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Twanggg, went the sound of an arrow as it struck its target – a mound of earth covered in tufts of grass. A ways away, a young woman stood in the open field surrounded by scattered trees. She lowered her wooden bow to her side, relaxing her lean but strong shoulders.“ A little further left this time ,” she thought to herself, already planning the subtle differences she would need to make to strike the bullseye carved into the hardened dirt. The still air picked up into a gentle breeze that caused a dark strand of hair to fall in front of her blue-gray eyes. Another element to take into consideration for this next shot. Tucking the stray hair behind her ear, she reached back behind her head and retrieved another arrow from her worn leather quiver.
The sun was shining and she could feel the warmth on her shoulders through the sleeves of her linen chemise. Over the chemise, the girl wore a faded blue dress that laced in the front and was held up on her shoulders by thick straps. Both layers of clothing were slightly too short, but the way her skirts were hiked up to reveal men’s trousers beneath made it difficult to tell. She adjusted her stance, firmly planting her leather boots into the ground slightly wider than the width of her shoulders. The boots differed slightly in color from the brown leather belt at her waist.She nocked an arrow once more and lifted her bow, inhaling through her nose as she drew the arrow so far back it almost touched the curve of her jawline. Eyes narrowed down the arrow’s shaft, she aimed carefully, slightly further left than she had previously to correct her aim, as well as to account for the breeze, which cooled the beads of sweat that had gathered on her brow and the back of her exposed neck in the midday sun.
Satisfied with her aim and her form she released the arrow, breathing out through her mouth as it left her grip and soared towards the target.
Twanggg.
This time, a bullseye.A subtle but proud smile spread across her face. She jogged over to the mound of dirt to retrieve her arrows, each light step leaving small dust clouds that were gone almost as quickly as they had appeared. She plucked the arrows from her makeshift target and inspected them before she replaced them in her quiver.
Earlier in her practice, a few arrows had gone astray mid flight, whizzing right past the pile of packed dirt and clay. She continued on to search for where they might have landed. The first one she quickly found lying in the dirt only a few paces past its intended target. The second had lodged itself in a stump of a tree that appeared to have fallen long ago.
She looked around. “ Hadn’t there been a third?” she thought. She took a step in the direction she thought the arrow might have gone, but was startled by a tap on her shoulder.Her muscles tensed as she whipped around and came face to face with a strange man. At least, that’s how he appeared to anyone except her. His dark hair was ragged with streaks of gray that carried into his patchy beard, and his eyes, always open wide like a scared animal, were easily recognizable by their different-sized pupils. It was difficult to tell what the color of his tunic had originally been because of the sheer amount of dirt stuck to it. It was dotted with holes, trimmed with frayed edges, and a seam by his shoulder was coming apart. His trousers and leather shoes were in a similar state. His distinct facial features, hunched posture, and skittish mannerisms were reminiscent of a small rodent, which had earned him the nickname “Ratman” from the rest of the town. She knew him better as Hugo.“Oh, it’s you,” she smiled with relief at the sight of her old friend.“Just me, Chell,” Hugo chuckled, and held out the missing arrow. “Target practice? Again?”“As much as I can,” Chell took the arrow from his outstretched hand and sat down on the stump where one of her arrows had previously been lodged. She began closely studying the three arrows that had missed their mark, thinking carefully about each step that she had taken to make each one. “Well, as much as I have to. I can’t stop until they’re just right. How my father used to make them.”“He did set a very high bar.”“You don’t have to remind me,” she laughed. “He used to tell me he had a special secret, but he couldn’t tell me because I would get too good. Then he would be out of a job and have to move to another kingdom.”“So what do you think is wrong with this one?” Hugo inquired. His eyes darted around briefly as if looking for something before focusing again on his friend.Chell gently balanced the arrow on the palm of her hand by the point of the broadhead, and with the other hand, gave it a spin. It stood straight for a couple of turns before it began falling to the side, which she caught just in time. As it spun she had felt a subtle vibration, which was not a good sign.“Something is off-center. It could be the head, the shaft, the nock… Maybe all three.”“How do you fix it?”“I’ll have to take it back to my workshop and take a closer look. Then we’ll see.” She stood up from the stump where she had been seated and brushed away the dust and dirt from her clothes. “You’re welcome to come if you’d like.”Hugo nodded, and they began walking the dirt road back to Chell’s home. In general, neither of them were people of many words, so most of their short journey was spent in silence. They didn’t mind. Occasionally Hugo would glance over his shoulder as they walked, his eyes widening. Chell instinctively glanced behind as well, but saw nothing. This behavior was harmless and typical of her friend, so she wasn’t concerned.The rear of a small cottage came into view as they turned the corner and continued up a small incline. A few exposed wooden beams criss–crossed the light tan mud walls, and there were a few spots in the thatched roof that were looking a little thinner than the rest. In the heat of the summer, this was a blessing rather than a curse, keeping a small amount of cool air moving through the house. But Chell knew that the roof would desperately need to be patched come winter.It was a humble home, barely big enough for just her, her workbench, and her belongings, but somehow she and her father had lived there together for thirteen years as she grew up. She smiled as she reminisced on those simpler days. Her father expertly making arrows and showing her how to shoot them. Telling her stories about strange creatures that would threaten the kingdom, and a certain young lady named Chell who would always save the day. Her smile grew as she remembered how her father would reply when she asked if the story was about her. “Of course not, this Chell is completely different,” he would scoff humorously, “See, the girl in the story had brown eyes, not your pretty blue ones. It couldn’t possibly be about my Chell. But maybe one day.” And then he would give her a wink.As Chell and Hugo continued around the bend in the dirt road, the front of the cottage came into view. In front of the house was a large wooden carriage with a rounded roof and no windows. Two dark, tall horses with coats and manes neatly brushed stood in front. It looked like the carriage was meant to carry cargo rather than people. Also standing at her front door were three men dressed in chainmail and white tunics with bold orange trim that went just below their knees. Colored plumes on each of their helmets represented their different ranks, and swords hung by their belts in scabbards. All three men were standing awkwardly, looking between each other and the door, waiting for an answer.“You didn’t tell me you were expecting company,” Hugo mumbled as he observed the men.“No one told me, either,” said Chell skeptically. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hugo slip away into the trees a small ways off the road, appearing to be having a conversation with himself, which Chell knew wasn’t unusual for him when he was alone. He didn’t like to get anywhere near strangers, especially strangers like these who were clearly from the royal palace, though he never said why. She picked up her pace slightly and continued alone towards the house and her unexpected visitors. “Can I help you?” she called to the men.This startled them, and they turned quickly away from the door and faced her. The tallest of the knights with his white-blond eyebrows and hair that curled around the bottom of his pink-plumed helmet quickly composed himself and asked, “Perhaps. We’re looking for a man by the name of ‘Chell’ and the palace records say he lives somewhere here in the town of Narbacula. We’ve spoken with some of the other residents and they’ve told us to come here. Might you know where this ‘Chell’ might be? He’s needed by Queen Caroline at the castle post–haste.”“I’m Chell. This is my house,” she answered bluntly, coming to a stop in front of her door.The three knights all exchanged glances. The knight who had just spoken looked perplexed and frantically started reviewing the piece of parchment in his hands, muttering to himself as if he were trying to work through the problem out loud. Then the knight with the green plume on his helmet stepped forward. He posed intentionally as he stood to emphasize his muscular build. A long black braid came from below his helmet and hung between his shoulder blades. He had thick stubble that hadn’t quite grown into a beard yet, and he spoke with a thick accent that sounded like he was originally from the southern parts of the kingdom. “Beg your pardon, m’fine lady, but may we speak with yer husband?”“I don’t have a husband.”“Oh no? Betrothed? Anyone yer courtin’?” He stepped closer, arching his angular eyebrow flirtatiously.The one with the pink plume cut him off and pulled him back in line before he could continue his advances, “Is there anyone else by the name of Chell in this town? Our documents specifically state we’re looking for a man.”“I’m the only Chell in the whole kingdom of Aperture as far as I know.” Chell’s response left no room for argument. “Can I help you or not?”The trio of knights glanced at each other once more, then turned around and huddled to discuss their next steps amongst themselves. Though they hushed their tone, they were still far from quiet, and Chell heard every word.“What do we do now, Archie?” asked the knight with the yellow plume who hadn’t spoken yet. He had a small yellow star embroidered on his tunic next to the emblem of the kingdom, a circle broken into pieces forming a shape that looked like all of the pieces could swirl back together seamlessly. His vibrant ginger-colored eyebrows, splash of freckles, and crooked smile made him look younger than his companions. Chell guessed that he was an enthusiastic new recruit.Her guess was confirmed by the knight in pink’s response. “That’s Sir Archibald. As one of your mentors I shouldn’t be reminding you of this anymore.” Sir Archibald went back to scouring the documents. “This makes no sense. We have the right town, she looks the right age, the occupation is a match, everyone in town pointed us here…”“Here’s an idea, Archie, maybe there was a mistake,” the knight in green said sarcastically. The rivalry between the two senior knights was obvious, and it was clear that Sir Archibald had given up on correcting his partner about calling him by his title. It also explained where the younger knight had picked up the same habit.“Sir Richard, the scribes in the castle keep impeccable records. The chances they made a mistake are–”“Those scribes may act all high and mighty and intelligent, but they’re not all they’re cracked up to be. You shoulda been one of them. And fer the last time, can you just call me Rick?”Sir Archibald narrowed his eyes at his partner, “ Sir Richard. I needn’t remind you of the castle’s strict security. If we bring in the wrong subject and they see or hear anything that is even the slightest bit confidential, you know very well what that means for us.”“What does it mean?” asked the young knight-in-training standing between his two mentors.
“It means nothin’, Henry, because we’re gonna bring the fine lady back to the palace, she ain’t gonna see or hear nothin’, and if it really was a mistake then it ain’t our fault. We just do our jobs, see what the council says, and get off scot-free.”Archie opened his mouth to protest, but Rick snatched the documents from his hand, and turned back around to address Chell, clearing his throat.“Chell, uh…” He narrowed his eyes at the paper. “You got a last name?”
She shook her head.“Alright then. Chell,” he held out a folded piece of parchment sealed with orange wax. “It is our honor to deliver this here message on behalf of the Queen.”Chell hesitated briefly before taking the parchment from his hand. She broke the wax seal and skimmed the letter silently.

“Congratulations {CHELL}!

You have been selected from hundreds of other subjects to join the Kingdom of Aperture’s Royal Defensive Technological and Scientific Advancement Initiative. You are hereby summoned to the royal palace immediately as an honored guest. During your stay you will participate in trials of strength and wits to aid the kingdom in becoming the best of the best. Everything you need will be provided for you, so please leave all personal items behind, or divide them between close friends or loved ones who may miss you if you don’t come back as planned.

Should you accept this invitation, you will leave immediately for the palace. And should you decline, you will be restrained and then leave immediately for the palace.

Upon completing the trials, you will be rewarded with sixty silver pieces, the satisfaction of helping the advancement of your kingdom, and a cake in your honor.

Thank you for your undying loyalty to the kingdom of Aperture. Your valiant efforts will ensure the legacy of the kingdom long outlives you.

Queen Caroline”

Chell’s brows furrowed more and more with each line of the letter she read. Something wasn’t right. She knew about the Royal Defensive Technological and Scientific Advancement Initiative. Everyone did. It was considered one of the biggest honors that could be given, to participate in these trials. Accepting the invitation was the clear choice for anyone who received one, and the rest of the content of the cold, ominous letter went right over their heads. After all, with most of the kingdom living in poverty, the promise of not just silver, but cake was irresistible to anyone. Anyone except Chell.
The main problem was that anyone who left for the palace was never heard from again. But she seemed to be the only one in the entire kingdom to notice.
The other problem was that applications had to be submitted in order for people to even be considered, and she knew for a fact that she hadn’t applied.Everything was wrong about this.Nothing good could come from it.But what choice did she have?“I accept.”The knights Archie, Rick, and Henry guided her to the door in the rear of the carriage. Henry dutifully held the door open while Rick offered a hand to help her inside, but she ignored him and opted to climb in on her own accord. Chell, being slightly on the shorter side, had to leap to pull herself into the carriage’s cabin which sat high off the ground. As soon as she was in, Henry had shut and locked the door behind her, without a chance to turn around for one last glimpse of her home. It was dark inside, and only thin beams of sunlight crept in from gaps in the roof, and on the floor a single circular patch of light shone through the singular window on the door she had just entered. That light was diffused by white fabric curtains with the same orange trim as the knights’ tunics. The fine curtains looked out of place against the plain, rough, wooden interior. When she parted the curtains, she found metal bars that interrupted her view of the countryside as she rode away. There was also no latch or knob to open the door from the inside of the carriage. After glancing at the crude wooden benches that were attached to the walls, it occurred to her that this carriage wasn’t intended for transporting cargo, or supplies, or honored guests of the royal court. It was made to transport prisoners.From inside the carriage, she could hear the knights arguing. She pressed her ear up between the slats of the wall opposite of the door, closest to where their seat was on the other side of the wood, and listened.“I sat between you both on the journey here, and I will not be doing that again.”“Can I hold the reins?”“Well this here seat ain’t big enough fer the three of us. S’barely big enough fer two.”“What are you suggesting then, one of us ride on the roof and hold on for dear life?”“I’m going to hold the reins.”“I’m just sayin’ it’s gonna be cramped no matter what, so stop bein’ such a prissy little–”Chell pulled away from the wall and allowed their voices to become muffled again. She pictured them squished together uncomfortably on the seat with Henry in the middle, beaming as he holds the reins, and separating his two hostile mentors.She spent the next few hours in silence, trying to form a plan. But with no idea what to expect once she arrived at the castle, her thoughts kept drifting to what she was so suddenly leaving behind. She wasn’t so attached to many of her belongings, and they would still be there after she returned after all, right? Would she return? She didn’t know of anyone who ever had. Not even her father. She remembered that awful day ten years earlier. The fateful knock at the door. Her father’s grim face as he read the summons. How tightly he embraced her for the last time, promising that he would be back soon, before being escorted away…Would he be there to greet her?No, of course not. She couldn’t get her hopes up. She stopped allowing herself that luxury long ago.Her thoughts then turned to Hugo. She hadn’t even had the chance to say goodbye. She knew he wouldn’t get lonely, and she knew he would easily be able to connect the dots surrounding her disappearance, but she would miss her friend dearly.And then there was still the question of how she had been chosen if she hadn’t sent an application. Someone must have sent one on her behalf, but who? Why?She lingered on this question for a long time until she felt the carriage slow to a stop. They had finally arrived at the palace.This time it was Archie who came around and opened the door, flooding the interior with light from the setting sun. Chell squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sudden change and stood from her place on the bench where she had spent her journey. She bent down and peered out of the doorway, and took in the sight of the palace.
The dark granite walls seemed to be glowing orange in the light of the sunset. The towers soared so high above her head she could barely see the top, and the walls seemed to go for at least a mile in either direction. Large white and orange banners with the kingdom’s crest hung on either side of the tallest set of doors Chell had ever seen, the wood decorated with intricate carvings. Guards with white plumes on their helmets stood on either side holding large spears. The impenetrable fortress cast a shadow on the city below from its place high on the hill.Chell’s mouth hung open in awe, but a pained shout and a sudden crashing noise drew her attention away from the overwhelming sight of the castle.“Who let you out again?” shouted another nearby guard. He had to angle his glare almost directly upward to meet the eyes of his tall, lanky offender. Even from a distance Chell noticed his blue eyes which were open wide in fear of the shorter, but far more muscular man staring back at him. His round spectacles sat crooked on his face which had turned bright red, and his curly strawberry blond hair was illuminated by the remaining light of the sunset. His blue tunic which he wore over his gray trousers and matching undershirt was slightly too short for someone his height. A small, wooden wheelbarrow had fallen on its side at their feet, the firewood that had previously filled it now strewn all over the ground. “You ran over my foot!”“I– I’m so sorry– Didn’t mean to– It was an accident, I–” The servant stammered in response. He had a very distinct accent that she hadn’t ever heard before. His hands flailed awkwardly for a moment before he fell to his knees and began frantically gathering up the sticks and logs that had fallen out of his cart. ”It won’t happen again, promise, I–”The guard took advantage of the servant’s position on the ground, now easily in arms reach. He gripped the back of the servant’s neck, causing him to wince in pain and drop the logs he had just picked up. He leaned down and snarled into his hostage’s ear. “If anything like that happens again, it’s over for you. Got it?”The servant closed his eyes, gulped nervously, then nodded as vigorously as he could with the strong grip on the back of his neck. Satisfied with his answer, the guard released him with one last shove, and walked away as if nothing had happened.Chell watched as the servant glared at the guard down his long pointed nose, massaging the back of his neck with his hand that, despite his tall frame, still looked slightly too large for his body. He started grumbling something to himself as he once again started cleaning up the mess of wood and kindling that littered the path to the doors.Chell finally jumped gently down from the carriage, almost losing her balance as her stiff leg muscles finally had the chance to stretch.
“Welcome to Castle Aperture,” said Archie. “We will now escort you to be presented to the council.”As they walked to the door, they passed the servant from before who had just finished cleaning up the fire wood. A smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks was now revealed, no longer able to blend in with his embarrassed, anxious blush that had since retreated from his face. He grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow and lifted his eyes, unexpectedly meeting Chell’s gaze as they continued in his direction. She couldn’t help but pity the young man, so she gave him an encouraging smile. His eyes and mouth went wide in surprise and she could have sworn she saw a corner of his mouth start to turn up, but it was quickly gone as he once again fumbled the wheelbarrow and spilled the contents onto the ground.“You have got to be joking,” she heard him sigh as they stepped past him. She smiled to herself, amused as his irritated mumbling continued, growing quieter as she entered the castle doors.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

As massive as the castle looked from the outside, it was even bigger on the inside. The tall ceiling soared many stories above her, painted with murals. From far below, Chell tried to make out the story they were trying to tell.

The mural was divided into sections, and all together they created the kingdom’s crest that appeared on the knights’ uniforms. The geometric shapes in their circular placement looked like the pieces were about to fall together tightly, shutting anything and everything out. Each section contained intricate paintings, telling one small piece of the greater story.

The mural depicted a small army of shining knights on white horses overlooking a large castle in ruins surrounded by burning villages in the valley below. One man dressed in armor leading the rest in battle against another army on black horses. A devastating defeat, illuminated by an ominous full moon. Him again, heroically bringing the villages together and uniting them. The villages turned to cities, and the castle rebuilt to greater grandeur and glory than before.

Finally, in the last section of the mural was a painting of a stern, regal man, his light hair brushed his shoulders and grew down the sides of his face. The hair on his upper lip seemed to give him even more of an air of authority. A crown that looked like a three dimensional version of the kingdom’s crest studded with blue gems sat on his head.
He stared off into something unknown in the distance. Chell almost turned her head to follow his gaze and see what he was looking at, but couldn’t look away from those piercing, gray eyes that seemed to be asking for anyone to challenge him, because secretly, he knew it wouldn’t matter. He knew they would never succeed.

Archie’s voice broke her concentration on the mural.

“I see you like the fresco. It was painted fifty years ago after the liberation of the kingdom, but the paint still has yet to completely dry.”

“I like the one with the moon. And the stars. Pretty stars,” piped in Henry, tilting his head so far upward to get a look at the mural that he might start falling over backward.

“The paintin’ is alright, but I’m looking at a much prettier work of art right here,” said Rick, smirking at Chell. She maintained her straight face then went back to silently studying the mural from down below. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought Rick looked confused, but not hurt. That line probably worked like a charm on other women who came to the castle.

Archie ignored both of his companions, “It’s a fascinating story—”

“Here we go again,” Rick groaned.

Chell listened carefully as Archie explained each section of the mural. His tone sounded rehearsed. That combined with Rick’s annoyance gave the impression that the knight with the pink plume regularly gave this speech, whether people wanted to hear it or not.

“It was approximately one hundred years ago that the tyrant kingdom of Black Mesa took this land as their conquest. It had been a peaceful kingdom, but small, and they didn’t have the strength or resources to defend themselves. For fifty years, the people in this land struggled under Black Mesa’s oppressive rule.

“One day, from a distant land came a band of knights led by their captain who found the kingdom left almost in ruins. They thought the people that remained must have been ghosts because, how could anyone still be left alive in a place like that? After a few awkward interactions they realized that wasn’t the case, so instead they banded together with the villagers and fought against their oppressors. Against all odds — which I’ve calculated — they drove them out, and the people named the captain of the knights as their new king. King Cave of the newly created Kingdom Aperture,” He finished proudly before somberly removing his helmet, his white-blond curls pressed flat against his scalp, “May he rest in peace.”

Chell knew the story well. Everyone in the kingdom knew the story. Despite the fact that most of the kingdom was still struggling, they could only imagine how much worse off they would be if it hadn’t been for their savior, King Cave, who came in the kingdom’s darkest hour.

“Yeah, yeah, may he rest in peace and all that,” Rick said, “Can we get a move on? Or are you tryin’ to put the lady to sleep before she meets the council?”

“We’re thirty-seven minutes ahead of schedule, Sir Richard. How else would you want to use this time, if not by being hospitable and giving our guest a guided tour?” said Archie, replacing his helmet.

Rick fumed.

“Can we show her the observatory?” Henry piped in, “Please? Please? Please please please please plea-”

Rick came up behind his young companion and put a gloved hand over his mouth. “If you say one more ‘please’, you won’t need to go to the observatory to see stars.”

For just a moment, Henry’s eyes lit up with excitement before the implied meaning of his mentor’s words sunk in. Then he looked down nervously in submission. Rick released his grip.

“Fortunately for you, Henry, the observatory is on our way to the council chambers. I’m sure we have a few minutes to make a quick stop by, help acquaint our guest with the castle and all of the kingdom’s impressive accomplishments,” Archie said, patting Henry firmly on the shoulder. His eyes lit up once again.

“You’ll eat those words, Archie,” Rick warned, shaking his head.

Archie ignored the knight with the green plumed helmet, “Let’s continue our tour, shall we?”

As they continued ahead through a long hallway with majestic pillars on either side, Archie continued his commentary. He spoke earnestly and with authority, as an expert on the castle and everything in it, but it quickly became apparent that what he was saying was questionable at best. Chell just couldn’t decide if Archie knew as much, or if he truly believed the things he said to be fact.

“These stained glass windows are completely indestructible unless their weakness is discovered and used against them.”

“Eighty nine percent of magic tricks performed by our resident court jester are not magic. Technically, they are sorcery.”

“One in six pillars will be stolen by bakers to be used as massive rolling pins. As a preventative measure, every sixth pillar in this hall has been removed.”

Each fact shared by Archie was followed by a groan and some annoyed grumbling from Rick, increasing in volume and drama as he trailed behind the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Henry oohed and ahhed, and asked the occasional follow-up question.

“Are we at the observatory yet?”

“Can we look at the stars now?”

“How about now?”

Through all of this, Chell said nothing.

Finally, they stopped at a door with a large metal handle. A crescent moon and some stars were engraved in the wood. Henry gasped with excitement that could no longer be contained, threw the heavy door open with a strength that only an ox could rival, and disappeared up the spiral staircase faster than Chell had seen anyone run before.

The three that remained shared a look, then entered the doorway that opened up immediately to the flight of stairs. It was a long climb. Such a long climb that Chell couldn’t quite see the top of the tower, but the sound of Henry hastily stomping up the steps didn’t slow down.

Before Chell could brace herself to begin the climb, Archie cleared his throat.

“The steps won’t be necessary. They’re mostly there for emergency purposes. We’ll take the hoist,” Archie said, gesturing to the side where there was a wooden box that looked large enough for a few full grown adults to stand inside. It had no walls, only four posts and a guard rail that connected the floor of the box to the ceiling. A thick chain hung down from somewhere too high for Chell to see from her position on the ground, and the end of it looked to be attached to the roof of the box. On the floor beside it was a large lever sticking out of the ground. Archie walked over to where there was a gap in the horizontal guard rail and gestured for Chell to walk through and enter the hoist. “After you.”

Chell hesitantly stepped inside. The chain above her jostled slightly, but overall it felt secure.

“It really is amazing the speed at which he’s taking those stairs. I wonder if anyone’s already calculated how much horsepower he carries in those skinny legs. He might even reach the top before us,” marveled Archie as he stepped into the hoist.

Even though Rick didn’t speak his thoughts out loud, Chell could read them clear as day on his face. First, like Archie, he looked on in amazement at their younger companion’s speed and strength. Then a flash of jealousy, which he quickly covered up with his cocky, nonchalant attitude.

“I could take these stairs no problem. It’s not

that

hard. Not for me at least. I bet I could beat all of you to the top,” said Rick, not about to be outdone by the younger knight-in-training. He might have been flexing his muscles as he bragged, but it was difficult to tell beneath the chainmail.

Archie smirked. “In that case, would you mind pulling the lever to send us up?”

“No problem. See you up there,” Rick said, haughty. He pulled the lever almost down to the floor, and Chell heard the chains groan. Then, he started his sprint up the stairs, desperate to move faster than the mechanical hoist.

Chell’s stomach lurched at the sensation of the hoist leaving the ground, swaying slightly. She had never even imagined anything like this. She gripped the guard rail in front of her with both hands.

“Ah, I remember my first time riding the hoist. You’ll adapt to the feeling quickly. Just take comfort in the fact that it’s much better than taking the stairs,” said Archie, nodding ahead to where Rick continued his trek up the stairs. He still hadn’t slowed, and was keeping up with the hoist, but he was visibly fatigued. The sound of his heavy breathing overpowered even the noise of the large chain pulling Chell and Archie upward. “Don’t tell this to Sir Richard, but it’s actually impressive how well he’s managed to keep up.”

Finally, they reached the platform at the top of the tower. The hoist slowed to a surprisingly smooth stop, and Chell finally released her white-knuckled grip on the rail in front of her. She was anxious to get off of the thing. As she stepped off of the hoist, Rick stepped up the final few stairs, panting and sweating beneath his chainmail.

He tried to hide his heavy breathing in a vain effort to impress. Or perhaps, just to protect his own pride. “Piece o’ cake. I wish the stairs went even higher. I was barely startin’ to break a sweat,” he said between gasps of air, “Next time I’ll offer to carry you. Save a fine lady like you the trouble of takin’ the hoist. Would hardly make a difference to me.” Another large gasp. This one he didn’t even try to hide.

Chell rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help but smirk to herself in amusement at Rick’s preposterous, over-the-top advances.

“Sir Henry must already be inside,” said Archie as he swung open the door to the observatory.

Chell tried with all her strength to contain her surprise and wonder, but the sight of the observatory was far beyond anything she had ever thought possible.

Everywhere she turned her head in the circular room, she was surrounded by polished metal equipment. Telescopes of various sizes were supported on three metal legs or littered over desks. Odd instruments that looked like they were meant for measuring were scattered on top of piles of star charts and books and scrolls. Chell could barely comprehend what she was looking at.

The most impressive sight, however, was right above her. The ceiling was made completely of a series of metal panels shaped like rings, all different sizes, each fitting precisely into the center of another. Each ring was speckled with small holes filled with glass of different colors. Light shining in from somewhere above the ceiling illuminated the glass, which made them look like a starry night sky. It cast circles of softly colored light all throughout the room, over the walls, the cluttered desks, and over Chell, mouth agape.

“Lady, look at this!” Henry giggled from one side of the room. He was standing near a handle attached to a round piece of metal with spokes poking out on the edges. He pushed and pulled in a circular motion, and the ceiling panels began to rotate. Slowly at first, but gathering momentum. Finally Henry released the handle and let it continue to spin freely. The rings above rotated on their own at different speeds, some of them in different directions. The colored light danced around as Chell walked to the center of the room, never taking her eyes off of the ceiling. It wasn’t long before the rings started slowing to a stop.

“Now watch this, lady.” Henry said eagerly, this time from a different place in the room where he was before, standing near another handle. “Archie, help.”

Archie walked over to the side of the room opposite from Henry where there was one more handle to demonstrate. Both knights gripped their respective handles and did that same pushing and pulling motion in sync. The panels above groaned as they rotated yet again, but this time, they also began to separate. Some moved higher, some lower. Then, still spinning, some of the panels moved to her right, and others to her left, slowly parting and turning upright until they were almost flat against the walls. They shuddered once they reached their final position, and Chell saw the knights inserting pins into a hole in the wheels they had just spun on the wall, presumably to keep the panels from spinning back overhead.

The ceiling had opened up to a large dome. Dim light entered and filled the room through skylights in the domed ceiling, each one shaped like a phase of the moon. Through them, Chell could see the open sky. It was barely dusk, so the stars were only beginning to peek out as the sky darkened, but the moon was full.

“Come on, lady!” Henry once again disappeared through a doorway on the side of the wall that led to yet another set of stairs. Chell followed. Luckily, there weren’t nearly as many stairs as there had been going up to the observatory. When she came to the top of the stairs, another door opened up to a platform that overlooked the lower level she had just come from. Stepping onto it, she could now see that it went all the way around the perimeter of the room. Henry was gleefully running around, looking through the skylights. Now it was his turn to give a tour.

“Lady! Look at me! Don’t look at me, look at the stars.”

“I can see the moon from here. Look. Look at the moon.”

“Do you like the observatory? I love the observatory. Never want to leave.”

His commentary wasn’t quite as educational as the rest of the tour had been, but then again, the only part of the tour that was even true had been the story told by the mural.

Chell looked out through the skylights at the moon. It was so big, and they were so high up that she swore she could open one of the skylights to reach out and touch it.

“Sir Henry, come down now. We must be going,” Archie called from down below.

Henry stopped in his tracks.

“Don’t want to leave.” He began running again.

“Sir Henry! Ugh, Sir Richard, come help me retrieve him.”

“No way, Archie. Not happenin’,” said Rick. He was seated in a chair, feet up on one of the desks. “This is your own fault for lettin’ him loose up here. I tried to warn you.”

“Sir Richard-”

Rick ignored him, opened up a book and placed it over his eyes, then shifted in his chair to make himself even more comfortable. Archie grumbled in frustration, then made his way to the stairs that led up to the platform. Once he reached the top, he broke into a run to try and catch the rogue knight. He plowed past Chell, almost knocking her over into the stone wall. “Apologies!” he shouted. She took this as her cue to go back downstairs.

Now from her position below, she could still hear the chaos on the platforms above her, but was out of harm's way.

“Sir Henry! Stop running this instant! That’s an order from your superior!”

Henry only laughed in response and kept running.

“We’re goin’ to be here for a while,” said Rick to himself, his book still covering his eyes. Chell doubted he had heard her come down the stairs. She took this opportunity to take a closer look at the instruments on the desks that all appeared to be made of gold. She looked at an odd, raindrop-shaped thing that looked like some sort of dial, then fiddled with some of the triangular devices that looked like they could have been for measuring, but thought better of it and put them down. She didn’t want to risk breaking anything. She didn’t know how much these things were worth, but she could imagine it was worth a lot more than her entire hometown of Narbacula. She picked up a small telescope and looked through the smaller end. The angle at which she was holding it magnified her view of another desk across the room where she saw…

No, that wouldn’t make any sense.

She set the telescope down, and spotted the desk she had just been looking at. She
walked over to get a closer look. There was a single, hollow rod of metal, sitting on top of a pile of papers and a few gray stones. Paperweights, probably. She picked up the rod and inspected it carefully. It was something so simple, it could have been anything, but she couldn’t help but think that it looked like the shaft of an arrow. The length, the diameter, and was that a nock at one end? She had never seen or heard of an arrow made of metal before. It would be far too heavy to shoot. Except for the fact that whatever material this was made of was remarkably light.

She glanced down at the papers that were below the metal rod, and caught a glimpse of what looked like a short letter being drafted.

“Sir,

I have inspected the sample arrow shafts, and they are well balanced. No adverse reactions to the moonstones. Please inform the fletcher that we will need finished prototypes for testing by midday tomorrow. Let’s hope that this is the solution. One more failure and we may not-”

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” said Rick who had seemingly appeared right behind her. His tone was darker, more serious than it had been before, and his hand gripped the hilt of his sword in its sheath. Chell looked at him and wordlessly set down what she now knew was the shaft of an arrow, like she had first suspected. What it was doing in the observatory where they studied the stars, she didn’t know. “Archie’s finally done wranglin’ the other guy, and we better be goin’. Can’t be late to meet the council.” He released his sword.

It was an awkward ride down on the hoist as Henry received a stern reprimand from Archie. Henry said his apologies and swore never to do it again, but his face didn’t show an ounce of regret. It had clearly been worth it for the young knight. Chell was still anxious and gripped the rail the whole way down, but Archie had been right that she was getting accustomed to the funny feeling in her stomach quickly. Once they reached the ground floor of the castle once again, Rick walked on ahead, leading the way. He was quieter than before. Chell wondered why that arrow shaft was so important, and why it mattered so much that she didn’t see or touch it.

Before long, they came to a set of large double doors. Two guards stood on either side, white plumes on their helmets. They both looked at Rick.

“We come to present this subject to the council for the Royal Defensive Scientific and Technological Advancement Initiative,” said Rick with more poise and authority than Chell had ever heard from him.

The guards looked at Chell, confused, then back at Rick, suspicious. “We weren’t expecting a woman. Who are you trying to fool?”

Rick wasn’t fazed. “We suspect a clerical error with the application. All of the other information is a match. We would like to present her to the council and let them decide what to do with her.”

The guards looked at each other, communicating silently. They looked back at Chell. “Very well. But you will be watched very closely.”

Rick turned around to take his place beside Archie, walking past Chell. He didn’t even look at her. The guards who they had just spoken to were now facing the doors, and knocked on them three times with a large staff. Then, they opened the doors and gestured for Chell to walk through.

She entered the chamber, which was a half-circle in shape. Veins of white looked almost like cracks in the black marble floors and columns that followed the curve of the back of the room. Four people in different colored robes sat at a long table on a high platform, both of which also curved to make a half circle around an empty space below. There was a tall chair at the center of the table, and the four individuals sat beside it on slightly smaller chairs, two on each side. They looked expectantly as Chell walked to the center of the empty space. She heard the doors close behind her.

Archie, Henry, and Rick had escorted her inside, and now it was Archie’s duty to present her to the council. He stepped in front of her and bowed.

“Council, we bring your newest subject summoned for the Royal Defensive Scientific and Technological Advancement Initiative.” He stood up straight, then returned to place with his companions.

One of the members of the council, a man with blond hair that glittered with the occasional silver strand and wearing a yellow robe, spoke first, “Who is that? We were expecting a man, were we not?”

“We were. What is the meaning of this?” asked another advisor, a bald man whose face was quickly turning as red as his robes.

A third member dressed in blue spoke, a man with dark skin and black, curly hair that was graying on the sides, “Perhaps it means more cake for us.”

Finally, the last member of the council spoke. He wore a purple robe, and was older than the rest of the council which was evident from his full head of silver hair, and the kind, wise wrinkles by his eyes. He held up a gentle hand. “Let her speak.”

All eyes turned to Chell.

She did not speak.

The silence grew awkward, but she didn’t look fazed.

“What will she say?” whispered the man in the yellow robes.

“Say something already!” the man in the red shouted.

“Knights, do you have an explanation?” asked the man wearing blue.

Archie stepped forward once again. “Your honors, we followed your orders to go to the village of Narbacula and retrieve the subject. When we arrived, we were guided to the subject’s home where it was discovered that no man by the name of Chell lived in the home, nor the rest of the village. This female subject was the only resident, and all of the other information on the application was a match. We believe she is the correct subject, and suspect there was a clerical error in the application process.”

“We have

never

had a female subject participate in the trials,” growled the man in the red robe.

The man in purple rose from his seat and opened his mouth to say something to his fellow advisor, but before he could speak, another voice filled the room, monotonous, yet somehow also melodic. A woman’s voice. “Why should that matter?”

The members of the council stood from their seats and bowed their heads towards someone behind them. The three knights behind Chell had already dropped to one knee, even though they couldn’t see who had just entered the room. Chell stayed standing.

Click, swish, click, swish

. The sound of heels against the marble floor and layers of clothing dragging behind echoed through the room until finally, she came into view.

Queen Caroline.

Her pale skin against the black backdrop of the walls behind her gave her an ethereal look. Her brown hair had streaks of gray that were all elegantly pulled into an intricate braid that cascaded down her back. The same golden crown Chell had seen in the mural of King Cave rested on her head. Her fine gown was white with red trim, the collar fit high around her neck. She arched a thin brow at the man in the red robe as she took her seat at the center of the table. It was impossible to look away from her gold-colored eyes. “Hmmm?”

She glanced at Chell, who still had not bowed. Her face didn’t show any reaction, but Chell could have sworn she saw a flash of emotion in her eyes. Not anger, but… malice? It was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

The member of the council who had looked so threatening before now looked small and sheepish. “I- I only mean that-”

“Do you doubt

my

ability as a woman to rule the kingdom?”

“No, your highness, I just-”

“Then why doubt this woman’s ability to take part in the trials? We obviously liked what we saw on her application, and the matter of her being a woman seems to be the only clerical error. Is your judgement really so clouded that something so small would make you turn away a perfectly qualified subject?”

“No, of course not.”

“That’s what I thought,” said the queen. Her tone was neutral, but the words still dripped with an unspoken threat. She turned to Chell. “Welcome to Castle Aperture, Chell. Your loyalty to the kingdom is greatly appreciated. We’d like to celebrate your arrival with a feast. Won’t you join us?”

Chell didn’t speak or move. She just looked into the golden eyes of her queen.

“I’ll take that as a yes. While the feast is being prepared in the grand dining hall, why don’t we enjoy dessert first?”

No one had to answer her before a group of servants brought out a long, heavy wooden table and set it down near where Chell was standing. It was already set with the most delicious looking cake, covered in a fluffy white cream. Chocolate and cherries adorned the top of it. Chell had never seen such an extravagant cake. It smelled delightful.

Queen Caroline dismissed the three knights who Chell had spent the day with, then took her place at the head of the table. The advisors then seated themselves. Chell followed suit, sitting on the opposite end of the table from the queen.

A servant cut the first slice of cake and set the plate down in front of Chell. She looked at the cake, then looked up at everyone else at the table.

Queen Caroline smiled, “It’s tradition here at Castle Aperture to let the guest of honor have the first bite.”

Chell suddenly realized how hungry she was. She hadn’t eaten since early that morning before going out to target practice. It felt like a lifetime ago. She gingerly took a fork in her hand and took the first bite of cake, watching everyone else. Servants had placed slices in front of each of them. They all looked at Chell expectantly as she chewed.

The cake was sweet and moist. It should have been delicious, but something about it was strange. Maybe it was because her palate wasn’t refined. She wasn’t accustomed to food like this. Or was it just the fact that she had an audience that made it less enjoyable?

She finally swallowed, then looked at the others to invite them to begin eating their own cake. None of them even bothered to touch their forks. They just continued looking at her. Her eyelids suddenly felt heavy. The older man in the purple robe looked guiltily down at his hands in his lap.

Chell suddenly felt sick to her stomach, not just at the realization that the cake was poisoned. She dropped her fork and tried to stand up to run, but the room spun and she collapsed on the ground, completely unable to move.

The last words she heard before losing consciousness were Queen Caroline saying, “Guards, take our guest to her suite.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

“Hello? Anyone in there? Hello?”

Chell awoke to the sound of a vaguely familiar voice with a strange accent, but before she could even think about opening her eyes, let alone acknowledging whoever it was that the voice belonged to, she felt a pounding headache take over. She could follow the pain from her head, to her neck, down her back, and into her legs. What happened?

Last night.

All of yesterday, really.

“That can’t be a good sign,” the stranger muttered. His voice sounded muffled.
Her final moments of her meeting with the council flashed across her memory. How could she have been so stupid? Eating the cake in the council chambers of all places wasn’t some impromptu idea. It had been all ready to go like the whole thing was planned long before she had even arrived. How many others had fallen for the same trick? What happened to them? And now… where was she? “Alright, don’t panic, don’t panic. Please don’t be dead,” muttered the voice, speaking only to themself. She heard metal jingling.
The room was dark and cold, sending her into a shiver. She noticed from the sudden chill that she was wearing only her thin linen chemise and her usual men’s trousers beneath. The numbness in her toes alerted her to the fact that her feet were bare, exposed to the icy air that moved through the room. Chell tried to force her heavy eyelids open, and was only able to do so after a moment of struggle. Eyes open, now it was time to sit up from wherever she was laying and gather her bearings. She started by trying to move her arms to prop herself up on her side, which she managed with a great deal of effort that left the muscles in her arms burning.

Before she could push herself up all the way, a door flew open with a

bang

against the wall, which flooded the room with light coming from somewhere outside the room she was in. She could now see that the small room was made entirely of dark-colored stone and mortar, and was almost empty except for a wooden barrel, a bucket, and the silhouette of a tall, lanky man who had just burst into the room.

“Whew, so you

are

alive. Brilliant. My job is safe, then,” he said, clearly relieved. The ceiling was just slightly too low for someone of his height, so he stooped down and trudged awkwardly over to the wooden barrel in the corner to set something on top, then closed the door behind him. As he turned, he was no longer backlit, and Chell was able to make out his long pointed nose, wavy strawberry blond hair, and distinctive, piercing blue eyes behind round spectacles. It finally clicked where she recognized the voice from. It was the servant she had seen spill the firewood out of the wheelbarrow after she had arrived at the castle. Had that really only been just yesterday? “It’s all ridiculous, honestly. Sure,

they’re

the ones who poison you, but then who’s fault do you think it’s gonna be if the management comes down here and finds another dead test subject? Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

Chell ignored the servant’s strangely chipper attempt at small talk and tried to push herself up from where she was propped up on one elbow, which she now realized was on a large wooden platform suspended above the floor. She got almost all the way to a sitting position before her strength failed her and she found herself lying down flat on her back once again on the platform.

“Oh! Oh no. Are you alright? Are you– actually, nevermind. Don’t answer that. I’m absolutely sure you’re fine. There’s plenty of time for you to recover. Just take it slow,” said the servant as he rushed to Chell’s side, who was already trying again to sit up straight. He reached out to help her, but she smacked his hand away. This stunned him.

“Oh. Um. Alright, then. I see how it is,” he said, his tone turning from confusion and surprise to sarcasm, “Of course you wouldn’t need help after collapsing like that. What was I bloody thinking? Clearly, I’m in the wrong here. How rude of me, to try to help you.”

This time, Chell was successful in sitting up. While she felt some of her strength slowly returning, she knew that it was mostly out of spite that she was able to do it this time. No one in this castle could be trusted. They all treated her kindly for a few hours just to make it easier to take her prisoner, or worse. She wouldn’t be falling for anything like that again. From now on, she would take care of herself.

She said none of this out loud.

“Look, I can tell you’re a bit…

upset

about being imprisoned and all that, but you have to understand it’s not my fault. I just work here, mate,” he said defensively, holding up his large hands, “Now, if I’ve learned anything from working here for as long as I have, it’s that if you don’t eat something soon, then whatever they gave you yesterday is going to make you spill your guts all over the cell. And that wouldn’t be pleasant for either one of us. Especially not for me, though, since I’m the one who has to clean it all up. Disgusting, really. So, I brought you some breakfast to settle your stomach, and I’d eat it sooner rather than later if I were you.” He retrieved a bowl and a small wooden spoon from where he had set it on top of the barrel earlier, and held it in front of Chell. She eyed the gray mush suspiciously and made no move to take it.

He sighed and looked upwards in exasperation, bumping his head on the low ceiling by mistake and wincing. Still holding the bowl out to her, he said, “Look, I’m being serious. Just take the food.”

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes.

“What?” he asked with annoyance. She kept looking at him, pressing her lips together in a thin, stubborn line. “What’s wrong? What do you want from me?”

They kept looking at each other, the silence growing awkward. For the servant at least. He waved a hand in front of her face. “Hello? Aren’t you going to say anything?”

More silence. He crossed his arms.

“What, were you dropped on the head as a child? Suffer some permanent damage or something? Or are your manners usually this terrible?”

Chell looked away as if to dismiss his comment. Sarcastic as his tone was, she could tell that there was a part of him that genuinely wondered at the answer to those questions.

“Fine. It doesn’t matter. What does matter, though, is that you eat– erm– well, whatever this is. Not poisoned this time, promise.” He held up his right hand as if swearing an oath, the position of his arm making a square that accentuated his thin, angular frame.

She looked up at him, glanced down to the bowl, then back at him, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

“You…you want me to taste it for you?” he asked incredulously, “No can do, mate. Are you mad? They told me if I ever stole food from a subject, I would be incinerated. Look, it’s fine. No poison. Just take my word for it.”

She turned her head away from him once again in defiance, then made a face like she was about to be sick. He frantically dropped to his knobby knees, as if to beg for mercy.

“Okay, okay, fine! You win. I’ll take

one

bite. Just to prove that it’s safe,” he relented. She couldn’t help but smirk at how easily he’d been convinced, no talking required. At least, not from her. The servant, however, had practically talked himself into it.

She turned her head back to face him again and found that when he was on his knees he was right at her eye level. Their eyes met, and she was stunned for a moment by how many different shades of blue she could see in his eyes up close.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the servant looked away and picked up the bowl. Chell watched intently as he scooped up a bite of gruel with the wooden spoon and hesitantly held it up in front of his face. He adjusted his round glasses as he closely studied the lumpy, gray contents in disgust, then sniffed it. He frowned, but managed to close his eyes, quickly take the bite and swallow.

“Augh!” He shoved the bowl and spoon into Chell’s hands as he doubled over, now on all fours. He choked and retched violently, his scrawny body shaking.

“Definitely poisoned. I knew it,”

Chell thought as she sat up straight in alarm, unsure of what to do or if she should step in at all. The servant’s violent reaction died down before she could decide.

“That was the most disgusting thing–” he gagged, “I’ve ever eaten in my entire life.” His breathing was heavy and dramatic, but it became clear that no real harm was done. Still kneeling, he straightened his back and sat back on his heels as he wiped his freckled face with the blue tunic he wore over his gray long-sleeved shirt and trousers. He muttered to himself, “Potatoes. Bloody disgusting, they are.”

She managed to keep a straight face, but had to hold back a laugh at the absurdity at what she had just seen. That didn’t last for long as she felt her face turn green.

The servant happened to recover just in time to see the nausea settle in on her face, “Oh no. No, no, no, no. You can’t get sick all over the place. Not after everything I’ve been through to prove to you that it’s not poisoned. Just eat it already!”

As much as Chell didn’t care about what the servant would or wouldn’t have to clean up, she really didn’t want to add the misery of being sick on top of the pain she was already in. She took the spoon and took bite after bite of the mush. If she had to guess the recipe, it tasted like the chef had taken the blandest of ingredients that were leftover at the end of the night and mixed them together over a hot stove, then let it sit out until the temperature was lukewarm. The texture was rubbery on top, gooey on the bottom, slimy chunks of potato and Something Else settled in between the layers. She didn’t have any particular aversion to potatoes like the servant did, but had to agree that the large lumps were particularly repulsive.

Despite how unappetizing it was, Chell had a strong stomach. She kept eating until the bowl was finally empty, and it wasn’t long before Chell’s nausea started to subside. She even felt some strength return to her limbs.

“That was a close one. I can’t believe you put me through all of that,” the servant sighed as if he had been holding his breath the entire time she had been eating. He shook his head, but he didn’t appear to be irritated. Almost amused. Chell wondered if he was always like this.

He stood up from where he was kneeling, once again bumping his head on the ceiling as he stood to — well, almost — his full height, and took the empty bowl and spoon from her hands. “My work here is done, for now. You’ll begin the trials today. The Royal Scientists issue a uniform for all test subjects, but seeing as they were expecting a man, and you’re– um, well– a woman–” he said it like it was some secret he wasn’t supposed to be sharing, “–they had the poor seamstresses stay up all night to make a new uniform for you,” He nodded at the barrel where he had set down a pile of orange fabric on top. “Should fit perfectly. They– well, you see, they sort of took your measurements while you were unconscious. A bit more efficient that way. But that– that was the only thing. No science-y stuff in you. Not yet anyway, so nothing to worry about there.”

This time, the silence that followed felt awkward even to Chell.

“Well then,” the servant continued toward the wooden door. It had no handle and only a small, circular hole for a window that was criss-crossed by metal bars. “The guards will be here in less than an hour to bring you to the testing chambers. I’ll be back to check on you this evening.”

He pulled the door open by the bars in the window and stepped through the doorway, hitting his head against the doorframe and wincing once more. Ducking this time, he made it into the hallway, which evidently had higher ceilings since he no longer had to hunch over. Before he closed the door, he turned and looked at her once more with those vivid blue eyes.

“The name’s Wheatley, by the way. Good luck.”

*****

BANG.

The door slammed open once again, but this time, a pair of guards with white plumes on their silver helmets stood at the door. One of them stepped forward, his broad, armored shoulders filling the doorway, “Your participation is required in the Kingdom of Aperture Royal Defensive Technological and Scientific Advancement Initiative Trials. We will escort you to the testing chambers. Do not attempt to resist.” The guard’s tone was straightforward and menacing.

Chell stood from where she had been sitting on the bed waiting. She had since put on the castle-issued uniform for testing, made especially for her. Wheatley had been right that it was a perfect fit. The bodice of the fiery orange dress laced in front, similar to her previous blue dress. Unlike that blue dress, however, which sported thick straps, this one had fitted sleeves that covered her upper arms, stopping at her elbow and leaving her forearms exposed. A belt made of thick brown leather rested at her waist. The dress was shockingly comfortable. Whatever material it was made of was sturdy, yet flexible at the same time. She would easily have full range of motion in this uniform, but in favor of her signature look, Chell had already taken the liberty of hiking up the skirt as high as she could, once again revealing her trousers beneath. She was still getting used to the feeling of the strange, brown leather boots on her feet. A piece of metal sewn into the leather supported her heel, followed the curve of her calf, then protruded out from the top of the boot at the back of her knees. The exposed part of the metal reached down and curled onto the floor beneath her, suspending her heel a few inches off the ground. The soles were firm in some places, flexible in others. Although not as uncomfortable as she expected, she still couldn’t fathom what purpose these boots could possibly serve.

She stepped forward. “Turn around,” commanded one of the guards. She turned around to face the interior of her holding cell, and felt the sudden, tight grip of the guard’s hands on her wrists, restraining her. She tensed up and tried to pull away, but the guard yanked her roughly as he tightened his grip and gruffly whispered in her ear, “I said. Do. Not. Attempt. To. Resist.”

She stopped fighting back, but willed herself not to be submissive, either. She stood straight and stiff as a board, breathing angrily through her nose as the guards tied her hands tightly together behind her back. They then pulled her out of her cell and into the stone hallway that was lined with torches, casting eerie, distorted shadows on the black walls of the corridor. One guard stepped in front of her and led the way while the other gripped her arm in one hand, and drew his sword with the other.

Their journey was silent excluding the echo of their footsteps through the stone hallway. The dungeon was extensive. All throughout the passage on either side of her, were wooden doors that looked much like hers. Each was made of sturdy, aged wood, a large metal handle with a large keyhole above it, and circular windows with metal crossbars. Chell wondered how many of the cells were occupied, and for how long. Pairs of guards with white-plumed helmets stood at attention at regular intervals throughout the hallway. The torches along the walls illuminated their way, but no matter how brightly they burned, the dark color of the stone made the space feel dim and claustrophobic.

After turning left, then right, then left again through the other corridors, she stopped seeing doors with the keyholes and metal crossbars. Instead, they were solid wood with metal handles and no visible locks. She wondered what those doors were hiding.

Finally they came to a stop. Two guards stood beside the wooden door. It looked just like all the others, but Chell sensed that whatever lay beyond this one was far more sinister than she had anticipated. She wasn’t sure what she expected before arriving at the castle, but the sight of the observatory had defied her knowledge of what was and wasn’t possible. And as magnificent as the observatory was, it was on the main level of the castle and had been left virtually unguarded, easy for practically anyone to walk in and take a look around. The door in front of her now, however, was kept hidden in what Chell assumed were the depths of the castle, and was heavily guarded through each passageway leading to it. Something was very different about this place, and someone wanted it to be kept secret.

Now she was about to find out why.

The men guarding the doors didn’t look at her or at the guards who had brought her. They stood solemnly still, staring straight ahead. The guard behind her released his grip, and then untied the restraints on her wrists. She brought her hands close to her chest and held them there tightly in case they tried to tie her up again. Her hands may have been freed, but she knew she was far from it. The other guard who had led them through the passages pulled hard on the door handle, and with a

whoosh

Chell felt a rush of cool air spill out into the hall from beyond the door.

Behind the door, four walls made of the same black stone as the walls of the castle were very close together. The floor, however, was made of metal, and four metal posts were at each corner, a horizontal guardrail connecting them. She recognized this as a hoist, although the one she had ridden in the observatory had been made out of wood. “

Am I going back up to meet the deranged queen and her advisors again?”

she wondered to herself.

The guards nudged her forward. She stumbled forward a step, but would not go into the hoist willingly and resumed standing her ground.

“Get in there already,” the guard behind her snarled, sword still drawn. He shoved her forward again, and she took a few steps closer to retain her balance. “It’s only going to hurt if you don’t cooperate.”

One more shove, and she stumbled the rest of the way into the hoist. Before she could even turn around to face them through the doorway, the guards closed the solid wood door, leaving her in total darkness. Everything was still for a moment, and all she could hear was her own shallow breathing. Then, her stomach lurched.

Rrrrrrrrk.

Chains from somewhere above her groaned as she began to descend even deeper beneath the castle. She felt a scream, a shout for help build up in her chest, but she managed to stop it before it could escape her throat. Instead, she settled for dropping to the floor of the lift, hugging her knees against her chest, and feeling overwhelming fear rise to the surface. In times like these, she would usually keep any fear buried beneath anger, spite, and sheer determination. But here, alone, in total darkness, with absolutely nowhere to go besides wherever the lift was taking her, she allowed the fear to take over. For all she knew, this would be her only chance.

It was a long, tortuous ride down. She squeezed her arms still wrapped around her legs with every rhythmic creak and groan from the chain above her, bracing herself for a hard stop. All she could do was wonder what would be awaiting her at the bottom.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the hoist came to an abrupt halt. Chell took a deep breath in, then once again put her fear away, standing up tall. She waited in the darkness until a door opened in front of her, a faint glow of light entering from the other side. She blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light, then, with nowhere else to go, continued through the doorway.

As she stepped through, she looked to her left and right to find the guard, servant, or whoever had opened the door, but she saw no one. The dim light she had seen came from a single torch, almost completely burned out, barely illuminating only a small portion of the wall where it was mounted. She squinted, but still couldn’t make out her surroundings.

BANG.

The door slammed closed behind her.

Startled, Chell turned back around to face the door. There was no handle, so she pushed and pounded, but it wouldn’t budge. She turned around, pressed her back against the wall and took a deep breath in. Once again, she was alone. At least this time she had light, if only a little.

Suddenly, the light of the torch beside her began to grow brighter. She looked around as other torches sparked to life throughout the room. Chell squinted at the paneled walls that she could now see were all painted bright white, a stark contrast to the black stone walls of the rest of the castle. Even the floor was made of a light-colored stone. She was filled with relief as light filled the room after being in the darkness for so long, but her heart fell as metal bars came into view, surrounding the small space she was in within the larger room. Still trapped. She gripped the bars and tried to pull on them out of desperation, but gave up quickly. After all, even if escape from this cage was possible, she wouldn’t be any closer to freedom. She stepped back from the bars, and stood defiantly straight and still.

Without warning, a calm, confident, masculine voice echoed through the room from somewhere up above, “Hello, and welcome to the Kingdom of Aperture Royal Defensive Technological and Scientific Advancement Initiative Enrichment Center.” Chell almost jumped, startled at the sudden disembodied voice, but kept her cool. The voice continued, “We hope your brief detention at Castle Aperture has been a pleasant one.” That remark only fanned the furious flames in Chell’s eyes.

“Your information has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper. Before we start, however, keep in mind that although outstanding achievement and learning are the primary goals of all Initiative Enrichment Center activities, serious injuries may occur,” the announcer continued. At this, Chell noticed another sound, like something being struck against metal. Whatever the sound was, it sounded big, and it was getting closer.

The announcer continued as if he didn’t notice the growing clatter, “For your own safety, and the safety of others, please refrain from–” The voice was now drowned out by the noise.

BANG. CLANG. BANG.

Chell looked upwards where the sound was coming from and saw big metal pipes. It was almost impossible to tell where the pipes started through the criss-crossing, winding, and weaving, but she followed their path with her eyes until she found where they ended. There were two pipes with openings that faced the white paneled walls at an angle, one inside of her cage, and the other to her right, outside of the cage.

The crashing of whatever was in the pipes finally died down just enough for Chell to be able to make out the voice of the announcer once again as he said, “Stand back. The portal will open in three, two, one.”

Right on cue, before she could even begin to make sense of what the announcer said, the small objects in the pipes flew out the openings and struck the paneled walls. Chell’s eyes widened in awe as she watched bright light and — not fire, but something she could only describe as

energy

— swirling bright orange around what appeared to be a hole that had opened up on the wall panel inside her enclosure. She took a startled step back when she looked through the hole and saw herself in the cage. Not like in a mirror, but from a totally different angle, as if she was looking in on someone else entirely. She looked to the side through the metal bars, at the wall panel where the other pipe had been aimed, and saw a similar hole, but with blue light swirling around the edges instead of orange. She was met with the sight of her profile once again, not through the metal bars that surrounded her but from the angle of the first “hole”, or whatever it really was, that was on the inside of her cage. Chell stood still, paralyzed.

“Please proceed through the portal,” said the announcer, his voice echoing through the room once again. She hesitated for just a moment, but slowly stepped up to the orange portal. As she took a step, her foot struck something small but solid and sent it skittering through. Through the portal, she watched the small, gray thing land somewhere on the ground outside of the confines of the cage. Even though it happened by mistake, Chell appreciated the demonstration of the portals and how they worked.

She reached a careful, slender arm forward and through the portal. A subtle, warm, buzzing feeling moved through her fingers, then her hand, and then her wrist as they passed through the spot where the wall should have been. That feeling left those parts of her as soon as they emerged on the other side. Satisfied more or less with her own evaluation of the portals, Chell took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then stepped the rest of the way through.

She traveled through that buzzing feeling. It was painless, but she noticed that her head and chest seemed a little more sensitive to that feeling than the rest of her body.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself looking at the cage, but this time she was outside of it. Now, it was empty. Chell glanced behind herself over her shoulder and glimpsed another perspective of the interior of the same, empty cage.

“This isn’t possible,”

Chell thought.

“It has to be a trick.”

She walked up to the cage to get a closer look, to investigate and try to make sense of it for herself, but when she stepped up to the metal bars, she felt something hard beneath the toe of her boot.

Glancing down, Chell moved her foot and saw a small, gray stone that was perfectly round. The thing she had accidentally kicked through the portal. It would have been perfectly unremarkable if she had seen it anywhere else, but it looked wildly out of place in this room, white, empty, and pristine. She picked it up to examine it, but was interrupted before she could get very far.

“Please proceed into the next chamber,” said the announcer, his voice once again echoing through the room. This time, Chell looked around to find the source of the sound and saw metal horn-shaped things where the sound must have been coming from in the upper corners by the ceiling. She also noticed a large pane of glass stained completely black, also high above her touching the corner where the wall and the ceiling met. The dark glass stood out among the white panels of the walls. She couldn’t see through it, but swore she could see a shadow moving on the other side.

Chell shoved the rock absentmindedly into her trouser pocket, then followed the perimeter of the white room, around the cage that no longer held her, and through an open doorway into the next chamber.

BANG.

A wooden door slammed closed behind her. She imagined she would have to get used to that as the trials continued. This time, she didn’t even bother trying to open the door. She knew it would be no use. The best she could do was continue through the trials and see where it landed her.

This chamber had the same white walls and gray stone floor, but was slightly smaller than the previous one. It was practically empty, save a large wooden crate in the corner with thick leather on the edges and corners, and a square, wooden platform painted red in the center of the stone floor, raised slightly above the ground. Another handleless wooden door was across the room from where she entered, tightly closed, and another pane of dark stained glass overlooked the room high on the wall above her.

Chell walked to the red, raised platform first to inspect it, and stepped onto the edge. She was surprised when the entire platform moved beneath her feet, sinking until it was level with the rest of the floor. The small

ding

of a bell drew her attention from the red platform to the door in front of her which was now wide open.

“Simple enough,”

Chell thought to herself as she walked towards the open doorway, stepping off of the small red platform.

BANG.

The wood door slammed shut again before she could make it through. Chell turned around to look at the platform again and noticed that it was no longer level with the ground. Instead it was raised a few inches above it like it had been before. Chell thought harder. She pressed the platform down once again with one foot and watched the door open. She removed her foot and the door shut.

“So, the platform needs to be held down for the door to stay open.”

She turned her attention to the crate in the corner made of wood panels and leather,

“If it’s heavy enough…”

With some effort, Chell picked up the cube — which was heavier than it looked — walked it over to the platform, and set it on top. The platform depressed under the weight of the box, and the door opened with that victorious

ding

. She couldn’t help but feel a little satisfaction as she walked through the open doorway, entering a short passage.

She wasn’t as startled this time when the voice of the announcer filled the hallway, “Excellent. Please proceed into the hoist after completing each test.”

Chell sighed. It appeared she was going to be getting used to taking the lift whether she liked it or not.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

In her cell, Chell sat on a tattered blanket spread over the wooden platform that could barely be called a bed. Leaning her back against the cold stone wall, she replayed everything that happened that day in her mind again and again, utterly bewildered. She felt as if she had a million questions running figure-eights inside her head, but when she thought about what she would ask if given the opportunity, she could think of nothing. Locked in the dungeon, she did the only thing she could and searched her memory for clues, thinking back over the events of the day.

After making it out of the chamber with the cage, and the other that opened to the stone corridor, she had followed it to another metal hoist which took her upwards a short ways. When it stopped, Chell saw another open door and walked through it, having nowhere else to go. This time, she didn’t jump as much when the door shut behind her. Now, she found herself in a white-paneled passage next to a white painted sign that was mostly empty except for a large “1/19” painted on in black. She continued past the sign and through the rest of the corridor until she almost walked off the sharp edge of a large drop.

The distance from the edge of where she stood to the floor of the main chamber was just big enough to make her nervous. A jump — or a fall — from that height could have left her seriously injured. She tried searching for another way down, even going back and searching through the passage for anything she might have missed, but no such luck. After taking a substantial amount of time trying to think of another safer solution, she finally faced the fact that she would have to jump. To make it as painless as possible, she got on her stomach and shimmied until her legs were off the edge. From there, she did her best to lower herself carefully down, but the floor still looked to be a long ways away. Finally, hanging from the ledge by just her fingers, she made the jump before she could slip.

To Chell’s surprise, the landing was soft. The only thing she felt was the slight bounce of the curved piece of metal protruding from her boot, as if it had absorbed the shock of the landing.

“So that’s what the boots are for,” she thought to herself, “One mystery solved.”

Finally in the main chamber, Chell looked around to see it had been sectioned off by large panes of thick, clear glass. In the sectioned-off area right in front of her was another door, which she assumed was an exit, as well as a pane of dark stained glass in the wall. In the area behind the glass on her right was a familiar-looking wooden box with leather on the edges, and on her left was another red, square-shaped platform on the other side of the glass. A series of metallic clangs echoed above her. More pipes. Something struck the wall behind her, opening a portal lined in fiery orange. She heard more clangs to the side, muffled by the glass, when something struck the wall on the other side and opened a blue portal in the room with the wooden cube.

Before she could gather the courage to enter it, her view through the orange portal changed to the red platform. Confused, she took a step back and looked at the wall where the blue portal had appeared earlier, but it had disappeared. She heard muffled clangs in the area behind her, and suddenly she was looking at the closed exit.

After another cycle of portals changing places, it clicked. In through the orange, out through the blue, in through the orange again until finally, she had set the wooden box on top of the red platform, with only a couple of missteps along the way. She never quite got used to the bizarre buzzing feeling that rippled through her body every time she passed through a portal.

After that, it was out the exit and into the hoist for a much longer ride back up to the dungeon level of the castle. A pair of guards, different from the ones who had brought her there, awaited her at the top of the shaft, tied her up once again, and led her back to her cell.

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Hello?” said Wheatley. Chell looked through the crossbars of the small, circular window and saw blue eyes beneath gold-colored eyebrows peeking in. “May I come in?”

Chell stared blankly back at him.

“Um, did you hear me? I’ve brought your evening meal, and— but— well, I can’t bring it to you unless I come in, you see.”

No response.

“Uh, alright, so here’s an idea. How about you blink once for ‘yes’ and twice for — well, unfortunately not for ‘no’ — see, I sort of have to come in whether you like it or not, but it’s the least I can do to ask, you know. It’s the polite thing to do.”

Wheatley waited, but Chell didn’t blink.

“Right, why would I bother being polite to you?” He sighed, not annoyed, not offended, but resigned. Through the grate over the window, she could see his eyes shift downward at the same time she heard the jangle of metal from the other side of the door. “Coming in, then.”

Chell looked away and resumed thinking, ignoring the click of the lock and the creak of the door as it swung open on rusty hinges. She thought back once again to the beginning of the day. The long ride down in the hoist, the cage, the magic holes in the walls…

She recalled the perfectly round stone, no bigger than an inch across, that she had found after passing through the first portal. It felt almost weightless in her hand. For something so simple, it seemed so out of place in the otherwise pristine room. Was that the thing that had come banging and clanging out of the metal pipes? She pulled the stone out from her pocket and inspected it as she rolled it around carefully between her fingers.

“—have to take my word for it this time that the food’s not poisoned. I won’t be having a repeat of this morning. That was risky enough, even if— WHATISTHATWHYDOYOUHAVEITAREYOUMAD—” Chell flinched at his sudden shouting, and looked up to see Wheatley flailing his limbs as his panicked ramblings quickly devolved into what sounded like gibberish. She was, however, able to pick up a couple words here and there, like “done for”, “incinerator”, and “pecked by birds”.

Finally, mid-panic, he ran out of wind and heaved a large gasp of air, which calmed him down just enough to speak coherently again.

“What were you bloody thinking? How did you even get away with this?” he asked, quieter this time and no longer panicked, but still alarmed. “It’s all any of the royal scientists can talk about! They’ve searched everywhere for that thing, whatever it is, before the Queen or any of her informants find out, because apparently, if She finds out about this— well, that’s the end of the line for me, you, everyone even remotely involved with the trials.” He shuddered at the thought.

Chell’s eyes widened. “All this for a pebble?” she wondered. Did she trust what Wheatley was saying? It seemed a little far-fetched. “But compared to everything else that happened today…”

Chell held the pebble out to Wheatley who was now sitting on the floor in distress, leaning up against one of the walls, which wasn’t that far away in such a small cell. He looked up at her hand and did a double take before flinching away from it as if she had just tried to stick him with something sharp — or, based on his reaction from that morning, as if she had offered him another bowl of potato-ey breakfast gruel.

“No! Keep that thing away from me! Are you being serious right now? No way am I going to become an accomplice to one of your evil schemes again. They’ll have my head if I hand this over to them. They’ll think I’m the one who took it.”

Chell offered it again, more insistent, but he pushed her hand away, “Look, mate, you’ll just have to keep it, hide it somewhere safe. Even if I return it anonymously, that means they would know that someone had it, and that someone was secretly hiding it. First off, that would mean loads of paperwork. Second, that would mean they would try to figure out who that someone is, do a whole investigation, find out it was me because I’m a horrendous liar, and then execute me. After they make me do all that paperwork, assuming it doesn’t kill me first. Right now, there’s still a chance that rock you have there could still just be lost somewhere in the testing chambers. They don’t have a reason to suspect anything. Well, except for spies from the kingdom of Black Mesa I suppose, but you hardly look like one at all. Never seen one — not that I know of anyway — but I’d imagine they wouldn’t be near as—” He paused, eyes going wide, and… was he blushing? There wasn’t enough light to be able to tell for sure. “— um, quiet. Yeah. Quiet. Yes, that was definitely what I was going to say just now.”

He looked down sheepishly. He really was a bad liar. Chell felt the corners of her mouth turn up just slightly.

She quickly caught herself and resumed her usual straight, stone face. Did she really almost smile in here, where she had been taken prisoner? She knew better than that. She couldn’t let her guard down.

Luckily, Wheatley didn’t appear to have noticed anything and resumed talking, looking at his hands in his lap. “A bit weird, isn’t it? The scientists won’t say what’s so special about it, just that they need to find it. Makes you wonder why all the fuss over a silly little rock.”

Chell just shrugged. Wheatley opened his mouth once again to continue blabbing, but was interrupted by the sound of Chell’s stomach groaning in protest.

“Oh, that’s right. Your meal! Sorry, got a little distracted there by the prospect of my own execution and all,” he said. He scrambled to his feet, bumping his head on the ceiling in the process. He winced and rubbed the sore spot on his head, tousling his already-messy strawberry blond hair. Stooping down to avoid further injury, Wheatley retrieved the tray of food as well as a cup of water from where he had placed it on top of the barrel in the corner and set it down next to her on the platform where she was seated, then returned to his place sitting on the floor near the wall.

“I managed to get some meat for you. I figure you’ve been through a lot in the last two days, and besides, you’ll need as much strength as you can get,” he said. He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “And, well, consider it a peace offering. Here I’ve been, getting on your case for not having any manners, but I haven’t exactly been pleasant to you either since you’ve arrived. Truce?”

He held out his hand for a handshake. Chell looked at it but didn’t move.

“Well— erm— alright then. I suppose that’s fair enough,” He said, awkwardly pulling his hand back, looking slightly dejected. “I’ll just let you eat in peace then.”

She kept looking at him, but he didn’t move from his place on the floor.

“Oh, sorry. I do have to stay in here until you’re finished with your meal. Dungeon policy, I’m afraid. I can be quiet though. You won’t even know I’m here.”

She definitely did know he was there, and he definitely wasn’t quiet for more than a few seconds before he’d find something else to say, all of it of little to no importance. She sighed and ate her meal of a chunk of bread, some kind of watery soup that had gone cold with chopped carrots and potatoes, and a small piece of salted meat. Wheatley had made it seem like he had gone to some trouble to get it for her.

The meal was bland and unsatisfying, besides the meat which was savory, but still tough. Overall, though, it was a major improvement from breakfast, and Chell was grateful for that.

“—not like I always need to fill the silen— oh, would you look at that, you’re finished,” said Wheatley. Chell imagined that whatever magic spell had kept him from shutting his mouth for longer than was necessary to take a breath was finally broken. At least, for now.

Wheatley rose to his feet, his legs stiff from sitting on the cold, hard ground. “I’ll collect the dishes,” he said, reaching for the tray with the cup, bowl, and spoon, all made of wood that was starting to splinter in places. “Can’t be leaving you with deadly weapons like these,” he joked as he took the spoon — which Chell imagined could do about as much damage as the pebble in her pocket — and waved it in the air in front of him as if it were a sword.

In his stunt, he stood up too high and hit his head against the ceiling, harder this time. He yelped, falling on his backside and dropping all of the dishes which clattered loudly as they hit the ground. He laid on the stone floor and moaned as he rubbed his head to soothe the spot that would likely become a large goose egg. “See? What did I tell you? Lethal weapons, those are. Nearly killed me.”

This time, Chell couldn’t hold back her smile. She barely managed to hold back a laugh. Wheatley did a double take as he sat up from his position on the floor.

“Was that… Yes, it most definitely was, wasn’t it?” said Wheatley, totally fascinated as he looked back at her through his large, round spectacles. “I didn’t think you had it in you. A smile, that is.”

That took Chell by surprise. She straightened her face as quickly as she could, but it was too late. He’d seen her crack.

“Oh, come on, I’m only joking. And besides, you can’t be like that all the time. Don’t worry, I’ll keep your secret,” He said with a mischievous wink. Chell, however, narrowed her stone face into a spiteful glare right at Wheatley before turning away from him. She laid down on the hard, wooden platform and faced the wall, away from Wheatley, and wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

She waited for him to say something else, but after a few beats of out-of-character silence, he just sighed. She heard the door swing open and shut, and the jangle of keys as they turned in the lock.

“Goodnight, then,” muttered Wheatley.

*****

Chell hardly slept that night. The cold air seemed to seep in through not just the thin, tattered blanket, but through her skin all the way to her bones. She was covered in goosebumps. It seemed every time her eyelids began to droop, either a large shiver or the sound of her teeth chattering would jolt her awake.

The chill wasn’t the only thing that kept her awake, though. Her mind still couldn’t rest from the events of that day, and Wheatley’s visit only sparked more questions. Like the way he reacted when he saw the rock… What was so special about that pebble that Queen Caroline would order executions over it? And how would Chell keep it safe? It had only gone missing after she had gone through that first testing chamber and picked it up. Surely if it really was so important — and if the royal scientists had half a brain — they would search her for it eventually.

And the worst part of all. Wheatley had not only gotten a smile out of her, but he had seen it, too. She groaned at the thought. How could she have let that happen? She’d been here one day, as a prisoner no less, and her guard was already starting to slip.

Eventually, she did manage to fall asleep, if only for an hour or two. She was awoken by the click of a lock.

“Morning,” Wheatley mumbled. Chell was facing the wall away from him, but she didn’t need to see him to know that he was tense. After the way she had acted towards him last night, she couldn’t be too surprised. “Oh, well. It’s probably for the best, anyway.”

“I’ve brought your breakfa— oh no, that doesn't look too good,” said Wheatley, rushing to her side. She was in the process of sitting up, but her frozen joints made it visibly difficult. Although she was no longer covered in goosebumps, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and the tops of her ears were now bright red. Her upper lip glistened, despite looking dry and chapped, and she had discarded her blanket, which hadn’t done her any good the whole night and was probably infested with fleas, anyway.

“Alright — now don’t panic, there’s nothing to worry about — but you are practically frozen solid. So, um— just stay right here for now. I think I have an idea,” said Wheatley, rushing out the door and into the hallway.

After he left, it occurred to Chell that the servant had left the door unlocked behind him. This may be her only chance to escape. She had no plan on how she would make it happen, but she couldn’t let this chance pass her by. She felt her legs stretch as she stood from the wooden platform she had slept on, and carefully made her way to the door, which swung open silently.

Chell peeked out into the hallway. On her left, she saw Wheatley a small ways away trying to free a torch from where it was hung on the wall. She looked to her right, which appeared to be clear. This was her chance. She took a careful step into the hallway.

“What are you thinking?” Wheatley hissed, suddenly right next to her. He must have spotted her once her back was turned. “Get back in there before they see you!”

She did her best to resist as he pushed her back inside her cell and followed her in with the torch. He shut the door behind him securely this time, retrieving the breakfast tray from its place on the barrel in the corner and setting it down on the bed next to Chell, where she had sat down with her arms crossed defiantly.

“Listen, I don’t know why you would follow me out there, but there are guards patrolling this dungeon twenty-four seven, and if they catch even a glimpse of anyone who’s not where they should be, they’ll kill you. No questions asked. No mercy. Especially for prisone— oh, right, you’re freezing.” He sat on the floor near where Chell had sat on her bed and held up the torch for warmth. He sighed. “Why would you follow me out there, anyway? I was coming right ba— oh. Oh…”

His eyebrows lifted as the realization hit him. “You were going to try to escape just then, weren’t you? I— I don’t believe it…” He shook his head slowly before pulling his legs up to his chest and resting his free arm that wasn’t holding up the torch and his pointed chin on his knees. This time, he actually went completely silent. He stared at a spot on the cold, stone floor, apparently lost in thought.

Despite Chell’s plans to escape — or rather, lack of plans — just now being foiled, she decided to relish this moment of peace. She was enjoying a meal of stale bread, some slightly mushy berries, and even a boiled egg, which at this point seemed like a very generous offering to a prisoner. The torch provided warmth, and Wheatley was actually quiet for once. She closed her eyes as she popped a bright red berry into her mouth. It was tart and overripe, but she couldn’t complain.

After she finished her meal, Wheatley’s brows were furrowed in contemplation so deep that Chell had to nudge him with the empty tray to break him out of it. Other than a mumbled “huh?” followed by a few oh’s and um’s, he wordlessly took the plate from her, not even bothering to look in her direction, then left the cell.

This time, he locked the door tightly behind him.

*****

Chell was sitting on her bed, boots strapped to her feet, when the guards came to retrieve her from the cell. This time, however, one of them carried a large axe. She stiffened at the sight of it. Were they here to kill her? What had she done to deserve—

Oh.

The stone.

That little pebble that for some reason had the weight of the entire kingdom resting on it. Did they know she had it? Would they cut her down just to get at it? The guard carrying the axe stepped forward, and she braced herself, but rather than kill her on the spot, he roughly grabbed her by the arm and shoved her toward the other guard who made quick work of tying her hands behind her back.

None of the guards said anything as the one holding the axe searched the room. It was small, so it didn’t take long for him to scour the floor and underneath the wood platform on the wall where Chell slept. Other than small piles of dirt that had gathered in the corners, it was completely empty. Then, he turned toward the barrel in the corner.

With both hands he hefted his axe above his shoulder and swung hard. Chell flinched as chips of wood seemed to burst from the hit, scattering around the room. He swung again, and again, until all that was left was a pile of debris where the barrel once stood.

“No sign of it, sir,” said the guard, standing over the splintered pieces of wood.

The other guard who had tied her up now shoved her against the wall. “Where. Is. That. Stone?” he hissed, a few drops of spit hit her face.

She looked up at the guard but gave no reaction. That only made him even more angry.

“Pat her down,” he ordered the other guard, who set down the axe and started patting at her sides, then reached into the pockets of her trousers which were tucked into her boots at the knees.

“Take off your boots,” he ordered.

Chell stooped down to unlace the boots enough to pull them off, then placed her bare feet on the cold, stone floor. One at a time, he turned the boots upside down, then reached inside to feel for the pebble.

“Still nothing, sir.”

“It wasn’t her then,” growled the guard who Chell assumed was the superior officer, “Knew this was a waste of time. As if a test subject could pull off something like this.”

With the search finished, at least for now, the guards led Chell out the door to return to the testing chambers.

Little did they know, they had walked right past the very thing they were looking for.