Belle followed behind Rav into what felt like a separate structure hidden beneath the castle, an underground basement where the air was cold and thick with dampness. Water dripped steadily from the low ceiling above the narrow staircase that led them downward, each drop echoing eerily off the stone walls. It felt like they were leaving the castle entirely, descending into another world beneath it.
Rav held a large lantern in one hand to light the way, casting flickering shadows on the wet stone. He had tried to talk her out of following him, warning her it wasn't a place for her to see, but Belle would hear nothing of it.
She had never gotten curious enough to walk to the basement part of the castle, and she looked around her in dread, wondering if Rohan was really down here. What would he be doing in a dark and abandoned place like this that seemed like it led to an underground dungeon? Belle wondered to herself.
