CHAPTER FOUR
Sipping on her morning coffee Jade sat in bed reading the local newspaper. Her hair in a messy bun sitting atop her head she rustled the pages as she tried to understand the outside world beyond her through the smudged black text from which she read. Surrounded with ink pots, quills and parchment, open texts books and half-finished cups of various teas and coffees she absorbed herself in the current events she thought she would never know of first hand.
Through her large double door lay a plush rotunda papered with golden leaf and elegant carvings of mythical creatures. Three other large doorways led off this area, one to the main hallway outside, one to Ebony's empty bedroom and the other to Ivory's bedroom.
In the adjacent room to Jades, Ivory lay still fast asleep under piles of fluffy white duvets. Buried amongst the clouds of warmth she snored softly, her face pressed against a soft toy of a Great Fairy.
Ivory was a great collector of soft toys and they all had a home in a different area of her bedroom.
She wasn't much of a reader so she owned no books, but that isn't to say she didn't love stories being read to her, she would then often rework the stories in to her own imaginings and act them out with her many toys.
As it would happen, Ivory was dreaming one of her unique fairy tales right this moment.
Just as the Hero was wrapping his fingers around the hilt of a sword that had been thrust in to a granite block, Ivory was startled awake by the main doors to the common area been slammed shut and her sisters voice yelling at them to wake up.
"Jade! Ivory! Get up you lazy sods!"
"Excuse me!" Jade yelled back, "But I am already awake and don't you dare call me a 'sod'!"
Ebony ignored her sisters' irritation and continued to yell,
"Oh. My. Goddess! You will never ever believe what I have just found! Seriously get out of bed and get dressed!" Ebony rushed in to her own room and started getting changed.
Ivory climbed out from under the sea of blankets and poked her head up, dazed and confused.
"What's with all the yelling? What's going on?" she croaked.
Jade now out of bed stood in Ebony's doorway with a scowl on her pretty face. That scowl turned in to a look of shock and worry when she saw her sisters bloody knees and elbows.
"Ebony! What have you done to yourself! Why are you bleeding?" she rushed to her sisters aid, who was too busy looking through her wardrobe to notice Jades concern.
Pulling out a plain pair of extremely well-tailored Ladies pants and a matching blouse she began to get dressed. Pushing her sisters hands out of the way she tried to explain to her the urgency of the situation.
"Jade please I'm fine. Just go throw on comfortable clothes like I am and come back here when you're dressed. I will explain everything in good time. Please Jade, I'm very serious" with this last sentence Ebony looked deep in to her sisters eyes trying to will her to listen for once.
"No, tell me now Eb's. Oh okay, fine. But I want a full story" She turned and left the room, passing Ivory as she walked out.
"Can someone please tell me what the Underworld is going on?" Ivory asked while wrapping her blanket around her head.
"Go put on some clothes like mine Ivy and then I'll explain everything. Promise"
"… meh. Okay then." And she wandered back to her room.
Grabbing a small satchel Ebony started putting in random purses filled with money that was lying around her very messy room.
Decorated with artworks and sculptures her walls were barely visible, as with her floor which was covered in scrap books, journals, half finished drawings, fairy tales and romantic story books, paints, ink pots and clothing.
Picking up random objects from around the ordered chaos that was her bedroom she then shoved them all into her bag before leaving to rush her sisters.
Waiting for her in the rotunda Jade and Ivory stood expectantly, both dressed in plain but well made pants and blouses.
"So? Spill." Jade ordered.
"Ok… Ok… Um… Ok…" Ebony didn't know where to start.
"Why are you bleeding?" asked Ivory.
"What? Oh that's from the gap, you're probably gonna get a bit cut up too"
"Gap? What gap? Why would we allow ourselves to get cut up like you? What are you talking about Ebony!" Jade was getting sick of her sisters behaviour.
Taking in a deep breath Ebony cleared her mind.
"I've found a way out of the castle. I've found a way out in to the real world." She looked at her sisters, half expecting them to jump up and down with excitement but they just looked at her blankly.
"What do you mean Eb's? Like, what do you mean by 'out'?" Ivory was beginning to wish she could go back to sleep, her sister was losing it.
"Out, out! Like outside of the castle walls! Without Zelda finding out. Without any of the guards trying to stop us." She took another deep breath, trying to control herself. "We'll be free sisters. Free!"
Jade started to pace the floor, not fully doubting Ebony but just enough to ask,
"You honestly mean outside? In the real world? With all of the commoners? And no-one can stop us?"
"Yes!" beamed Ebony.
"How? Whats happened to allow this all of a sudden?"
"I've found a small hole in the lower garden wall. Its barley large enough but I managed to get myself through enough to see out.
Its beautiful Jade!" She beamed at her sister.
"And Ivory, you will not believe the perfume from the flowers. Its truly amazing"
Ivory sat down on a small plush settee, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"So, you found a hole in the castle walls that leads outside? And no ones guarding it?" She asked, stretching and wishing for coffee.
"No ones guarding it at the moment, but they will be soon. I was Link ordering two guards to do something about it, he knows that if we find it we're outta here!" Ebony was getting tired of her sisters stupid questions. Why weren't they jumping up and rearing to go like her?
"So Link knows of it? That means Zelda does too. She'll know once she sees us dressed like this that we're up to something" Jade points out, crushing Ebonys sprit further.
"Whats wrong with you two? Don't you understand the opportunity we have?" she yells finally getting fed up.
"If we leave right now it would be lunch time before anyone even notices!"
"Can I get a coffee first please?" Ivory asks while standing up to ring the kitchen to order one.
"Oh! Stuff you two!" Ebony fumes, finally losing it.
"I'm just gonna go without you if you can't appreciate this like I am"
Preparing to storm off Jade gently grabs her arm to stop her.
"No" she smiles, "You're right my sister. We'll come with you. But maybe it would be wise to grab some food to take with us and also it might help if you wore some shoes"
Looking down at her feet Ebony realises she is standing in just her stockings. Sheepishly she turns back to her room while Ivory calls down to the kitchen and orders a large pot of coffee, Jade adds on an order of sandwiches, pies and bottled juice saying they would like a picnic luchen for later.
