Moon Of Misfortunes

Chapter Four: The Book

I woke up to a loud knock resonating threw the cedar door. I pulled the covers to my chest, feeling the satin crinkle beneath my fingertips as if I was trying to feebly shield my heart from another devastating blow.

"Come in," I said, cautiously, unknowing of who was behind the door.

The muffled sound of several locks beings unlocked rung out. After a few seconds, the door creaked opened, and there stood Rubio. He had a tray of food with him, too. He, in a quick stride, he arrived at my bedside and placed the food down on the end table.

"Make sure you eat all of it," he sternly said, "it will be good for the babies."

"Breakfast in bed? This is starting to feel more like BnB, not a prisoner waiting to be executed," I joked. Rubio rolled his eyes and sighed.

"The Elders cannot punish you while pregnant. It would be deemed unethical to risk the life of the twins by throwing you in the cells with the other criminals. Trust me, they would most likely attack a pretty woman like you within minutes."

A cool shiver rolled down my spine; just the thought of what he was implying made me want to throw up.

"Why treat me so well? Placing me in such a grand room and delivering me food seems like too good of treatment for someone who is accused of stabbing the Queen. I mean, surely you don't give every pregnant wolf this luxury," I huffed. Rubio grinned.

"Well, aren't you an introspective one."

"I'm just curious-"

"They say curiosity killed the cat," Rubio looked in my eyes and continued, "sometimes things are better left unsaid, Adaline."

Rubio nodded at me and quickly left the room, carefully shutting the door behind him. The locks repeated there melody once more, and I was now alone. I sighed and looked over at the food tray and inspected its items: scrambled eggs, toast, and some grapes. Seems a little low-brow for the Elders, I snored, but too high-brow for a prisoner. I carefully picked up the toast and took a bite.

How am I going to get out of being killed for something I did not do, I thought. There has to be some way to prove my innocence.

Maiya emerged out from the inner depths of my minds. "How do you plan on doing that? I'm not sure if you have noticed or not, but we are trapped inside this room."

I'm not sure yet. Have you been able to reach out to Aric, I question. Aric was Nikolai's wolf; just the thought of Aric made me smile. He was truly beautiful and wise beyond his time with Nikolai. Maiya sucked a breath in.

"Yes, Aric said that Nikolai exiled us from Riverwood."

I gasped and whispered, "exiled?"

She spoke, "Exiled. Aric says it was Nikolai who ordained it. He says Nikolai is a fool for abandoning us, criminal or not." She paused before continuing, "Aric said he is sorry for Nikolai's action and any of this future action. His current thoughts are not pure."

Are you talking to him now, I asked.

"No, he cut us out."

Did you tell him about the pups, I asked her, scared of the response.

"No, he made his choice and we don't need to complicate things further."

I breathed out in relief. Now, to figure out a game plan, I thought. I continued to munch on my breakfast some more. A few minutes past, allowing me to finish my breakfast and play inside of my thoughts. Even though I have shorted through seemly thousands of ideas on how to get out of my downfall, I sighed, not even one idea seemed good or remotely feasible. I rose out of bed and walked towards the fireplace. I reached outwards, towards one of the Goddess, and touched her smooth wooden skin. My fingertips danced over the wood and down her cheek. I gazed into her eyes.

"Is this a test," I whispered, "if it is, I do not think I can survive this one."

She stared back at me, blankly, offering me no comfort. I removed my hand, placing it at my side. I shrugged. There was no point in talking to the fireplace, after all, their faces seemed more disappointing than anything. I walked away from their gaze and lounged on the couch. I noticed a small deformity in the stone wall as if there was a slight raise 3 foot tall by 2 and a half foot wide section, in the corner of the room. This area was tucked away as if someone personally hid it. I furrowed my eyebrows. I was determined to investigate this new discovery. I quickly stood up and scurried to the wall. There was an almost white geode that glistened from the rays of the morning sun peering through the barred windows. This rock was completely inconsistent with the rest of the gray stonework. It was positioned at the left-hand edge of the risen area. I threw myself onto my knees right in front of the wall. Cautiously, my fingertips grazed the sharp peaks of the geode's crystals, before curling into its lip and pulling my hand back towards my body. Sure enough, the stone wall crackled and began to open.

This was indeed a tiny door. I wonder what could be inside, I thought. Rubio's voice rung out in my mind, "curiosity killed the cat."

I rolled my eyes. This cat is going to die anyway, I thought. I pulled the door open even more before crawling inside. It was dark, naturally, but the beams of sunlight from the other room leaked in through the open door and illuminated some of this tiny room. I looked around, taking the room in. It was no bigger than a small bathroom, yet only about three foot tall. I noticed several cardboard boxes lined the bottom of the wall. This room, if you could even call it that, reeked of mildew and the boxes looked like they were about to bust out around the seems. I carefully opened the box and peered inside. There were books, ranging from big to small, from inch to inch of the box. I smiled. I have always loved reading and engrossing myself in a good plot. I pulled an old red book from the box. The tan threads on the book were visible and the red dye of the book was fading. In a very faint gold calligraphy, the cover read Laws of the High Elders.

I quickly opened the book, flipping through the first couple of tanning pages until I landed on the table of contents. I skimmed down the list and stopped on the section of High Crimes and Due Punishment.

Bingo, I thought. I swiftly shut the book and brought it to my chest. I gazed back at the door and began my descent towards the light. I crawled out of the wall and back into the room. I looked down at my shirt and gasped, I was covered in dust and cobwebs. I need to get cleaned up before someone catches me. I walked over to the bed and set the book down before returning to the door to close it fully and leave it looking undisturbed.

I walked into the bathroom and began the process of cleaning up. I took my shirt off and soaked it in the sink, desperate to remove any evidence of my adventure. After minutes of scrubbing, my shirt was back to its original white. I hung the shirt over the bathroom door and began to take an in-and-out bath.

I was done and cleaned up in minutes, but I still had the problem of the wet shirt. I sighed and looked over to my bra and underwear from the previous night, which was still on the bathroom floor. I guess I'll have to make due for tonight, I thought.

I quickly dressed and twisted my blonde locks into a towel. I exited the bathroom and walked to the bed. I reached over and received the book. Impatiently, I began to read this seemly ancient text. The pages crunched in every turn and the book groaned during any adjustment as if it were speaking to me in tongues.

I became fascinated with what I was reading, even though it was the farthest thing from the fiction I normally read. This book held secrets to the laws we more common folk were almost forbidden from knowing. This book could hold the keys to my shackles.

A knock echoed through the room, causing me to jump slightly. I quickly shoved the book under the satin covers of my bed.

"Come in," I spoke, almost breathlessly. The song of the unlocking door rung out, revealing Rubio with yet another tray of food. I raised my brow.

"You were just here with food," I question. He laughed.

"That was three and a half hours ago."

Oh, time really speeds up when you find a good book.