It didn’t take long for Mirabel to feel the chill in the air as she walked through the tunnel. No longer surrounded by fabrics and carpet, the cold stone was exposed, giving the air an unpleasant nip. She was glad for her cloak, and almost disappointed she hadn’t brought the blanket along. She knew, of course, that the blanket would have given her no advantages in her escape, but it would at least have kept her warm.

Mirabel had never been good with the cold. Being so small and thin did have it’s advantages at times, but keeping warm wasn’t one of them. It was one of the reasons she dreaded marrying into Winterthur. It was the coldest of the surrounding countries, and she almost wished Pommern had a prince her father could have married her to instead. After all, a marriage between the rivalling kingdoms would have solidified the current peace.

Of course, as of right now, she could only hope the Winterthur alliance was still on track. With her gone, and nowhere to be found, she wasn’t sure if Winterthur would keep to their agreement. She may not have been a politician, but she knew enough about politics to know that there was no value in a princess who was no longer available. Her father may have convinced them to aid in the search, but if not, she feared she would return home to find the marriage was over before it had begun.

It had been a long time since the thought of her up and coming marriage had even crossed her mind, she realized. Of course, she had been more concerned with escaping her captors, but now she was close to being free again, she couldn’t help herself. What would it be like when she returned? Would Prince Adrien still be awaiting her hand? Would she even want to marry him?

Now that certainly was a new thought. Not wanting to marry Prince Adrien? Where was her mind at? Of course she would marry him, if he still wanted her. It was her duty as princess to secure an alliance with Winterthur through her marriage. That’s just how it was.

Anyway, it wasn’t like she had a choice in the matter. Her father had made the arrangements. And Adrien was a good man. Or at least, so she had been told.

Marriage. The thought made her sigh. After this little adventure of hers, all she wanted was some peace and quiet. Her and a book in her favorite corner of the library. That was what she wanted. Something told her, however, that she wasn’t going to be getting that any time soon. Her life had taken a turn down a path of excitement, and she wasn’t exactly happy about it. Reading about excitement was enough for her.

Her foot caught on a stone, and she almost fell. She steadied herself, checking the candle. It was still lit. She exhaled a sigh of relief. Being stuck in a dark tunnel wasn’t her idea of fun. Being in a dark tunnel at all wasn’t her idea of fun, as a matter of fact. As it was, it was almost dark; the candle gave off just barely enough light to see by. A torch would have been better.

She began walking again, being more careful. The floor here wasn’t very even. She was beginning to wonder how long this tunnel was; it seemed to go on forever. Of course, that could have been because of the darkness. Everything seemed to take longer when you couldn’t see where you were going. Or at least, that’s how she felt about the matter. She hadn’t really asked anyone else. +

Tired. She was definitely tired. Her thoughts were running away from her. Looking down at the dimly lit stones beneath her feet, she concentrated on walking. Thinking was overrated anyway.

Unfortunately, overrated or not, she couldn’t stop it from happening. Her mind wandered, having nothing to hold it’s attention. This time it wandered somewhere it hadn’t ever since she was kidnapped for the second time. Tomas.

She was sure he was alright. He had to be. It was just a simple fire. It had probably been caught before it even spread too far. Everyone was fine. Tomas was fine.

At least, that’s what she told herself. Her recurring nightmares seemed to be intent on convincing her otherwise. Almost every time she let herself sleep, it was that same nightmare of fire and Tomas’s pleading eyes before he collapsed. The first few times it had happened, she had convinced herself the nightmares would go away. After having it three times in a row, however, she was beginning to rethink that.

Mirabel shook her head, pushing the thoughts away. She wasn’t sleeping; she didn’t have to worry about it. She rubbed a hand down her face, feeling the tiredness set in at the thought of sleep. Not now. She at least had to reach the end of this tunnel first. It couldn’t be much farther, surely. How long had she been walking? She knew it had only been a few minutes at most, but for some reason it felt like an eternity.

Almost as soon as the thought finished, she saw a door come into reach of the candlelight. In her excitement, she moved a little faster. She could hardly believe her luck at having found a way out. On the other hand, she could hardly believe her luck in being kidnapped twice by the same people, despite escaping. Her earlier thought came back, and she smiled. She certainly did have the strangest luck.

Praying that the door on this end would be unlocked, she pushed. For half a second it stuck and her breath caught in disappointment until, with one last shove, it opened. Strangely enough, she didn’t find herself stepping into the open light of sunset. No, it was just as dark in here as in the tunnel. The difference was, the floor here was wooden, and there were clothes. The clothes gave her the most surprise, and she withdrew the candle, holding it closer.

It was clear she had stepped into another wardrobe. But for some reason, this one had actual possessions inside. This made her heart beat faster. Was she in an occupied room? Why would a secret tunnel even lead to someone else’s room?

She debated for a moment whether or not to go back. If the room she was now in was occupied, she would be caught in an instant. On the other hand, if she went back to the other room, it would be as if she had been caught. As if she had never left, in fact.

It was a fleeting debate. Holding the candle close, she stepped forward and pushed gently on the door, just enough to open it a crack.

It was a bedroom. Her heart leapt into her throat and she almost pulled the door closed again. But something stopped her. Instead, she pushed it open wider, taking a better look. It was a lavishly decorated room, much nicer than the one she had been placed in. A large bed took center place in the room, curtains hanging around. They were open at the moment, though, and she could see the assortment of pillows piled at the head of the bed. Her eyes widened as she took in more of the view, and, abandoning all caution, she pushed the door open all the way and stepped out.

The room was, if anything, more extravagant than her own. This surprised her, of course. Who would have such a room? As the thought flitted across her mind, the answer followed. The queen.

Realizing she was out in the open in what could be the queen’s bedroom, she quickly took several steps backwards, towards the wardrobe. After a quick glance around, however, it was made clear that she was the only occupant. For now, at least.

No longer needing the candle, she walked toward the bedside table and set it down. She didn’t blow it out, though. She might still need it.

A large window took up one wall of the room. The heavy red curtains were drawn, blocking most of the light. She slipped across the room and gently pushed one back, peering out at the view. And it was an incredible one.

More than just trees, she could see an entire forest and beyond. She could see the sun setting on the horizon, just beginning to slip beneath the treetops. Before the forest lay a garden, a large fountain in the middle of it. It wasn’t as impressive a garden as her own; this one was far smaller. But it was beautiful. Someone had taken good care of the hedges, trimming them into shapes such as horses and knights. She had never seen hedges trimmed with such precision.+

Once she had taken in the view, she stepped away from the window. It did confirm that she was in the royal castle, if nothing else. This was a royal bedroom, and that was a royal garden. For whatever reason, the queen had decided to kidnap her.

Mirabel couldn’t help but continue to wonder why. What good did she do the queen of Omsk, of all places? Now, Pommern she could see. Their countries had long been rivals. There was history there. But as far as she knew, Lucerne and Omsk had never crossed each other in any way before. But it seemed almost as if Gisella was acting on some vendetta.

She rubbed her temples. She could worry about Gisella’s motives later. Right now, she had to figure out whose room she had stumbled into, and how to get out.

The room’s decorations were much like the ones in the room she had just vacated. Tapestries, lush carpets, comfortable chairs. But this room was far larger. Looking at the wardrobe from the outside, she was able to see just how much larger it was than the one she had entered through. It was made of a dark wood, shining in the light the open curtains let in. The frame of the door was carved with spiraling vines and flowers. It was a wardrobe befitting of a king.

A king. On impulse, she stepped forward and yanked the wardrobe doors open. Sure enough, the clothes that cluttered the large space were men’s clothes. And more than that, they were the clothes of a king.

She frowned now. As far as she knew, Omsk had no king. Not since Gisella’s father. She turned, eyes scanning the room carefully. Why was the room so clean if there was no king? She supposed that the servants still cleaned it out of respect for the dead ruler; it certainly didn’t seem the sort of thing Gisella would insist on.

But why was there a tunnel leading from the guest bedroom to the king’s bedroom? Then again, she thought to herself, it didn’t make any sense for it to lead to the queen’s room, either. She could see if it wasn’t a guest room that it might make sense. But who would want their guests to have access to their personal quarters? That would require a great deal of trust. Of course, she mused, it wasn’t likely that any average guest would find the secret tunnel. Her own clumsiness and bad luck had led her to it.

At least she knew now that this was an unoccupied room. Had it been the queen’s room, she would have been in much more of a hurry to get out. But now she could take her time and explore. For whatever reason the tunnel had led to the king’s room instead of outside, there was certain to be another tunnel around here somewhere. The king’s room, above all, would be certain to have an escape tunnel.

And if she couldn’t find it, then she would just have to risk the halls. Or the window. She glanced at it. While she wouldn’t be able to break the glass, the window itself might open in some way or another. Although it was a long drop if she decided to take that route. But for now, she was safe in here. Until she was discovered missing, that is. And that’s when the real luck would have to start.

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A/N Oooooh, exciting stuff. Again, decently long chapter x) Hope you enjoyed. Blah blah blah. Ahem. Sorry, I'm in a very blah mood. I almost didn't put this up because I was too lazy. #oops

Aaaanywayyyy. Chapter. Vote. Comment. Fan. Jazzy stuff. I'm going to go take a nap (except not because I don't get to do that sort of thing). Byeeee. Love ya xx