Ghost in the Roses

Chapter 15

Once again, I'm back at the library. There are still too many blanks to fill in and what information Lada gave me doesn't satisfy me. Something's missing. Something is left out. There are always two sides to a story and so far, I got only one.

"What are you looking for?" Kai interrupts my search for the right crystal.

"Hu?" I'm only half way here.

"Why are you so restless? What's gotten into you?" he takes me by the chin and makes me look at him.

I sigh, "What do you know about Prince Vita?"

"Who?"

"Prince Vita? The eldest brother of the current Green Queen?" my impatience gets the best of me.

"He's dead. His sister was the next in line for the throne," he states the obvious that even a toddler could recite.

"And she took the crown, because he got sick and died in a hospital. Yes, that I know. Everyone knows that."

"What else do you want to know about a dead man?" unfazed by my attitude, he polishes a late harvest's apple against his wooly sleeve.

"I want to know more about the Ruslaevn family tree. I want to know who Prince Vita was before he died."

"Calm down, Adrien," satisfied with the fruit's cleanliness, his bite pierces through its red skin.

"I'm sorry, but this is really important," my overwhelmed eyes close.

"Why are you guys talking about Vita The Terrible?" Nina sneaks up behind Kai and snatches the apple out his unsuspecting hand.

"Vita The Terrible? Why do you call him that?" I'm intirged by the possibility that she might actually know something useful about this character.

"That's what we call him back home. Every parent tells their kid about Vita The Terrible and how he goes into you house through the milk door and takes you away if you're been bad all year long. You guys don't know the story?" she's amazed by our lack of this folklore knowledge.

"Vita the Terrible? Why does your village call him that?"

"It's a local folktale to scare kids into behaving and not skipping school. I guess your village hasn't heard of it."

"No, not at all. Tell me," like a child hungry for a suspenseful story, I beg her.

"Alright then, settle down and cuddle near children. It's story time," she teases us with a motherly tone.

I admit it. As strict as she is, Nina has some funny in her bones.

Kai and I let her go on.

" A long time ago, but not as long as you might think there was a dark spirit that had no mercy or love for children. This spirit is called Vita The Terrible. Every parent feared that if their child doesn't learn to be good by the age of ten, that he or she can be a target of being taken away by this spirit," A theatrical side of Nina comes out. "But, there was also a good spirit named Kati who loved children. She believed in second chances and that people can change eventually, so she made a deal with her brother spirit and he agreed that he will wait three years longer till the child is a child is no more at the age of thirteen. They both agreed that by the time one has reached young adulthood, that person can be held accountable. And it's only a matter of time, till he comes to collect you if you've been bad and there's no escaping his claws when he does. That's the end."

"Why would someone make up such a terrible story?" Kai frowns.

"I don't know. I suppose it was a convenient tale to tell the younger kids when the family goes out searching for a run-away teenager," Nina laughs, as if she is explaining this from past personal experience.