The Valley of Mysteries | Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 14 - THE GATEWAY TO THE DARK

"How big is this place!!" Natalie craned her neck and scanned the place.
"I have no idea. It's been months since I'm here but... even I haven't seen all of it." Edward smiled as he saw Natalie jumping up and down.
"So... what is this place?"
"The Royal Palace, of course!"
"The... royal? Why are we here? Oh, by the way... what moron made you the king?"
"Regent! It's temporary."
"But still... why?"
"You think I know? Half the things going on here are... ugh I have no idea." he sighed.
"Hey, I'm here now. And school starts in a week!" Natalie hugged him.
"About that... I won't be attending the school with you." his shoulders fell with a heavy sigh.
"W... what???" Natalie's eyes scanned his face for a hint of a joke but he was serious. "YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!! I CAME HERE ONLY BECAUSE YOU'RE HERE!!"
"I... know. I'm sorry. It's not easy for me either. I was thrown into something I wasn't ready for. I only wanted to..." he trailed off.
"To what?"
"It doesn't matter now. Everything has changed." he held Natalie's hands before she could swing them at him for a punch. "And... just so you know... it's up for treason to hit me. That's the last thing I want. So, please keep it under control unless we're inside or alone." he said in a small, embarrassed voice. Natalie pulled her hands out of his grip and took a few steps back.
"I... need to go. Where's dad...?"
"Follow me, Lady Natalie." a woman appeared from behind the palace gates.
"This is Bertha. She works at the court but she'll guide you towards..." before Edward could complete his sentence, Natalie walked away. He didn't move.

"Why are we here, again?" Natalie asked. They walked inside but Bertha didn't answer her question. The place was even more beautiful inside. The ceilings were adorned with giant chandeliers and murals. The furniture was the best Natalie had ever seen.
"This way, please." Bertha guided her towards the grand staircase. After a couple of turns, they reached her room. Before entering inside, her eyes fell on a man standing in the garden. He was standing with his back towards her. He was wearing black clothes and no sweater.
"Hmm, must be Sean!" she said to herself and entered inside. The room was huge. "Oh, my!! My entire house could fit in here." she gasped at the sight. Bertha smiled.
"If you need anything, there's Dominic outside the block. Have a good day, Lady Natalie." she left. Natalie put her muffler and shoes away. She flung herself on the bed with her arms open.

"Nat?" Edward knocked on the door of her room. She was still lying in her bed, eyes closed.
"Hmm?" she didn't look up.
"May I..."
"Yeah." she sat up.
"I just..."
"It's okay. But first..." she lunged at him and smacked him.
"Ow!!" he covered his head to protect himself from a rain of punches. After a few, she stopped and started crying. "Hey!!" he hugged her and rubbed her back. "Shh, it's okay."
"I... I really missed you."
"Missed hitting me?" he laughed.
"Yeah, no. I missed you!! So much!! And... and you wouldn't believe what mom did..." she hugged him tightly and continued to cry.

Natalie told Edward about what Caitlyn had done to Scott. Edward was listening to every word attentively. He knew the truth but couldn't tell her.
"Feel better?" he asked.
"Loads!" she rested her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath.
"About earlier..."
"Don't worry, I understand. I was just... I expected us to be the same as we were before you left. But just now I've realised... everything has changed. You, me... everything.
"Yes, it has. But we can't let it affect our friendship. Right?"
"Right! Now tell me why you're not joining the school?"
"Because... I have other duties to fulfil. I have a frickin kingdom to run. It's not easy... I don't know what I'm gonna do. Kids my age explore new things, and me? My entire future is planned for me. I don't know where to start..." he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Remember what your mother used to say? If it's easy..."
"That's not it!! Yes, right! That's what I keep telling myself. But it still freaks me out."
"It means you really care!! And honestly, you've been taking care of me for ages... this shouldn't be worse!" she laughed.
"Wow, you really have changed. Making fun of yourself?" he chuckled.
"Sorry to interrupt, Your Regency!" the man Natalie had seen earlier appeared outside the door.
"What is it, Aaron?" Edward answered.
"Countess Mildred is here. And she's... angry."
"What? Why?"
"They found Earl's body in the river. He was tied with a stone." Aaron said, sweat trickling down his forehead.
"Oh, my God!" Edward's face drained of all colour. "Call Sean, right now."
"I'm right here, Ed... err... Your Regency." Sean walked inside. He looked pale too.
"What are we gonna do?" Alyssia walked in behind Sean. "Oh, hello there!" she smiled weakly at Natalie.
"What's going on?" Natalie asked.
"Um... long story." Edward's hands were shaking.
"Calm down. You'll give us away." Sean said, angrily.
"Right!!" Edward covered his face. Alyssia was on the verge of crying.
"What is an Earl?" Natalie asked. Her words were followed by Edward's shock, Alyssia's tears, Sean's eye-roll and Aaron's scowl.
"Do think it's wise to talk about it in front of someone like that?" Aaron said angrily.
"What do you mean someone like that?" Natalie walked up to him.
"You!" he answered without hesitating.
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Nat! Stop, please!" Edward stopped her. "He was talking about Earl Christopher Star, Alyssia's father. He's dead."
"Oh, my God! I'm so sorry." Natalie quickly pulled Alyssia into a warm hug.
"You shouldn't be!" Alyssia cried.
"Your Regency, do you think it's wise..."
"YES, IT IS. THAT'S NATALIE BROWN, CAITLYN'S DAUGHTER!" Edward said, angrily. Aaron looked at her again and took a step back.
"I'm sorry. I was merely referring to her temper and control over herself. I'm sorry, milady. I didn't mean to insult you..." he was still angry but composed his face to say otherwise.
"It's... okay. And don't call me that. It's just Natalie!" she narrowed her eyes at him. "But what happened to your father?"
"He died a few months ago." Alyssia cried.
"What?"
"Yes, he had gone missing during the Lake challenge!" Sean answered with a tinge of anger in his tone.
"So how do you know he's been dead all along?"
"Because..." Edward looked towards Alyssia.
"I... I killed him!" she said and cried loudly. Natalie stepped back in horror. She had killed her own father!
"Al, we've talked about this. It's... not your fault." Aaron placed his hand on her shoulder, eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"Yeah, don't blame yourself." Sean hugged her.
"What the hell, people?" Natalie turned towards Edward.
"I... I'll explain," Edward said.

Edward and Sean began telling Natalie all about how they entered the Lake challenge.

*FLASHBACK*

After a long trek... Edward, Sean and Alyssia reached the bank of the river.
"We've only got 5 more days." Sean reminded.
"Yes, let's find the door." Edward looked left and right.
"God! What would you do without me?" Alyssia laughed and pointed towards a broken bridge on the river.
"You're mental!" Sean yelled as he looked at the bridge. It was missing about 7 feet of the bridge in the middle.
"How the hell are we going to cross it?" Edward gaped.
"Who said anything about crossing? We jump into the river of course!" Alyssia smiled.
"We what?" Sean and Edward asked together.
"JUMP!" she laughed. Sean and Edward shared an anxious look and followed her towards the edge of the bridge. They left their horses behind. Alyssia led them to the broken end and scratched her chin.
"What now?" Sean asked, looking down at the cold water.
"We need to open the gate!" she said.
"And how do we do that?"
"It's Hale's valley. We need a Hale to open it." Alyssia slapped her own forehead.
"Great! Now we're here and don't have the key. King Stuart is dead, remember?"
"Maybe it's to do with being the King? I... I'm named the regent... so let me try." Edward said.
"Hmm, I'm certain about the key being a Hale... but it could also be what you said." Alyssia considered his words and produced a dagger. Edward stepped back.
"I'm not letting you kill me for that damn flower!" he said. Alyssia laughed.
"No, no. I'm not going to kill you. You need to cut your palm a little and drop a little of your blood into the river." she said.
"Oh?"
"Yes!" she passed him the dagger. He looked at Sean and Alyssia, then cut his palm. A drop of his blood fell into the river. The water parted to reveal a trap door. The three of them gasped at the sight.
"Oh, my! It worked!" Alyssia said.
"What's that?" Edward asked.
"The Gateway To The Dark!" Alyssia said.
"She's gone mental, she has. It's a trap door." Sean laughed. Alyssia scowled and kicked him.