Hello, my friends! I've finally recovered from my exams and I'm ready to do some writing.
As she was considering the possible causes for the horse's peculiar behavior, the path suddenly opened up and Adeline was able to sit up and look around. She gasped and her eyes widened as she took in the most prominent feature of the clearing: a massive iron gate. Phillipe suddenly stopped and whinnied, flicking his ears backward. Adeline patted his neck and muttered, "Whoa, boy. Its alright." She dismounted and held the reins as she continued forward on foot. Phillipe reluctantly followed her. She examined the gate for a moment, on either side stood stone soldiers staring out into the trees. As she looked down, she spotted a crumpled shape on the ground and pounced on it. Examining the object, she realized that it was, indeed her father's travelling hat.
She frowned through the gate and managed to make out a large structure in the distance. She wished the moon would rise so she might be able to see the grounds more clearly. Nevertheless, she stood and tucked the hat under her arm before pushing on the gate. To her surprise, the gate began to move despite the screeching of the hinges. She opened it wide enough for herself and Phillipe to step through and then started toward the structure. As she approached, her curiosity and concern increased. She could see that the structure was an opulent castle with ornate carvings and statues. As she drew close to the large doors that she supposed were the main entrance, Phillipe suddenly stopped and snorted.
"Alright, Phillipe, you can stop here," Adeline said with a sigh. She looked around and spotted a twisted tree nearby. She coaxed Phillipe closer to it and finally managed to tie the reins around the trunk. Then she petted the horse's nose for a moment before turning to face the doors. She took out her Papa's hat and considered it for a moment before placing it on her head. Then, she took a deep breath and strode forward, paying no attention to Phillipe's whinnies of protest. She reached down and scooped up a large stick before proceeding up the steps to the door.
The castle certainly looked abandoned, which raised many questions that she didn't have time to ponder, but she still felt odd just going inside, so she reached up and tapped on the door with one hand. As she expected, she received no reply, and she tried the handle finding it unlocked. She kicked a chunk of stone into the gap to prevent the door from swinging shut behind her, just in case it became stuck or the inner handle didn't work, then walked inside.
The entrance hall was only dimly lit by the dusky light from windows that rose on either side of the doors. The hall itself was massive, with a huge staircase at the far end. Had she not been on edge, she might have noted that the air lacked the stagnant feeling of a place that has long stood unoccupied or that it was perhaps a bit less dusty than an abandoned castle should be. However, after looking around the darkened hall and ignoring the tomb-like aspect of the shadowy ceiling, she began to cautiously make her way across the room. She noticed that several doors led off the hall, and she ventured to try the largest door and one beside the stairs, but both were locked. Frowning, she looked up into the deeper shadows at the top of the grand staircase. Thus far she had not dared to call out for her father, knowing her voice would echo around the room. Some instinct out of the distant past, from a time when people huddled in caves and wore only furs, told her that she couldn't be certain that she and perhaps her father were the only people...or things in the castle.
Setting her jaw and adjusting her grip on the stick, Adeline walked around the banister and began to slowly climb the stairs. She was thankful for the aged carpeting that lined the steps and muffled her footsteps, but she still paused at any real or imagined sound that whispered through the halls. When she reached the top, she found herself at the end of a long hallway. She was a bit relieved to find that there were several windows letting in the twilight, but it didn't make much difference. She sighed softly. It would take forever to search the entire castle, and if her Papa was somewhere in the building, it might take too long. Upon this realization, she took a deep breath and beat back the smothering feeling that she should keep silent.
"Papa!" she called out. Her voice was at half its full volume, but it still echoed around the corridor and back into the entrance hall. Adeline paused, her heart pounding in her chest as she strained for any sign that her Papa or something else had heard her. The castle remained just as still as before. She tried again, "Papa! Are you here? Its me, Adeline!" She listened as the echoes faded, and she was about to call again when a small noise from behind her made her whirl around.
The corridor extended in the other direction as well, though not nearly as far. She realized that she hadn't noticed this area before because there were no windows in that much shorter portion of the hallway. Now, however, she could see a door open near the end of it, and through it she could see the faint flickering light of a lantern or candle. With a gasp, she lifted her stick and walked quickly toward the door, peering into the shadows on either side. She reached it without incident and poked her head around the door frame. This area of the castle was much plainer. It was a tiny landing space at the base of a set of spiraling stairs, all made of rough stone. The light was coming from somewhere just around the first bend.
Adeline walked through the door and started up the steps, stick still lifted. She rounded the bend and found only a little golden candelabra sitting in an alcove. She frowned at it, "That's odd. I was sure there was no light before, so surely someone..." She looked uncertainly up the stairs, then swallowed and called softly, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
Suddenly, the faint sound of someone coughing reached her ears from further up the stairs, which were shadowy once more beyond the alcove. She immediately seized the candelabra in one hand and hurried toward the sound. Perhaps even if it wasn't her father this person would know if he was in the castle somewhere. As she reached the top of the stairs, she realized that she was in one of the castle's towers. She stood in a small, semi-circular room with a single window in one wall and a large, iron door in the other. The coughing had clearly come from beyond the door. Edging toward it, she tried to make out who was inside.
"Who's there?" asked a frightened voice.
"Papa! Papa, is that you?" Adeline gasped in horror as she hurried right up to the bars. Sure enough, her father's face appeared at the door. She put the candelabra and stick on the floor and reached through the bars to take his hands.
"Adeline? My child, what are you doing here?" he asked, looking at her and squeezing her hands in a slightly bewildered manner.
"I came to find you! Phillipe came home in a panic, and I was worried something awful had happened to you! What on earth are you doing in this abandoned castle?! And in that cell!?" Adeline babbled in a rush.
He shook his head firmly, "No no. You shouldn't be here. Its not abandoned, Adeline! The master of this castle...he's...he locked me up here. But never mind that, run! Get out of here before its too late!"
Adeline frowned and cried, "I'm not going without you! Who's this master and why would he lock you up?"
Her Papa opened his mouth to answer, but instead a frightened gasp was the only sound he made as his eyes glanced over her shoulder and widened in horror.
Suddenly, something seized her shoulder roughly and yanked her away from her Papa, causing her to lose her balance and topple to the floor. The candles went out so that the only light was from the rising moon outside. A snarl rent the air and a deep, grating voice asked, "Who are you!? How dare you trespass in my castle!?"
Adeline shook in terror, but managed to pick herself up as she replied, "I'm...I'm Adeline, and I was looking for my father. Why is he...why is he locked up?"
"I'll ask the questions," the shadowy figure roared. "Your father is a thief! And I expect you are as well!"
Adeline's fear was smothered by indignation, "My father is not a thief!" She had straightened her figure and taken a step forward as she spoke, but she shrank back again as the figure gave a deep growl and she realized that it was many times larger than her.
"Leave my daughter alone, you horrible...!" her father shouted. He was cut off by a roar from the figure. Adeline was horrified to see a set of massive fangs reflecting the moonlight. The creature talking to her was no human man.
"He took a rose from my garden. That makes him a thief," the creature growled.
"A rose?" Adeline said quietly. "Oh, that was for me. I asked him to bring me a rose." She looked toward the cell door, where her father was pressed against the bars. Taking a shaking breath, she tried a different tactic, "Please, sir. My father is old and ill. He won't live long in this tower. Let him go and take me in his place, as its my fault he's here."
"No! Adeline, no!" her father cried, stretching his hands out toward her.
Adeline set her jaw and lifted her chin as the creature seemed to consider her. At last, he asked in a much quieter voice, "You would take his place? And stay here in the castle forever?"
Adeline pressed her lips together for a moment. Forever was a long time for a rose, but she supposed this tyrant wouldn't see the logic of that argument, "Yes. I give you my word."
"Done!" growled the creature. In a single motion, he produced a set of keys and grabbed Adeline roughly by the arm. She fought the urge to scream as the creature unlocked the cell and dragged her father out as well. Would he eat them both? However, he shoved her into the cell and slammed the door, then turned to drag her father toward the stairs.
"Adeline! No!" her Papa shouted, struggling futilely against the creature's grip.
"Papa! Wait!" she cried in reply, reaching her hands through the bars as the creature and her father vanished into the shadows of the stairs, her father's cries echoing off the stones until the door at the bottom slammed shut behind them.