After a few moments, she made her way cautiously down the hard stone steps, hugging herself against the chill. Finally, she reached the bottom and was about to turn back to the inhabited sections of the castle—when something caught her eye.
There was another door, one she had not noticed earlier. Massive wood banded with studded iron, it could lead nowhere but below ground. She tried it, but though the ancient hinges did not seem nearly as rusty as those of the window so far above, it would not budge. Perhaps it was locked.
Curious, Katherine knelt down to try to peer through the keyhole, but her head blocked the little light there was, and she could see nothing. Frowning, she stood up. She wondered where the door led. Was it simply some underground storeroom? Yet, if so…why would it be
