Laurent spent the next day exploring the castle. It seemed to go on forever, all winding passageways and crumbling halls full of moldering tapestries.
He twitched skittishly at every sound, ducking into shadows and listening, heart pounding, for the beast's approach, but he saw no sign of him.
On the third day, Laurent descended to the fountains and pools of the garden, following the water paths that tumbled down the sides of stairwells and poured into great basins. There were ivy-hung lagoons and fountains of sparkling jets. When the path ended before a great, vine-draped pool, Laurent stripped off his clothing and dove into the water, swimming through the dangling greenery into the hidden grotto behind.
On the fourth day, Laurent was finally beginning to relax again, trusting that the beast had decided that he was too unpleasant and too violent to be toyed with. He might be a prisoner here, but at least the monster was leaving him alone. He spent the day in the library, awed by the vast shelves of books rising in multiple tiers, twined with spiral staircases and balconies.
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He twitched skittishly at every sound, ducking into shadows and listening, heart pounding, for the beast's approach, but he saw no sign of him.
On the third day, Laurent descended to the fountains and pools of the garden, following the water paths that tumbled down the sides of stairwells and poured into great basins. There were ivy-hung lagoons and fountains of sparkling jets. When the path ended before a great, vine-draped pool, Laurent stripped off his clothing and dove into the water, swimming through the dangling greenery into the hidden grotto behind.
On the fourth day, Laurent was finally beginning to relax again, trusting that the beast had decided that he was too unpleasant and too violent to be toyed with. He might be a prisoner here, but at least the monster was leaving him alone. He spent the day in the library, awed by the vast shelves of books rising in multiple tiers, twined with spiral staircases and balconies.