Elizabeth

Chapter 2- The room

Elizabeth paced around her room huffing and puffing, how could they speak to her like that?! They certainly won't get away with it, that's for sure. Her fuming thoughts were rudely interrupted by a thundering knock on the door. Elizabeth stopped in her tracks, "come in," she offered, taking a deep breath so not to seem so irritated. Laura barged her way in and jumped onto Elizabeth practically suffocating her in frills and skirts. "Thank you so much!" she squealed, "I've never seen anyone stand up to those two before, that was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" Laura was jumping up and down on the spot with a huge grin plastered across her face. Elizabeth, slightly taken aback by the outgoing girl brushed herself down and asked, "So who were they anyway?" Laura paused for a second, "they were Margret and Meredith, the snobbiest girls to ever set foot in this dreaded place- Master's favourites," she mimicked in a high-pitched voice. "Some say that they pay him to keep them there, others even say they're related, though I personally think that a mouse and an elephant have a better chance at being related than those three. Nobody's ever stood up to them before, probably because of their huge size and clown faces. So I mean, your pretty brave is all I came to say." Laura finished with a friendly smile. Elizabeth looked down at the ground surprised with how grateful her peculiar friend was, "thanks" she smiled back. Laura looked at her and tilted her head slightly, "I've decided" she exclaimed in a somewhat demanding voice that took Elizabeth by shock, "I'm going to show you something I've never shown anyone else before!" Laura gestured for Elizabeth to follow her with a twinkle in her eyes.

They curved their way through the maze-like mansion wandering through corridor after corridor until they came to a small door. It stood out as it was much darker in colour than the other doors as well as being much dustier and archaic looking. It had a brass handle with a small keyhole. Laura fished around in her pockets until she pulled out a complex looking brass key, "I got this from the kitchen a while ago, pretty sure they just assumed it was lost and got a new copy made...not that I think anyone but me goes in this room anyway." Laura's eyes glistened as she spoke reflecting passion and secrets that Elizabeth yearned to unlock. It was at this moment she realised that Laura might not have just been the ordinary girl she had taken her for. "Why would no one else go here? And why is it locked?" Elizabeth asked, her voice filled with curiosity as her heartbeat quickened at the thought of knowing what's beyond this strange door. Laura didn't stop to answer her question, instead slowly turning the old brass lock with the stolen key. The ancient looking door slowly creaked open as cobwebs rained down as if welcoming Elizabeth's visit. The sight that met Elizabeth's eyes was truly extraordinary, shelves and shelves of books reaching to the ceiling towering like skyscrapers. Books so covered in dust that you could hardly read the names of them, Laura walked around lighting the candles to bring a dim glow to the library. Curious as to why it was locked Elizabeth was about to ask again but Laura practically read her mind, "I know, not as exciting as you thought it would be." Elizabeth shook her head in disagreement but Laura continued. "You see a long time ago, when I first arrived this library was open to everyone, it really was a glorious sight, contrary to the gloomy mess it is now." Laura sighed, "Anyway I used to come here a lot, but one day a rumour went round that there was a secret room found by a boy who'd been here much longer than I had. Nobody knew what it contained, the boy was told his friends about the room but when he went back to find it and show them, he couldn't. His friends laughed it off thinking it was a joke and went to bed however when they woke up, they couldn't find him. That night he simply disappeared, Master searched for him everywhere but he was nowhere to be seen." Laura sighed. "But that's not all, a rumour went round about the room till all people wanted to do was to search for it. Master ended up locking the library, he said the rumour wasn't true but locked it anyway. That's what I find suspicious. The whole time I've been here I've been searching for a way to get in here and find the room; I want to get the bottom of this mystery. Don't tell anyone but I've actually been here for many years, I'm afraid that I'll 'disappear' if I dig too deep and start spreading rumours so I've kept it a secret. This whole searching business that is, but I don't know how long I've got left, hence why I'm telling you. Will you help me?" Laura looked up at Elizabeth with puppy eyes glistening in the dim candle light, however, Elizabeth was still trying to conceive the overwhelming information she'd be given. Elizabeth looked down at her and nodded her head, "I will help you." She announced, she needed to know what was going on. Laura leapt for joy and once again hugged Elizabeth tightly. "Thank you so much, let's start tomorrow!" She declared, her voice filled with determination. "Ok," Elizabeth giggled, "see you tomorrow." She waved goodbye as Laura skipped out.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and started to wonder down the jungle of books. Her fingers traced along the archaic spines of the books as she took turn after turn. Her fazed walk was abruptly stopped by a book that felt different to the rest. It felt almost completely solid; she tried to read the title however it was covered in a thick layer of dust which had eaten away at the text. Elizabeth pulled the book out to try to see what was so different about it however it only pulled halfway which produced a clicking sound. There was a deafening sound of walls moving behind her as she darted around. To her surprise, the walls behind her really had moved exposing a dusty staircase hidden in darkness. Taking her candle from the wall to illuminate her way, Elizabeth slowly crept down the stairs. She knew it was stupid but her heart needed to know if this was the room that boy had found and what was down there that she couldn't know about.

After what seemed like hours of creeping down the dark dreary stairs she met a room, it seemed quite cramped and too dark to see anything significant in. Elizabeth noticed candles along the side of the room and went around lighting each one providing light, revealing what shouldn't have been revealed to the likes of her. She was shocked to see a shrine at the end of the room, surrounded by candles and flowers which oddly enough looked fresh. In the middle of the shrine was a picture of a beautiful lady, she looked around 20 with long dark hair and piercing eyes which could capture the heart of any man. She seemed to have an aura of profession and looked very ladylike. Elizabeth noticed that the picture didn't seem to be covered in dust like everything else, this was incredibly fishy. Finally able to fully examine the room she turned around to see the rest and nearly tumbled backwards, for the sight that met her eyes was truly horrific. Alongside the shrine were simply rows of gravestones, each with a first and last name, though none looked familiar. None had candles or flowers near them like the shrine did and looked like they were in poor condition. She almost felt a sense of guilt and empathy for the poor people who rested there. To her left was another small door, similar to the entrance to the library. Elizabeth pulled on the handle however it wouldn't budge, most likely locked. Perhaps Laura could help her find the key for it, that' right. Laura would die to see this; it was what she had been searching for after all. Elizabeth smiled in anticipation of seeing her friend's smile at the sight of this room and decided she'd come back tomorrow with Laura to explore more. She blew out all candles in the room but her own and took one last look at the beautiful picture before making her way out, cautiously leaving small marks in the dust to show her the way for tomorrow. Elizabeth shut the library door behind her and headed back to her room to see Charlotte sound asleep already like a baby. Thoughts crowded Elizabeth's mind of telling Laura about the room tomorrow and Laura's laugh of glee echoed in her ears as her eyes fell heavy and she fell asleep.

Elizabeth woke to being roughly shaken by Charlotte who had a distressed look on her face. "Elizabeth! Elizabeth!" She shouted frantically. Elizabeth rubbed her eyes and tilted her head. Charlotte frowned and took Elizabeth's hand. "Apparently Laura's been missing since last night. Everyone's been looking for her, including the Master but nobody's been able to track her down. I'm so sorry..."