"Where are you girl?" Jasper bellowed angrily "I know you are here somewhere! "
Nicola had no doubt the sinister sorceror was referring to her but, miraculously he had walked past her hiding spot without noticing.
"I can assure you there is no escape from here so you may as well show yourself now" Jasper threatened "the longer you keep this going the worse your punishment is going to be when I catch up with you!"
Nicola wasn't about to give into this creep. She was terrified of course, but she had always been a headstrong, resilient girl and wasn"t ready to admit defeat however unfavourable the odds seemed to be. Escaping without being seen seemed to be her only possible route to safety. She remained silent.
"Congratulations! You've just made things much worse for yourself!" the wizard seethed after a while. The footsteps then moved quickly away from Nicola before she heard one of the side doors creak then slam shut.
Realising the coast was clear, Nicola emerged from under the table and scanned her surroundings. Her hiding place wouldn't have protected her for much longer. She needed to move quickly though any route she could take was a journey into the unknown in such a huge building.
Wanting to put as much distance between herself and Jasper as possible, the naked young woman ran up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her. Looking round the first floor most of the rooms seemed to be guarding their secrets behind locked doors, though one was ajar with light shining from it. Hearing a door rattling downstairs Nicola had no choice but to dart through the open door. As soon as she entered the mystery room her heart almost stopped.
"Hello" the rooms occupier greeted her.