Kel turned around from the direction she was heading and slowly began to walk towards the unknown sound coming from one of the many sitting rooms of the East Wing. She was unsure how to act in this kind of situation because Lingheren barely ever changed its internal affairs inside the castle. Everyday was as monotonous and boring as the next. Reaching the door, she turned the knob and with a feeling of curiosity more than of fear threw it open to reveal Neal lying on his stomach staring at the floor. All around him were books, some lying open, some with pages bent, while others lay closed on top of her friend and fellow servant of Lingheren. Keladry immediately with a smile on her face trotted over to where Neal was splayed out on the floor.

"What happened?" She asked covering up a laugh.

Neal didn't move, but continued to lie where he was, the right side of his face pressed against the ground giving it a smushed up look. Without changing position he answered Kel.

"I stole some books from the library to read and figured I could hide them in here since no one ever uses it. I tripped over the carpet and fell. I feel pain." He finished pitifully.

"Smart. I mean this castle has, what, about 400 rooms? Good job, Neal. Good job." Kel smiled and began to walk away.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"I need help up."

Kel sighed and gave Neal her hand. Grunting, he got to his feet and began to pick up the books around him.

"Okay, I have to get back to work now. This has been enough of a detour for me." Kel picked up the last book and handed it to her friend. "See you around and watch your step." Snickering she opened the door.

"What do you mean you have work to do?" Asked Neal. "Since when does Lady Agnes call on you to do anything?"

"I-I do things." Keladry stuttered.

"Like?"

"Like-I clean her room…that is when it's not locked. Oh! I take her dresses to Daine to be cleaned…that is when she wears them. She's always wearing that same dress all the time. You know the scarlet one with that makeshift rope she ties around her waist. Ugly thing."

"No, actually I don't since I've never seen her."

Neal who had been working at the castle for almost as long as Kel had never seen the Lady Agnes, as neither had most of the castle servants or its inhabitants. Agnes, since her childhood, liked to play hide-and-go seek. As a grown-up, young woman, she still enjoyed her own version of it.

"Well you're not missing much." Kel said giving Neal a smile. "Meet me in sitting room number fourty-four in about an hour. That'll give you sometime to look through your stolen books. Have fun." Kel walked shut the door behind her leaving Neal to his philosophy.

***

Agnes giggled as she ran down a passage with her hands in the air touching the ceiling. She had once again escaped from Kel and knew that her maid would never find her. No one ever did. As much as she knew, Agnes, herself was the only one who knew about the secret passages in her home, Lingheren, and that's the way she liked it.

As she ran towards her destination she talked to herself.

"No one can ever find me. My name is Agnes. Let me be!"

Reaching the end of the twisting maze, Agnes opened the door that she had arrived at and stepped into her "playroom." What Agnes thought of as her room, was really an ancient storage for old furniture and odds and ends of the castle that had not been used for centuries. It was so old, that the members of the castle had eventually forgotten about it and had found a new place to store their old things. To Agnes, it was heaven. It was in that room where Agnes felt free and was able to be alone. The Lady liked to be by herself, she'd always been that way as long as she could remember.

She walked throughout the room humming to herself a song she had made up a couple days ago while sitting on one of the dusty sofas. Her favorite one with the holes in it. As she turned behind one of the antique armoires her heart stopped beating and a cold chill ran throughout her body causing her to shiver. Right in front of her was a young man she had never seen before. A stranger had found his way into her world. Her world. He seemed to her to be sleeping, but Agnes didn't want to wait for him to wake up. Backing up to one of the tables, she picked up a vase filled with water that had once held flowers she had picked from outside. Never turning her back to the man, she walked towards him, turned the vase over and let the old, mucky water spill out upon him.

Immediately the stranger sat up sputtering and hastily wiping the filth from his eyes and mouth. Gasping from the shock he looked up at Agnes, speechless. The girl, who had stood and watched his before-mentioned actions, began to back away slowly while speaking.

"Who are you and what are you doing in my room?" Agnes was beginning to get angry.

"I'm sorry, my lady." The young man said as he got up. "I did not mean to intrude into your room." He bowed low towards the ground and looked up.

"Get out, get out, get out!" Agnes yelled.

"My lady, please. I need your help."

"I don't care. Who are you?"

"I'm sorry, Lady, my name is Joren Stonemountain. I've traveled far looking for work. I came across this lovely kingdom of yours-"

"It's not mine and Lingheren is ugly." Agnes interrupted.

"Who does this special place belong to?"

"My father. Get out."

Ignoring the last sentence, Joren continued. "So you're the daughter of the castle, yes?"

"Get out."

"You're probably wondering how I came to be here."

"Maybe."

"Well you see, my lady, I fell through a hole in the ground and followed a pathway to this door. I tripped over that table over there and passed out."

"I don't care. Get out."

"Do you like to be alone, Lady?"

Agnes paused before answering looking at Joren curiously. "Yes. I guess."

"I'm that way too. I love feeling alone knowing that I have nothing resting on my shoulders, not having to care about others, only yourself. I also understand what it's like to have your own special place. This is your special place, is it not?"

"Yes."

"Well, I am sorry that I have intruded, my lady. I will leave you be quickly, but first I need your help. As I told you before I am in need of a job. Could you help me find one? Preferably in the castle?"

"Why should I help you?"

"Because we're so much alike, my lady. People like us should help each other."

"You smell."

"Well, you did dump that dirty water on me, Lady, remember?"

"Fine, but come this way quickly." Turning, she made her way through the junk and towards the door with Joren at her tail. If she had turned around at that moment to look at her new companion, Agnes would have seen a smile a triumph. Joren Stonemountain was finally where he needed to be.