Black Crystal Part 1 - The Origin

Chapter Two ~ The Chamber

 Garen followed behind, closing the door behind himself as he exited the tower. He never paid much attention to it before, but as he watched Peter descend the stairs, he noticed that Peter had a limp, as if his leg was injured.

"Did you get into a fight?" Garen asked with concern. There was no response, but Peter started to walk faster. "Peter, answer me." Garen spoke with a more stern tone of voice. "Did you, or did you not, get into a fight?" Once again, silence. They reached the bottom of the staircase and Peter turned left, Garen quickly following suit.

"These old temples always have secrets," Peter spoke in a quiet tone of voice. "Fortunately, Lucius and the Bishop just so happen to know where each and every one of those are in this temple."

"What are you getting at?" asked Garen. Peter simply chuckled in response and walked faster. All Garen could do was scoff and walk faster to keep up with his unnaturally tall friend. As if out of reflex, Peter grabbed a lit torch hanging on the wall and held it as they started to head down a dark corridor. "This is a dead end, Peter..." Garen crossed his arms and looked around. He was a bit afraid of the dark. "Why are we going this way?"

"Clear the wax from them ears," Peter chuckled. "Didn't you listen to me just moments ago?" He stopped at the dead end of the hallway, beginning to feel around the stone brick wall. "These old temples always have secrets, and the Bishop showed me this one personally." Peter grabbed a loose brick from the wall and pulled it out slightly. The entire wall seemed to lift up from the floor as a clicking sound was heard, almost like the sound of a latch unlocking. He began to push on the far right side of the wall, and to Garen's surprise, the entire wall swung open like a very thick door. It led to a passage far neater than the rest of the temple. The staircase heading downward was made of polished wood, the brick walls were much smoother than the ones in the main temple, and the long corridor was well-lit with lamps running on electricity, something unheard of in the entire village of Grants Pass.

"You're telling me the princess is down here?" Garen looked around as they descended the stairs. "This is like a dungeon!"

"It's a safe haven until we can find a way to bring her back to the Capital unseen." Peter looked back at Garen with a grin. "No one in the entire village would think to find something like this in a holy building. Hell, no one here would even try to. Most people are too worried about defiling the House of God, so they wouldn't even think to dislocate a brick."

"That crazy old Bishop is too clever for his own good." Garen smiled and looked at their destination. The staircase they descended led directly to a modest, wooden door rounded at the top with a polished crystal knob. Peter approached the door and gripped the crystal knob. He pressed his index finger to his pursed lips and faced Garen as he slowly turned the doorknob and pushed the wooden door inward. As it opened, Garen looked inside. The room looked rather comfortable for being underground beneath an old church building. There were various candles lit throughout the room, but they were scented, and brought a pleasant smell to the room. And there, straight ahead, was the princess herself, laying flat across a bed covered by blankets. Garen was absolutely stunned by her beauty. He had never seen Princess Lenora before. If it were possible for humans to be perfect, then Lenora must have been an angel, being far beyond perfect to Garen. Peter slowly closed the door and shoved Garen out of the room as the door clicked closed.

"The Bishop sent a letter to the King and Queen," Peter whispered as he started to lead Garen back up the stairs. "He requested that they send a carriage to our village so we could bring her back to the Capitol safely."

"But that's nearly 500 kilometers away! Not only would the journey itself be long, but escorting royalty across the Oregon Province? That's practically suicide, Peter!"

"The plans aren't finalized yet. Once daybreak hits, Lucius and the Bishop are holding a council meeting, and you, Anne, and I are to be there."

"Why the three of us?"

Peter started to close the moving brick wall of a door slowly as they spoke. "They're putting us on the job."

"They are?" Garen chuckled and crossed his arms while they headed back to the main temple area. "It's been far too long since they had a job lined up for us."

"Keep in mind that this escort job is probably the most important job we've ever been hired to do. Making sure Princess Lenora returns home safely is no small task. Our lives might even be at stake."

"You say that like it's gonna scare me." Garen grinned, excited for the meeting. "Lucius and the Bishop know exactly what we've been through. We could handle an escort job." But even with Garen's confidence, Peter had a concerned expression.

"Garen... you're twelve years old." Peter kept his gaze away from Garen. "You shouldn't have to do any of this. The Bishop wanted to legally adopt you so you could live in safety. Why didn't you take his offer?"

"Forget living in safety, Peter! I wanna help you and the guys! The church council knows we aren't exactly the most religious people in the world. That's why we help them this way instead." Garen quickly walked ahead of Peter and stopped in front of him. "You need to stop worrying about me. You should know by now that I can handle myself." Peter avoided eye contact, silent in contemplation for but a moment before he scoffed.

"Stubborn as ever, I see." Peter smiled at Garen. "I suppose you're right. For your age, you're tough as nails. But you're like my little brother." Peter moved Garen out of the way as he started heading towards the lobby of the temple. "I wouldn't want to see you die out there."

"Says you!" Garen retorted, running to catch up with his unusually tall friend. "You're the one always getting into fights! You're the one who's always playing the hero." They both stopped walking, but Peter kept his back to Garen. "Just because you're the oldest, that doesn't mean you should take all the responsibility. There's a reason why Lucius and the Bishop called you, Anne, and I instead of you alone. Just think about that for a second." The hall remained silent, but before anyone could speak, Lucius started walking towards the two from the front doors of the temple.

"The Bishop wishes to see you three in the chapel," he said. "Go find Anne and meet him there in ten minutes."