Knowing she couldn't stop to catch her breath, Arianthe continued to head down the corridor. The stone was dry and bits of it crumbled where she walked so the girl was constantly checking the floor in front of her in case it gave way altogether.
Vaguely she could hear shouting coming from the blocked doorway. Glancing over her shoulder she could see the door shaking slightly, which made her quicken her step in fear of getting caught again.
The Princess looked up and noticed a lantern hanging high up on the wall, she reached up, took it down and held it to her face. The warm orange glow illuminated the glint in her green eyes, which made them look like emeralds dancing on firecrackers. The banging at the door had stopped. Maybe they had given up. Or maybe they'd found another way in.
Presently, Arianthe came to a set of stairs. It was pitch black so she was glad she had got a lantern, even if it was small. The girl paused before deciding to go down them; what had she to lose?
Shivering slightly Princess Arianthe made her way down the crumbling stairs with an intrepid air. At the bottom of the stairs was another corridor with several doors to the right and left of her. She tried the first one on her right. Locked. She tried the one on the left. Locked. After trying all the doors - which were locked - Arianthe turned to go back up the stairs when she suddenly noticed another door right at the end of the passage. It was covered by a tapestry of a woman that the princess did not recognise and all that could be seen of it was the rusted door handle and keyhole. She hoped it wasn't locked.
Holding the lantern aloft she advanced towards the hidden door, not knowing why she felt so afraid all of a sudden.
She stopped.
Somehow she knew that whatever was behind this door was very important.
Otherwise it would not have been covered up.
Arianthe took a deep breath and pushed away the tapestry so she could see the door handle more clearly. Trying to turn the handle she realised it was a lot more stiff than she initially thought. Perhaps it was locked too? Or maybe the door just had not been opened in a long time.
Suddenly the door handle just gave way and came off in the princesses hand, this made her stumble back, trip on a loose stone and collided with the hard ground with a thud. Whilst she sat on the floor trying to get her breath back, the ancient door swung open with a resounding creak.
"Hello? Who is there?" Came a voice.
But it wasn't Arianthe's...
YOU ARE READING
Her Portrait
FantasyYoung Princess Arianthe has never stepped foot outside the castle. Her father, King Eustace is determined to keep her safe due to the disappearance of her mother years ago. But what he doesn't know is Arianthe is slowly learning his secrets and find...
