Yay! An update! I love how kids are so dramatic. So here is a chapter filled with drama and worry! (Oh and adventure, since these are such adventurous kids! ^_^) Hope you like it!
Slowly the three children walked back to their rooms. Their heads were hung and they walked slowly, their step lacking the usual bounce.
They all gathered in Tanthalas' room, each taking up their respective seat in the room. Lauralanthalasa was seated in the chair below the window, Gilthanas stretched out on the rug before the fireplace and Tanthalas laid across the bed, his feet dangling over the edge.
It was finally Gilthanas who broke the silence.
"He didn't look mad."
"Maybe," Tanthalas answered slowly.
"Don't worry," Lauralanthalasa soothed, "If he was angry, we would be in trouble. But we're not, we got away." She then frowned and pulled at a grape that had been caught in her gold hair.
"Maybe we are going to get in trouble later," Tanthalas sighed. He was trying to be hopeful, but it did not seem worth it.
"How about we not worry so much," Gilthanas pleaded. He hated it when the atmosphere was this dark.
"Al right!" Tanthalas agreed, sitting up. He seemed cheerful again.
"What will we do now then?" Lauralanthalasa asked.
"How about we-" Tanthalas did not get a chance to finish, because at that moment, the children's nursemaid, Amayra, bustled into the room.
"Time for bed," she told them firmly. She had not looked after them long, being rather young, but she had learned the first night that she had to be firm when it came time for bed.
"Amayra, will you tell me a story?" Lauralanthalasa asked, already taken over to the 'dark-side' (As Tanthalas and Gilthanas called it).
"Of course!" Amayra agreed. Lauralanthalasa ran over to Amayra and grabbed her hand.
"Come now master Gilthanas," Amayra ordered. Reluctantly, Gilthanas got up off the floor and sulkily followed Amayra out of the room.
~*~*~
The next morning when the sun broke over the horizon, the three children had already left their beds. They snuck into the kitchen, took some biscuits for their breakfast, then proceeded to their 'fort' where they began to plan the day's activities.
"Maybe we should hide until we know the Speaker is not angry," Tanthalas said, bringing back the worry. He had a biscuit precariously balanced on his knee and was munching on another one.
"Don't be such a worry!" Lauralanthalasa scolded. "I think we should so something fun."
"Let's be spies!" Gilthanas exclaimed excitedly. The other two children nodded eagerly. They all wiped their hands on their pants, then ran back to the tower to find someone to follow and 'spy' on.
Almost accidentally, they stumbled on one of the cook's assistants and proceeded to follow him around the house, mentally recording his every move.
When he stopped, the three 'spies' hid around the corner watching and waiting for his next move.
Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the other direction.
"We have to hide!" Lauralanthalasa whispered frantically.
"In here!" Tanthalas hissed, opening a door on the left and hurrying inside, the other two at his heels.
He shut the door quietly and leaned against it, listening for the footsteps to pass.
"I think they're gone," he said when he could not hear anything from the other side of the door. Laralanthalasa was next to him, but Gilthanas was no where to be found.
"Gilthanas?" Tanthalas called softly. For the first time he took a look at the room they had stumbled into.
It must have been the library, without a doubt. From the floor to the ceiling were shelves filled with books. Some of them were not even bound, just sheaves of parchment tied tog ether with strings. It looked to be a long room, and there were windows along the left side, under which were chairs for reading. There was a musty smell, only to be expected.
"Over here!" Gilthanas called from one of the many shelves in the back of the room.
Lauralanthalasa and Tanthalas walked over to where Gilthanas was running his finger along some of the spines of the books.
"I have never even been here," Lauralanthalasa said incredulously.
She began to look at some of the letters on the spine. Some were clear, and some were peeling away, barely legible. Out of curiosity, she pulled out a thick book with a dark binding and began flipping through the pages.
"Look!" Tanthalas pointed to something on the floor. He bent over and picked up a folded piece of paper. "This fell out of the book."
He unfolded it and glanced at what was written of the single piece of parchment.
When he saw what it was, he gasped and nearly dropped it.
"What is it?" Gilthanas asked, going over to peer over Tanthalas' shoulder. Lauralanthalasa looked over the other shoulder, on her tiptoes, as Tanthalas was a bit taller then she was.
"Is it what I think it is?" Tanthalas asked in a hushed voice. "A treasure map!"
Indeed that was what it looked like. On the parchment, was what looked like a rough map of the Tower and the surrounding area. There was an un-broken dotted line that ran along the page, twisting and turning, ending in a large, black 'X' near the bottom of the page.
Tanthalas turned it over and on the back was writing.
"Take three hundred steps from the-," he began, reading slowly, then, "It is a treasure map!"
"We're going on a treasure hunt!" Lauralanthalasa exclaimed shrilly.
"Shhhh!" Gilthanas and Tanthalas hushed her in unison.
"Do you want everyone to know?" Tanthalas asked her in a hushed tone.
"How are we going to keep the treasure for ourselves if everyone knows?" Gilthanas echoed, his voice barely audible.
"Sorry," Lauralanthalasa answered, her voice now a whisper as well.
"We will have to get supplies," Tanthalas said seriously. The three nodded at eachother, then crept to the door.
They checked that no one was outside by listening through the door, then, satisfied, they left the library, heading for the kitchen.
After that, they went to their rooms and packed things in a sack. Luckily, they managed to avoid Amayra, who would surely have asked them what they were up to.
Their final stop was to the shed that was out back, where the gardens were. They took three small trowels and shoved them in their sacks, along with the rest of the need supplies.
"Should we tell someone where we are going to be?" Laralanthalasa asked.
"No, we can't risk someone finding out," Gilthanas answered. "Where do we start?" he asked Tanthalas, who was holding the map open and inspecting it carefully.
"The bird fountain," Tanthalas answered promptly.
"Let's go!" Gilthanas said, then led the way to the bird fountain.
Sorry I had to end it there, but I did not want to have to leave you in suspense or anything quite yet. And yes there may be a cliffie or two yet…Not so much worry. Poor Tanthalas thought he was going to get into trouble…and he may yet. But for now, only one thing must be done…REVIEW!
Next chapter: The treasure hunt begins!!^_^