Free At Last

"It's over there by th-" was as far as Astra got when suddenly, the shackles binding her to the cavern wall flew open with a pop! and she tumbled to the floor.

"Oh!" Paula exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

"I'm - I'm fine," Astra said, a bit shocked. "How odd. All this time and they just fall open. Why in the world..."

"Look at you!" Berenice interrupted. "You're naked! We've got to find you some clothes or something!"

Astra shook her head. "A weapon is of greater importance. The dragon or his minions may still be loose in these caves. See if you can find anything we can use."

Frantically, the four of them searched all around the tiny cave until Astra found a small dagger and a sling. "Well, it's no replacement for my sword," she said sadly, belancing the knife, "But it will have to do. Can any of you handle a weapon?"

Both Berenice and Paula shook their heads, eyeing the crude sling nervously. "I think I can," Frederica said with a shrug.

"Here," Astra said, "Give it a try."

The other girls' skepticism turned quickly to astonishment as the Princess proved quite adept at handling the weapon, managing to even knock Astra's knife out of her hand.

"I must say, I'm impressed," Astra admitted. "You don't usually find such skill in ladies of royal lineage - at least not the ones outside Aqualaria."

"Believe me, I learned this the hard way," Frederica said with a sad smile. "Now, what do you propose we do?"

1. "Let's take the lefthand passage out from here." Astra said.
2. "Let's take the righthand passage out from here." Astra said.
3. "There's a tunnel over in the corner," Astra said. "It's probably the safest way out."
4. "Hold it!" said Berenice, again. "Why does she get to pick?!"

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