Sorry for the long wait, but here's the next chapter. A small recap: Shane and Pip were eating dinner in the dining hall when the entire castle suddenly went into lockdown because one of the Queen's soldiers had been attacked and killed. I have been planning/plotting more of the story, so hopefully chapters will be more frequent in the future! And if you enjoy this story so far, please leave a review!
Chapter 10:
The lockdown lasted about 12 hours. Luckily, Pip had a secret stash of candy and chips that he had secretly kept hidden from the house-cleaning crews. In other words, he had been stuffing food underneath one of our floorboards. But hey, I wasn't complaining.
All night we snacked food and played little games to pass the time. Hide and Seek seemed to be both of our favorites.
Every once in a while I would think back and wonder what was going on outside at the moment. The shield charm had a soundproof barrier incorporated into it so we could hear absolutely nothing that may have being going on around us. Which made it easy to forget the potentially dangerous situation we were in. Everything had happened so fast… Pip had said this was not the first time something like this had happened here. He told me that the first time this happened they were on lockdown for a whole week. Apparently long-lasting shield charms come with a food supplement charm as well. Pip said the food wasn't very good. That's why he had started hoarding sweets under the floorboard.
We fell asleep somewhere around midnight, waking up around sunrise from the collective retreat of the shield charms. Pip sat up, rubbing his eyes and letting out a huge yawn.I sat up as well, stretching before I got up, and watched the last of the shield charm melt away. Outside I could hear the creaking of doors opening and people slowly venturing out into the corridor."Safe to go out now?" Pip mumbled, still half asleep with a blanket draped over his head. I looked back at the door, the shield charm now completely gone, "Yep. The shield charm was taken away."
Pip nodded sleepily, "Uh huh. Aria took charm away. Safe now," he said, his eyes slowly drooping closed again. Before long, he had dropped back onto his pillow, fast asleep once more. Maybe I'll go check out the castle... Grab some breakfast, look around... try and find out what the heck happened that forced us into a full-blown lockdown... Yep. I definitely had a few questions that needed answers.
I quietly changed into some new clothes before unlocking our door and stepping outside into the busy corridor that had been vacant just minutes before. People were cautiously wandering around and finding their friends, murmuring in hushed voices. I began wondering down the halls, trying to remember which way we had gone to get to the dining hall… I guess I had made a few wrong turns, because I did not recognize the corridor I was in one bit. Nobody else was in the corridor. The walls were older, cracked with age. Cobblestone floors stretched out to my left and right with long, velvet tapestries complete with gold tassels hanging along the smooth, stone walls.
I must've been near the central part of the castle. The authentic, medieval architecture was amazing… My parents were both architects- they would be so ecstatic to see something like this, so perfectly preserved. I shook my head and really looked around, trying to figure out where the dining hall might be from here.
Coming in from an intersecting hallway, a small servant bustled past, juggling several expensive-looking vases and other fragile trinkets. As he brushed past, his fingers slipped and one of the vases began to slip from the pile. I quickly flashed my hand out and steadied the vase as the little servant yelped in alarm at having almost dropped what I had assumed to be a very expensive decoration. "Thank you, sir," said the little servant boy, just a few years older than Pip, "If that vase hadn't made it back to its pedestal…" he trailed off, his eyebrows knit together in worry.
"Let me help you then," I offered, taking the big vase that had almost fallen. "Oh! Are you sure? Thank you so much, sir! That'll be a huge help! That vase goes on the pedestal allll the way down there," he said, nodding with his head to my right. "I can manage the rest!" he said with a smile as he ambled off with the rest of the decorations piled high in his little arms.
Holding the vase carefully in both hands, I began walking down the corridor, searching for the pedestal that the boy had mentioned. I passed several suits of armor and various portraits as I carried the vase further down the hall. Eventually, I located the empty pedestal a few paces away.
As I headed towards it, I began to hear a couple of voices from a nearby room. Slowing down, I was able to make out who the voices belonged to. It was Aria and Whit.
"That's the second attack this moon! We can't keep this up much longer, and you know it." I heard Aria say in a strained voice.
"That doesn't mean we can trust him! We are better off without him, regardless," Whit snapped back.
"Why? What's your problem, Whit? Why do you seem to hate Shane?" Aria asked, her temper rising.
When I heard my name, I froze in my tracks, right outside the door. Maybe I'll find out some of the answers that have been on my mind… I listened more intently to their conversation, their voices crystal clear with my newfound senses.
"I don't hate Shane. That's not the problem. It's his other half: The Cheshire Cat. He's the one that I don't trust," Whit spat in anger.
A cold chill ran through me, but I stayed silent, waiting to hear more. "Why?" Aria asked, "Why do you hate the Cheshire Cat so much then, Whit?" she asked, her voice betraying her confusion and irritation.
"Why?" he repeated darkly, pain so clearly evident in his voice, "The Cheshire Cat murdered my father. That's why."
The vase I was holding slipped from my hands and crashed to the hard, stone floor, shattering into a thousand pieces.
Oooh... That gave me chills just writing it... Another cliffhanger! Anyone see that coming? I doubt it. Tell me what you guys think! Please fav/fol/review if you haven't already! I basically have the whole plot planned out now, but if you guys have any suggestions/requests don't hesitate to share them with me! It's a little shorter than normal chapters, but I hope you still enjoyed the read.