Chapter Three
A New Discovery

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Empty. Van sighed in discouragement as he finished his inspection of the final
bedroom on the second floor. He had searched under the bed and all the
furniture, and there was nothing out of the ordinary. Sitting up, he wiped his
dusty hands on the knees of his pants, trying to figure out his next move. He'd
been sure he would have found some form of proof by now.

As soon as the sun had risen, he had slipped from his bed and begun his
self-imposed task. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for, but he
figured he would know it when he saw it. The entire morning had passed as he
moved through the castle's many rooms, checking every nook and cranny that he
knew. Several hours and some serious bouts of dust-induced sneezing later, he
was still empty handed.

The few people he'd mentioned his late night visitor to had merely patted him on
the shoulder and assured him he'd just been dreaming. No matter how many times
he tried to tell them that he'd been wide awake, they just smiled in that way
that told him they still thought it was only his imagination. But it had
happened; he knew it had. The chair that usually sat at the foot of his bed had
been bumped the whole way across the room. That had obviously been the source of
the loud scraping sound that had woken him in the first place.

If it had been one of the castle's numerous staff, they probably wouldn't have
been in his room that late in the first place. But if they had been, they would
have spoken to him once they'd made enough noise to wake the dead. Based on the
facts, Van knew that whoever, or whatever, it had been, it was not someone he'd
met before. This made him even more determined to find them.

Leaning his shoulder against the bed frame beside him, Van absentmindedly
scratched at a bug bite on his neck. He was back where he had started. The
bedrooms he'd checked had all been empty; the same went for the larger meeting
rooms. The gardens had seemed the same as ever, and nothing in the library
caught his attention. He was running out of places to look.

"Lord Van!" The grating voice coming from the open doorway had Van silently
groaning even as he twisted to face its owner.

"Master Josias," he muttered, seeing his exploration coming to a sudden end. He
had been dodging the tutor for most of the day. The older man had been trying to
track him down since that morning, when he failed to show up for the day's
lecture. Van had been hoping that he could keep one step ahead until he solved
his mystery, but it looked like it was back to dry speeches on economics.
Sometimes life was so unfair.

~*~

Merle sat on her bed, staring blankly at the floor. She could hear the kitchen
workers banging pots and pans as they cleaned up. In just a few moments,
everything would be put away and they would leave. She sighed. It seemed like
the only constant in her life was people leaving her behind.

Turning to lay on her back, she redirected her gaze to the rafters. The fiasco
from the night before had seemed to go unnoticed, luckily for her. All day she'd
been tense with worry, waiting for someone to come and throw her out. As
unsatisfying as her existence here was, it was many times better than facing the
unknown again. Just thinking about those long, cold nights huddled alone made
her shiver.

That thought had gotten her thinking. Although her life here in the castle
wasn't perfect by any means, it was better than it could have been. She had a
roof over her head, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat, albeit mostly that which
she could catch herself. Who was she to complain?

Mentally gathering her pride around her, Merle nodded sharply to herself. She
had more than a lot of other people had, and she was even doing something to
earn it. It wasn't charity; it was a job. And one she was going to start
tackling with a lot more purpose from now on.

Later that night . . .

Van slowly opened his eyes while remaining completely still. For long moments,
he waited, listening for any sound that might give away an intruder's presence.
There was nothing, however. Tossing the covers to the side, he sat up. He
hesitated before lowering both feet to the floor, half afraid there was to be a
repeat of the night before. When no warm, fuzzy body slammed itself into his
ankles, he released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding and stood.

A glance at the position of the moons in the sky told him it was later than he'd
thought. A wave of sadness flowed through him as he remembered who had taught
him about the stars and moons. Folken had been a great teacher, patient and
understanding, as he explained how to tell time and even locations just by
looking up.

Van's head drooped, his excitement, for the moment, forgotten. This midnight
hunt was just the sort of thing he would have persuaded Folken into doing with
him. He knew there were things his big brother would rather have been doing, but
he had always made time for Van anyway. A small, sad smile crossed Van's face as
he remembered the adventures he'd had with his brother. Adventures he'd never
have again.

With a heavy sigh, he straightened his shoulders. Folken was gone, and it didn't
look like he was ever coming back. He would just have to get used to doing
things like this on his own. After all, it was now he who was going to be king,
and kings had to rely on themselves, not others.

His sense of adventure and determination renewed, Van headed purposefully
towards the doorway. Through the small crack between the frame and the door, he
saw no light. This meant that all the servants had also retired for the night,
putting out the wall sconces before doing so. Easing the door open slowly, he
winced at every little creak. Finally the door was open wide enough for him to
slip through into the hall.

So far, so good.

The hallway was dark with shadows, changing the length into an unfamiliar tunnel
of the unknown. A shiver ran up his spine, and for a moment he considered going
back to bed. But just for a moment. His instincts were telling him that what he
was looking for was close, very close. All he had to do was find it.

The trip down the hall was accomplished in a series of stops and starts, with
Van freezing each time he heard a noise. His breath would catch in his throat
and he'd wait for someone to come into the hall, but no one ever did. It was
quite a bit later when he found himself in the dining hall. The room was nothing
more than dark shapes against dark walls, but he didn't need light. He knew
every inch of it by heart. There wasn't a table he hadn't hidden under, a chair
he hadn't knocked over. He'd even counted the stones in one of the walls during
one painfully boring dinner.

Three hundred and seventy-eight.

Using his knowledge, Van made his way across the room in almost complete
silence. One hand brushed across the surfaces of the tables as he passed,
silently counting them off. He came to a stop by the short passage leading to
the kitchens. During his exploration that morning, he hadn't even bothered
checking the kitchens. At that time of day, it would have been crawling with
people. He knew from experience that he would have been hustled back to his
tutor, although maybe a cookie richer for his efforts.

But now . . . At this time of night, it was sure to be empty. So why was he
hearing a strange sound from that direction? Moving a few steps into the hall,
he paused and listened again. The sound was a bit clearer, but no more
identifiable. One thing was very obvious; there was someone in there.

Deciding that discretion would be a good thing in case something dangerous was
making the noise, Van crouched down, making himself as small as possible.
Walking that way wasn't easy, but he managed the trip with only a couple of raps
into his chin from his knees on the way. Soon, almost too soon for him, he was
peeking around the corner into the kitchen.

At first, he could see nothing out of the ordinary. A small lamp had been left
burning in one of the wall holders on the far wall, but since he'd never been in
this room at night before, he couldn't say if that was unusual. Maybe one was
left burning every night in case someone wanted a midnight snack. Shrugging it
off, he continued his examination. The long tables that split the room in half
were empty, their tops seeming to stretch on forever. The huge fireplace that
filled an entire wall was little more than a yawning mouth; the dim embers of
the day's fire a glowing tongue.

Frowning at himself for bringing that thought up, Van shifted to see farther
around the corner. From this angle, he was looking straight to the back of the
room. What he saw there almost made him fall over.

On the wall was the shadow of a giant . . .something, its pointed ears brushing
the ceiling. A tail flicked out behind it, swaying from side to side. As he
watched, it dropped down into a crouch on all fours, the tail falling still. His
eyes widened and he felt himself tense with fear. What was going to happen now?
Only his last bit of courage and a firm reminder to himself that he hadn't been
seen kept him glued to the spot. He swallowed hard, trying to ease the dry
feeling in his mouth and throat.

A second later, whatever was making the shadow suddenly lunged forward. A faint
clicking sound came to his ears, the same sound that had led him to this room in
the first place. Claws against the floor? The reason for its sudden movement
became clear when it stood once more, holding something in one fist. Squinting,
Van thought he could make out the shape of a mouse.

Just as he was wondering to himself what it would want with a mouse, he saw it
raise the small animal high. Three seconds and a squishy sound later, it was
gone. Van felt his stomach give a queasy twist as he watched the unpleasant
sight. Without meaning to, he groaned.

Even as he made the low-pitched sound, he slapped a hand over his mouth. All he
could do was hope that whatever was down the length of wall hadn't heard him.
Agonizing moments later, when nothing happened, he figured he was safe. As the
fear drained out of him, it was replaced something else entirely. Curiosity.
What was that thing, and why was it in the castle's kitchen?

Reason and self-preservation warred with a burning urge to investigate. Surely
if he was quiet enough, and didn't get too close, he could safely catch a
glimpse. Then all he had to do was hightail it back to his room with his newly
gained knowledge and wait till morning to share it with all the people who had
doubted him. It was that thought that decided it. He couldn't bear the thought
of coming this far and having nothing to tell once it was all over.

He was going in.

Dropping to his hands and knees, Van rounded the corner, staying as close to the
wall as he could. Covering only a hands length at a time, he slowly, slowly
moved forward. He could feel sweat trickling down his back, soaking into his
shirt by the time he made it to the opposite corner. The light was brighter
here, and he knew he'd have to be extremely careful. If he could see it, then it
could also see him.

A deep breath, a silent pep talk, and Van was ready as he'd ever be. Lying
almost flat on the ground, he inched his head forward. As his eyes cleared the
wall, he caught his first glimpse of his monster.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~