Post by mirian on Jan 17, 2012 9:47:16 GMT -5
The seventh stroke of the grandfather clock... it was the final straw. She couldn't lie awake in bed waiting for this any longer.
Already dressed in her pajamas, she slipped a pair of slippers on and marched promptly out of her room, slamming the door and locking it behind her. This estate had a European architectural style... which she approved of. None of those silly paper screens. It was built like a fortress, with doors made from oak so thick you'd need a battering ram to force them open.
But the curtains were lovely. A soft satin purple, the colour of luxury. Everywhere she looked, she could see little traces of her grandmother's influence. It was comforting, in a strange way, because now it all belonged to her.
Everything.
Down the stairs she went, crossing the hall and unlocking the kitchen door. Every time she left a room, she always made sure to lock it with the master key worn on a thread around her neck. It was inconvenient, but it made her feel so much more in control. Retrieving a plastic box she'd left last night on the kitchen table, she placed it in the crook of her arm and walked out.
But not without locking the door. Never without locking the door.
Inside the box she could feel the scurrying of tiny feet, searching for an escape without any hope of finding one. Placing it on the floor, safe in the knowledge that it wasn't going anywhere, she walked up to the grandfather clock situated between the double staircase that ascended to the second floor.
Crouching down, on closer inspection, the grandfather clock had a set of wheels. A small lever held them locked in place - but not for long.
Sliding the heavy piece of furnishing to the left quite easily once the wheels had been released, she unlocked the hidden door now visible, looking down a flight of steps that lead into the pitch black darkness of the cellars below. Picking up the box again, she stepped inside and closed the door, locking herself in.
"Leormon... are you awake yet?" she whispered, closing her eyes and placing a hand on the banister, taking each blind step down the flight carefully...
In her mind, she could picture it. At the foot of the stairs was the light switch. Once she turned it on, she would see a room with grey concrete walls and a plush green carpet, the same colour as grass. A few dolls and old pieces of furniture were stored down here, but what she was really coming all this way for was the steel cage.
"Leormon... sleepy head... I brought you some breakfast!" reaching the foot of the stairs, she fumbled against the wall until she found the switch. The lights would come on... and she'd see Leormon lying down in his cage... right where the nice men from AIR had left him, at her direction.
click!