The Curse of Windsor Castle

Chapter Twelve

The girls arrived at Solymár at about eleven o'clock that morning. Solymár was Hungary's largest village so Rose knew it would take quite some time to find the chair. The trio decided to start in the biggest town square like they had in Pálháza.

"Solymar is so big," Amy marveled. "How are we ever going to find the chair?"

Rose frowned. She had never counted on the size of Solymár. Of course, she had read that Solymár was the biggest village in Hungary, but for some reason, she had expected it to be the size of Pálháza. "I don't know, but the town square should be a good place to start."

Tamara nodded. 'We should get started if we want to find the chair before tomorrow." Rose, Tamara, and Amy entered the first building they saw. It was a library.

"How is it that we always find ourselves surrounded by books?" Rose wondered.

"It's because I'm with you," Amy replied.

After searching the library, the girls realized that there was no chair. "To the next shop we go," Amy said with a sigh.

The next shop was a jewelry store. But there were no chairs in the store.

"Are you sure Nuntius Mortis isn't playing a cruel joke on us? The chair could be in the jewelry store for all we know." Rose said.

"No, it's not." Amy shook her head. "I would have known if the chair was in the jewelry store.

"True," Rose answered.

Shop after shop, hour after hour, Tamara, Rose, and Amy searched for the missing chair. But each attempt was met with failure; Amy shaking her head.

"I just don't understand what the pattern is," Rose admitted. "I thought it had to do with empires seeing as that is most likely what Nuntius Mortis wants to do. Create an empire."

"What has he done so far that indicates global domination? In fact, he could be part of another dimension altogether." Amy pointed out.

"What?" Tamara frowned. This was getting way too complicated.

"Well, in the first dream I had about Francis and Viola, they didn't even know where Germany was. Whatever Nuntius Mortis is doing, it won't affect us."

"How can you be so sure?" Rose argued. "The man in black. The one stalking us. He is Nuntius Mortis. If he's from a different dimension, it proves that he has the power to come to our dimension. So what ever he is planning, it will affect us too. Besides, I think we should focus on the task at hand. Finding the chair."

"The chair isn't in Solymár," Amy whispered.

Tamara scowled. "How do you know?"

Amy sighed. "I would be able to sense the chair if it was here."

"If you had told us before, we wouldn't have wasted so much time. We could have started figuring out what city we have to go to." Rose's nostrils flared.

"I just realized. "Amy's voice started to get higher and higher. "And besides, how were you going to figure out what city to go to. We know now that your theory was wrong!" She screamed the last word.

In the Tower of London, a man and a woman were eagerly watching the argument take place. "Should I tell them the city I've hidden the chair?" the man asked.

"Patience, Master. Although, who am I to talk? Patience has never been my strong suit,"the woman said. "But why are you so eager for them to finish their task?"

"Once each of the children are freed, I've cast an enchantment that will send the chair to me. If you haven't noticed, two chairs have come to me already. But since you are my apprentice, I shall tell you, Vesterka. Once all seven chairs have been assembled, I shall finally have enough power to go home."

"But Master, if what Kampe said was true, you tried to have the young magicians killed. If you want the seven chairs so badly, why do you want them dead?"

"Vesterka, this is why I am the master, and why you are the apprentice. For the spell of power to work, it also needs the blood of a magician. Which is why I am having the girls assemble the chairs. After the last chair is delivered to me, I will kill them."

"Master, what I don't understand is why you couldn't have gone to Windsor castle and just get the chairs before all this nonsense happened?"

"I just told you, Vesterka, I need the blood of a magician. This was the easiest way to get both the blood and the chairs.

"But you are a magician." Vesterka frowned. "Are you not?"

"Vesterka, there is a big difference between being a magician from birth and taking magic to make it yours." Nuntius Mortis turned back to the glass plane that broadcasted the young magicians' every move.

Once the argument was over, Rose, Amy, and Tamara decided to hail a cab and get back to Budapest.

"How much for Budapest?" Tamara asked.

"Sixty euros," the taxi driver replied.

The girls got in the taxi cab. Half an hour later, they should have been in Budapest, but the cab driver didn't stop. "Hey, stop the car," Amy protested.

"Sorry," the taxi driver apologized. "This is what I'm getting payed for."

"Who payed you?" Rose demanded.

"He didn't say. Just payed hefty sum. You kids must be worth a lot him."

Tamara tried to open the door. It was locked. "Well, I guess we are going to have to see where he takes us."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Rose's eyes were now red from the tears threatening to spill. "He could be kidnapping us."

"Rose, calm down. It's probably just Nuntius Mortis." Amy tried reassuring her friend. "He must be trying to help us in that sadistic way of his."

"But what I don't understand is why he's trying to help us and kill us at the same time." Tamara said.

Three hours later, Rose, Amy, and Tamara arrived in the town of Gyula. It was decently sized and the first thing that caught Amy's attention was the castle she saw almost immediately after arrival. It looked more of a fortress than a castle.

"Well, who do you think brought us here?" Rose asked.

"Nuntius Mortis, who else?"

"Well, why did he bring us here?" Rose rephrased her question.

"Obviously, it has something to do with the chairs." Amy rolled her eyes.

"You're starting to sound stupider and stupider by the minute," Tamara muttered. "But it's almost seven o'clock. It's been a long day. We should get some dinner and sleep."

So how was that chapter? Please vote and comment your feedback.

~Anya