D2 Go Back and Lock the Door
The cockatoo was too fast to catch, so Mira turned back and locked the doors to the room. I can't let anything happen to Mallory or Nosedive, she thought. Turning around again, she saw Wildwing's door. This is the only way to get answers, she decided, and began to unlock his door at least to get a glimpse of his curse.
As she opened it, she was relieved to see that he did not appear to be made of stone or glass, nor had he been transformed into anything else. He was still Wildwing, but he lay collapsed upon the bed, still breathing, but caught in a seemingly deep sleep. Mira walked closer as she wondered why he would be cursed with only sleep.
Then Mira saw that his fist was tightened around the blanket beneath him. She walked closer and put her hand to his neck. His heart was beating rapidly, and Mira took her hand away.
"This isn't just sleep," she realized, speaking softly aloud. "You're trapped in a nightmare."
Wildwing's form, except for breathing, seemed perfectly still and immovable. Mira tried to shake him, and she called out his name, but nothing seemed to help. Drawing back, she left the room and locked the door again.
That's enough of a delay. I must go and try to find Tanya, Mira thought as she chided herself for breaking her promises to Wildwing.
Tucking the keys away, she headed away from the doors and back towards the stairs. There was no sign of Tanya now, but Mira kept walking in the direction that she had seen her fly. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw the light from the fire in the dining hall illuminating mainly just that room of the castle.
Perhaps Tanya flew in there, she thought and quickly walked inside. Upon entering the room, she didn't see anyone there. Suddenly a horrific sound echoed from outside the castle, and Mira recognized it as the terrifying sound she had heard the night before.
"What is that?" she whispered under her breath as she shrunk back against the wall.
The sensation that she was being watched caused her to turn around, and she saw a dark shadow on the wall behind her. But it could not have been her shadow. The shape was all wrong.
The shadow moved slightly, and Mira caught a better view of its silhouette.
"Duke?"
The shadow nodded.
Mira looked around at where Duke should have been standing to cast the shadow, and she stretched out her hand to the empty air.
"You're not invisible," she said.
He shook his head and pointed at his own shape on the wall.
"So at night, you're all cursed differently, aren't you? Why?" Mira asked.
Duke's shadow only hovered on the wall in silence. Suddenly, another awful howl echoed from the garden, and Mira drew back against the wall again.
"Is… is that Grin?" she asked.
Duke nodded. He pointed to the doors through which she had entered as if encouraging her to get out of the dining hall.
"I'm looking for Tanya," Mira said softly.
Duke pointed again, and finally, Mira moved and went back out into the main hall. Perhaps Duke knew Tanya was out here somewhere. As she walked back out by the stairs, she heard a fluttering of wings from the east wing. Hurrying towards the library, Mira saw the shape of a cockatoo fly to one of the shelves inside.
"Gotcha," Mira said with some relief.
But then she heard a cry of rage echo down the halls of the castle. Grin was inside now. Mira darted through the doors of the library and turned around as she closed them quickly, but quietly behind her. Fortunately, she found that there was a latch on the inside of the doors that allowed her lock them.
I hope he doesn't decide to try to bust in here, Mira thought nervously. The door might be closed, but it wasn't really secure considering Grin's strength.
She turned around and saw that Tanya had perched upon one of the library's ladders. She put her head under her wing and appeared to be falling asleep.
It's probably best if we don't make any noise, Mira decided. And finding a chair in the far corner of the room, she sat down facing the doors. For about an hour, she could hear Grin lurking through the halls making awful noises and smashing things. But when he finally seemed to go back outside, weariness overtook Mira, and she fell asleep.
Congratulations! You've helped Mira make it to Day 3 in the castle. She's getting closer to the answers needed to help the ducks. If you are ready to continue, select Day Three Begins.
Please leave comments! It helps me improve the story, and it lets me know what you think of the choices.
If you decide go back and check out some of the other options in previous sections of the story, then be aware that you should not hold onto more than two code letters.
If you go through the story in multiple directions, checking out all options, then you can come across three or more code letters. When reading through Day 3, remember that you can only use (at the most two letters), so you'll have to decide which ones those are going to be if you've gone through the story in multiple directions.