The Valley of Mysteries | Book 1: The Beginning

Chapter 19 - LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!

*A WEEK LATER*

"I'm telling you! He's... weird. And I don't trust him!!" Natalie said grumpily.
"He can be odd sometimes... okay, more than sometimes. But you can trust him. I'd place my life in his hands!!" Alyssia reassured.
"I just don't like him!!"
"Like?" Aaron joined them near the car. Natalie looked away.
"Umm... nothing!" Alyssia said.
"There's a message from your mother!" Aaron said plainly.
"I... don't care!" she said. Aaron clenched his fists. Natalie bit her lower lip, still not looking at him. "What does it say? Not that I care! Does it say anything about Dad?" she turned towards him. "IS HE OKAY??" she freaked out.
"Yeah, that sounds like someone who wouldn't care!" Aaron scoffed.
"Shut up and start talking!" she said angrily. Aaron raised his eyebrows. "YOU... you know what I mean." she stomped her feet.
"It's from Mildred. Thomas is creating some scene at your home and she wants you to stay with Natalie at the Mansion!" he said.
"What?" Alyssia squeaked. "What's wrong!! I'm going there right now!" she said.
"No, he can try to hurt you!! I'm going there. You stay put! I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle. He is obnoxious, but we can handle him. Nothing a nice kick won't fix!" Aaron chuckled and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks." Alyssia smiled.
"You'd  know all about obnoxious!" Natalie muttered.
"Wanna say something?" Aaron snapped.
"I said did you hear anything from my... about my father from London?"
"No, there's something else!" Aaron's expressions transitioned from anger to concern.
"What?" Alyssia and Natalie said together.
"The town seems weird. Like people know more than they are letting on! The number of missing people has gone up to 53!!"
"53?"
"Yes! A duchy is down. Reinforcements have been sent. But, don't know how many places we can cover. And... I don't think you should go to school today either!" his eyes shifted from Alyssia to Natalie. Alyssia understood.
"We can't hide! If there's something out there, I wanna fight it." Natalie said.
"I don't..."
"You listen to me... I don't care what you think!! I AM NOT HIDING!!"
"AND I SAID... STAY. PUT." Aaron roared, which made Natalie jump. He pulled her by her arm and dragged her inside the mansion. Alyssia followed.
"LET GO!!!" Natalie yelled. Aaron stopped when they reached the centre hall.
"You... haven't seen what's out there. But I have!! Now... don't make me yell again." he shot her a nasty look. Edward and Sean joined them.
"Ah, do you guys ever stop bickering?" Sean rolled his eyes. "Nat!! I'm glad you're here. We need to talk!"
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" a screechy voice came from the corner of the hall. "I see, no one saw me come in. Except for those poor things." the small creature pointed towards the limbs lying outside the main door. All the guards that were stationed outside the castle were lying severed in pieces. Alyssia screamed at the sight. Natalie froze. Aaron yielded his sword.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that, pretty boy!" the creature pointed towards the door again. An orc pulled Caitlyn inside. Her arm was bleeding and her hands were tied behind her back. Aaron stepped back.
"MOM!" Natalie screamed.
"Stay put, sweetheart!" Caitlyn said, still calm.
"Give us the king and we shall leave the rest of you unharmed!" the creature said.
"You know what to do!" Caitlyn looked at Aaron. He hesitated but nodded. He walked towards Edward and held his arm.
"What?" Edward looked at him in shock. But Aaron's grip tightened on his arm. He signalled Sean, who nodded in response.
"INCENDIUM!!" Sean roared at the top of his voice. Giant flames rose from his hands and hit all the creatures in the room. Caitlyn ran away and vanished into thin air.
"Mom!!" Natalie yelled. Sean and Aaron turned towards Natalie and Alyssia.
"Subcinctus!!" Aaron yelled. A giant hole appeared in front of him. He pushed Natalie, Alyssia and Edward into it, and Sean and Aaron entered together. Natalie fell to the grassy ground.
"What the hell just happened?" Natalie asked. "And where did mom go?"
"She's fine! She's somewhere safe. And we just teleported, in case you didn't understand that either." Aaron said angrily.
"I'm just-"
"Look, we have bigger things at hand than to entertain your yelps."
"I'm not YELPING!!" she yelled.
"SHUT UP, BOTH OF YOU!!" Sean roared. "Now..."
"You knew?" Edward looked at Aaron.
"Had a hunch! I told Caitlyn. I was in the woods the day after you mentioned seeing bodies. And I reached the river. The gateway was wide open! I knew what was coming." Aaron said.
"And you didn't think about telling me?" Edward said angrily.
"As I said... we have bigger things to deal with! I told Caitlyn."
"But why did they want Edward... err... I mean Regent King!" Alyssia said.
"Edward's fine!" Edward said. Sean and Aaron exchanged an uncomfortable look.
"He's the King, isn't he? Even if he's a Regent King... I mean." Natalie spoke.
"Yeah... yeah. Right. Exactly!" Sean said.
"So... what happens now?" Natalie asked.
"Now... we wait." Aaron pointed towards the old ruins of a mansion.
"Home sweet home!" Sean said. "...well, what's left of it." he sighed.
"You live here?" Natalie asked.
"Just how dumb are you?" Sean said irritably.
"Hey!" Alyssia smacked him.
"Oof! I mean, no! I don't. This is the house where... you know... my parents died. The duchy was taken over by the council. Anyways, no one comes here and it's on the edge of the valley. So, we'll be safe after we do the enchantments." Sean said. They followed him into the broken and charred foyer.
"Wow, it's... spooky!" Natalie shuddered. "I'm... sorry. I can't even imagine..."
"It's okay!" Sean said.
"Is mom..."
"I'm here, sweetheart!" Caitlyn ran towards them and hugged Natalie. Natalie held her tightly and tears trickled down her cheeks.
"Mom!" she cried.
"I'm okay, baby!" Caitlyn rubbed her back with her uninjured arm. Suddenly, Natalie pulled away. The picture of her mother killing Scott flashed in front of her eyes. She turned away and stood beside Alyssia.