Chapter 4: Underneath The Castle II

The more she walked however, the more she regretted her decision to explore the catacombs alone.

With the dim lantern in front her, she could not see a few inches in front of her. And as the oil in the lamp began to run out, the glow of the light dimmed further, making more difficult to see.

Lily resorted to placing her hands on the walls, letting it be her guide. And after a rather long and uneventful walk through the tunnels, she came across strange door made of cold stone.

It resembled a normal door except it was made entirely of stone. It didn't have a knob too and Lily only knew it was a door because of the outline of door, it made a thin, curved gap in the stone.

"A door...?," she voiced quietly and winced slightly at how loud her voice had sounded in the eery space.

Above her head, and the stone ceiling, she heard a loud thud, causing her to flinch and instinctively duck, startled.

Through the thickness of the stone, Lily heard a couple of voices, speaking in hushed whispers.

"It is going to be difficult to have her under control, considering she is known to be rather stubborn."

It was a man. Though she could not properly hear them, she could still tell.

"Well we must find a way," another voice said. It sounded much softer and high pitched, causing Lily to come to the conclusion that it was a woman. "Otherwise, if she awakens him, we...Alfadamia is done for."

What did they mean?

"I know," the man spoke. "It will be much easier to control her whereabouts if she is married to Gilbert."

Lillian's eyes slightly widened. Had she heard right? Had they mentioned Gilbert's name? Wouldn't that mean the man she heard talking was king George?

The footsteps above her head faded and began growing louder on the other side of the stone door.

In panic, she frantically look around, desperately scouting for a place to hide. And when she found no better one, she resolved to hide at the bend of the corner.

Lily heard the scrape of the stone bottom of the door against the stone floor. She winced at the screeching sound, cringing at how much it hurt her ears.

And then she heard a couple of footsteps thumping on the stone floor. She covered her mouth, terrified she would accidentally make a sound and alert them of her presence.

"Gilbert does not seem to fancy the girl," the feminine voice sounded. "I am all for your plan but I don't appreciate you using our son."

Our son?

Was that Queen Alexandria?

"Our boy does not fancy any one at the moment," the king argued. "And he isn't particularly disgusted by the girl so it isn't a big deal."

"One complaint from him and I will have the engagement nulled," Queen Alexandria replied. Her heels clacked faster and it seemed to Lily that she began walking faster, wanting to be ahead of the king.

Lily heaved a breath, hearing their footsteps fade into the distance. And even in the dark she could make out the shape of the door left ajar.

They had left it open!

She inched towards it, careful at first. And when she saw the dim glow of a lantern, she walked closer.

Opening the door a little wider, she saw she stood before a case of stairs leading upwards.

Why did the castle have a staircase leading down to tombs? A better question, why did they use it?

Perhaps they had discovered it and only meant to explore it like her?

She pursed her lips, unconvinced by the excuse she had made up herself.

And were they conversing about her just now? What was all that about being controlled when she married Gilbert?

Her uncle George had always been a strange man but she had never thought him cynical. Could it be that he was evil?

But Aunt Alexandria too? Lily had always known the queen to be a very kindhearted woman, gentle and compassionate.

Lily shook her head disbelievingly. She was probably looking into it too much. She was not thinking straight because of how scared and jumpy she was, was the thought she used to convince herself.

But as she stared at the dimly lit staircase, leading somewhere she didn't know, she couldn't help but want to walk up the steps to find out.

She took a step forward, trying to convince herself that she would only take one peek.

One peek is all she needed to be driven into a twisted world. A world she was meant to uncover.