The Secret Past

The Secret Past- Part 1

Charlotte leaned on her balcony and peered at the stars, watching them sparkle and shine. She was getting tired for all of the days hard work, but somehow she was restless. She decided to read a book to get her sleepy. Once upon her bed, she flicked on the dusty cobwebbed lamp to give her light. She felt as though something wasn't right. Why couldn't she sleep? She gave up on reading and decided to close her eyes and bundled up under her blanket. She felt a cold rush of air go up her spine. "Oh no! The door! I must've forgot to shut it." Charlotte said with an annoyed voice. "Ah, I will just leave it open for tonight. Who will come into this dusty eerie castle anyway?" Charlotte exclaimed. Around 2 o'clock she heard a noise. It was something she had never heard before. "Oh, nothing to worry about," she told herself. "It is probably just the wind from the broken window." she said hastily. Then, all of a sudden...

The noise Charlotte heard faded away. She heard the banging of doors opening and closing then footsteps running throughout the hallway. Her heart jumped and she tried to run, but she was frozen with fear. Aurora burst through the door. Charlotte didn't know if she should have been angry at Aurora or relieved that it wasn't something... or someone... else. "WHY HAVEN'T YOU REPAIRED THE BROKEN WINDOWS YET CHARLOTTE? ISABEL AND I ARE COLD AT NIGHT! THESE FRIGID TEMPERATURES MAKE OUR FEET AND HANDS GO NUMB!" Aurora screamed. Charlotte was not one to yell.

She quietly said, "Aurora please. I was going to do it tomorrow. I already repaired the bottom floor windows of the castle. I was getting tired and I didn't have the strength to do it. I'm sorry." "Charlotte... I'm sorry I don't know why I yelled at you like that. You sometimes just frustrate me that you don't ever finish the tasks when you have all day. That's all. Sorry if I scared you. Please finish repairing them tomorrow. I cannot stand one more day in this cold." Aurora said with a bit of annoyance in her voice.

"Yes Aurora I will." Charlotte sleepily muttered.

The next day Charlotte got up earlier than usual to repair the windows so she didn't have to do it later on. The clouds covered the luminous sun making the kingdom fall with darkness. She felt chills throughout her body. Once she was done doing that task, she walked over to the horses stable and performed her daily chores there. Although it was quite a miserable day, she decided to take a walk up to the top of the mountain to see if there was any beauty and light shining over the horizon. She took her horse, Star, and started riding up to the top. When she was halfway there, something caught her eye. She got off Star and started walking to what appeared to be the side of the mountain. "Why did this catch my eye?" Charlotte said confused. "It's only the side of the mountain." Charlotte said. Then, all of a sudden, she heard a ringing sound throbbing in her ears.

She started to walk back to Star who was grazing under an apple tree and nearby a creek. But, something was different. A few days ago, Charlotte went to this very spot. There were glistening red apples hanging from each branch waiting for one to be lucky enough to take it. And water was rushing down the creek picking up all rocks within it. Now, the tree was dead and the creek was eerie still. It already started decaying with the pungent smell of rotten apples laying on the yellow grass. "Why shall this be? I was only here a few days ago watching and viewing the beautiful horizon. Why is it now decaying... fading away from my very eyes?" Charlotte said concerned. The soft ring in her ears started to mess with her head. "What is that sound!?" Charlotte said in annoyance. The sound Charlotte heard was almost like a soft play of music. She thought it felt so familiar yet she could not put a finger on where she had heard it before. She started to head back to the kingdom to tell Isabel what she was experiencing. "Aurora would not believe me if I told her about this music sound. She would probably just think I was more useless, more insane. Isabel might be more understanding. Why do I always feel so alone? Nothing I do is right, even if I try my best. I am just a young girl. Why does Aurora expect so much out of me? What is the reason to her anger she has towards me every day?" Charlotte said out loud. Wondering if anyone would answer her. Charlotte knew she was by herself but she never felt like she was alone. It was like everywhere she went it felt as though someone was following or watching her. But she would never know who or what it was.

When Charlotte traveled back down from the mountain, everything was the same. It was a weird same though. The castle was dead-still. The castle seemed to have no breath and no life. It just didn't feel or look the same as before. Not even the wind picked up and brushed Charlotte's hair. She decided to ride to the village to see where everyone was and to get to Isabel as quickly as she could without making a scene.

Charlotte was a quiet girl. She always kept to herself. She never tries to draw attention to herself, though Aurora probably thought she did. When she was outside the gates of the village, she could hear the music playing in her head again. She wondered if anyone else could hear it. Or maybe she was going insane herself. Charlotte walked into the village and saw Isabel and Aurora handing out free food to the people of the village. Everything seemed to be normal there. Yet, the last couple of days never felt normal. In the far corner of the village near a crooked tree, Charlotte would gaze up to the balcony of a peculiar house and would see a mysterious woman named Shade. She would lean over her balcony and glare at Aurora and Isabel while they were handing out food. But today, she wasn't there. This was not normal. Many thoughts rushed throughout Charlotte's mind. Her head spun like a million bees were buzzing inside. For some reason it made her more nervous about what was happening. She quietly got off of Star and walked over to Isabel.

"Good Morning Isabel. I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"Yes Charlotte? What is it? Please make it quick so I can go tend to the villagers." Isabel said almost in a rushed voice.

"Well, I was wondering if you knew anyone who played music in the village? Any kind of instrument or music box?" Charlotte said reluctantly.

"No Charlotte. Why in the world would you think that? You know that this is a very poor village. Why would anyone spend their meager money on an instrument? People want to eat, not to play music and starve. Why this odd question?" Aurora said in a panicked rushed voice.

"I was just wondering Isabel... occasionally I've been hearing this weird music sound. It first happened when I rode Star up into the far mountain. Now it's happening here in the village, but it is much softer sound that I hear. Have you seen Shade today, Isabel? Don't you find it odd that every day she just stares from the top of her balcony and watches you and Aurora hand out the food to the people, but today she isn't doing that? Why aren't you concerned?" Charlotte said annoyingly. "Charlotte, I don't care about Shade. She doesn't talk to us and we don't talk to her. Stay away from her. I don't want you ever near her. Do you hear me Charlotte?" "Yes Isabel I hear you. But what about this music I hear? Do you hear it too?" "No Charlotte there isn't any music playing. You just must be really tired. It's an insane idea that someone is playing music in this village. Now, go do your chores. Aurora and I have to help the villagers. By the way Charlotte, I don't want you going alone up the far mountain anymore. It just isn't safe for you. Goodbye Charlotte." "But Isabel...!" "No buts. You're a 15 year old girl. There is no need to risk getting hurt. Now hurry along." Charlotte was devastated. She loved going up the far mountain.