The Curse of Windsor Castle

Chapter Four

As Rose drifted in and out of consciousness, another dream started to weave itself together. She found herself in a throne room--the Maagiline throne room, a bystander to the scene about to play out. Rose didn't know how, but she could tell that many years had gone by. Francis was no longer there and Viola now sat in the throne. Her spine was straight but her shoulders were hunched over. The faintest of wrinkles had formed around her eyes and mouth and dark circles made her appear almost dead. Despite all the signs of insomnia, the Queen managed to appear as beautiful as ever.

Yet something was off. Rose looked to Viola's right hand where an empty throne sat. The throne of the heir apparent, abandoned by its master.

Then, Fidelus's son, Amicus, spoke. "Your Highness,, you have searched for many years, but His Royal Highness, Prince Harper has not returned. What makes you think he is still... alive?"

The Queen's expression hardened. "I have my reasons, Amicus. It is not your place to question me. As a mother, I can only say it is a mother's intuition that confirms he is alive. And as your queen, I command that you have faith that your precious tax money is not going to waste."

Amicus bowed and sat down.

Viola opened her mouth to speak, but Rose heard Tamara's voice instead. "Rose, wake up."

Rose sat up and rubbed her eyes. " What time is it? 

"Eleven." Her eyes widened. " I was asleep that long?"

"Well hurry up and use the loo. Amy's is ready too. We don't have all day." Tamara glanced at the clock on the nightstand.

"Amy's ready?"

"Yes. For once."

Rose jumped out of bed. Apparently her morning custom was not restricted to London. After she hastily got ready, the girls grabbed their bags and went out to explore.

The trio crossed a small street, not looking for anything in particular when Amy noticed something. She led Tamara and Rose to the thing that caught her eye.

" A chair!" Amy exclaimed. She, Tamara, and Rose started walking toward it when a figure blocked their path, completely clothed in black. For the unusual humidity, it was a bad choice.

"You again!" Rose scowled.

The man in black smiled. "Yes, me again."

"W-what do you want?" Tamara gritted her teeth, annoyed at herself for stuttering, a habit she thought she had given up long ago.

"What do I want? Well, if someone had asked me that years ago, we wouldn't be in this mess." The man smiled.

"What do you mean?" Amy frowned.

"Amy," Rose exhaled sharply when her friend asked.

"If I told you, we would be here for twice as long as I am old.

"How old are you anyway?" Amy asked

"Older than most people."

"We don't have time for these games," Rose interrupted before Amy could ask another idiotic question.

"Ah, but I am here to give you a warning," The Man in Black said.

"W-we don't need any of your w-warnings." Tamara stuttered, and Rose tried to shove past him.

The man shrugged. "Have it your way." He snapped his fingers and the next the girls knew, both he and the chair were gone.

"Really?" Rose cried. "We were this close." She held up her fingers to demonstrate.

"Where is he?" Amy growled. "I'm going to kick his--"

"Come on girls," Tamara interrupted her. "Let's go back to the hotel.

She, Rose, and Amy, who muttered curses the entire way, trudged back to the taxi.

All the while back to the hotel, Rose gnashed her teeth together. "We were so close."

Tamara rested her head. "It's my fault."

Rose had never heard her sister say anything like that. Tamara McAllister wasn't one to admit wrongdoing. "Really? You don't say."

Tamara either didn't hear the jab at her or ignored it. "If hadn't opened my big mouth, your friend would be back home in London and we would be on an aeroplane to the next country," Tamara wailed.

"Which is..." Amy prompted.

"Italy," Tamara sniffed.

"It wasn't your fault. He probably would have left with the chair anyway. Besides we'll get to spend a few more days in Germany. I love this place!" Amy grinned.

"Wow, Amy," Rose said. "I had never heard a single positive thing come out of your mouth. That's a first."

"I'm working on it," Amy shrugged.

Tamara and the girls got out of the cab and paid the cab driver a few euros. The driver only gave them a stiff nod and a grunt in response.

As they went up to the hotel room, Amy suddenly said, "You know I just realized how out of the loop the rest of Europe is. They don't even use pounds. Imagine!"

"You know, it might just be Britain being strange," Tamara saide.

"How unpatriotic of you! Has your time in the United States done that to you?" Amy mocked.

Tamara only grinned.

The rest of the day was just as eventful as before, which was to say that it wasn't eventful at all.

As Tamara, Amy, and Rose went wandered around the city in the evening, Rose said, "I just noticed that the man in black isn't following us."

"Maybe he went to look for two other girls to bother." Amy replied.

They laughed for the first time in days and Tamara could almost pretend that they were normal tourists, more worried about taxi fares than their lives.

Then,she saw a familiar top hat in the crowd. "Are you kidding me? He really has his knickers in a twist if he can't stalk girls that are more interesting than us."

"I don't know about you, 'Tara', but I'm a pretty interesting person. Maybe we could have a bit of tea together," Amy said.

"You're disgusting." Rose gagged.

"Ah I knew I would find you two here."

Rose gasped. "How did you-"

"Find you? For three girls trying to go unnoticed, you make quite a bit of noise." The Man in Black said.

"I can't believe it." Amy moaned. "Why can't you just go away?"

The man grinned. "And take all the fun away? Why would I do that? But I'll give you the location of this chair. It's in Hanau."

"Hanau?" Tamara scowled. "Never heard of it. Uh, where exactly is Hanau?"

The mysterious man in black had disappeared.

"Stupid a-," Amy cursed.

"Language," Tamara warned.

"Come on." Rose prompted. "The sooner we get to the hotel, the sooner we'll know where Hanau is."

Dedicated to SomethingsHere for the votes and comments. Thank you!

One question. Do you guys think this story belongs in the adventure category, or fantasy? Comment your answer.