Lovers (A Newtina Fanfic)

Part 11

Tina dragged her fingers along the unfamiliar stone walls, turning and twisting down the stairwell. What would happen if I tried to escape? Tina thought to herself. I could always take refuge in the town all the way down the mountain, but- oh shoot, they took away my coat. So I couldn't survive outside. Tina quietly groaned. They probably have a million safeguards. The stairwell was cold, and she wished she had brought a cardigan with her. At least the blouse was long-sleeved. There were torches along the wall, which provided less heat than she expected, maybe because it was drafty. The torches could be useful. She tried taking one, but it was- of course, firmly locked in place, by magic, no doubt. She suddenly realized they didn't tell her where breakfast would be.

Queenie?

Morning, Teenie. You're up early.

Yeah. You, too. You doing anything right now?

I'm feeding the mooncalves. Aren't they the cutest? Tina swore she could hear a little giggle coming from Queenie, though that was impossible.

Yeah, they're pretty cute. I like occamys better, and I love Pickett.

Oh, Pickett's a dear. But I have a feeling you have a question.

Yup. Um, where's breakfast? I don't know where I am right now, so the maps you sent me aren't really helping.

I can't do location tracking yet, though I've gotten as far as locating someone from Northern Ireland. I'm practising. So I can't give you instructions, but the dining hall, at least for acolytes, and occasionally hostages-

There have been others?

Yup. Anyway, the dining hall's on the first floor. That's all I can tell you because sometimes the rooms change locations. The maps I sent you are mostly rough estimates, but some rooms never change, mostly the bedrooms. And a good thing too. I accidentally walked into two aco- you know what, never mind.

Okay...thanks, I guess. I'm going to wander around until I find where I'm supposed to be.

Kay. See ya.

See ya. Bye.

Tina reached the bottom of the stairwell and assumed that it would be the first floor. A painting hung on the wall in the stairwell. It was a painting of a cheerful teen girl, rivers of gold hair pooling around her. She sat, swinging her legs on a rafter in what looked like a tower, and she wore pale purple robes. An unusually green toad perched on her shoulder. The little sign on the bottom of the frame read, Rapunzel and Her Toad, 1782. Tina vaguely remembered hearing the name in her lessons at Ilvermorny. Rapunzel was a German painter, astronomer, and writer. And she was charmed from birth with an insane amount of hair. Tina always thought it would be incredibly inconvenient to have to walk around with all that hair. Rapunzel waved.

"Hello, Miss Rapunzel, do you mind telling me where the dining hall is?" Tina asked.

"Oh, sure! I think I got a glimpse of it when they put me here. I'm not totally sure, this place is a maze, but walk to the left, and then take a right at the nearest fork in the hallway. And then it should be somewhere around that area. Are you a hostage?"

"Yes. And thank you for the directions, Miss."

"Oh, no worries. Just...good luck, Ma'am." Tina gave the girl a rapt nod and walked out of the door. Good luck...that was ominous. But she brushed it off and followed the girl's directions. Walk left...keep walking left...keep walking left...fork in the hallway...walk right...keep walking right...and a little sign that said dining hall in German -Tina spoke German, French, and Spanish- pointed to a set of doors. The sign was probably for the benefit of the acolytes, but it was useful to her too. Tina exhaled, gathering her nerves.