The Hidden Secret

Randomly testing magic spells didn't really work at all. Among Aayla's small assortment of spells, nothing seemed to trigger any reaction what so ever. So, she resorted to other methods. Just like with her bracelets, Aayla tried smashing, hitting and pulling the tiles. She tried scratching different runes and Ancient Celes words into the tiles.

To her pleasant surprise, that actually yielded some results. A purple tile reacted to the pure mana that Aayla was attempting to draw a rune on the tile with. All of the tiles were some shade of blue, red, yellow, green and purple. All of the purple tiles responded to neutral mana.

Aayla glanced at the New Moon Bracelet. 'If purple represents neutral or pure mana, then the others probably represent the other elements. Later, I should check if that holds true for the gems on this bracelet as well.'

She soon frowned again. Manipulating elemental mana was something that Aayla long struggled with. No matter what Aayla did, this always seemed to be just beyond her capabilities. Lifestyle spells were one thing, but basic elemental spells gave her a headache.

Taking a deep breath, Aayla closed her eyes and put her hand on a green tile. A faint glow covered the tile. Her hand trembled as she tried to push the tile away from her. It suddenly jerked to a start. Then it stopped just as suddenly.

Ever so slowly, she slid the tiles across the ground. Eventually a shape was formed on the ground. It looked like the old Nafriton emblem that was still etched on the older statues and buildings. With that image in mind, her work went a lot faster.

The last tile moved into place just as the last of her mana was spent. Aayla plopped to the ground from her knees and felt the floor's coolness seeping into her skin. If she had never gained magic, then she might have been trapped in the maze forever.

With that cheery thought, Aayla picked herself up and moved through the now open doorway. The plaza was spacious, with only the stone stele inside. The passage way in the hedges automatically closed behind her after she finished.

Aayla circled around the stone stele, but all that she could find were some words etched into the sides. Each one said the same thing. Aayla gritted her teeth in annoyance. One semester's worth of Ancient Celes wasn't enough to decipher it.

Just as she walked around it one more time, a glowing circle appeared on the floor below her. Aayla jumped to the side. Before she moved an inch, a bright light filled the plaza. When her vision cleared, Aayla had jumped straight into someone.

Both of them tumbled to the ground with loud thuds. Aayla groaned as she rolled off of the person. She could feel the bruise forming on her head. The familiar rear courtyard entered her vision. Behind her, the gate shut with a slam.

Aayla had returned safe and sound. Ramona was only slightly less than terribly worried that something had gone wrong.

**********

Time flowed more quickly after that. The researchers greedily took the recording artifact away for deciphering. They squealed in excitement as they looked through the data. Aayla didn't get the stone stele, so the rest of the data would have to do. She was soon ignored after serving her purpose. Aayla was too tired to care, but Ramona quietly noted this little incident in her heart to bring up later.

The next couple of weeks were spent completing intensive interviews and a couple more trials in the maze. They went so much faster with the extra information the researchers provided. Though Aayla did have to physically grab one of them to coax the information out of. The researchers barely had time to eat let alone answer a student's questions. A few quiet threats to cut some funding from a certain miffed deputy headmaster may have also played a role.

After the latest trial, Aayla flopped down on her bed. Her single person room was decently sized, though an odd long and narrow shape like that of a rectangle. The window was a bit too small. Apparently, the window was actually fake. So were the outside noises like the bird songs. The window acted more like a small television. The image and noises were broadcasted from the real things outside.

She casually flipped through her potential views. The outside was relatively peaceful, aside from the gremlins subtly sneaking into the rear courtyard again. Aayla smiled as she watched the gremlins skulk about. Spicy chili powder for the coffee here, unnumbered papers shuffled up there. They gleefully made life harder for the completely research absorbed staff.

Hehe. They deserved it. Like she would forgive them for using her as a test subject. An UNPAID test subject. Tch. If they were going to use the fruits of her labor, then they should at least pay her for it.

Her free entertainment only lasted for a short while before someone finally caught on. The gremlins promptly fled, and the rear courtyard became peaceful again. Aside from the delayed discovery of a few well-hidden pranks.

Aayla rolled over and sighed. She had so much free time now that she didn't know what to do with herself. Ramona and Deputy Downer rarely showed their faces around here anymore. Something was going on outside of campus that had the head faculty incredibly anxious. She heard a few bits and pieces about it from the research staff, but they were usually too absorbed in their work.

Whatever was going on, the headmaster and deputy headmasters were very busy. The mayor of Forest Waypoint even came over to talk just a few days ago. Aayla's teeth itched to not know anything. Ramona would just smile and tell her to stay on campus instead of telling her anything. Which was fine in a way. Aayla's recently developed shut-in tendency had been flaring up lately.

She grabbed her watch. The day had grown late, and the researchers would soon be leaving. Today was New Year's Eve on Tellus. Ramona would likely be too busy to celebrate. Aayla missed her family more than ever.

The back wall grabbed her eye again. This wall was made of precisely carved stones laid on top of each other with thin layers of mortar. Her other three walls were wood covered with wallpaper. The stone wall was one of the two shorter ends of the rectangle. The other narrow wall was linked with her neighbors in the Women's Wing.

Aayla rubbed her hand over the bumpy stonework. She always found it strange that her room had one stone wall. The rooms in the two floors above her also had the same stone walls, but no one else in the Women's Wing did.

Maybe she could decorate it a bit. The grey wall just seemed so dreary. During winter break, she should finally have the time. Carefully feeling for some good hanging spots, her hand finally found a tiny hole in the stone work.

Upon closer inspection, it looked like a tiny keyhole. Aayla dug around in her desk for the set of keys that the headmaster gave to her at the beginning of the year. Three were left. One of them was much smaller than the rest. Feeling adventurous, Aayla pushed the key into the lock and twisted.

A loud clack rang out from behind the wall. Aayla quickly pulled out the key. The wall cracked open to the low grinding sound of a clogged sink disposal. A cloud of dust rushed into the room. Aayla coughed and gagged as she ran out into the hallway. She waived her hands to get rid of the filth.

"Dormi, could you *cough* do something *gag* about all this dust? *cough* *cough*"

With a whirling noise, the dust was sucked away into vents in the ceiling. She could hear angry gremlin screeches within seconds. Clearly, they were not too happy about the surprise dusting.

Aayla cautiously stepped back into her room after the dust was cleared. The wall had opened to reveal a darkened interior room. Multicolored lights flickered in the distance. Aayla peeked inside from a distance. Something soft gently nudged her forward.

When she turned her head, Aayla saw that her sheets had lifted off of her bed like a snake. They were gently pushing her forward.

"Do you want me to go forward now? Shouldn't I get a staff member?"

Dormi simply pushed her harder. Aayla thought for a moment, then decisively stepped into the dark room. There's no way that Dormi would put her in danger, right?

A familiar whirring sound echoed throughout the room. A few rags and mops flew in from behind her and began to clean. The clouds of dust disappeared into the ceiling while the rags and mops began to wipe away whatever was left. Shelves stacked with books and scrolls emerged from under the dust. Candles and lamps flickered to life as she passed them.

At the end of the room, enormous stained-glass windows covered most of the wall. Aayla had discovered the source of the multicolored lights. A small reading area was set up underneath the windows. A metal spiral staircase stood in the center of the room. The gate was locked tightly and refused to budge.

A flash of realization flickered across Aayla's face. A secret library was above the foyer and lounge! But why was the access point in her room?