Mystery Hunt (Complete - Under Major Editing)

10. The Beginning

Past Characters –

1) Dylan as King Rufus

2) James as King Walter

3) Noah as King Samuel

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The hustle around the castle had died down. There were only a few cops who were talking to James about some stuff. Others were admiring the outside of the castle. It was surrounded by a garden of weeds but thankfully it was removed before they could come.

The castle looked even bigger from a closer view. The beautiful and intricate designs left everyone awestruck. The place reeked of antiques. Dylan's hand automatically kept clicking the pictures of the castle. He just couldn't stop. The place around was cleaned up but it still gave the old vibes.

Even with the area being creepy, there was a sense of warmth that attracted Dylan to the backyard. He was going to stop there for a moment when Clive calls him,

"Oii! You coming in or no?"

"Yeah!" he shots one last glance at the path which leads to the backyard and then enters through the main gate of the castle. The pathway was of stones and they kept walking, discussing, and clicking pictures. But something was strange.

Ever since the morning, James has been ignoring Dylan. Not in an 'I am busy with work' kinda way but 'I want to stay away from you' way. Not that Dylan cares about it anyways. He is trudging along the path to the entrance as one of the cops, who showed them the way, opened the doors to the hall of Castle of Nale.

It had a throne which was very bad in shape at one end of the hall. It was very visible from the far end of the entrance. There were chairs on both sides implying that this might have been the court where the King would listen to the worries of the citizens with his ministers around to advise him. But the most interesting part of it was the portraits. Portraits of King Benjamin and his sons. Logan was the first to notice that.

"Why does it look similar to......" he turns to Noah, "You!" then turns to the portrait beside it and then turns to Dylan, "And you too!"

Everyone gathers around the portraits except for James. For some reason, the moment his eyes fell on Dylan's portrait, he was stunned. It seemed as if he had seen a ghost. He was just frozen.

The portraits were carefully taken down one by one. The portrait that looked similar to Noah had 'King Samuel, firstborn of the Great King Benjamin and the Great Queen Leila' etched behind it.

The portrait that looked similar to Dylan had 'King Rufus, the second born of the Great King Benjamin and the Great Queen Leila' etched behind it.

There was another portrait that looked similar to Clive and had 'Prince Percy, beloved brother of the Great Queen Leila' etched behind it.

They were all awestruck with the stark similarities between them and the portraits.

"Why does it look like they were their ancestors?" Logan jokes a little but everyone could feel the tension in his voice. The room felt a bit heated when suddenly James spoke,

"I think.....it is enough for today..." he is still white with fear and Clive notices it. They decide to take pictures of the portraits and go back to discuss it. Dylan felt weird about James's behavior but Noah's behavior was more confusing.

Why wasn't he saying anything? Does he really not know about the ancestor thing?

They reach the house but James rushes to his room, shutting his door with a bang. They don't follow him, thinking he might need some time and sit down to find a little more. The most plausible explanation seemed of being ancestors but they had to be sure. The family trees would help and that work was given to Noah and David. Dylan took a sigh of relief that Noah might tell the truth now.

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"Hey buddy, you okay?" Clive peeps into James's room, "May I come in?"

James was in his sweats and sitting on the chair, his face buried into his laptop.

"Oh hey! Come in." he ushers Clive in.

"You did not come for dinner so I saved you some. Noah's cooking is the best." He gives him a plate of food but James nods.

"Thanks, but I don't feel that hungry." And reverts his eyes back to the laptop.

"Is something wrong?" Clive asks as he sits on a chair beside James.

"Huh?" he looks at Clive.

"You can't sleep, can you?"

"Uh...yeah..." James stutters, "Hah! Funny thing. Can't sleep in new places. Takes me time to adapt to...you know.....new surroundings...."

"Or nightmares?" Clive folds his hands on his chest indicating he knows something.

James turns white with fear and starts stuttering more, "Hah! No, no...I don't know why you think that way but....."

"I saw you." Clive interrupts, "I woke in the middle of the night to get some water when I heard some whimpers from your room. I dashed in to see you struggling, tossing, and turning in your bed. You were sweating profusely. I woke you up and gave you some water, but you went right back to sleep."

"I waited in your room for some time to make sure you were okay and then left. It seems you don't remember seeing me." he finishes and looks at James who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"I...I didn't know!"

"Don't worry. It wasn't my first time. But this was yours right?" Clive asks him seriously.

"Yeah. I couldn't concentrate on the whole day. And those portraits, those portraits were so similar...just like the nightmare."

"I know who could help you."

"No Clive. I am not going to a therapist for this. It's such a small thing. Plus I don't want unnecessary attention on me." James shrugs the offer.

"He is more of your nemesis, or shall I say crush?" Clive giggles and continues, "I am talking about Dylan. When I said watching you like this wasn't my first time, I was talking about Dylan. He has had.....similar experiences."

"You mean to say he also has these kinds of nightmares?"

"Sort of. At least that is what I think. He never remembers them though."

"Then how is he sure it is a nightmare?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" He gets up to leave, "Talk to him about it or let it be. Maybe it is just because you are new to the place."

James keeps on fiddling with his fingers. He strolls around his room, goes to the balcony for some fresh air. He wants to spend the night somehow. He was too scared to fall back to sleep and couldn't stop comprehending whether to go and talk to Dylan or no.

He looks at the clock and it says 3:20 A.M.

"He must be asleep now. I'll talk tomorrow." He turns his back towards the clock.

But somehow, just after five minutes, he finds himself outside of Dylan's room.

"Hey, it's James. Can I come in?"