The Locket

Chapter 19- Nathaniel

I was walking toward the castle. I had asked Uncle Erik not to tell anyone I was the "Princess who hadn't been seen" for the time being. The guards let me in and stood at the door of the familiar hall.

Uncle was standing at the bottom of the steps that led to his throne, talking to a few other people. The discussion seemed serious. His face looked tense.

He saw me and smiled. He wrapped up the discussion with the others and signaled me to come inside.

"Hello, Uncle," I smiled brightly "How is everything going? Is everything alright? You looked kinda serious talking to those people..."

"Yeah," he said, rubbing his forehead "there was a complaint from some of the citizens."

"What happened?" I asked.

"They...spotted something." He said, uncomfortably

"What did they spot?" I asked, curious.

"Nothing, really," he said, nodding in a way which I think was supposed to be reassuring. "Must've been any other lady-"

"Come on," I pressed on "it has to be something interesting. Or else you would've told me. What lady?"

"Okay, well," he said, finally giving in "they thought they spotted, well, Ansley."

"Wait, what?" I said, now getting more and more curious by the second "But didn't you say-"

"They disappeared, yes," he said "that's why it can't be her."

"But," I said slowly "you said they were missing. Not deceased. It-it could be her!"

"But they don't have anywhere else to go," he said "You have the locket. They can't go to The Other Side."

"So they might still be here!" I said brightly "Maybe they had to run away because of The Voice?"

"Maybe..." He said "But let's not think of that now. This could just be any other story."
I heard the dismissal in his voice and figured there would be no reason to continue that topic. And then I remembered a question I had to ask him.

"Uncle?" I asked "What was the name of Ansley's son?"

"His name was Nathaniel." He said. I could hear the slight smile in his voice. "He was a curious little boy. And yet calm and collected. He was really smart. He had brown eyes. He also had this beautiful fluffy brown hair. It was the same color as his mother's, although his mother'swas silky and straight and his was fluffy."

I smiled. A cousin. If we find him, I'd find more family.

"He was also pretty tall at age seven." Uncle said.

"If we try..." I said "I feel like there's a chance that we find them. I just...have a gut feeling that they're here."

He hummed and nodded. There was a small silence.

"So," I said, breaking the silence "tell me more about Nathaniel."

"He loved the color brown," he chuckled "brown and red. Most of his clothes were gray, or red, or gray and red."

"Oh, and he hated the name Nathaniel. He asked everyone to call him Nathan."

Wait. I thought. Talk guy with fluffy brown hair and brown eyes. gray and red.

I looked back at the time when we were at school, and me and Lucy were making small talk with Nathan and Oliver. "My favorite colors are gray and red!" The brunette said happily. His bag was brown and red.

We were having roll call in class, when our teacher said "Nathaniel?"

"I prefer Nathan, Miss." Nathan mumbled, slightly red.

Oh my lord. It was Nathan all along. He was right there. He always was.