Haven

A secret passage

 He must be the friend of the devil. Alexander eyed the man in front of him with suspicion and crossed himself in haste.

He looked at the open door and hesitated before taking the first step to liberty. Would freedom be worth rotting in hell?

 If he stayed, he couldn't save Rose from Rory's clutches, and he'd break the oath he swore on his father's deathbed.

"Come, Alexander, we must go."

Alexander pointed at the open lock on the floor and looked at the man on horror.

"Stoian, it's the work of the devil. Nobody can pick a lock through a wooden door."

"Oh, this is a gift from God, Alexander."
Stoian turned his hand, and Alexander could see a healed wound. He could make out a cross and a crucified body on the raised scar.

Alexander wrapped his rosary around his hand and murmured a prayer. He took a deep breath and stepped over the threshold.

Stoian tied the guards and locked the cell door. Alexander led them through the maze of corridors to the room where Rory imprisoned Rose. He knocked the guard unconscious and shuffled through his keys. A click told him Stoian opened the door and with a glare, he followed him in Rose's room.

He could hear his heart pounding when he scanned the room and found it empty. 

Stoian handed him a note and shook his head. 
"Some say she's mad."

Alexander gave Stoian a piercing look; however, he almost agreed when he read the words.

"Words hidden in a box of rain,
Uncle's John band watch with disdain."

Alexander pointed to the strip of wood that separated the paneling from the plaster.

"My uncle would lean on it and complain it killed his shoulders."

Stoian grinned.
"I wouldn't know."

Alexander was a head taller, and he agreed with a chuckle, leaning on the wall. The fireplace opened, dark, in front of him and when he raised his head, his eyes met a small iron door in the ceiling.  

"We used it to hide the food we pilfered from the kitchen. Rose called it the box of rain because, in the winter, the steam from the food fell back like drops of rain."

He went silent and sighed. After a while, he peered inside and slid the brick that closed the smoke shaft. He scraped the blackened wall of the chimney and revealed words he didn't know were there.

"To the right if you turn, a sugar magnolia you'd smell. 
  Down if you push, a touch of gray would hurl you to hell."

Stoian looked at him in alarm.
"The guard is stirring."

With his slight frame, Stoian was no match for Rory's armored guards, and Alexander understood why he didn't escape despite his gift. He tied the guard and took his keys under Stoian's relieved eyes.

"Could you put back the lock, from the inside?"

Alexander startled when Stoian flicked his hand and crossed himself  but kept quiet. 

Stoian turned to him and asked, impatience showing in his voice.
"What do you think the words mean?"

 "Cook made delicious sugar magnolias  years ago. She died, and the new cook can't make them. Probably, if I turn to the right we'd end in the kitchen."

Stoian turned to the right and grinned with mirth.
"I don't smell any sugar magnolias, what else can we turn?"

"Keep your voice down. I think I found a brick; however, we don't want to go to the kitchen. The new cook is loyal to Rory."

Stoian's mirth left, and Alexander looked at him in wonder. He never saw Stoian so serious.

"Do you think Rose took a candle with her?"

"I hope; I wouldn't want her lost in the secret passages."

"Then we'd better hurry; the armory holds gunpowder, and it shares a wall with the tower."

Alexander felt his knees go weak, and he drew in a sharp breath to steady himself. He pushed with force, and a door opened in the wall. 

Stoian snatched the tinderbox and a candle while Alexander closed the door after them and frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"We must go fast; with luck, we'd catch her before she blows us all up and for that we need light."

Alexander started running and paid no heed to the rocks in the wall scarping his arms and legs as he followed the winding passage.

He stopped in front of the armory door and opened it gently. His heart thumped as he peeked inside and relief washed over him when he found the armory empty.

Stoian bumped into him and he pointed to the swept trail through the thick layer of powder and dust that covered the floor. 
"She was here and I guess she headed to the stables."

They tiptoed to avoid leaving any trace and exited through the back door. They reached the stables and entered through the servants' gate.  

A small hand with long fingers pulled Stoian into an empty stall, and Alexander followed.  

"The horses are waiting for us, what took you so long?"

Stoian gave Rose a hard look however she didn't cower.

"You could have told me of the secret passage!"

"So you can leave Alexander behind? I think not."

Alexander looked with frustration from Stoian to his sister.
"Stoian was behind a locked cell door; he couldn't speak with you."

Stoian glanced at his hand; however, he only realized his mistake when Alexander's fist connected with his jaw.

"You're mistaken, I never..."

Rose stepped between them.
"Nothing happened, Alexander. We must go, before the guards find us missing. You can continue the... discussion once we are in a safe place."

She paused and looked at Alexander with apology in her eyes.
"I was afraid you wouldn't go with Stoian if he told you about the wise woman who sew his hand."

Alexander blanched and with a whispered curse, strode to his horse flexing his fists.

Once safe, he would continue this... discussion.