"Hello? Anyone home?" Thérèse shouts causing an echo.

Bewildered she turns to look at Leonor, she has never experianced such a phenomenon.

"Hello! O... O... O..." She imitates the echo noise.

"Wowie do you hear that Princess? Someone's trying to talk to us."

"That's an echo, Thérèse. It means your voice is reflecting back at you... But it shouldn't be happening in here."

Thérèse continues to yell into the spacious hall but Leonor is more concerned with learning where everyone went.

They search the common areas but to no avail. No one in the halls, no one in the kitchen, dining room, garden, or recreation areas. It is a large castle but not impossible to traverse by foot.

"Where did everybody go Princess? Why is it empty?" Thérèse asks.

"I am... uncertain, but let us pray everyone is well."

Leonor places her palms together and looks up toward the sky. She delivers a short prayer while Thérèse imitates her.

Suddenly an idea comes to Leonor.

"Thérèse, around what time do you suppose it is right now?"

Thérèse ponders.

"Umm... I don't think it's morning anymore. Look! Mister sun is nice and high. Right above us!"

"Precisely Thérèse. Which means the time is approximately noon, and all my life I have always known one invariable constant that occurs during noon. Let's go."

Leonor takes Thérèse by the hand and they walk up the spiraling staircase into the royal bedrooms. Halfway through, Thérèse gets tired and Leonor carries her the rest of the way. Understandable since the bedrooms are located high up in one of the spires.

"Sorry for making you carry me Princess, my legs aren't long so they don't move very good like yours." Thérèse says.

"It's not a problem Thérèse, as a Princess it is my honor to serve my people. And that includes you." Leonor pats Thérèse on the head. "Beyond these doors we will find our answers."

Leonor pushes open a heavy looking wooden door, beyond it is an ill lit spacious room. Clothes are littered on the floor, drinking glasses are strewn about the furniture, some empty and some filled with dubious liquids. The air itself is stagnant and miasmic. Dark curtains prevent the sunlight from entering the room, and even if there were no curtains the sunlight would struggle to pierce through the physically thick air anyway.

"I feel dizzy again Princess." Thérèse says.

At the center lies a four poster canopy bed. The black curtains closed, veiling what they guard. Leonor approaches. She slowly pulls back the curtains.

Inside lays a girl sleeping sideways on the bed, her legs shamelessly splayed outwardly, her hair rests wildly on the bed, and a trail of dried drool leads back to the corner of her mouth.

"Wake up silly, don't you know it's the middle of the day?" Thérèse says to the girl and gives her a few shakes.

"Thérèse don't." Leonor quickly grabs Thérèse and pulls her behind her body.

"Ahh! Who dares wake me up." The girl shouts and kicks. "Oh it's you. What do you want? There better be a good reason for this."

Thérèse peers out from behind Leonor.

"What are you doing asleep? Don't you know it's wrong to sleep through the day?" Thérèse says.

The girl sits up on her bed and rubs the sleep away from her eyes. Her hair is blonde the same as Leonor, eyes blue just the same, and her skin white as snow as well. They were nearly indentical. If it were not for her chaotic sleeping position, a position which is unimaginable that Leonor would ever be in, you might think the girl in bed were her doppelganger.

"Leche, who's the brat?" She asks.

"Sofia this is Thérèse, I met her today near the Halloween market. Thérèse this is my younger sister, Princess Sofia." Leonor says.

"Wow another real life princess." Thérèse says.

Sofia stands up on her bed revealing her long blue night gown. 

"That's right and don't you forget it. My name is Princess Sofia, the better and prettier of the two sisters and you just broke into my room and rudely woke me up from my beauty sleep. I could have you arrested you know. I could send you to the dungeon and have you tortured for disrupting my sleep, which legally constitutes the high crime of treason in my eyes. Now you better explain what is so important that you decide to risk your life in order to awaken me." Sofia says.

"Sofia, the castle is empty. Not one person is here. Some time between when I went into town and returned it seems like everyone dissapeared." Leonor explains.

"That's it? Looks like you two have a date with the dungeon torturer tonight. Guards! My life is being threatened I have two intruders! Quickly take them! Help!" Sofia screams.

No one responds to the cries for help.

"Did you not listen, there is no one here. The castle is empty." Leonor says.

"Fine I'll do it myself, come on, let's go to the dungeon. Criminals must be punished." Sofia says as she jumps off her bed.

"Sofia this is serious."

"And you think I'm not? Come on, chop chop." Sofia whistles at them. "I want to hear your cries of pain."

"Princess Sofia!" Leonor shouts at her.

Sofia ceases.

"All right fine. Did you at least bring me my favorite Halloween treats while you were in town?"

"Yes, I brought plenty." Leonor returns.

"Even the chocolate marshmallow s'more éclairs?"

"Yes even that." Leonor answers.

"Well that settles it. All is now well, both of your violent crimes are hereby forgiven. Never forget that the beautiful Princess Sofia has taken mercy on you. Now thank me." Sofia demands.

"Thank you Princess." Thérèse says.

"I am pleased at your thanks. Now you too Leche, I need to hear it from you especially."

Leonor concedes.

"Thank you Princess Sofia for sparing my life."

"Perfect, let me get changed and we can discuss what happened to the people of the castle, you can meet me in the solarium, I need to work on getting my golden tan again."

"I need to give Thérèse a bath and a new change of clothes anyway so that will work just fine." Leonor says.

"I'll take my time getting ready then, depart from Princess Sofia's abode before I change my mind." Sofia says.

"Princess, while you're getting ready try and clean your room too and try to get some fresh air in." Says Thérèse.

She opens the curtains and windows flooding the room with light, revealing the abundant floating dust particles in the air.

Sofia hisses.

"Too much light!" She shouts as she dives under her bedsheets. "Get out already!"

Thérèse runs away giggling.

"You better give her a bath with cold water as penance Leche or I'll have to punish her myself." Sofia shouts from under the bedsheets.

Suddenly the ground begins to shake beneath their feet.

Thérèse runs back into the room and into Leonor's arms. 

"Princess what's going on?" Thérèse says.

"Yeah what's going on?" Repeats Sofia.

"I have a feeling we are about to find out." 

                       * * *

Thank you for reading! I would appreciate a comment friend, what did you like? what didn't you like?

Next time we will discover what is the cause of the shaking? Is it an earthquake or something worse? Can Princess Sofia help them unfold the mystery of where everyone has disappeared to?

What events will unfold for our Princess in her still abandoned Castle?

Read the next part to find out!