The door closed behind her and she sat down on the bed, staring blankly at the wall. Feeling somewhat numb and lost. After a few minutes she got enough strength to get up and go to the window. It faced in the direction of the bay. By now the ship was long gone from sight, her parents safely away from further torture. He had even promised he sent the physician with them. Cleo sat and cried until she was nearly sick. After a long time, she found her way back to her bed. Curling up in the middle she cried herself to sleep.
The next thing she was aware of was a knock on the door and someone calling her name. Opening her eyes, she wanted to believe that last night did not happen. That it had all been one big nightmare. But as she woke, she noticed she was still wearing a mans shirt, that the collar was still around her neck. The chain had been removed once she was in her room last night, but the collar had remained in place. Taking a few deep breaths to calm the rising panic, she sat up as the door finally opened and someone came in with a tray of breakfast.
The food smelled good but the idea of eating turned her stomach. Cleo forced herself to eat. Then got up, pulling the shirt off. In the basin by her mirror, she cleaned up. Scrubbing the tears and run make up off of her face. Applying fresh make up she went with simple eyeliner and a little bit of shadow, just to give her some color. Running the brush through her hair she pulled it back off of her face and into a ponytail. Picking through her closet she settled on an above the knee dress and flat shoes. She was looking in the mirror one last time when there was a knock on the door. Satisfied she looked as calm and together as she was going to, she took a deep breath and opened the door.
Recognizing the man standing there as one of her escorts the night before, she nodded a greeting. Once he stepped back enough for her to step out of her room she led the way to the dungeon. Taking childhood short cuts through service and servant hallways they soon came to the stairs that lead downward. Her feet were sure on the smooth surface, having played here in her early child hood. At the bottom of the stairs she noticed Kong was already waiting for her. At the bottom of the stairs she turned left and headed to the small room she had hid in the day before.
To her, finding the right finger holes among a hundred cracks as easy. Applying enough pressure to trigger the counter weight and let the all move. Once the stone slide out of the way it revealed a small room, the colorful blankets still on the floor. Pushing the blankets out of the way she indicated a stone close to the center of the room.
“This one is first… The others will come out around it… The pattern in which they come out and go back in is simple…” Cleo stepped back out of the room and out of the way. “There maybe a few pieces in my parents room… Father did not believe in spoiling her with jewelry, but she had some nice pieces. I don’t know if they are part of what you are looking for or if they were something special he had made separately. ”