2 October 2012
"You really thought I'd let an opportunity like this go, Princess? With both you and that boy you don't know the possibilities that have opened up to me. Having you alone opened up a whole lot of possibilities but having your prince as well, now the list is endless!" He was starting to bounce now, out of excitement. I was backing slowly towards the door, hoping he wouldn't notice.
"Maybe you should stay to hear this, Freya." He said slowly. "The prince has proved his worth, he is no longer needed, and that means one thing. I will make a deal with you, if you find him within half an hour, I will let you keep him. If not, I will dispose of him as I wish. Half an hour, Princess. His life depends on it."
I shook my head but turned and ran into the main part of the inn. I bet Lampton was so scared, I know I would be.
"And remember, Princess, half an hour. He's inside this inn" He croaked after me.
I was running faster now, my breathing was frantic and I didn't know where to look first. I decided to go up first, so to the attic I went. It was dark up there but soon enough I found a light and when it lit the room, I found it was empty. There was only a few cobwebs in there too so I ran back down and started searching the rooms, asking people if they'd seen Lampton. Of course most of them didn't know who I was talking about so I had to describe him to them. In the end I gave up explaining because it was taking too long. My poor Lampton is probably terrified.
And then I remembered something that Lampton had told me about when he was little. He had been playing hide and seek with his brothers and Lampton hid in the stables, under the floorboards. He did it a lot but this one time one of the horses went mad and started a mini stampede in the stables and no one could get to the door to let them run. Lampton thought he was going to die that day and it has tormented him since. If you were to kidnap someone and stash them somewhere, would it be somewhere that would frighten them with every ticking second?
I ran. Faster than I ever had before. The stables was empty when I got there and I didn't know what I was looking for but I looked frantically for him. I looked for any signs of hatches on the floor and I moved haystack after haystack but still no sign of him. What if I had the wrong place? What if he wasn't here?
I was starting to cry now and I was making weird sounds when I breathed but that's when I heard it, a low grunt. I don't know how I heard it exactly but I did and I knew exactly who it was.
"Lampton" I practically screamed.
The answering moan was a little louder than before. It gave me a rough idea as to where he was. I got onto my stomach and looked through the floorboards and right there before me, tied to a chair in a little chamber, Lampton was. He was looking up at me, his eyes bloodshot and red, and tears were streaming down his face. Then he looked forward and I followed his eye line and smiled. There was a small flight of wooden stairs. I ran forward, looking for the door and sure enough, hidden under a small bail of hay was a little trap door. I could see how I hadn't seen it because it looked exactly the same as the floor. The only thing that told me that it was what I was looking for was the small wooden hoop on it. I pulled the hoop and the door swung open. I took the stairs two at a time and ran towards Lampton. Well I would say I more stumbled towards him because the ground was so uneven but I got to him. I fell to my knees before him. "I found him, didn't I?" I screamed. "I found Lampton. Let him go." Then I started fumbling with the ropes round his ankles.
"It won't work" Lampton whispered.
"What won't?" I replied.
"The ropes are bound by magic" A croaky voice laughed.
Accidental Princess: Part10 • Opuss № I