Mystery Hunt (Complete - Under Major Editing)

23. The Crown

"The crown is....." David starts. Everyone surrounds him in the living room, keen to know about the mystery of the crown.

"The crown is cursed," David says. Everyone around him gives him questionable looks but Clive knows.

"At first, I was skeptical. Even though we talk about mysteries, paranormal and everything sinister as this, I was a little confused about the castle of Nale. I had my doubts that why wasn't this castle ever searched by, but then I got to know about the owner." He points at James. "Curse was the most reasonable explanation but we had to make sure."

"For the first few days, we went around with the locals. Noah and I found the same information we already had. King Walter was a prisoner, there was a betrayer in the castle, forbidden love, and other things. But recently, we delved deeper into the city and on the outskirts of Stepford, where there were more authentic locals." David says.

"At first we had trouble communicating with them but they slowly started trusting us. Noah was a bit busy here so I went on my own. The things they said were a bit weird. They said things about magic, curses and even ghosts. But something intrigued me the most. They all had one same thing common. The crown was said to be cursed."

"My doubt was that how are they so specific on it being on a crown. Everyone said the same thing as they were in some trance when asked about the crown. The ghost stories may or may not be true but claiming the curse to be absolutely true was unethically wrong by our side." Clive adds in and he sees everyone nodding. "So I contacted the local museum."

"They couldn't provide much information as the owners of the castle weren't so keen to let them search. Even government intervention was of no avail as James's father was a powerful man. But they could gather some information from here and there." David takes out his notes and shows it to them.

"The crown being cursed is still a speculation. No one ever saw it and by a hunch, everyone thinks it is cursed. You may ask why it would be cursed. Queen Leila wasn't from this place or any place nearby. She is said to be from the Ivory Islands."

"The place of the witches," Dylan exclaims.

"Technically, the place where there were the descendants of the original witch, Shaesha." David corrects him.

"But Ivory Islands is a very far off place. King Benjamin wouldn't actually marry someone from so far away." William says.

"Actually when King Benjamin's father started the revolution, all the kingdoms beside and far off were destroyed. King Benjamin was only in his teens when he was pushed into this war. And according to the museum, that's when he was married." Clive clarifies.

"We have King Benjamin's diary to prove it. He was only 16 when he was married. And it looked like it was out of his will. His father had seen Leila on the battlefield and was amused by her bravery. He did not look into her roots and took her in his own castle. Benjamin wasn't keen on finding her and agreed on this marriage." David says.

"The revolution was about the integration of all the kingdoms in and outside of Stepford. But there were a few kingdoms who opposed it and the war began. One of those kingdoms was the Ivory Islands." Dylan had read about this in the city library.

"The people of Ivory Islands were very keen on keeping their blood royal. And with integration, their royalty was threatened. They used to practice incest which was abhorred by King Benjamin's father." Dylan adds.

"This gives Queen Leila a perfect motive to destroy this kingdom. And that's why the curse." James states the obvious.

"And that wasn't the only thing we found. Another shocking detail was that King Samuel was her son but King Rufus wasn't. But King Samuel wasn't King Benjamin's son but King Rufus was." David says.

"Okay, what David means is Leila was already pregnant with Samuel when she married Benjamin. But it wasn't his child. Leila was older than Benjamin by three years. But Benjamin only found out about this when he was on his death bed. That is why Samuel was crowned even before Benjamin died so no one could question his authority." Clive elaborates.

"But when Benjamin finally came to know about Leila's roots, he almost banished her from the palace. But she threatened her that this will only bring the war to his kingdom if the peace between them and Ivorians (habitants of Ivory Islands) was disturbed. Sure at that time he didn't know Samuel wasn't his son." Noah speaks after a long time. Both Dylan and James listen with keen ears.

"Benjamin fell in love with someone of low-level blood and fathered Rufus. The King and Queen made a deal to keep each other's secrets and maintain peace with only one condition that Rufus would never sit on this throne." Noah says.

"The palace wasn't of royal blood anymore. A small price they had to pay for the revolution." Dylan adds.

"The diary is full of melancholy and sadness. Even his love with another woman was sad. She died during childbirth." Clive sympathizes and shows them King Benjamin's diary.

"You forgot the last thing," Noah says, pointing at David's notes.