Chapter 27
 
          Luella sat up with a start. It was nearly twelve o’clock. Slowly, she slid out of bed and looked about her bedroom. Nurse Biggs slumbered in a rocking chair, her tired wrinkled hands folded peacefully in her lap. Luella stopped and looked at her, her large eyes soft and affectionate in the pale moonlight. She touched the old woman’s hand softly with her own, then kissed the gaunt cheek.
          Stifling a half-sob, she crept to the door and put her hand on the knob. Then she paused. Quietly, she went to her writing desk. There, she wrote a note to her dear nurse and her brother Matrim, telling them of her findings and of her quest. In a moment, Luella laid down the quill and left the room.
          A cold draft of air met her in the hall. She shuddered and pulled her shawl closer about her. The smooth marble floor was cool beneath her feet.
          She began to descend the steep marble staircase, the soft sounds of her footsteps echoing about the great stony hall. Heart beating like a galloping horse, even her breathing sounded loud and rasping.
          The Lower Chamber... Luella’s fingers felt numb in the evening chill. She had only gone to that dark basement once before. It was the lowest story in the palace, below the ground’s surface. It was a damp, musty place, rarely visited. In the times of her parents’ rule, it had been used as a cellar. Empty now, it stank of rotting wood and filthy rodents.
          Three… Or was it four stories she had passed on her way down? Ah… she had lost count, and it was hard to see her surroundings in the dimness. Where were the guards? Usually, they were posted beside the stairs at every story. An uneasy feeling filled Luella with indescribable dread, and she paused. What was that black object in the corner? Luella held her breath as she crept towards it. The guard lay sprawled unconscious on the floor, a silver goblet clutched in his stiffened fingers. Poisoned? Luella stifled a shriek. Then she saw his chest rise and fall. No, he had been drugged. But why? By whom? For what purpose? And where was the second guard? There! In the opposite corner, the other guard lay too.
          Cold chills racing up and down her spine, Luella tried to still the trembling of her hands and the uncontrollable chattering of her teeth. Woodenly, she continued downwards. One more story, then…
          …The Lower Chamber. She had arrived. Oh! but it was bitterly cold. The stairs ended in a narrow passageway, over which a roof was created from great beams. The narrow passageway slanted downwards, leading further below the earth’s surface. As Luella crept along, the light coming from the stairway lessened, then vanished completely as she rounded a bend. She felt along the wall with trembling fingers in the darkness, the beams overhead midnight blue silhouettes in the thick darkness. What? There, a light coming up ahead.
          But it was not a warm sort of golden light. No, the light was eerie and bluish tinted, a cold ghostly glow, coming from behind a large wooden door. Luella stopped before it. Summoning all her courage, she put her hand upon the handle. It was locked. Then she heard a strange voice coming from inside the chamber. It was not the voice of the Enchanter, but a queer, grating voice that caused her very blood to run cold in her veins.  
          Luella resisted the urge to cower against the wall, and instead put her ear to the crack in the door.
          “I have consulted all my fellow spirits, completed all the sacrificial rituals, gone to the Distant Land in search of spells and ancient rites, and at last I have found that which will grant you your heart’s desire: The Diadem of Power. It was created by the greatest magician of all time, of all worlds, perhaps: Gratlea the Mighty. It was forged by the Giants of the Northern Plains, set with a star, and dipped into the silver waters of the river Craecle. Upon hearing about the creation of this greatest piece of magic, wars broke out among the nations, wars so fierce and so bloody, that it is said the very earth turned scarlet with the blood of the million warriors. During the Great War, the magician Gratlea vanished with the Diadem. No one knows where he went, but from that time, the Diadem was never seen again. Years later, Gratlea returned to the lands of the living, where the wars yet raged unabated. King Hyronimous captured the magician, and tried to discover where he had hidden the Diadem. But Gratlea would not breathe a word, and he was killed in the dungeons of Hyronimous.”
          There was a silence, then the Enchanter spoke. “The Diadem of Power, eh? Mmm. But where, O Spirit, shall I find this Diadem?”
          The voice continued. “My story is not yet finished. Dying in the dungeons of Hyronimous, Gratlea prophesied that two children would come from another world to find the Diadem. Together, they would crown the man they felt most worthy to rule. A man both just and wise who would unite warring lands and assist his countrymen to flourish, live long, and prosper.”
          “Go Spirit! You have served your purpose for tonight.” There was soft rustling sound and the ghostly light left the room.
          The angry footsteps of the Enchanter pacing the floor resounded in the chamber as the distant ringing of the Great bell sounded twelve o’clock. Luella gasped and slid into the darkest corner of the passage as the heavy sounds of footsteps broke the silence. The three horsemen had arrived.  
         
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          Andrija tossed and turned uncomfortably on the cot. She was lying in a cramped corner of Casia’s tiny cottage. Outside, she could hear a clamor of excited voices and the crackle of bonfires as peasants rejoiced in the overthrowing of the Enchanter. There was great rejoicing in the village and city that evening. Many of the nobles who had been strong supporters of the Enchanter had fled the city to other distant regions of the land, while the rest celebrated his destruction. Andrija sat up at last. Sleep was impossible. A barrel of water stood by the window, and she crept softly over, trying not to wake Casia’s mother, father and the other six children. As she drank from a tin dipper, she took from her pocket the letter she had received from Will that afternoon. She pursed her lips thoughtfully and reread it for the umpteenth time.
          “Andrija,
          The peasants are victorious! The Enchanter is vanquished! The people of the city have been hurrahing and singing all the night long. I can hardly sleep for all the ruckus.  
          Matrim is well and sends his greetings. I shall be staying with him tonight at the Palace, for he has much to do tomorrow to clean and reorganize the city and he requests my assistance. He really is a good chap, Andrija, and has been ever so kind and thankful to all the peasants. Anyway, he asked me to write you to see if you would travel to Lake Hayle and get Jane. He says a peasant by the name of Gill Cowan would take you there.
          Gee! Feels like the longest time since I’ve seen Jane. I hope she’s doing well. I hope you’ll hurry and come to the Palace straight away after you get her. Matrim says he has something to say to you. I don’t know what it is, and every time I ask him, he acts all mysterious-like and goes red to the roots of his hair. He’s a queer chap sometimes, but like I said, he’s splendid. Did I tell you that Matrim is going to have made a great big pair of glasses for poor nearsighted Nagol? Anyhow, I believe that is all. I very much hope to see you soon, and Matrim says that there will be a great banquet when you come to the Palace in two week’s time. Tell Jane I said hello. Sorry for my rambling.
          Yours truly,
          Will”
         
          Andrija paused and stared at her reflection in the water, moonlight shining through the open window. Her face was dirty, her golden hair mussed and tangled, but her eyes sparkled merrily and a faint blush crept upon her cheekbones. She smiled and slid her fingers over and over the letter, then leapt into her cot, smothering her laughter among the sheets.   
          After a moment, she rolled over, squeezing her eyes shut and forcing herself to take long, even breaths. But sleep would not come. Her eyes danced and her heart beat fast and hard. At last, Andrija turned her face towards the wall and fell fast asleep with a smile on her lips.

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Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. I've been struggling with writer's block for a long time. I had to almost force myself to write this, so it feels kind of choppy and unorganized, but after all, most of my writing is like that anyway... ;D
~Teal