Ro woke up to the sound of thunder and lightning crashing outside. The sky lit up the entire room as every bolt hit. She got up and walked towards the window and opened the curtains, just a little bit.
The rain made small crashes on the window and the view wasn't too clear.
She quickly ran to the closet and took out a grey, wool sweater. She turned on the light and looked at the clock. 1:02 in the morning.
No one should be awake by now.
Ro walked as quietly as possible and turned on the light. She tip toed to the vanity and lifted the box with the brushes. She took the piece of paper she had folded carefully out and unfolded it.
The plan. There wasn't much to it, but it was the only one she had.
Over the past three weeks she had been here, she had marked every place there were guards. She plotted the entire map of the estate and all the grounds she had managed to go to.
The only place she wasn't able to go was the borders or the West wing in the house. This was her next target, and also where the master lived. She needed to get a full diagram, so she knew where to go when she was to escape.
She grabbed the satchel she had found in the closet, a flashlight, a pocket knife and matches. She headed for the door and turned off the light. Letting out one deep breath, she closed her eyes and turned the handel.
She headed to the West wing. The walls and portraits were grim and dark. The moonlight was just barely showing through the small opening in the windows. The wooden floors echoed slightly under her weight. She turned the left corner and walked a bit further before reaching the library door.
The estate had two libraries; the West wing one being the smaller of the two. The large oak tree doors towered over her. She looked over her shoulders to make sure no one was there. She carefully moved the handle and opened the door.
The room was completely dark. She knew the lights could alert someone, so she opted for her flashlight.
There were several rows of books, and the corners of the shelves were lined with gold. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, glistening in the light. There were several sitting areas with leather chairs, gold plated lamps, or tables made from African Blackwood.
Nothing seemed to be too expensive or unnecessary in this house.
Towards the back were stairs. Ro decided to go up and see what was in this section.
There were older books and paintings. One painting was right in between to levels of books. It was a gradient with black, red, grey, and white. There was a rose; the Rose.
She instantly remembered the tattoo on the two boys she had seen. The rose was in the very center and blood was dripping heavily from the stem. The petals had begun to wilt and underneath it lay another rose. A white rose was stained with deep red. It appeared to be crushed and it's petals were scattered. It was almost as if the black rose had won.
What did this mean?
Ro removed the painting from the wall and looked closely at the back. She tried to look for any words, letters; anything to explain the importance of it.
She looked up from the painting, towards the wall it had been on. A faint line slit the wallpaper, ever so slightly.
Ro noticed a dent along the wall. She took out her small pocket knife and cut along the line all the way to the floor. She stood back up and ran her finger along the top. There was another dent near the top of the wall. She ran the knife along that side too, and came back down the side. She dug the knife deeper into the wall, trying to move it or open it.
It felt like forever for her. She didn't want to take a chance on getting caught, but her curiosity was getting the better of her.
Did this even mean anything? Was she just being silly? What if this wall is just old? How-
Just as the thoughts raced in her head, the wall opened. She placed her knife in her bag and pulled with all her force. A room. She blinked several times trying to see if she was just imagining this.
She stepped in and closed the door as best as she could, in case anyone did come in. It looked like an old closet. Dust covered every inch of the room. There was another bookshelf on the left. There were books scattered all over the floor, as if they tried organizing everything but ran out of time.
A large book with a white rose caught her attention. She picked it up and blew the dust out of the way, resisting the urge to sneeze. It seemed to be a picture album. The first page had been ripped out, but all the pictures were in tact.
The family seemed to be royal and each family portrait showed the father, mother, and one child.
They seemed to go back hundreds of years and apparently it didn't matter whether the heir was a girl or boy. The captions read Rey Roberto III y Reina Isabella Santa Luz, Princessa Dominga Abeyta, Principe Phillipe Catalan, etc. Ro wanted to know about these families and why they were hidden.
She looked for any other book connecting to those people. She was about ready to give up in frustration, until she saw another book. It was smaller and parts of the cover were torn off or they just disappeared with age. She shined her flashlight on it to try and read any title on the cover.
BANG!
Ro's head shot up instantly. She couldn't hear anything over the loud pounding of her heart. She tried to control her breathing. The footsteps were getting louder and clearer; they were coming towards her..
She grabbed the two books and shoved them into her satchel. There was no place to hide, only the darkness could help her. She quickly inched towards the door and hid behind it. If someone opened the door, she would at least be out of sight. The footsteps neared the end of the stairs and the secret room.
The only thing she could was hold her breath. She could feel the tightness in her chest, as her body craved more oxygen than the small amount she had taken in before, but she couldn't.
One, two, three steps closer. Four, five, six....
The only thing standing between her and whoever was on the other side was the wall.
Ro closed her eyes ready for the worst when, they walked away.
She instantly let the air she had been holding in out, and took a deep breathe. She placed her ear to the wall to check for any sound, but there was nothing. She slowly opened the door and stepped outside. Nobody in sight.
Closing the door, she placed the painting back on the wall. She saw a small table with a vase near the beginning of the stairs and moved it underneath the painting. It looked as normal as it was going to.
As normal as a wall with a cutout silhouette of a door was going to be, at least.
~~~~~~~~
Safely in her room Ro threw herself on the bed and let out an exhausted sigh. She took the small book out of the satchel and opened it up. The first page read Marzo 23, 1949 (March 23, 1949). It was a diary.
YOU ARE READING
A New Past
Teen Fiction"Maybe one day they will realize they're wrong, and despite what they are doing, I pray God shows mercy on them.........." What would you do if you were abducted from your family, taken far away, and face the possibility of never seeing them again? ...
