Opaline, part one
It was cold. The floor, the air...everything around her was cold. She didn't want to wake up.
The lone guard shoved the door open to check on the prisoner, swearing quietly as he did so. He tried to be quiet, but it was impossible to be silent in his armour.
He was sure she'd be out of it for a few more hours. He was safe.
No one would know if he slipped away for a few minutes.
Yew waited until his footsteps faded before sitting up. She rubbed at her eyes, wondering where she was.
"A cell?" she asked herself, looking around. Bars on the window, bars on the door, rotting hay on the floor. "Did I fall down the rabbit hole or something?"
She stood up and looked around, hoping there would be a way out. She had no idea where she was or how she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered was being at home, watching some television and having a glass of wine to relax after a gruelling week.
And now she was...here.
"Brrr," she said, noticing again how cold it was in the cell. "Either I'm really, really drunk and having crazy dreams, or there's..aha! A way out of here."
She had been looking around and noticed that the door hadn't been shut properly. She pulled on it carefully, wincing as it groaned open.
Creeping out of the cell, she was fully alert. She waited to make sure that no one was on their way, coming to check on the noise the door had made.
Taking a chance, she tested the knob on the door nearest her cell. It opened to reveal a narrow hallway.
The room was obviously a study, though again it wasn't a room she recognised. She crossed the room carefully and opened yet another door.
She found herself in an empty hallway. There were three doors behind her; one on either side of the hallway, and one at the end. She turned to follow the hallway around the corner to her left, and saw something unusual on the floor.
She couldn't figure out what it it was. It was what appeared to be a circular slab of stone, though there was something strange about it.
Stepping closer, she felt a tingle run up her arms and legs that reminded her of the buzz of electricity. The hairs on her arms stood up as she neared it, which made her step back quickly.
"What is it?" she murmured. She was stumped.
There was one mystery after another.
Before she could investigate further, she heard one of the doors behind her start to open.
Yew ran as fast as she could around the corner. She didn't know who that person was, or whether they'd be someone who could help her or not.
Gasping for breath, she leant against the wall as she waited to see if the stranger would come this way.
Looking around, she saw the hallway ended abruptly. There were more doors and another of those stone circles. She had no idea which way she should go, and only seconds to decide before she was discovered.
Poll
And now it's up to you! Each option has an outcome written up already, and I will use whichever one has the most votes. I'll leave this up for at least a week, probably longer. In case you're wondering, our main character's name is Yew Opaline, and I've named the story after her. I expect that the chapters for this will be shorter than my other stories and challenges, but we'll just have to wait and see. I hope you find this sort of challenge as interesting as I do!
