A Royal Bloodletting

Chapter 7 - Where In The World Is Elara

Day 1

Lucas stared at the worn cracked leather strapped that clung tightly to the golden watch his grandfather had given him. 44 hours. She's been gone for only two days but without her affectionate and delicate smile, it seemed like forever. At least I'll be able to file that missing person report today, he thought. Lucas's heart ached at the idea of never seeing Elara again. Two days ago he deemed himself a pathetic loser who ran out on the girl of his dreams in her most desperate time of need. That crushed him entirely, something broke inside of him that day. He was determined to no longer be that weak version of himself. Somehow he found a new courage inside of himself.

Lucas got up out of bed and pulled on some old jeans and a red polo feeling invigorated with this new superficial surge of power he obtained in less than a day. A fresh sense of kingly, dominating, soldering pride seemed to lead every step he took as he headed out the door to his old four-door Chevy and took off into town.

Today Lucas had a mission. He was out to recruit some of his friends to join him on another venture into that cursed house. His first stop was to see Mark. Mark worked down at the local auto shop and it would be opening soon. Lucas's tired skid on the rocks as he pulled in.

"Mark! Good morning, man. How have you been? I have a crazy story to tell you and a question in mind." Lucas could hardly contain his presence as he jumped out of his truck, sprinting over to Mark, who was still minding his own business, sipping his eight am coffee.

Mark raised an eyebrow at Lucas's sudden energy, setting his coffee down on the hood of a car.

"Well, well, someone's up early and wound up. What's got you so excited, Lucas?"

Lucas leaned against the car, wiping his hands with an oil-stained rag, clearly not expecting anything too serious.

"You're not going to believe this," Lucas began, running a hand through his hair, trying to collect his thoughts. "Elara and I went up to that old castle last weekend."

Mark chuckled, shaking his head. "The old haunted place on the hill? Are you two trying to pull one over on me? What did you find, some creepy old furniture and a few cobwebs?"

"No, man, this place is... I don't even know how to explain it," Lucas stammered. "We found rooms filled with ancient royal clothing, paintings, and weird BDSM gear like something out of a horror movie."

Mark gave him a skeptical look. "BDSM gear? You're messing with me, right?"

"I'm dead serious," Lucas said, leaning in closer, his voice dropping. "Something's off about that place. You gotta come with us next time. I need backup, and I'm not joking. You'll see for yourself."

Mark sighed, crossing his arms. "Alright, Lucas, I'll bite. But if this turns out to be some prank, I'm dumping a quart of sugar in your gas tank. Now, who else are you bringing?"

"That's why I'm here," Lucas replied with a grin. "I'm gonna grab Joe next, and then Henry. We need the whole crew for this."

Joe was the self-proclaimed paranormal investigator of the group, though most of his "investigations" involved sitting in dark basements and watching ghost-hunting TV shows. He worked at the local electronics store, repairing broken gadgets and discussing conspiracy theories with anyone who would listen. When Lucas pulled up at the shop, Joe was tinkering with an old radio.

"Lucas, my man," Joe greeted without looking up. "What brings you to the land of the dead tech?"

Lucas smirked. "I've got something right up your alley. You remember that old castle up in the hills?"

Joe stopped what he was doing, giving Lucas his full attention. "You mean the haunted one? People say it's crawling with ghosts. What about it?"

"I was there last weekend," Lucas said, observing Joe's reaction. "It's real, Joe. The stories aren't just ghost tales. Elara and I saw... things."