Lucia kept banging on the door for what seemed like 20 minutes and she got tired.
She sank to the floor and stared at the ceiling. It had the painting of the morning sun. She realized it was the same painting on the walls. As a child, she never had a memory of her late mother and wished she had.
A tear slipped out of Lucia's eyes and she closed them. Then she heard a whistle. Her heart nearly leapt out of her chest when she heard the whistle again.
She sat up and looked. There was a nightingale sitting by the window.
A sigh escaped her lips. She had thought it was her mother's whistles. People did say they heard her whistles.
Lucia walked to the window and tried to open it but couldn't. It was locked. She scoffed in shock.
She looked around for something sharp to pry it open. She shuffled through drawers, cabinets, even the bed spread which she found odd to be neat. The room was properly maintained as though it was being prepared it for someone.
Suddenly, something gleamed in the moonlight and she pulled it from under the bed. A gasp escaped her lips. It was a dagger.
"Did mom keep this here?" She looked at the engraving. It wasn't English and it wasn't Latin either.
"Well, I'll ask questions later." She ran to the window, sticking the dagger in the center.
"Come on!" It made a squeaky sound when she hit it hard.
Finally, the windows flew open. A gush of wind traveled in and almost swept her off her feet. She was quick to cup her hand over her ears and stepped away from the window.
When it seemed like the wind was calm, Lucia walked back to the window and looked down.
"Santa Maria!" She exclaimed.
The floor was a long way down and any little mishap and she'll fall to her doom.
"How do I escape? I hate this phobia of mine. It's so high up here." Lucia scoffed.
She stuck her head out and looked to her sides. There were nothing protruding from the walls to help her climb.
"Shucks! I'm doomed." She went back in.
"How do I leave this dump? ouch!" She kicked against the wall and it made a sound.
Lucia stopped wincing in pain and looked at the wall. There was a crack in it. She leaned down and pressed her ears against the walls as she knocked. It was shallow.
"It's a fake wall." She gasped.
The guards outside were quiet and she assumed they were asleep. As quickly as she could, she began to dig into the wall with the dagger.
Stones fell unto the blanket she had folded on the floor. With one final hit, a large chunk of stone fell to reveal a door.
She held it open, and to Lucia's suprise, a forest stared back at her.
"How is this possible?" She whispered to herself.
She stepped back into the room and stepped out. "Wait, is this a portal?"
"I'm here for Lucia." She heard August say.
"God's Toothache!" Lucia didn't have time to grab a lamp. She looked out. The forest was dark and she didn't know where it would lead.
"Well, the unknown is much better than getting married to that slob." Lucia swallowed her nonexistent saliva and stepped out, shutting the door behind her.
"Lucia?" August held open the door and popped his head in.
When there was no answer, he went in.
"What the?" He ran to the open window.
His mouth fell open when he found a debris and stones on the pillow. "She had tried to escape through the walls but there's nothing there."
"Lucia?" Anna walked in with a gasp. "What happened here?"
August spurn around to face her. "You tell me! Why is the wall like that! And why is the window open!"
"I know not, Sire. I just got here." Anna shook her head. The walls was broken into. Nothing more.
"Lucia must've thought there's a secret passage in the walls," August clicked his tongue in annoyance, "That means her only escape is through the window. She was clever enough to drag whatever got her down with her."
He turned to the guards. "Find her! Now!"
"But Sire!" Anna gasped.
"You will remain here. You helped her escaped!" August barked.
"No, sir. I didn't!" Anna's cries were in vain when the door was shut in her face.
"Oh, Lucia, where could you have gone?" Anna heaved a heavy sigh.
Then she suddenly remembered when Lucia said something about a Damian.
"Who is this Damian?" She pondered quietly.
Suddenly, a whistle pierced the quiet.
"Who's there?" Anna looked around the room. There was no one in sight.
She went to sit at the edge of the room and heard the whistle again. It was vivid this time and was coming from the walls.
"Hello? Lucia, is that you?" She crept near.
"Open the door." She heard a whisper.
"Lucia, is that you?" She asked. When no answer came, she replied. "It's Anna. Where are you?"
"Close your eyes." Came the instruction.
As if in a dream, Anna shut her eyes.
"Open it." The voice said.
When she did, she found a door. "Oh my God. How did this door appear?"
She looked around. "Hello? Lucia, if you're the one, answer me. I'm scared. Did you escape through this door?"
"Yes, she did." Came the voice.
"Who are you and what have you done with Lucia?" Anna demanded.
"I let Lucia out. She's running through the woods now. I want you to go after her." said the voice.
"Oh no. The woods? The only one I know around here is Forest Wrath. Oh no. Lucia!" Anna cried.
"She might be in danger. Go help her."
"I will." Anna helped the door knob. Then she hesitated. "How do I know you're telling the truth? What are you?"
"What I am doesn't matter. August is coming! Run!"
The door swung open.
"Okay." Anna held her breath and walked through the door.
Immediately, the door was shut and faded into the walls