Saving Her Kingdom

♡ Chapter 33

Chapter 33 (Edited)

He swiftly sat up and sucked in a breath with wide eyes, "You're right, that must be it." Then, he looked at me, "You have the message?"

"Yes," I took out the message from my pocket and unfolded the sheet. We grinned at each other and Thomas got to his feet, "Let's do it."

I looked at the sun and estimated the time we would have until it set. It would illuminate the cave until the sunset, I could see it from the angle. "We have... more or less an hour," I said, while advancing towards the black rock.

"Let's hope that will be enough time," Thomas replied.

We stopped in front of the black rock and I looked down at the message.

"Follow the map.
Find a raven black rock.
Go underneath.
Use the key to open," I read out loud.

I inspected the black rock. It looked exactly like a normal rock, only its color was completely black. I took out my mother's necklace. "I have to use the key to open it apparently."

Thomas crouched down to take a closer look and examined the shape of the rock. He suddenly pointed at a small hole. "Look!"

I crouched down as well and saw the exact imprint of the key engraved into the rock.

"That looks like a keyhole," I remarked and unclipped the necklace from my neck. I pressed the key into the keyhole and waited for something to happen. But after a few seconds, nothing had changed. I looked at Thomas perplexed and he shrugged. Then he pushed the key into the keyhole a bit more forcefully, and suddenly, we heard a distinct click. The ground rumbled as the black rock began to move. It seemed to rotate around an axe in its middle, creating a growing opening on each side. Then, the movement abruptly stopped right as the black rock stood perpendicular to its former position.

I stared in delight at the functioning of the mechanism and slowly stepped forward. Luckily, the sun still illuminated inside of the black rock. There was what seemed like a long corridor, followed by two gate-like entrances made of stones. On the wall near the black rock, I saw a recess containing an oil lamp.

After Thomas went through, I pointed at it, and asked, "Do you have a fire-lighter?"

"Yes," he replied and took out a fire-lighter from one of his pockets. "I'll light the oil lamp," he murmured while checking the level of the oil inside the lamp. Then he lighted it. The small flame of the lamp flickered and illuminated the rock around us shortly after. I look at the message and read out loud, "Use it to close.
Choose the right room."

I pressed the key against the keyhole again and after the click, the black rock turned back in its former place, cutting us out of the outside world. The light of the oil lamp flickered in silence. I walked further into the darkness of the corridor behind Thomas, who held the lamp above our heads. Only the sounds of our steps and our breathing could be heard.

We arrived at the two entrances. "Choose the right room, it says," I said quietly. On the stone above each entrance, there was the Ravenport's crest engraved in it. They looked quite identical, but they were too high for me to see the details. "I think I have to choose the right one, but I can't see them well," I squinted my eyes at the crests.

Thomas looked at me hesitantly, "Should I lift you up?"

"That would be great," I replied and he handed me the lamp. He contemplated the action for a few moments and then took me by the waist, while crouching a bit. I held onto his shoulder and the wall while he sat me onto his other shoulder. He stood up again, grunting a bit under my weight.