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She knew of no other way to get the message to him but to sneak inside the tomb and leave it there. A red rose would signal it was definitely from her. Waiting for the dark of night, she crept her way in and quietly placed the note on the first soldier, a stone statue, laying on the ground. She never remembered it being knocked over, and oddly, there was not a crack in it. It was as if it had carefully laid itself down on the floor, but stones can’t move on their own, she reminded herself.
Night was falling quickly, and the crypt was growing darker by the minute. Shadows, from the moonlight, painted pictures on the walls. She couldn’t chance lighting a torch, for fear she’d be seen where she should not be. Tiptoeing, leaning her hands against the walls, she headed for the opening in the side of the mountain. She had just about reached it when she heard voices. Two, she thought, both men. Perhaps one was her beloved, Nathan, but he was too early. Had she miscalculated the amount of time she was inside? She found her way into a small crevasse and hoped they wouldn’t notice her. The light had faded enough that the place was in total darkness.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I saw a girl come in, but it’s too dark now, to see anything.”
They saw her! Wait! Who? How could that be? She thought she had slipped in, without being seen by anyone. Then again, she hadn’t seen them. Where had they been standing? The trees on the hillside were barren, as winter made its approach. Surely, she would have noticed two figures. She felt something crawling on her arm, and afraid to move, she prayed it was simply a spider and would find its own way. But she felt yet another, and another. How could she possibly stay still!?
“What was that?”
“What was what?”
“I thought I heard something. This place is spooky, let’s get out of here. We can check tomorrow, before dawn, and this time, remember the flashlights!!”
And with that, the two made their way out of the crypt and Julia breathed a sigh of relief. She had to get out of there fast, and get whatever was crawling on her off. As she made her way out, she lit her torch and looked around. It appeared she had sat on an ants nest and they were out to let her know it was time to move on. She laughed to herself, told them she was sorry, and made her way back home.
The town was quiet now, and soon the knights would make their rounds, and Nathan would find her note, the one with the red rose, waiting patiently. She still wondered how the knight in the tomb had fallen, but she would have to figure that out another time.
“I told you she was in there.”
“Great, how do we get to the jewels hidden in that stone knight? And why was she in there in the first place? Maybe we should go back NOW, since we know she’s not there.”
“No, the police will be making the rounds soon. We’ll be thrown in jail if they catch us. We can wait. That cave isn’t going anywhere.”
To be continued…
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Photo ©Sue Vincent – Honour
