Dinner was a delicious cheese and tomato pizza with salad but Ella didn’t taste any of it. She gulped down her food, while the others whispered about fetching torches from upstairs.
“That lantern inside the door might not light the whole passageway,” said Rosalind. “We need to take torches just in case.”
Ella could see Molly sitting at a table nearby and caught the older girl looking at her a few times.
When they’d finished, Summer went back for the torches. The other girls hung around the entrance hall, waiting for a chance to slip into the Throne Room without anyone seeing.
Ella linked her fingers together, trying to stop her hands from shaking. She couldn’t bear the thought of Daisy all alone in the stone passageway. She hoped they would find her quickly.
Summer returned with the torches but it took a long time for all the other girls to leave the dining hall and go upstairs to their towers. At last the hallway emptied. The princesses slipped into the Throne Room without switching on the light, and closed the door behind them.
Ella went behind the throne and fumbled for the golden shell. “Here it is!” She pushed the shell and it slid sideways. There was a muffled clunk and the door in the corner swung open. Light poured into the room from the old-fashioned lantern on the alcove inside.
“Quickly!” hissed Rosalind. “Let’s go before someone comes in and finds us!”
The girls bundled into the stone passage and Lottie closed the door behind them.
“Wait, Lottie!” said Summer. “What if there isn’t a way to open the door from this side?”
“There must be!” said Lottie.
The girls looked at the door but there was no handle on the inside and no lever on the wall either.
“Er…sorry!” said Lottie. “I didn’t mean to shut us in. But there’ll be a way out at the other end, right?”
The others looked at each other worriedly.
Then Ella said, “There must be another way out. Let’s just find Daisy.”
Rosalind led the way along the stone corridor. After the first bend, the light from the lantern faded and the girls switched on their torches. Ella shone hers at the floor, hoping to see Daisy leaping along passage in front of them. She longed to find the little bunny and stroke her warm fur.
The passageway twisted again and again. The princesses followed it left and right, and their feet began to ache.
“I didn’t think we’d have to walk so far,” said Lottie. “It seems like we’ve been in here for a long time.”
“Ooh, look at the ceiling,” said Summer, shining her torch upwards. “There are golden shells up there that look just like the one on the back of the throne.”
The other girls looked up. “You’re right,” said Ella. “They have the same fan shape as the one that opened the mystery door. I hope that means we’re going the right way.”
They came to some steps and followed them downwards. At the bottom Rosalind stopped suddenly, making the others bump into her.
“Rosy! Don’t stop like that!” cried Lottie.
“Shh!” said Rosalind. “I can hear something.”
A low clanking noise came from above them, mixed with the sound of muffled voices.
“It sounds a bit like people washing up,” said Ella at last. “Do you think we’re below the kitchen?”
“Yes, we must be!” said Rosalind, her blue eyes gleaming. “And maybe that’s why Daisy came down here. Maybe she smelled vegetables and she felt hungry!”
“Let’s keep going,” said Lottie.
They hurried along the narrow corridor. The stone floor became uneven and Ella noticed that the walls were damp. The passageway opened out into a small, empty room.
“Look!” Ella shone her torch at the door. “There’s a way out and it has that golden shell on it again.”
“Hold on!” Rosalind frowned. “Where’s Daisy? She can’t have turned the handle and opened that door.”
“Look, there’s a hole.” Lottie shone her torch at a small gap at the bottom of the wall where a brick was missing. “I bet Daisy got out that way. It’s just the right size for a rabbit!”
Ella crouched down close to the hole and caught the smell of cooking. “You’re right – she could easily have gone through there.”
Lottie pulled at the door but it didn’t open. “It’s stuck! Now what are we going to do?”
Rosalind tried the door too. “I hope it’s not locked.”
“Let’s try pulling it at the same time,” suggested Ella, and she and Rosalind both took hold of the door handle.
“One, two, three, go!” said Rosalind, and they pulled together.
The door flew open, sending both girls flying backwards.
“Are you all right?” Summer asked, helping them up.
“I’m fine.” Ella rubbed her elbow. “I just hope no one heard the noise.”
“It’s all right – there’s no one here,” said Lottie, who had gone through to look around. “It looks like this is some kind of store room.”
The other princesses followed her into the room, closing the door carefully behind them. The room was quite small and had no windows. Tall cupboards lined the walls and baskets of fruit and vegetables were stacked to one side. Stone steps led up to a half-open door, and beyond that was the sound of people talking and banging saucepans.
“We must be right next to the kitchens,” muttered Rosalind.
“There’s no sign of Daisy though.” Summer shone her torch into the corners of the room.
“Poor Daisy!” said Ella. “I wish Molly hadn’t stopped us from looking earlier. We might have found her straightaway.” She ran up the steps to the half-open door, stopping when she heard a familiar voice.
“Where is my plate? I don’t want to wait for ever, you know,” said Lady Eggley snootily. “I’ve had a very busy day and I want to go to bed soon. Please hurry up and put my snacks on the trolley.”
Ella’s heart sank. Where was Daisy? If Lady Eggley caught sight of her they would all be in big trouble!