The Curse of Windsor Castle

Chapter Twenty-six

It seemed like the crowds cleared after lunch. Maybe because everyone just wanted to go home after a full meal, or maybe because the chair was driving everyone away. Either way, the afternoon was much quieter and calmer than the morning. "Can you sense it now?" Tamara asked.

Amy nodded. "I can hear a faint ringing noise, but I can't tell in which direction.  Maybe the closer we are to it, the easier it will be to sense it."

"That's okay," Rose said. "Let's start walking. That'll help you figure out where the chair is."

The girls had started walking when Tamara let out a scream of pain. Her head was pounding and the view in front of her seemed to swim. Her vision became even more blurry than it usually was and tears started to form at the corner of her eyes. The ground shook every time she took a step. Tamara knew if this continued any longer, she would vomit her lunch.

"What is it?" Rose said anxiously. They were so close to the chair.

"I think we should turn around." Tamara grabbed Rose and Amy and made a swift u-turn.

"What now?" Amy wrenched her hand out of the older girl's grip. "Before you take us to who knows where, tell us."

Tamara could practically feel her skull crack. With as calm of a voice as possible, she spoke. "Amy, the ground is unstable. If we don't leave now, we'll fall," she said, her voice shaking slightly.

"Doesn't it seem odd that the ground is weak now?" Rose asked. "Maybe the chair is underground and that's its way of leading us to it."

"And how do you know?" Amy demanded.

"Amy, do you not know what Tara's "power" is?" Rose made air quotes around the word.

"Rose, we need to go NOW-."When Tamara screamed the last word, the ground split open revealing a deep pit looking to go on endlessly. The girls fell, screaming. Then, from underneath the surface, the trio saw the break seal, removing all evidence that anything had happened at all.

"What are we going to do now?" Rose wailed. "The crack sealed. We're losing oxygen right now. Stop breathing."

"Stop being ridiculous," Amy said. "Someone's going to find us."

"Now they won't," Rose cried. "There's nothing at the surface that suggests anything out of the ordinary happened. We're going to die! I better get this off my chest. Tara, I'm sorry I hated you."

Tamara stopped. All of a sudden, it seemed like the physical pain she was experiencing was pushed back by something much worse."You what?"

Rose felt a wave of shame, but brushed it off. "I'm sorry. I'm being selfish. We might die, and I'm saying this."

"Go on Rose." Tamara felt an unusual wave of calm overcome her. "Why did you hate me?"

Rose sniffed. "You were always so perfect. Everyone would always compare me to you. After a while, those sorts of things get to you."

Tamara laughed. "I'm anything but perfect, Rose. Just because someone's smart and well, pretty, doesn't mean they are perfect. You wouldn't want to know the horrific things I did in school. Now, I regret them. You need to know that there will always be someone better than you at anything. And while you should focus on making yourself better, you shouldn't tear them down in the process." Tamara sighed. "I wish I had known that before," she said to herself.

Amy sniffed. "This is touching and all, but I'm about to suffocate in more ways than one. Unless you know how to dispose of a dead Amy, we better get moving."

Rose sighed. "We can always trust Amy to ruin an emotional moment," she whispered to Tamara.

Suddenly, the walls shifted and crumbled away, revealing a singular tunnel.

"I guess that's our way out," Tamara said.

Tamara, Amy, and Rose entered the tunnel. Within a few meters, another tunnel intersected the first.

"What do we do now?" Rose asked. Amy turned right in response. And so they continued. Following Amy as she twisted and turned her way through the system of tunnels.

"Amy, can you hear the chair?" Rose felt the need to whisper.

"Yeah. Rose, you're right. The chair was underground."

At this, Rose sent a smug look toward her sister.

Amy suddenly stopped. She tilted her head, and without warning, sprinted off into one of the smaller tunnels. Tamara followed her with ease, but Rose, being taller than her sister, had to crouch down and slowly crawl. When the girls finally reached Amy, she was standing in front of a chair. However, unlike the other Chairs, this one lived up to Amy's description. The Chair was richly decorated. It was gold encrusted, with diamonds and various other gems adorning it. It seemed to glow blindingly in the darkness.

"Finally," Tamara breathed.

Rose, who was suffering through a painful side stitch, grinned widely. But there was an insane look in her eyes. "My precious."

"Okay, Gollum," Amy said. "Calm down." She grabbed Tamara's hand who grabbed Rose's. Amy touched the chair ever so slightly. The girls vanished in a vortex of light."

This time, the tower of London was strangely empty. There were never any tourists in the particular room the girls always ended up in. Something about this chamber always scared them away. Rose, Amy, and Tara were expecting Vesterka or some other monster to be there; however, the usual labyrinth had vanished. Thomas was in a comatose state, curled up into a ball.

"This is too easy," Tamara said, as she looked around for signs of danger.

"Maybe this is Nuntius Mortis' way of warning us that the next chair won't be this easy to get.

Nuntius Mortis and Vesterka were once again checking on the girls progress, as they had nothing better to do. Sitting in an unknown room that Vesterka created, the duo could see the girls using a vision that the witch had created. Nuntius Mortis already had five of the Seven Chairs in their possession. The girls would have to rescue Thomas for the Sixth Chair to come.

"Come on." Vesterka gritted her teeth in anticipation. "Just take the boy."

"We made this too easy for them, Vesterka," Nuntius Mortis said. "They are suspicious, as they should be."

"What do we have to do for them do understand that this is not a trap?" Vesterka asked. "Write it in big words on a banner?"

"At this point, I think that is what I might have to do."

"I?" Vesterka's voice was in a dangerous whisper.

"I'm sorry. That is what we might have to do." Nuntius Mortis rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to what was taking place a few rooms over.