Alya finishes studying the letter and places it down on a small worn looking pedestal beside the door. The pedestal seemed to be made out of an old wood and had definitely seen better days; it had a round top with a small potted plant sitting at the centre which she placed the mysterious letter next to.
Carefully and slowly Alya then presses her ear against the door to see if she can hear anyone or anything standing behind it. Hearing nothing and seeing no shadows through the gap under the door; she readies herself before placing her hand on the key within the lock and begins to turn it slowly.
As the key completes its full turning motion within the lock, the latch clicks open and snaps into place with a loud and unexpected thud! Before Alya can compose herself and process what had just happened, she panics and freezes up leaving herself vulnerable to whomever was on the other side of the door.
For what seemed like an eternity as time stopped, Alya stood there unable to move while processing a thousand questions at once... "Why did she do something so stupid?", "Why had she not tested the lock when first getting the room?", "Would she be able to react to a well prepared and trained intruder on the other side in time?" "Why had nobody rushed the door when they had heard the lock open?"
In reality it took only a few seconds for Alya's instincts to take over and swing the door open with amazing speed. She even managed to raise her dagger into a throwing position before any light could enter the room, ready to kill whoever was standing there.
