Here you go!

CHAPTER SEVEN

If Leo was surprised, the red-haired girl was surprised even more. With a shriek she stumbled back, and the candle she was holding fell and went out.

"Who-who are you?" She asked, stepping back into the shadows.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," Leo said, bending down to pick up her candle off the floor, "How'd you get in here? It obviously wasn't how I got in."

He held the candle to his own until it lit, then offered it to the girl.

"You're a palace servant," she said, stepping forward and taking the candle. As she did, Leo noticed her clothing.

"And you're from the village outside the gates." He concluded.

"So..." she said, "It looks like we both would be in trouble if anyone found out we were in here."

"Looks like it." Leo said, "So, care to explain?"

"Only if you do." The girl said.

"Alright," Leo said, "I'll go first. I came in from the Banquet Hall."

"Wait," the girl said, "The Banquet Hall? That's where this leads?"

"Yeah," Leo said, confused, "So, how'd you get in?"

"A hidden passage in a guardhouse," she said, "The old one standing just outside the palace gates. I found the entrance last summer."

"So, this leads to the old guardhouse." Leo said.

"No," the girl shook her head, "It leads to the library. A different passage leads to the guardhouse."

"Wait, what?" Leo asked, "There's more than one passage?"

"Of course there is," the girl said, "Don't you know the stories?"

"No," Leo said.

"Oh. You grew up here in the palace, then." The girl said, "Well, back in the village we have this rumor. I didn't actually believe it until last summer, but they said this place was full of secret passages. So far I've discovered two, and tonight I discovered this one too, so that makes three. Sometimes the entrances are hidden, even in the already secret passage. To get to this one I had to push the correct stone in the middle of another passageway."

"Wow." Leo said. Just how many passages were there in the palace?

"So, this is your first time exploring then?" the girl said.

"Sort of," Leo said cryptically. This girl seemed nice, but she was still a stranger. "I've been noticing hidden things in the castle lately."

"You mean the turtle, the symbol of the Royal Family, right?" the red-head said.

"Yeah," Leo said, confused.

"Thought so. In the village, the elders say that symbol means good luck." The girl said, sticking out her hand, "I'm April. What's your name?"

"I-I don't really go by my name here," Leo said, shaking her hand, "Most people just call me boy or servant."

"That's stupid." April said, "Just tell me your name."

Leo opened his mouth, but all that came out was something that Usagi had called him.

"Friend." He said.

"Alright, if that's what you want to be called." April said, "Well Friend, maybe we can search for the treasure together."

"Treasure?" Leo asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Don't tell me you haven't heard about the treasure! Wait. I guess you haven't." April frowned, "Wow, you palace folk don't know anything, do you? Anyway, the rumor is that there's an entire room full of treasure hidden here in the palace somewhere. They say the King left his most prized possessions there instead of taking it with him on his last journey."

Leo's mouth dropped. What? This girl was talking about the very room he had been in earlier that day. Or was it yesterday now? It didn't matter. What mattered was that the village apparently knew about that room.

"Are-are you sure?" He asked.

"Well, that was the rumor anyway." April said, "I didn't think it was true either. But then I found that secret passageway in the guardhouse, and I thought hey, maybe the treasure is real too! So I've been looking for it for a year now. It's supposed to be a whole room filled with gold!"

"But," Leo said, "Why would the King just leave all his most prized possessions here?"

"There's a rumor about that too," April said, "They say-not that I believe it of course, that'd be treason, but anyway-they say that the King didn't trust his own brother. That's why he hid all his stuff."

"But why hide it here?" Leo asked, "If he didn't trust him, why not take it with him?"

"Yeah well," April frowned, "The story goes that the King knew he would be attacked on the road, so he wanted to ensure his treasures would be safe."

Leo's mouth fell open.

"What?" He asked.

"Remember," April said quickly, "I don't really believe that stuff. It's just that-well, if I can find just one piece of gold in these tunnels, it would help out my family. A lot. I'd share it with you of course, if we found it together."

"Do you have any idea why the King thought he would be attacked?" Leo asked.

"Just the rumors," April said, "Hey, listen Friend. If you want to talk more about this, why don't we meet at the abandoned guardhouse at noon tomorrow? Or today, I guess. Right now I'd like to continue exploring before it's too late and I have to head back home."

"Um, sure." Leo said, "Mind if I join you?"

"Why not?" April smiled, "Let's go the way you came. Be sure to tap the stones along the way in case there's another passage. And if you see the lucky turtle sign on the wall anywhere, let me know."

The two of them slowly made their way back to the Banquet Hall, tapping the walls as they went. April liked to talk about her life in the village, but she interrupted him several times to point things out.

"See that?" She said, pointing to two holes in the wall that Leo hadn't noticed, "Those are hidden eyeholes. There's almost always a catch or spring you have to find before you can see through them. While they're open anyone can hear you, so you have to be quiet."

She continued walking down the passageway, "I think one of the Royal Ancestors liked to spy on the gossiping servants or something."

Finally they reached the end of the passage, and April listened very carefully to make sure that there was no one in the room on the other side of the hidden entryway. Once she deemed there was no one there, she pulled the lever and the passage door appeared.

"So this is the Banquet Hall," April said, poking her head into the room, "Very nice."

"We aim to please." Leo said, stepping out of the hole onto the ledge.

"You aren't going to explore some more?" April asked.

"I wish, but it's late." Leo said, "I'd better get back before anyone notices I'm gone."

"Yeah, same here." April said, "See you tomorrow, Friend."

"You too!" Leo said, jumping to the ground, not caring that the wind blew out his candle.

April closed the passageway from the inside, and Leo straightened the room, putting the candle back in its place. Then, still walking in the dark, he left the room and began heading toward the kitchens.

Only to have a light thrust into his face.

"Who's there?" A voice asked, and suddenly the light pulled away at the same time Leo recognized that voice.

The light-bearer was Prince Raphael.

"Highness," Leo said, surprised.

"You," Raph said, sounding just as surprised, "You just walked out of there, but I just came from there. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Leo asked.

"That you found the passage." Raph said, "How else could you just walk outta there?"

Leo looked at his brother. Raph was alone, which meant that he had left his brothers sleeping upstairs with Usagi. It also meant that he had somehow remembered the route to the Banquet Hall.

"Yes," Leo smiled, "I found it."

"Then show me!" Raph said, practically dragging him back to the room.

"Alright, alright!" Leo said, wondering if April could already be at the other end of the secret passage by now, "Once we're in, I have something important to tell you."

"Why not tell me now?" Raph asked, closing the Hall door just as Leo set out the chair and used it to reach the ledge.

"There's a hidden lamp here," Leo said, ignoring his question and pulling on the lamp, "It opens the passage."

The door opened, and Leo saw with relief that April was no longer in view.

"Cool," Raph said, handing Leo his candle and jumping up the chair to join him, "Let's see where it goes!"

As soon as Raph was in the hole with him Leo kicked the chair back and stepped inside to pull the lever that shut the door.

"Right," Leo said, taking the lead down the passage, "But now that we're in, there's something you should know."

"What?"

"I met someone down here." Leo said.

"You're kidding." Raph said.

"Nope." Leo said, and he retold his adventure, only slightly abbreviated to leave out April's name. By the time he was finished, they were at almost the same spot where Leo had met April.

"So this girl you met told you about the village rumor," Raph summarized, "And you're going to meet her tomorrow to talk about it more."

"Exactly." Leo said.

"And I'm going with you." Raph said.

"You can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Well, you're a Prince. You'll be recognized. And we're going outside the Palace, so that's hardly suspicious for the High Prince, isn't it?"

"Then let me borrow some of your clothes." Raph said, "Problem solved."

"Sorry, but this is all I've got." Leo said.

"You've only got one pair of clothes?" Raph asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Leo asked.

"Nothing." Raph said, looking away confused, "But I'm still going. This is my dad we're talking about."

Leo groaned. "Fine," he said, "But you can't tell anyone about this. Or we'll both be in trouble. And we'll get Ap-the girl in trouble as well."

"Fine, I won't even tell my brothers." Raph said, "I'll meet you tomorrow ten minutes before noon at the Palace gate. Guess I'll just borrow some of Mikey's clothes when he's not looking to make my disguise."

"Sounds like a plan," Leo said, "The shabbier, the better."

"With Mikey, that's not a problem." Raph said, "Hey, what's this?"

They had reached the end of the passage. There was a lever built into the wall just before where the passage opening should be, and without even pausing Raph pulled it and the passage opened.

"Oh. This is the library." Raph said, poking his head out and looking into the gilded room overflowing with books.

"Next time, maybe we should wait and listen to make sure there's no one on the other side of the door." Leo cautioned.

"Hey, wait a sec. If you met a girl from the village, how'd she get into the passage from here?" Raph asked, jumping out of the passage door and into the room, "This is my Dad's old study. The forbidden library."

"I think she said that she got into the tunnel from another passageway," Leo said, staying in the tunnel, "We're going to have to check the tunnel more closely."

"What are you doing still standing there?" Raph asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"I'm not allowed in there, remember?" Leo asked, "Anyway, what if the passage closes on us and we can't find it again? I can't be seen coming out of the room if I'm not allowed to go into it."

"Good point," Raph said, heading back to Leo, "Let's go back the way we came. We can explore this room more with the others tomorrow."

He climbed back into the tunnel, but just as he had one foot in it something caught his attention.

"Hey, what's this?" He asked, reaching out and grabbing one of the books off the shelf, "I didn't know Dad was into wrestling!"

"High Prince, focus!" Leo said.

"I'm taking this with me," Raph said, pulling the book down off the shelf, "Alright, I'm ready."

He stepped inside the open passageway and Leo closed the door.

"Let's get back now," Raph said, "We have to get some rest."

"Agreed," Leo said, starting to feel tired again, "And remember, don't tell anyone about our little outing tomorrow."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Raph said, "We're going to get to the bottom of this, kid. One way or another, we're going to figure out what happened to my dad."

And mine, Leo thought.