Chapter 9 - The Forbidden Chamber

“Oh, yes,” said Derek, smiling,“that river is called a moat. Some moats are filled with crocodiles, but I’ve heard that this moat is a normal one, just like the river in front of my home.”

“River?” said Jane curiously,“I thought that’s a lake, and the castle is on an island.”

Jane looked at the bridge. It was gray and brown. It seemed to be made of stones. She stepped lightly on the bridge as August and Mr. Summer walked onto it with huge steps. She took another step gently as Derek and the other driver boys jumped on the bridge.

“No – stop, please, the bridge will collapse,” said Jane anxiously, “oh, boys, don’t jump, please! I’m worried! Please be careful!”

“This is sturdy!” said Derek, jumping up and down.

As August knocked on the castle gates, Mr. Summer said, “it is spectacular, isn’t it?”

“Sure!” said Derek excitedly as the gates slid open.

Jane stepped into the hall. It was very large and bright. Its ceiling was high with gorgeous lights that seemed to be made of jewelry and gold. There were two passages beside the wall in the middle of the hall. The floor and the walls were smooth.

“Follow me,” said August, pointing at the passage on the right. It was also bright. There were lamps decorated with silver. They saw a bit of sunlight. They were in an enormous yard! On the right, was the last tower with a pine tree flag Jane had seen. They walked slowly towards another tower with the turquoise tree flag.

“That’s the Summer Corner,” said August, “the Summer Corner is one of the Season Corners. The Season Corner includes the Spring Corner, the Summer Corner, the Autumn Corner, and the Winter Corner. See that flag? Remember the things about oak trees? That is an oak tree. Now, we are near the Winter Corner. See the pine tree? That’s the Winter Icon’s plant. The Summer Icon’s plant is an oak tree, the Spring Icon’s plant is grass, and the Autumn Icon’s plant is a maple tree’s leaf.”

“Emm – oh,” said Leo, seizing his sack and finding his notebook.

They walked to the Summer Corner’s hall. It’s even prettier than the first hall, thought Jane.

“Come on,” said August. He let them see the rooms there. Some of the rooms were spectacular, some of them were gorgeous, some were old and dusty, and some were strange and shabby; some had very high ceiling, some had very dusty walls, and some had pretty or old carpets. When they arrived at the third floor, August said that their bedrooms were in a large room with a sign saying “Worker Dorms Chamber”.

“Those are really good dorms,” said Rachel in a high voice,“just like the rooms in upscale hotels.”

When they passed a pair of doors in the dark corner by the stairs on the fourth floor, August said, “the chamber inside those doors is forbidden. It’s a dangerous place inside, so don’t go in there if you’re alone! And – if you are not alone, you shouldn’t go in either!” And then, August led them to a large hall on the fifth floor. It was the dining hall.

“We’ll have a small party tonight,” shouted Mr. Summer after dinner in the dining hall. “We will have it in that hall,” he said, pointing at a pair of huge doors that were standing ajar, “Who does not want to go to the party?”

“Me,” said Rachel coldly, “I hope Jane and Leo those fools will go to that stupid party.”

“Shut up,” said Mr. Summer.

“And me,” said another bottle carrier firmly.

“Us too,” said the remaining bottle carriers together.

“Us,” said two boys behind them, “we need to explore that room on the fourth floor.” They were Leo and Derek.

“You’ll wait outside!” shouted Mr. Summer, jogging towards the party hall.

Leo and Derek were running on the stairs towards the room. “Let’s chat together,” said a bottle carrier, “hmm, what should we talk about?” “What about – the yard?” said another bottle carrier. She looked excitedly at the first one.

“What about the new carriage? It’s cooler than ours.” said Rachel.

“What about Leo and Derek?” said Jane.

“What about them!” said Rachel impatiently.

“No! They’re our friends!” said Jane.

“I mean, we shouldn’t just chat about them, we should see them!” said Rachel loudly.

“Oh, yes!” said Jane eagerly. So, she ran down the stairs with the bottle carriers.