was really this: safety. No one who had entered via the front door had ever survived to exit again. The idea basically belonged to Count Black, who helped the Prince architect the place. The Prince selected the location-the furthest corner of the castle grounds, away from everything, so the roars wouldn't bother the servants-but the Count designed the entrance. The real entrance was by a giant tree, where a root lifted and revealed a staircase and down you went until you arrived at the fifth level. The false entrance, called the real entrance, took you down levels the ordinary way, first to seco9nd, second to third, or, actually second to death)
"Yes," Aster said finally.
"You figured it out?"
"The reason the door was unlocked is simply this: the albino would have locked it, he would never have been stupid enough as not to, but, North, my friend, we got to him before he got to it. Clearly, once he was done with host wheelbarrowing, he would have begun locking and bolting. It's quite all right; you can stop worrying; lets go."
"I just feel so safe with you," North said, and he pulled the door open a second time. As he did it, he noticed that not only was the door unlocked, it didn't even have a place for a lock, and he wondered should he mention that to Aster, but decided against it, because Aster would have to wait and figure some more and they had done enough of that already, because, although he said he felt safe with Aster, in truth he was ver frightened. He had heard odd things about this place, and lions don't bother him, and who cares about gorillas; they were nothing. It was the creepers that made him squeamish. And the slitherers. And the stringers. And the...and the everything, North decided, to be truthfully honest. Spiders and snakes and bugs and bats and you name it- he just wasn't very fond of any of them. "Still smells of animals," he said, and he held the door open for Aster, and together, stride for stride, they entered the Zoo of Death, the great door shutting silently behind them.
"Quite a bizarre place." Aster said, moving past several large cages in which were cheetahs and hummingbirds and other swifts things. At the end of the hall was another door with a sign above it saying, 'to level two.' They opened that door and saw a fight of satires leading very steeply down. "Careful," Aster said; "stay close to me and watch your balance."
They started down toward the second level.
"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh at me or mock me or be mean to me?" North asked.
"My word," Aster nodded.
"I'm just scared to pieces," North said.
"Be sure it ceases," Aster said right back.
YOU ARE READING
The Princess Bride
FanfictionWhen Jamie is sick with the flue on the Christmas holiday's all he can do is play his videos games and eat his meals that his mother has made him. He never planned on his father reading him, a book. This one book was a story that was read to father...
