Born In The Dungeons

Chapter 6: Cassia

I walked down dimly lit hallways of the castle, careful not to make any noise that could bring attention of the guards patrolling tonight. 

"Turn left here," King Cerius instructed. 

I turned left and kept walking. Every now and then, I would look around my surroundings to ensure that I wasn't being followed. 

"Do not worry, child. I will warn you of any trouble. Keep walking. We're almost at the passage."

It was much darker and colder in this part of the castle and I was glad for the thick robe that I wore. It kept me warm. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dark, years of experience in the dungeons coming to my aid. We reached the end of the hallway where there was nothing but a stone wall. A dead end.

King Cerius hovered his hand over each stone. "This." He stopped at one of them. "Press on this." I pressed on it and heard a distant sound of clicking. He repeated the same action, hovering his hand over another part of the wall. "She pressed...this one. Emilia -" I pressed on the second stone, hearing another distant click and grinding of stones. After pushing on a few more of them, a loud whirling noise started.

"Step back!" King Cerius yelled out. I jumped back just before the ground below me dropped. Large blocks of stone came out of one side of the giant hole, one after another, creating a stairwell. 

When the whirling sound stopped, I looked up at King Cerius for further instructions. He motioned for me to descend. I lifted up the skirts of my dress and robe before putting one foot down on the first step. As I reached the bottom, I could see that a few oil lamps hung on the walls of the dusty place. They illuminated a low and narrow pathway in a pale yellow glow.

An unpleasant smell suddenly assaulted my senses and I immediately covered my nose with the fabric of my robes. I couldn't place it. It wasn't something I had smelled before, but it was surely nauseating. It was an odd mix of sweat and...mud? There were a few other scents that I could not recognize that interlaced into one horrid combination. 

 "My Gods, what is this smell?" I asked King Cerius in a low whisper. 

I almost screamed when I saw him walking beside me -- headless. He ducked down and his head appeared. "This ceiling is too low to fit my height," he explained. "As for the smell...I cannot help with that." He pointed at his nose. "I do not have senses."

"Right. I forgot."

The tunnel seemed endless and it felt like we have been walking for hours, although I was sure that it hasn't been that long. King Cerius seemed to remember what route Rose had taken when she visited my mother last night. He kept instructing me where to turn as we walked.

"Are you certain that you remember where Rose had --"

I heard a loud gurgling noise and laboured breathing, followed by heavy footsteps. It sounded like someone big was running in our direction, feet slamming against the ground. A loud roar shook the walls and I panicked. The sound did not seem to be that of a human.

A quick flash of blue appeared in front of me and pushed me behind them. "You shouldn't be here, Emilia."

"Rose!"

"Stay behind me," she commanded as the heavy footsteps got louder. Whoever it was -- they were getting closer. 

A large shape came out from an opening in the distance. It looked like a big human, but with one long horn protruding from its forehead. With every thud of its bare feet hitting the ground, it got closer and closer. That's when I saw that it only had one eye. I gasped. The horrible smell got stronger as the creature approached.