I'll be there // Lisa Peterson x reader

31 ♪ Castle Mystery pt. 8

I apologize for not updating since like March, my bad, I kind of forgot about this story. I may rewrite some parts and fuse some chapters together because they're so short, but hopefully there will be a steady flow of updates. I'm hoping to write at least once a week, probably more during the summer.

When I woke up the next morning I had one unread message.

Alex

Whenever you wake up, come to Silverglade village.                                                                                        And bring  a copy of the Jorvik Gazette!

Briefly scanning the room I grab an open newspaper on the table, most likely been read through by Maya this morning. Putting a light shirt on, I head out the door with the newspaper under my arm, feeling the cooling breeze of the wind. Shielding my eyes from the sun with my hand, I notice the lack of Thomas and a crowd of at least 10-11 people flocked around Jenna's usual hanging spot. The stable is much more quieter than the bustling and chaos that is outside, wherever Thomas is, I hope he returns soon, especially for the sake of Jenna.

I took the liberty of riding to Silverglade Village via Nilmers Highland, the wind once again being a welcoming cool against the summer warmth. The sound of engines breaking through the silence. "Move it" A familiar voice said; a lovable, yet oh, so hateable voice. "Hello to you too, Loretta." "I'm delivering drinks to the workers at the bridge, move it." "You can ride around me you know." "N/N, can I call you N/N? I'm gonna call you N/N. We're friends, right? How about either A) you move it so I can deliver these drinks and get back to managing my club and searching for Justin OR B) you take these drinks to the bridge for me." Loretta pulled her horse, Bartok up next to me, and inadvertently proving my point that she could walk past me had she not decided to be a pain in the ass. 

"If I move will you be happy then?" I groan, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Very" the smug on Loretta's face was evident in her voice. An exasperated sigh escaped me as I pulled onto the grass, letting Loretta pass me with a brief and half-assed 'thanks'. "She is making it very hard to like her." I mumble, halfways to me and halfways to Rosie. The rest of the way however, went smoothly.

It took a hot second to locate Alex, actually, it was she that located me. For some reason she had decided to hide in between two walls and keeping direct eye contact with the post office. She waved me over to her little crawlspace hurriedly, as if the end of the world would happen any minute and if you weren't smooshed between two walls you'd be taken to the depths of hell. "Hello to you too" I chuckle, but I get immediately shushed by Alex. "Did you bring the newspaper?" Alex spoke quickly and in a hushed tone, staring down the postman as he ignorantly scrolled on his phone. 

"Yes..? Alex-" "SHH!! We can't be see-" Alex started extravagantly moving her arms around in the air, and before she even finished the sentence, she knocked one of the planks down from it's position on the wooden box, making a huge BANG sound. "Shit!" Alex pulled me down onto the grass. "Alex-" She shot me a knowing look before peeking over the boxes, the postman was still looking at his phone, oblivious to his surroundings. Alex turned her head towards me for the first time today. "I sent a letter to Mr. Sands, to see if he really is John Sandman." She spoke barely above a whisper "I need you to go up close to those tables over there and spy closer, I'm afraid my cover has been compromised." 

"Won't I be seen?" Alex shook her head at my question. "You've got the newspaper, sit down and pretend to read it! It's the best disguise ever!" She spoke with such excitement that I was almost convinced that wasn't the stupidest ideas in the world. Almost. "Are you sure that will work?" "Positive." "Alright" I walked over to the table as Alex ushered Rosie behind the house. 

About five to ten minutes later, a man looking like the one from the photograph in Firgrove walked up to the post office. He walked slowly, looked over his shoulder and briefly spoke to the postman, who scrambled to get his letter for him. And just as quietly as he entered, he left again, hiding the envelope in his trench coat. There was a thirty second grace period where everything was quiet. The wind was gone, there was no buzzing of bees or sounds of horses, even though there was a stable right outside of the Villages walls. Alex came walking down the path, whistling, trying to make herself seem innocent of a crime no one has accused her of. 

Plopping down in the chair next to me she looked at me. "You saw that right? That was Mr. Sandman! John Sandman and Mr. Sands are the same person! I knew it!" She shot me a triumphant smirk, before panic settled her face. "That means... Justin is in deep shit! Not only is he visiting his grandfather... he's probably going to be held captive!" Another realization dawned on Alex. "That's why the baroness has been acting differently! She's married to that guy!" She was practically shaking. "We need to confront the baroness about this." Alex shot up from her stool like a bullet and onto Tin-can. 

The Baroness looked mortified as Alex continued laying onto her. "This makes me seem like an old hag- Let me explain myself." The baroness sighed before looking around, making sure no one was listening. "It was a particularly rainy day, so I decided to take Linda away from her stable cares to help me clean the attic in the castle... Where she ended up finding a wedding picture... of me and Mr. Sandman." She was very careful with her wording, her cold and big demeanor she had previously shown when we spoke had completely feathered down into a nervous small body, as if the years had taken too much of a toll on her, taking a deep breath she resumed her monologue, "Linda recognized my husband as... you know... and confronted me about it! I panicked, and got Godrey to lock her up in the castle... it feels horrible but I can't destroy the reputation my family has built up over hundreds of years!" Her voice was so frail and weak, I wouldn't be surprised if she fell over dead on the spot.

"The part that freaks me out the most... I haven't seen my husband in over 50 years... yet he hasn't aged one day! He is not the man I thought I married... and when I found out I was pregnant, I left him. I had the child in secrecy and put him up for adoption so that horrible man would never find him." "Thomas..." I mumbled, earning a nod from the Baroness. "This is all a huge catastrophe... I am so ashamed... That Sabine girl... She has something to do with this, I can feel it... I'll help you two in any way I can. Just... keep my husband a secret, please?" The Baroness pleaded. "We will, right Y/N?" Alex looked at me. I nodded. The baroness looked at us, with something that appeared as a smile? I was unsure, maybe the sun was playing tricks on me. 

"I have something to give you two... Please give her my upmost apologies." The baroness fished out a key from around her neck and handed it to me. "Go free your friend now."

Alex wasn't one to be begged, and she bolted off on Tin-can towards the castle. I followed after, gaining on her by the second. Reaching the gate, Alex was practically exploding with... something. Nerves? Excitement? Who knows. Putting the key in the lock, the gate went almost automatically up. The only thing standing between us and Linda, was a wooden door we only had to push. That's all it is. One push. 

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