Stories for Seven Year Olds by McGrath Michele

Author:McGrath, Michele [McGrath, Michele]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2013-12-09T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Shannon waited anxiously, peering down into the banqueting room. The minutes dragged and nothing happened. Then there was a flurry of movement and Mina came in, carrying a pitcher in both hands. The men weren’t paying any attention to her. They were still watching the tumblers, who had now formed themselves into a tall pyramid in front of them. Mina served the Sultan first and then she moved behind Prince Hassan. She pretended to drop the cloth she had been using to catch the drips and knelt down...

Shannon was so intent on the scene below her, that she was blind and deaf to anything else. A hand suddenly grabbed her arm and she almost jumped out of her skin. She spun round. One of the palace guards loomed over her. She took one frightened glance at his hairy belly and jewelled belt, then she twisted violently. She was slippery with sweat and pure terror gave her a strength she did not know she had. For an instant his hand slipped and she tore herself free. She dodged him and bolted through the hangings and out into the corridor. She had no idea which way to go, she just ran. The guard came after her, his feet pounding closer and closer. She shot down a flight of stairs, jumping down several steps at a time. The guard couldn’t manage that. He wasn’t frightened and she was. On the straight he nearly reached her, but she rounded the corners more quickly than he did.

Another flight of stairs and another. Down and down. A long tunnel-like passageway lit by flickering torches. The guard was still behind her, but had fallen back, as if he was tiring. Openings in the passage wall, bars and a glimpse of dirty human faces. Cells with prisoners in them! The dungeons! She had run right down to them. No wonder the guard had slowed down. She was in a trap! She kept running forward, looking about her wildly. Was there anywhere to hide? The passageway was empty. She threw herself around a sharp corner. Another twist, another corridor, but this time a trunk stood beside one of the walls. The guard could not see her, hidden by the last corner. Hardly daring to hope, she grabbed the trunk’s lid. It opened! She dived inside on top of some rusting weapons and iron chains which stuck into her ribs. She stopped herself yelling out and held her breath. The lid had barely closed when the guard’s footsteps charged past her. They faded and she hopped out, running back the way she had come. She reached the prison cells, before she heard the footsteps once again. A couple of the prisoners watched and cheered her on. Her breath came in gasps and she felt dreadfully tired, but the guard had begun to wheeze and was losing ground.

Shannon threw herself up the stairs, panting, her legs aching with the strain. At the top, she turned in the opposite direction to the way she had come before.

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