The Valley of Mysteries | Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 5 - THE NEW WORLD

Natalie had been trying to explain everything to Aaron. He was listening attentively and corrected the terms with elaborate definitions. Her anger had faded away.
"... and that he's not immortal. Vampires are immortal." she stopped to take a breath.
"That's nothing to go on with."
"There's more. I asked them to slow down so that I can understand what they were saying." she looked away, regret flushing in.
"You asked again?" he said.
"No, but Harrington told me more after a week."
"And...?"

*FLASHBACK*

"I don't really understand." Natalie sighed.
"You will... just hear me out. Okay?" Edward placed his hand on her shoulder, she didn't push away this time. It had been a week since they had last seen each other. "Good. So, I can't tell you why Mrs Watson left the valley or anything related to that. But I'll tell you about the valley."
"Have you been there?" she asked.
"Once. My mom had some documents to be submitted. Remember when I told you we went to Paris for a vacation?"
"Yeah, you lost your camera. Oh! There was no camera!! You never really..."
"No, we didn't. We were in the valley!" he said.
"All the vacations?" she raised an eyebrow.
"No... just the one. I just told you I've been there only once!" he frowned.
"Oh, yeah. Right!"
"The valley is a huge place. You can say, it's another world in itself. A realm."
"Realm?" she asked.
"Yes, a kingdom of the octaves. It belongs to the Hales." he smiled.
"Oh?"
"Yes. There are many things even I don't know. We can explore together! Anyways, so there is a big river that cuts the valley in two halves. It is believed that the river has a secret passageway to another realm. Then there is a dense cover of the forest, said to be home to some kind of hidden lake in it that only a few can find. There's also a volcano. No one has ever made it near it, let alone explore what's inside. It is believed to be dwelling to dragons. And last but not least, the town." Edward looked at her, expectantly.
"And you want me to believe that?" she scoffed.
"Hey, I'm trying to tell you what I know. I'm not saying it's entirely true. But I have seen the river, woods, volcano and the town." Edward was irritated.
"Fine. I guess I'll only believe it when I see it for myself. As my mother said, I don't really have a choice. I wonder why she didn't tell me earlier." she shook her head in disbelief.
"She was trying to..."
"...protect me. Yeah. I've heard that."
"Do you remember... when we were about 10 years old and went to the zoo?"
"Yeah, a little. I fainted. I don't remember much." Natalie said, scratching her head.
"You don't remember because you were attacked. You completely freaked out and had a panic attack!" he said calmly.
"I... what?"
"Yes. You were attacked by some kind of dark creature. I can never forget it. It had big tentacles and blood-red eyes." he shuddered.
"What? Why was I attacked of all people?" she asked, completely shocked.
"Well, I don't know that. But that's when Mrs Watson decided that she won't tell you about the truth." he sighed. Natalie didn't respond. "There's something else I need to tell you." he heaved a sigh.
"Hmm?" she asked. Her eyes were unfocused and deep in thought.
"I... I'm leaving town." he closed his eyes.
"Hmm..." she said.
"What? You're not concerned? Like, at all?" he stood up, bewildered.
"Huh? Did you say something?" she asked.
"YES! I SAID I'M LEAVING THE TOWN. BUT IT SEEMS YOU DON'T CARE!!!" he stormed off. Natalie froze. She didn't know what to do. She then shook her head, stood up and ran after him.

She looked around but Edward wasn't in sight. She sat down on a bench and covered her face with her hands. She felt something on her shoulder. She screamed and jumped.
"Whoa!! Lady!! Chill!! It's just me." Edward jumped too. "I know her! We know each other!! I swear she's my best friend!!!" he told a passerby who was coming to Natalie's rescue.
"OH, MY GOD!! ARE YOU PLANNING TO KILL ME?" she said, placing her hands over her heart.
"No, just played your game on you. That's exactly how we feel when you run away." he laughed.
"I... I'm sorry. You're not really leaving, right?" she asked in a small voice.
"I'm afraid I have to. But I'll be back for the final exams. I have to get through the graduation ceremony!" he smiled.
"Where are you going?" she asked, sadly.
"The valley. Remember the documents I was talking about?"
"Yes? The ones your mother submitted?"
"Precisely. It was an appeal to the noble court of the Valley to return what's rightfully ours. I mean my ancestors'." he sighed.
"Appeal? Court? Noble? Ancestors? So many words!!" she squinted.
"There's obviously a court to settle matters and stuff. It's a kingdom, after all. And the appeal was to return The Harrington Mansion to us. It belonged to my mother's ancestors, then her and now me." he said.
"But isn't Harrington your..."
"No, it's my mother's family name. My father's family name is Lee. There's no way she'd name me EDWARD LEE." he laughed.
"Wow, and I thought we were best friends." she frowned. "You didn't tell me... that was 'un-Edward-Lee' of you..." she looked proud of herself.
"You are my best friend... Don't forget what I taught you about jokes." he chuckled. "My father... he's not someone to talk about. He's..."
"He's alive?" she asked, covering her mouth.
"No, he's not. But he wasn't a good man either. He married my mother for her wealth. It was his bad luck that everything went down the hill. The property was seized when my grandfather died. He didn't write a will mentioning his heir. So, my mother appealed to the court. It has been rejected several times. But with the new council in court, things have changed. They accepted it. So, I'll have to go. Grams is coming with me." he said, not meeting her eyes.
"Great. You're leaving when I need you the most!" she sighed and rubbed her hands.
"Here..." he gave her his gloves.
"I'm not feeling that cold. But thanks." she took them.

*PRESENT*

"... and that's the last time I saw him before we met here again. And lost him again." she was trying to hold back tears.
"He'll be fine! He's a werewolf." Aaron put his arm around her and gently squeezed her shoulder in reassurance, then quickly pulled away.
"Yeah, but still!"
"Basically, you know nothing about the valley." he sighed.
"Well, all I know is the topography of the valley. I think it shouldn't be called Hale Valley. That's what they call it, right?" Natalie looked at Aaron. He laughed.
"Yes and no! It's not called Hale Valley by people outside the valley. I mean, some people prefer it like that but mostly it's called... The Valley of Mysteries."
"Mysteries? Can't say I'm surprised."
"What did you do all those months after you found the truth?" he asked.
"Well, with Harrington gone, things became difficult for me at school. I started losing control, got loads of detention hours, broke more than a couple of teeth and noses, nearly got kicked out of my school and almost got depressed." she plastered a smile on her face.
"Woah, that's too much. Learnt that in anger management classes?" he laughed and pointed at her face.
"Well, yeah. Harrington always brought me back to control. I just... just never realised. I took..." she fell silent in the middle of the sentence and looked down at her feet.
"...took him for granted!" Aaron completed it for her.
"Yeah!" a tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it quickly. Aaron gently caressed her hair.
"Hey, look at me. I know how it is..." he let go when she was looking at him. "you know... being alone and not being able to control or express. You're lucky you grew up in a family and had such an amazing friend. Me? I didn't have a friend until I met Sean when I was 12. Sean is the only one who ever bothered to talk to me. Others just kept their distance. Because I was... you know... an outcast... an orphan... a nobody." he sighed.
"Woah, I didn't know... actually, I don't know a single thing about you. I don't even know your full name. Okay, wait." she wiped her face, composed herself and extended her right hand. "Hi, I'm Natalie Brown." she smiled. He shook her hand.
"Aaron Dean, milady!" he chuckled.
"Aaron... Dean. Hmm."
"That's right. I don't know where I belong... my heritage. I don't remember why I was there but I was found in the forest of Dean when I was 5, by an elf named Allora. She took me in and treated me as her own. She gave me a name... Aaron. And to complete it, she added Dean to it. Because I was found in..."
"...the forest of Dean." Natalie completed and gestured towards their surroundings. He smiled. "So, this elf named Allora took you in..."
"She didn't have any children of her own or any other family. She was killed during an attack shortly before I met Sean." he sighed heavily.
"Oh... I'm so sorry. You were like... 10?"
"11! I didn't even get to say goodbye. They didn't let me see her." he looked away, pain in his eyes. Suddenly, he felt arms around him. Natalie hugged him tightly and sniffled. "Why are you crying?" he asked, shocked.
"I've been holding back for long. Then you told me all that..." she cried. He smiled and embraced her.
"It's okay. It's going to be okay!! I didn't know you had it in you!" he patted her back. She pulled away and wiped her face.
"What?"
"Tears! I thought those were for others who met you!" he chuckled. She smiled.
"We should probably get inside. It's getting colder. And that thing you found earlier?" she pointed towards his pocket.
"Ahh, yes. It's a scrib." He pulled the paper out of his pocket. "Before you ask again, it's a means of sending a message to people far away. I'll tell you all about it and even teach you how to do it tomorrow. I'll stay here for now. You go and sleep." he said.
"No, way!! You're coming. You stayed up last night. Are you sure, you're human?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm sure. You look more tired than me." he laughed.
"Maybe, both of us can rest. The place is protected anyway."
"But what if someone human tries to attack? Or a wild animal?"
"Seriously? What moron would be out in the middle of a forest on a night this cold?" she said. Aaron raised a brow. "Other than us!" Natalie added and laughed. Aaron laughed and muttered enchantments.
"This will provide cover." he moved his hands in the air.
"Why didn't you do this before yesterday?" just as Natalie spoke, a circle of fire emerged around the clearing. It turned white after a while and kept burning.
"That's why!" he said. "Don't worry, you'll learn." he laughed as he saw her bewildered face.
"Well, I think you're sick!" she smirked.
"Sick? Why so?" he asked.
"You've laughed at least 5 times this evening and you were saying there's nothing amusing." she giggled.
"Well, I've never been around someone like you. Sean isn't exactly funny. Actually, he's not funny at all. I mean, he tries... but let's face it, he's terrible!" he laughed again.
"Someone like me?" she said, confused. Aaron looked up and down.
"Umm, you're... funny!?"
"I didn't crack a joke."
"Uh, right. It's really cold. Let's get inside." he rushed into the tent. Natalie followed, shaking her head.