by Ali Winters
Enough dwelling, she scolded herself. Find the key to the Gateway and get to Jupiter. Caelan will know what to do. I can do this. I can get to him…
It was dark. A brief glance before the door had slid shut told her that across the vast open space, the path curved to the right, and spiraled downward. With her hand brushing against the wall, she felt her way forward. Her fingers brushed against something sticky. Oriana cringed, it was a glass spider’s web. Not daring to take her hand away from the wall she pushed on, making broad sweeping motions with her feet as she walked, feeling for anything she could trip over or fall down.
Coming to the start of the path, she turned with the curve of the wall as the ground sloped. Finally, something was going right—a ramp instead of stairs. With her unsteady legs, she would probably have fallen trying to tackle stairs. Continuing to feel her way, she descended.
Her eyes fought to find any ray of light. The dark was overpowering. All her life there had been light, even if only a flickering candle flame in the dark. But now… there was nothing. Panic rose in her throat, as childhood fears came flooding to the front of her mind. She rushed her steps and slipped, unable to judge the angle of the ground. Oriana fell, landing on her knees. What little willpower she had, evaporated into invisibility and she lay silently, curled up in a ball.
“I can’t do this…” she whimpered into the dark. Even the smallest source of light would bring her hope. But all she could bring herself to do was lay on the filthy floor, feeling like nothing more than the lost and scared child she was—wishing her parents would come and save her. Tears ran down her face, and this time, she didn’t fight them. She let them fall, soaking her cheeks.
Seconds. Minutes. Hours. Days. There was no way to tell how much time had passed before she could move again. Oriana pushed herself up to a sitting position, her body aching from the cold floor. Darkness still surrounded her, but somehow it felt less overwhelming now. Had she slept? It was impossible to tell.
She picked herself up and cringed at the pain in her knees. Leaning against the wall for support, she set one foot in front of the other.
This had to lead somewhere. Maybe it leads to my parents, they could be waiting for me at the end. They are probably wondering where I am…
The hope of that single thought spurred her forward.
The tunnel stretched on and on and her feet ached. Then she came to a wall. Feeling around, she touched the coolness of the uncured surface and rested her head against the stone. The corner was the best thing she’d ever felt in her life. It had to mean an end to this horrid passage. Oriana groped along the wall, her fingers hovering over a divot as she paused. If she’d endured all of this, only to stumble out into the open and be found by those men… she shivered.
Placing her ear against it, Oriana listened. It was quiet. Either the men were there, or they had left. But she couldn’t waste any more time waiting. She pressed downward and the wall in front of her groaned, the stone scraping against itself. Blinding light filled the tunnel.
Oriana
Letting her eyes adjust to the light, Oriana squinted into the room. Her father’s study… but something was off. The room was empty and silent as she stepped inside. The stone door slid shut behind her.
No, this wasn’t it, though it looked exactly the same—almost identical, except that the large window that looked out into the garden wasn’t there. Oriana let her eyes wander, taking in every detail. There wasn’t a door visible anywhere in the room. She’d lived her entire life in this castle and never had any idea where this tunnel had led.
Everything was still intact, the men who had invaded her home hadn’t found it yet. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
But why isn’t anyone here? She shook her head, refusing to let her mind go down that road.
Find the key, then get help. Caelan will help find survivors.
Without the broad curvature prevalent in many of the rooms throughout the castle, the ceiling felt low, as if she could hit her head on it. Though that was ridiculous however, since she couldn’t reach it without standing on something. The walls, made of dark, black, crystal stones reflected the dancing flames of several lit candelabras scattered around the room. A fireplace stood to one side, two wing-backed chairs sat in front of it—one on either side. A portrait of her parents hung above the cold hearth. Two plush couches faced each other in the middle of the room, separated by a short table. An empty teacup sitting on the surface gave the only sign that anyone had ever been here at all.
But how recently?
Why go through so much trouble creating a room exactly like the one on the main floor, if no one else knew about it? People could have hidden here. They could have been safe!
It didn’t make sense.
Stop it, stop it, stop it! Focus, the key has to be here.
She wrung her fingers. If the Gateway key wasn’t here, her only options would either be to stay locked away down here and possibly die waiting for someone to find her, or to venture back up through the tunnel and out into the open. What if those men had heard her? They could easily stay in the castle in comfort while they waited for her to starve herself out of hiding.
Oriana refused to give up that easily. If she were going risk capture, it would be because she’d tried everything else. The impostor Citali Guards would have to work for it.
The fireplace was as good as any place to start. Tracing her hand along the surface of the crystal, her fingers felt around for any inconsistencies. She pressed on every stone that had any slight divination from the perfectly smooth crystal stones.
Her fingers sought out every bump and divot along the sides, top and then bottom. The third stone from the bottom made her pause. Its texture was rough against her skin, made of something other than crystal. She pressed down. It gave way under the light pressure of her fingers. Nothing happened except a click, before a hum whirred from behind. Oriana startled at the unexpected direction of the noise.
She turned her head. The coffee table sank, down into the floor, and slid under the stone floor, knocking the sparkling tea cup down a set of stairs. It shattered with a soft smash.
“Good,” she said. Her softly spoken word evaporated into the air. That was one step forward. Now she needed to find the key.
Oriana crawled under the two chairs, tipped them over, and examined them from all angles. Still no key. She did the same with the two couches. Again, no luck.
Righting one, she plopped down and propped her feet up. Exhaustion wrapped itself around her. Maybe she could close her eyes for a few minutes. Resting her arm across her face, she let her eyes slide shut.
Her foot wiggled impatiently.
Ugh.
As tired as she was, she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she got to Jupiter.
She let her head roll to the side, her fingers tapping impatiently on the back of the sofa. A bust in the corner caught her eye. She had missed it before. Swinging her legs off the couch, she stood and strode across the room.
Oriana’s crystal face stared blankly back at her. The bust gleamed in the dim light. It was odd, it started out transparent on the top and faded into a thick, opaque, creamy-white color. Most crystals such as this were normally discarded as useless, though looking at this piece, she wondered why. The effect was beautiful.
Carefully, Oriana lifted the carved, crystal copy of herself. Underneath, a golden key was placed into a groove on the top of the podium.
This must be it—the key to the Gateway.
Quickly, she plucked the key from its hiding place and replaced the bust. Shoving the key in her pocket, she let out a relieved sigh that she’d finally found it.
She stopped at the top of the open staircase in the middle of the room. It was dark, just as dark as the passageway down to the hidden chamber. Oriana strode to the table and snatched up a three-branched candelabra before heading down the stairs.
Small victories were all she could ask for. These narrow steps were designed for
a child’s foot. Without the light of the candles in her hand, she would have fallen and broken her neck by now. Minutes later she reached the bottom.
Good, that wasn’t too bad of a trip. By the stars, please let this all be over soon.
With resolve, she pushed up her sleeves, beginning to navigate the long narrow tunnel. The corridor turned left, then right. The floor slanted up.
Her head spun with the constant change of direction as she kept moving forward. It didn’t take long before she was disoriented. Keeping her eyes locked on the path before her, she dared not look back, fearing it would only turn her around further.
Just when she thought she would spend the rest of her life wandering through the passage, she turned again and came to a halt. A wooden door marked the end of the tunnel. She reached out and ran her hand along the grain of the wood. It felt rough and smooth at the same time. There was nothing gleaming or reflective about the opaque surface either. Even the crystal stone of the castle always sparkled and shone. No amount of carving had created such lines as the ones that ran up and down the door in front of her.
Oriana reached out and pulled on the handle. It turned with a soft click, extinguishing the lights. She set the candelabra down, figuring she wouldn’t need it anymore.
She pulled on the handle and opened the door a small crack.
Her heart sank. It wasn’t the Gateway. It was just the entrance to the room that held the Gateway, along the main floor. The room was silent. No voices or movements echoed anywhere in the palace.
Pulling the key from her pocket, Oriana gripped it firmly in her hand, afraid she might drop it, the metal left its impression in her skin. The door she wanted was on the adjacent wall, mere feet away—but a minefield of debris stood between her and her freedom.
Bright orange and red light filled the sitting room through the window. The sky was on fire with bright red and orange hues, reflecting off the mirrored surface of Soleis. It had been a long night and an even longer day.
Oriana stepped out onto the path and guided the hidden door as it silently closed behind her.
With slow, careful steps, she navigated her way around broken chairs, tables, knocked over bookcases, and the crumbled stone of the wall.
Standing in front of another painting of her parents, the framing of the door was meant to look decorative, but she knew it hid the lock. Pressing a delicately carved flower to the left of the center she held the key ready in her other hand. The carving jutted out of the frame and exposed a keyhole. She placed the golden key inside and turned it, before pushing the door open and letting herself through.
The other side wasn’t what she had been expected. A dark forest stretched before her.
This is getting ridiculous. Oriana seethed as she ground her teeth.
One step forward and two steps back.
Why couldn’t travel between worlds be easier than this nightmare of a reality? She felt as though she were running and running with everything she had, only to pause and realize she hadn’t made any progress. Oriana cursed her inexperience with any type of life outside her home… and lack of knowledge of the secrets held inside.
At the very least she’d expected another room with neatly labeled doorways that led to the other Kingdoms. What she got was a forest of trees with a variety of leaves: crystal, green, orange, some shimmering blue, and more. The leaves represented all the worlds, scattered, not leaving her with a clue which way to go.
Oriana glanced back at the door she’d entered through. There was nothing about it that stuck out as representing her Kingdom. The nearest crystal tree was mixed in among all the others at random.
“I can’t take much more of this,” Oriana’s voice cracked with exhaustion as she tilted her face to the sky. Above, the stars of countless galaxies swirled and sparkled, casting a soft pale blue light over the land.
Oriana followed the path that lay before her until finally came to a small clearing. Ten new trails forked off into different directions.
“Oh, come on,” she groaned. Her right eye started to twitch. Each route was seemingly identical. She dragged her foot across the path she had come from and gathered a handful of small rocks, before placing them in the center of the clearing. She would start by going right, then work her way through the paths. It would make sense for it to have some sort of order. Once she figured out the first door, she could just count and figure out Jupiter’s Gateway from there.
She placed a stone in front of the path and stepped on it, driving it into the ground, brushing a light layer of dirt around it. Blending in with its surroundings, the stone stuck out enough for her to find again, but not enough to be conspicuous to anyone who might follow after her.
The dirt was warm brown, with grains of blues, greens, reds, and oranges. All littered with crystal dust. The Gateway was a strange world. As though each of the planets came together here and mixed, creating a beautiful rainbow of color surrounded by night.
Walking down the winding path, Oriana veered right. With slow, careful, steps she examined its aesthetics as she continued on. Nothing so much as hinted at where the door at the end of this passage would lead. No rock, tree, stick, or stone looked out of place nor distinctly familiar. After several minutes of walking, she came to a door identical to that of Soleis.
She pulled the key out of her pocket and closed her eyes. “Please be Jupiter. Please, oh please, be Jupiter,” Oriana begged. There was a good chance she would lose her mind if it led anywhere else.
Pushing open the door, she opened her eyes.
The room before her was eerily similar to the one she entered the Gateway through. Except in place of the crystal, the walls and floors were made of ice. Oriana shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.
Frozen in the open doorway, she waited.
Should I call out, or try to find someone?
Creeping around in another royal’s castle was frowned upon, and she was already about to enter uninvited. She could go back and try another path. But which one? She needed to be sure of which world this was. If she found someone they could direct her to the correct path at the very least, or maybe even gather their Citinal guards to help her.
Wrapping her arms around herself, Oriana stepped through. Her foot slipped on the icy floor. Her arms flailing in a weak attempt to gain her balance, she crashed to the ground, landing on her back. The impact rattled her teeth, and the door closed behind her. Her key sparkled on the other side, winking at her. She bit down hard on her tongue to keep from swearing and closed her eyes to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. The only way out would be to find another key.
I can do this. I can do this. Oriana pushed herself up. There had to be someone here.
The Kingdoms were filled with secret passageways, no single person knew of more than a few, but everyone knew of at least one. Someone had to have escaped and she wouldn’t leave them to fend for themselves. They might not be able to help her, but if she could help one person, then maybe they would both stand a chance of getting out of this mess alive. She scanned the room.
A chair was knocked over, and a large frosted desk had its papers and ornaments swiped off the top; drawers pulled out, and the contents tossed across the room. Suddenly she felt the foundation of the castle shake as an explosion hit. Oriana ducked and covered her head with her arms as ice rained down around her.
No, no, no, no, no!
It was happening here too. Bile rose in the back of her throat.
Why is this happening?
Oriana
The door to the office creaked open. Oriana panicked, her gaze darting from one end of the room to the other for any source of cover. The couch was no good; it had already been upended.
She dove for the desk, slipping on the slick floor once more. Grabbing on to the desk’s edge she slid her body under it, holding her breath.
Whimpering could be heard from the doorway, then a rustling noise across the room. Oriana peeked around the edge of her hiding spo
t. It was the Princess Cassia… Oriana realized with this that she must be on Pluto.
Cassia buried herself under the overturned couch. Footsteps pounded down the corridor.
She waited until the sound of footsteps faded.
“Princess,” Oriana whispered peering around the end of the desk.
The girl stilled, becoming deathly silent, sparkling eyes stared, unblinking at her face. “Don’t move, and don’t make a sound. I’m here to help you. Do you remember me, I’m Princess Oriana? Sniff once for yes.”
Silence.
Oriana was afraid the girl didn’t remember, or worse, that it was a trap. Then, came a sniffle, and a whimper.
“Do you know where your parents are? Are they on their way?”
Silence.
Her heart sank. She would have to get the child out of here and take her to Jupiter where she would be safe. Caelan would find all of them if they were still alive. Oriana shuddered, realizing she still needed that key if they were going to get out of this alive.
“Do you have the key to the Gateway?” she asked.
Silence.
“Is the key in this room?” The chill from the floor seeped its way through her clothes, biting at her skin, burning.
Silence.
By the stars! Of course, it isn’t. “Do you know where it is?”
Sniffle.
“Is it near enough that you can get to it without being noticed?” Oriana pressed.
Sniffle.
It wasn’t out of their grasp yet. “I am going to create a diversion so we can get to the Gateway. When I leave, I want you to quietly and quickly get the key and get back under the couch as fast as you can and wait for me.”
Sniffle.
Princess Cassia had to be scared out of her mind. She had to be strong for her, protect her until she could get her somewhere safe.
