Mystery Hunt (Complete - Under Major Editing)

17. The Whole Truth : II

The next morning, everyone sits around James, carefully listening to his story. James, on the other hand, spoke with utmost truth. He told them everything. Except for his dream about King Rufus of course.

"You could have told us about it before." William uses a softer tone. "You think we wouldn't understand you?"

"This doesn't change the fact that you lied. We are still disappointed." David says, sipping his coffee. He felt a little guilty over jumping to conclusions without knowing the context behind it.

"And why would you leave papers like this in the open?" Clive questions. He smells something fishy.

"I had them in my safe. I don't know how....." James's voice became small.

Noah is sweating a bit. No one can know that he was the one who kept those papers out. Before coming to this palace, he had rung up James's office in the context of getting some details. From there he got the number of his dad. He rang him up, posing as a cop where he found out about the demolition. All he had to do was find those papers. By his luck, James had forgotten to lock his safe and Noah had his chance. He was sure one of the members would find it out. He prayed that it wouldn't be Dylan or Clive because they would confront him in private.

"But that doesn't change the fact that he lied. We can't trust him anymore." Noah folds his arms across his chest.

"But he spoke the truth now," William says with beaming eyes.

"Don't worry James. We will make sure to put in some worth for this castle to prove to your dad." Logan smiles at him, assuring him that everyone will come around.

Clive nods and everyone smiles around James. Except for David and Noah. David just scoffs back to his room.

"Don't worry. He will come around." Clive says when he saw James looking at David leaving.

"Should we continue our noble work then?" Dylan finally speaks and everyone nods in unison.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After the examination of the throne, they decided to look at the kitchen and servant's rooms at the back of the hall. James and Dylan were talking to each other in hushed tones.

"No way! I saw myself...err I mean King Rufus sitting on that throne!" Dylan closes his mouth with shock. James told him what he saw and how he got the burn scar.

"Exactly! And I saw Walter on the throne, who was the prisoner!" he then looks at his burn scar, "And he was grinning....like a madman. What if...." He touches his burn mark.

"And I froze. King Rufus has tears in his eyes. It seemed as if he didn't want to sit on the throne." He then turns to James, "Walter might have captured this castle first and then Rufus might have recaptured it or even the order interchanged."

"But they were lovers...how is it possible?" James looks at him.

"Who were lovers?" Clive jumps in their conversation with a suggestive look on his face.

"We...we...were just talking....." Dylan and James blabber but Noah interrupts.

"Is your picnic over? Should we focus on our work then?" Noah looks at James angrily and walks ahead of them.

"Woah! Someone is in a bad mood! You did not give him a goodnight kiss or what, William?" Clive jokes. William just hisses at him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x

The kitchen had mostly burned down. There were some artifacts of utensils that would have made some headlines but that's it. The servant's room was the same. Most of the items looted except for diaries, journals or papers. Though they weren't in good condition.

"Be careful while taking pictures," David tells one of the crewmen.

Dylan takes a look at some of the pages.

"Some of it is really destroyed and unreadable. Some of them have the daily life of the servants." Dylan says looking through them.

"Read through them. We might get to know about any rumor or politics going on during that time." James crouches before Dylan to look at them.

"The servants knew about everything. They were also used as a tool to spread false rumors." David remembers from his research.

"Most of the writings are just cryptic messages. Like, listen to this one -

I regret every ship that he never sailed,
And listening to the fallen angel on her honor's shoulder,
I regret not exorcising that demon who possessed that already wretched soul,
and every two-lane word he swore."

"It sounds like a poem. Like he is addressing someone in particular." James says in thought.

"And this servant can't openly say that person's name. Which means it was for someone from the castle."Clive says.

"Particularly someone royal. That is why they are scared to take his name in case they get caught." Dylan says.

"Listen to this too." James takes another piece of paper.

"No, not love like this.
Such love must stay hidden
inside dark corridors
beneath my ribs.

You mustn't look at me tender
you mustn't talk to me sweet;
you mustn't give this wild bird
its desired pair of wings.

If the shining lights of
his love would turn on
Darkness would come...."

"Why did you stop?" William asks James. James holds the paper in front of him, showing the torn part.

"The other part must be in here somewhere." David starts to look around him.

"I don't know man but I just felt the chills. It was a sad and cryptic message." Clive just wraps his arm around himself showing he was cold.

"I will take these poems." Dylan gets up to move out.

"Why?" James asks Clive.

"Oh, he loves doing these things. You give him a poem with a cryptic message; he would decode it in within minutes." Clive nods as he goes out too.

Dylan was just looking at those poems, particularly the one which James read. Clive was right that it was sad. And the theme was eerily similar to some of the poems he used to decode earlier - the theme of Forbidden Love. But he had to be sure because half part of it wasn't there.

But if it really was about forbidden love, could it be between Rufus and Walter?

James pats his shoulders, waking him up from his thoughts. Dylan just gives him a weak smile and moves ahead. James felt it was weird and decided to visit him late at night. He knew Dylan wouldn't sleep and try to decode those poems for the whole night.