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CHAPTER THREE
Leonardo was shivering, sitting in a wet puddle of water in the middle of the cellar floor. He had been right; his uncle was not happy that he had spoken with his brothers. But since Uncle Saki didn't know that Leo remembered his true heritage, Saki claimed that the punishment was for another reason.
"Servants should not speak to their majesties unless spoken to," Oroku Saki said, pacing in front of the shivering Leonardo, "And they certainly are not allowed to check their rooms for 'shadow people'. While I appreciate that you alerted the Guard to a grave danger befalling Prince Michelangelo, you must understand that such actions should not go unpunished."
Leonardo didn't trust himself to answer.
"For that punishment I will be lenient, in light of the service you have done for my youngest nephew." Oroku Saki continued, "You are hereby banned from your duty of taking care of the fires at night, and you are to spend the day alone down here in the cellar. When you come out at dusk, I expect you to continue your other duties. Do you understand?"
"Yes Master," Leonardo shivered, bowing his head.
Oroku Saki stopped pacing, and bent down to look at the turtle.
"You have much spirit," he said, "That is not good for a slave of your stature."
Slave? Did Oroku Saki just call him a slave?
He was a servant. Wasn't he?
"However," his uncle continued, "In place of one chore, you must have another. I will think of an appropriate duty for you to do during your free hours at night."
Leonardo bowed his head once more, and his uncle smiled wickedly in approval. Without another word, Oroku Saki walked away and up the cellar stairs. The door slammed shut with finality, trapping Leo in the dank basement that was widely rumored to be haunted.
At least he wasn't chained to the wall.
It took Leo a while to gain the courage just to stand. Sure, he had been in the cellar before, and when you think of it he'd probably been in there more often than anyone else in the castle. But there was something about the place that always gave him a twist in the stomach. There were creepy creaks that came from the direction of the wine barrels, there were mysterious dark stains on the wall that took on evil looks although they could have just been mold, and there was the fact that the floor always had a little bit of water on it even though there was never any discernible way for water to get there.
Leo forced himself to go check the back corners, just to make sure that he was really alone down there. Better to check now than spend the rest of the day wondering about it. All he had to see by was the candle that was lit once a day and raised above the cellar, so it was easy to imagine soldiers or ninjas hiding in the darkness beyond the candle's reach.
As soon as he was confident that he was alone-you know, aside from the bugs, mice and rats-Leo walked back under the light and sat down on the last step. It was going to be a long wait until sundown.
For the first hour, Leo gave himself something to do and went around cleaning the basement. He only did whatever it was that he could see with the light of the candle, and once he was done with that he decided not to go deeper into the darker corners of the cellar. For the second hour, he decided to practice the ninja moves his father had taught him so long ago. The occasion was rare that he could actually practice them unseen, but he always had them running in the back of his mind.
He was just in the middle of a complicated kata, which he was doing with an abandoned piece of wood he found underneath the stairs, when the cellar door opened.
Leo quickly hid the piece of wood behind his back.
"Whew, it's dark down there," a voice above him said, "Are you sure this is the right way?"
Wait a minute.
"Prince Donatello?" Leo asked, "Is that you?"
He discretely threw the piece of wood to one of the dark corners and ran up the steps. There was Donatello, and next to him was Mikey.
"Hey, it's you," said Mikey said, a big smile forming on his face, "Thanks for finding out about that ninja dude, man!"
"What are you doing down there?" Donnie asked, looking appalled as he peeked down the stairs over Leo's shoulder.
"Um," Leo said, "Well, um, you see-"
"They don't make you clean that all by yourself, do they?" Mikey asked.
"Mikey!" Donnie reprimanded with a harsh whisper.
"No, it's alright," Leo said, "Sometimes they do ask me to clean down here. But what on earth are you two doing here?"
"What, can't a Prince get to know his own castle?" Donnie asked.
"Yeah," Mikey said, "We were just, um, checking things out, you know?"
"You're lost, aren't you." Leo concluded. It wasn't a question.
"Yes," Donnie sighed, looking a little deflated, "We're trying to find the library."
"And the kitchen!" Mikey said.
Leo smirked, leaning against the cellar bannister. These two were way off track.
"Take a right down that hallway," he said, "The Guard's quarters are down there. They'll have someone who can show you the way."
"But we wanna do it ourselves!" Mikey said, "We're explorers!"
"Speak for yourself, Mikey." Donnie said, rolling his eyes, "I just want to get there. I knew we should have taken the usual way."
"What, and miss all this adventure?" Mikey said, "I mean, look! I've never even been to this part of the castle. And now there's this basement that I've never even heard of before! Come on, Donnie! Let's check it out."
"You don't want to come down here," Leo said, blocking the passage down the stairs with his body, "This cellar is supposed to be haunted."
It turns out that was the wrong thing to say. Mikey's eyes grew bright with excitement, and he fairly burst past Leo.
"A haunted basement!" He called out, racing down the stairs, "How come no one ever tells us these things?"
"Is it really haunted?" Donnie asked Leo, the both of them still standing at the top of the stairs.
"That's the rumor," Leo said, "It's definitely creepy enough."
"Hey guys, come check this out!" Mikey shouted, already so far deep into one dark corner that they couldn't see him, "Look what I found!"
Leo obediently walked down the stairs and followed Mikey's voice until he found him, Donnie close behind him.
"Look!" Mikey said, and Leo could just make out by his shape that he was pointing at something, "Is this a sign of the ghost?"
There on the wall in front of Mikey was something that looked a little like a turtle. Funny, Leo had never noticed that before. He reached out his hand and touched the symbol, and in doing so realized that it was carved into the wall.
"No Prince," Leo shook his head with a smile, "This is the symbol of your royal heritage. You've seen it on the royal flag in the banquet hall."
"You're right! But Oroku Saki never uses it." Donnie said, "I almost forgot all about it."
"Well," Leo said, "If your ancestors placed this symbol here when they were building the castle, perhaps you can find it in other places."
"Cool!" Mikey said, "Like secret clues!"
"Speaking of secrets," Donnie said, "Did you notice all the water on the floor here? There hasn't been rain around here for ages. I'll bet there's an ancient underground river that flows directly underneath this cellar!"
"Why would they build the castle over a river?" Leo asked.
"To get fresh water in times of war," Donnie said, "Here, let me see if I'm right. Get me that candle, will you?"
Leo looked up at the candle that was offering light over some of the cellar. It was forbidden for any but the Candlemaster to touch it. But hey, he was in a lot of trouble anyway right about now. And Prince trumped Candlemaster any old day. So Leo went over to the rope that held the candle in place over the room, untied the knot and slowly brought the candle down.
"Thanks," Donnie said, taking the candle, "Now let's see if I'm right!"
Donnie led them further into the corners, and for the first time in his life Leo saw them as they really were without the shadows. Mysterious edges and corners turned out to be discarded pieces of furniture and broken tools.
"Wow, this is so cool!" Mikey whispered, "Maybe we'll see the ghost!"
Donnie and Leo both rolled their eyes, but Leo couldn't help himself when he started smiling. This was fun.
"What's in here?" Donnie asked, holding the candle to the furthest edge of the cellar.
Leo was just about to reply that it was just the wall, but the candle showed something else.
"No way," he said, "There's another door?"
A stone door. One that blended in to the wall.
"I think my theory is about to be proven right," Donnie smiled.
"And what theory is that?" Mikey asked.
"I think," Donnie said, "That this door leads to a well. To be used only in emergencies, of course. But it's so old that people forgot all about it."
"Then let's open it and see!" Mikey said.
Leo stepped forward and grabbed the handle. He'd often touched that handle when he was in the darker corners of the cellar, but until now he thought it was just another something jutting out from the pile of formless shapes.
It was unlocked, so he opened the door.
Donnie stepped in first, followed by Mikey and then Leo.
"Aw, it's just a room." Mikey pouted.
"An empty room," Leo noted, "Maybe this was used as a storage closet."
"Wait," Donnie said, "Do you hear that?"
There was a distant sound, but none of them could quite make it out.
"Hang on," Donnie said, handing the candle to Leo, "I have an idea!"
"Not another one," Mikey said, "I hope this one at least has gold at the end!"
Donnie bent down and felt along the floor. Then, with a loud "A-HA!" he grabbed the handle of a trapdoor and swung it open.
Instantly the distant sound intensified, and Donnie looked at them with triumph as they both peeked over his shoulder. Leo held the candle as low as he could, and they could just make out water racing by below them.
"Told you," Donnie smirked.
"That is so COOL!" Mikey said. "Wait until I tell Raph that Donnie found a hidden river!"
"But why would they go to so much trouble to hide it?" Leo frowned, "It's just a well."
"Not just a well," Donnie said, "It's part of an underground river. One that probably goes above ground at some point."
"Oh." Leo said, "Oh."
"What is it?" Mikey asked.
"It's a security issue," Leo said, "If enemies knew about this, they could probably use it to sneak into the castle. That's why this room-" he looked around him, "This room was probably a guard room."
"Precisely." Donnie smiled.
"Wow," Mikey said, "So, think there's anything else cool hidden in the castle?"
"Maybe," Donnie answered, "You know, if there is anything else, I'll bet that it's probably close to one of the turtles symbols like the one we found earlier."
"Yeah," Mikey said, "Like, the turtles are pointing to the hidden places! So let's get looking!" He grabbed Donnie and Leo, and began pulling them out of the room.
"Hang on, Mikey!" Donnie said, wrenching himself away, "I need to close the trapdoor first."
That done, the three of them left the hidden room and Leo lead the way back to the stairs. For some reason, the cellars didn't seem frightening with his brothers down there. It actually felt pretty comfortable and home-like now. While Mikey and Donnie started brainstorming about all the possible areas they could search for another turtle clue, Leo put the candle back where it belonged.
"Why don't you start with the banquet hall?" Leo offered, tying the knot in the rope that held the candle aloft, "I mean, the symbol is on the flag. Maybe it doesn't need to be carved into palace stone to show that something's there."
"That's a great idea!" Mikey said.
"You know, you might have something there." Donnie said.
"Wanna come and show us the way?" Mikey asked.
That made Leo pause. He really, really wanted to go on an adventure with his brothers, but if Oroku Saki knew he had left the cellar, or even that he had spoken with the Princes...
"I'm sorry," he shook his head, "I have to complete my duties down here. But I can tell you the way to the hall if you're lost," he grinned at them.
"I think we can find it for ourselves," Donnie said, "I mean, we just turn right once we get to the top of the stairs and head straight, right?"
"No," Leo chuckled, "How is it that you guys are constantly getting lost? This is your own castle, for crying out loud!"
"Hey!" Mikey said, but he smiled as he said it, "Don't blame us. This place is huge!"
"Take a left as soon as you leave the cellars," Leo directed, still smiling, "Then take the first right. Head straight until you see the diamond suit of armor, then follow where he's looking until you reach the banquet hall."
"Wait. We have to go where he's looking?" Donnie asked, "Can't you be a little more specific? Like, tell us if it's left or right?"
"No," Leo grinned, "You're on a clue hunt, right? So follow the clue!"
"Go where he's looking, got it!" Mikey said, "Come on, Donnie. Let's go, let's go let's go!"
Leo couldn't stop grinning as the two of them not-so-silently marched up the stairs and left the cellar. The suit of armor was looking up, at the balcony. He wondered how long it would take the two of them to realize that the banquet hall was on another floor.
He settled down on the last step just as Mikey let the cellar door slam shut. Now that he knew about the secret room in the cellar, perhaps he could put it to use someday. As long as his uncle didn't know he knew about it, he could hide out there if he ever needed to. And then there was the prospect of the hidden river...if people could use it to come into the castle, perhaps it could also be used to leave the castle.
If he ever needed to, maybe he could use that to his advantage.
