Chapter 3 ~ The Hidden Door
1245 Words
Janaeya staggered back, feeling as if her heart had just torn through her guts. She turned immediately and saw her father.
General Aivo hurried toward the door, pulled the handle, and locked it with the key he took from his pocket.
As he slipped the key back into his pocket, it missed and fell silently to the floor without him noticing. He thought it was safely inside, but the key now lay there, on the floor, staring right back at Janaeya.
“What the hell were you thinking?” he growled.
“Father, I was looking for you,” Janaeya lied gently, tensed. “I saw the door open, so I thought you might be inside.”
“Inside? This isn’t even the way to my room,” General Aivo murmured.
“Uhm, I tried asking...”
“Enough!” He cut her off sharply. “I don’t care at this point. Have you received the letter?”
“Yes, Father. I can’t thank you enough. I promise I’ll never let you down again,” Janaeya said, her voice low and shaky.
“And how exactly will you do that?” He scoffed. His voice rose, echoing through the lobby. “You don’t even have any magic abilities whatsoever. So I ask you again, how do you intend to do that?”
“I will… uh…” Janaeya opened her mouth and closed it again, words stumbling out in broken fragments.
“Exactly as I thought.” He shook his head. “You will report to the academy in two days time. Pack your bags and get your s**t together. You’ve embarrassed me enough as it is.”
With that, he turned and left, leaving her broken where she stood.
The key to the room lay on the floor, calling unto her. Janaeya stepped forward and picked it up gently. She glanced around to make sure no one had seen her, then tucked it into her pocket and made her way to her room.
***
Janaeya lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The key was clutched tightly in both hands.
She peeped out her window. The midnight air was cold, and she swore she could hear faint voices whispering her name.
Sleep refused to come, not while the key burned in her possession. She kept debating whether to go back to that room and finally see what her father was hiding, or to stay safe and maintain her peace. If she was caught, the consequences would be severe.
Without thinking any further, she rose from her bed. Barefoot, she opened her door softly, careful not to make a sound.
She tiptoed down the corridor toward the locked room. Luckily, no guards were stationed there. She opened the door gently and slipped inside, leaving it half-closed behind her.
Paintings covered the walls, portraits of deceased family members, patriarchs and matriarchs of the Blackstone bloodline.
The room was impeccably neat and plain, like any other in the mansion. Janaeya frowned. Her father was a wise and cautious man. He would never guard an ordinary room so fiercely. There had to be something hidden here.
She walked slowly around the room, running her hands along the walls, searching for anything unusual. Her instincts told her a secret door was nearby, yet the clean surfaces made her doubt herself.
Then she stopped in front of one particular painting. Her grandmother's.
She studied every detail. Her mother had told her many stories about this woman and the bad things she did for the nation.
Janaeya never met her in the past, but she felt strangely drawn to the portrait. As if they shared a secret bond, something strange in common.
Around her grandmother’s neck in the painting was a unique necklace, crafted unlike any other necklace Janaeya had ever seen.
As she stretched her hand toward the frame to touch it, the wall suddenly shifted. Her instincts was right all along, there was indeed a secret door.
She stepped back, heart pounding. What the hell is Father hiding here? she thought to herself.
She pushed the wall further as the hidden door opened wider, revealing documents, boxes, skulls, bones, medicines that looked like portions, and other things.
Her heart raced even faster.
What is this place? Whose bodies are these? They must have been hidden here a long time ago.
Her eyes fell on a neatly placed box on a shelf. Something pulled her toward it. She grabbed the box, brought it down, and opened it.
Inside lay the exact necklace from the painting. She swallowed hard, questions spiraling in her mind.
Beneath it was another picture of her grandmother, this one was different.
It showed her on the battlefield, wearing the same necklace, behind her was a massive black dragon. Janaeya picked it up slowly and stared at the image.
She began searching through more documents, hoping to find some answers. Suddenly, voices echoed from outside the room.
It was two guards returning from their mid-break.
Janaeya rushed out of the hidden door, grabbed the necklace and the picture, and stuffed them into her pocket. She hurriedly left the room and locked the door.
The voices grew nearer, echoing sharply down the corridor.
Janaeya’s hands trembled as she tried to pull the key out of the lock. It jammed.
In panic, she yanked harder. The key suddenly slipped free, clattering loudly onto the floor and spinning away into the shadows.
There was no time to pick it up, so she ran as softly as she could, careful not to make even the slightest sound.
She hid at another lobby entrance, pressing herself against the cold wall, heart racing.
“I heard the General was ready to sell off his daughter to the Prince of Galloway if not for Lady Maya’s intervention,” one guard said to the other.
“True. That man has no heart, even for his own family. He’s ready to do whatever it takes to retain his name.”
“Young Mistress Janaeya must be devastated. The poor girl has no idea what kind of monster she has for a father.”
Janaeya leaned against the wall, barely breathing. She could hear every word as they walked past.
Her father really tried to sell her off for marriage without her consent? She just turned eighteen. What kind of parent does that to their own child?
The same man she would kill for was ready to discard her simply because she was powerless. Maybe she truly was adopted.
"Wait." One of the guards suddenly paused. His boot scraped against the floor as he stepped on something small. He bent down and picked it up. “Isn’t this the key the General has been looking for all day?”
The second guard leaned in, eyes widening in disbelief. “Damn, it is. How the hell did it get out here?”
“Must’ve dropped it. You know how clumsy he gets when he’s angry,” the first guard muttered, turning the key over in his palm.
“Better get this back to him before he loses his mind,” the second guard said. “Last thing we need right now is another one of his rages.”
The guards continued down the corridor, their footsteps fading slowly.
As soon as they disappeared, Janaeya slipped out and rushed straight to her room.
She closed the door firmly behind her, the stolen necklace still hidden in her pocket.
- Writer
