Ancients ( On Hiatus)

Chapter 2

Kloe's eyes blinked open, reveling the early morning. The sun had just started to rise, and the sky was starting to turn to a light blue. Kloe jumped out of bed and quickly got dressed. She grabbed the map, then slowly opened her door, trying not to wake anyone up. As she neared the front door, her breath hitched as she heard someone behind her. She slowly turned around, to see Adam standing in the middle of the hallway. Kloe tensed, but relaxed when she noticed that Adam's eyes were closed, he was sleep walking. Kloe turned back around to the door, and stepped outside, ignoring her brothers creepy habit. 

It nearly too dark to see this early in the morning, and most of the nocturnal animals were still outside. Kloe let out a breath, relieved as she saw the city, as she thought that she had gotten lost in the woods.

The merchants were just starting to set up their booths as Kloe passed. Kloe came up to a building with a sign above the door that said, 'Maps'. Kloe stepped inside, and saw unraveled maps strewn across the floor, showing the way to far off destinations. Kloe's attention snapped up as she heard the clattering of paint brushes. A man stood up, reveling his messy red hair, and clothes splattered by fresh paint. "Aww, I just cleaned these clothes!" The man said, seemingly talking to himself.

Kloe cleared her throught, brining the man's attention up to her. "Oh, apologies young one, I didn't expect anyone. I don't get very many visitors" The man said as he started to walk towards a messy desk. 

"Why not?" Kloe asked the man as he started to clean off his desk. "Well, not very many people want to leave the city of Redam" The man explained, "So not very many people need or want maps"

The man looked to Kloe, "So, why are you here?" He asked. Kloe brought the map out of her pocket and handed it to the man. The man unraveled the map, and looked at it confused. "What is it?" Kloe asked. 

The man's gaze never left the map as he answered her, "I was sure I was the only map maker in the city, but I don't remember making this map". Kloe felt disappointment run through her. As The man was still looking at the map and muttering to himself, Kloe started to look around the small shop. She stopped when she noticed a map on the ground. The map looked old, and worn away,  it was tied closed with a string. Kloe grabbed it after she saw the same sword and emblems underneath the string. The mans attention returned to her as she unraveled the map. "So that's why those symbols looked so familiar" The man said as he approached her from behind to see the map.

As Kloe unraveled the map, she saw a much more professional map then the one she found in that wine bottle. Kloe wasn't sure what building was painted on the map, but she could see a red arrow pointing at a trap door in an empty room. "When did you make this?" Kloe asked, turning around to face the man. 

The man shook his head "I didn't, someone came in here a few years back and just left it!" The man chuckled, "He must have been high ranking if he managed to make a map of the entire castle!"

Kloe looked back at the map, curiosity running through her veins. "How much money is this map?" She asked. The man looked at her like she just grew a second head, "You aren't seriously thinking of sneaking into the palace! You'd be killed if you got caught!"

Kloe thought it over for a second. She would be killed if she got caught, but if she didn't go, she wouldn't find out why that map was in her house. "How much money is the map?" She asked again. The man sighed at this, "Three coins" He replied to her.

Kloe searched through her pockets, managing to find the coins. She gave them to the man, then left the shop. As she stepped outside, she saw that it was almost near the evening. The market was filled with people, and all the stands were now set up. She put both of the maps in her pockets, then made her way through the crowd, towards the castle.