Four Times the Trouble, Four Times the Charm

More riddles and revelations

          Diana knew her sister and cousins would freak the hell out when they saw this. They had been brought up to believe in the powers of the mystical and magical word. And here was a document that held the name of the most well known mystic of all time. Diana needed a good stuff drink. She carried the other parchments back up the stairs and put them back in the secret compartment. She looked up at the painting and wondered what was hiding there. She had a feeling that it was important. Somehow and using the same chair that Maris had used, took it down and brought it downstairs with her . She had made sure to lock the doors behind her again. She set up Maris' easel and placed the painting on it. She then went to the kitchen and took down the bottle of Scotch that she had found there earlier. Diana poured out a half glass of the amber liquor and downed it just as the housekeeper, the cook and Willie entered the kitchen. They were shocked to see the young woman drink down that much without gasping or choking on it. "Easy lass or ye'll be out on yer back afore ye know it" Willie said. Diana looked at him blankly and he knew something had happened. He wondered if she had finally seen the ghost. He patted her on the shoulder and helped her to sit down in a chair. "Lass, what be bothering ye?" he asked. Her eyes focused on him and the dazed look left her face as the alcohol hit her system and she could finally relax. "I finally finished my work on the parchments and found out a lot about the swords" she said and told them what she had found out. She watched their faces to gauge their reactions. Willie looked at his wife and daughter.. "Aye we have heard the tale of the legend but most of it be shrouded in mystery though. Legend goes that four warriors appeared from a distant land. They helped the people. Then there be a great battle. After that the warriors left to return to their land and the village be left empty. Some say the warriors killed all the people and dumped them off the cliffs and fled. Some say it be a plague that killed them, and some say that when the warriors left they took everyone with them to the land they came from; to live in peace" the housekeeper, Betsy, said and Willie just nodded his head as she spoke of the legend. Diana looked from one to the other to see if it was all a joke but Maggie, their daughter, had turned pale. They were serious and it showed up on their faces. What the housekeeper said went along with the instructions in the parchments and the murals on the wall. Then she remembered the bed with her name carved into the headboard. "Willie, has anyone been upstairs in any of the bed chambers?" she asked him. "May lass, the doors all be locked and no one has the keys. I have to call in the locksmith to get them opened" he replied. Diana was shaking her head no. "When we got here and went to check out the upstairs and I found the keys to all the doors that had locks on them. We took the keys and found out which key goes to which door. She took the two keys she had and showed them to him. "This symbol is on the door that this key goes to, same with all the keys we found so far. One of the bed chambers has something curious in it. The bed has a plain headboard and carved into the wood is a name and date. It says Diana wuz here eleven ninety two. I was hoping that it was a joke" Diana said. Betsy and Maggie's hands flew to their mouths in shock. Willie's eyes grew big and his mouth hung open. This meant one thing, the ghost had been keeping everyone out of the rooms until the right time, when these four women arrived. This meant that they were the four warriors. Lady Diana he could see as a warrior but he was unsure of the other three. He had to see this for himself and asked her to show him the room. Just as he asked, the other three came into the kitchen. "I need the key with the carved headboard" Diana said to her sister. Diana and Willie headed up the stairs to the one bed chamber. Willie saw the ribbons on the doors and asked about them. Diana explained that the white were for rooms that were cleared, red for either lock not working or danger and yellow found something interesting check again. Willie liked this idea and it will let him know which rooms could use cleaning or repairs done. Diana held up the key and showed him the symbol on it and the corresponding  one on the door. She unlocked the door and he went over to the bed and looked closely at it. "I'll be damned, tis true then. These here marks are very old. Look at how worn the edges be and the dirt caked in them cuts. Asides no one has been in these rooms fer at least a hundred years. The last lady afore Matilda, coundna stay in the castle fer the ghost wouldna let her. And the same with the couple afore her" Willie said. "Ghost?" Diana asked. "She. He's been chasing people outta here iffen he doona take a liking to them. He must really like ye all or ye wouldna be here now" he said and grinned at her. Diana didn't doubt Willie. The ghost was probably the one whispering to her earlier. Diana led him out of the room and relocked the door again. She led him to the doors at the end of the hallway  and opened the doors with her key. They entered the room. "I am going to be using these rooms for myself" she said and unlocked the bed chamber door, "and I need some work done in here but only you and your son are allowed in here. There are some very nice pieces of furniture in here that I want repaired and the rest cleaned up. Any papers, books, furniture, chests and knickknacks are to remain. This bed I want repaired to what it was when first made and a mattress that will seem like it is the original." She had explained as they went into the bed chamber. She showed him the table and he was fascinated by the beauty of it. "Do ye know how to play?" he asked her as he looked over the pieces in the drawer. She smiled sadly and nodded. "My father taught us all how to play. When our parents passed away, we placed his chessboard in his casket with him" she replied a little sadly. "I'll make sure this is taken care of meself" he said. Diana went over to the bookcase and slid the moulding up. When the door opened, Willie looked inside. "Under no circumstances is anyone to go in here. It is too dark and we need our safety gear to investigate it properly. There may be a pit in there or a trap. We don't want anyone hurt or killed" she said to him. Willie had to agree with her because she seemed to know her stuff. "How do ye all know such things?" he asked her, his curiosity had been piqued. "I along with my kinswomen are Professors of Ancient History. We are also fluent in several languages and have explored ruins of castles, temples and caves" she responded. His mouth opened a couple of times before a grin split his face and his eyes crinkled in amusement. She locked the doors as they exited and went down to the kitchen for lunch.