Secret Garden
“Look at this!” Ralph suddenly found something about the curse similar to what Arabelle's mom is under.
“It's the same curse!” Arabelle exclaimed when she read about the type of curse.
According to the book, it's a type of curse that can affect more than one person. Based on the book, it can't easily be broken, especially when the witch who casts it has already died. Just what her mom told her, they need to find the direct descendent of the witch. The problem is, they don't even know where that family came from. Her dad met that witch from the city back in his college days. Even her mom doesn't know much about that woman.
As Arabelle reads through the page of that book, it has a guide on a spell to locate people. Good thing she has a pen and a notebook in her bag. She immediately copied the spell that she will need to locate the descendent of the witch. There are a lot of ingredients she hasn't even heard about before. Maybe Ralph knows how to get them so she just copied everything. It will be challenging to do the spell though since she hasn't done that before.
“Do you know where to get them?” she asked Ralph and showed him the spell.
“I'll try to find them around the castle. I have a lot of plants around here.” he replied, which gives her hope.
She didn't pay enough attention outside the castle but she knows it has a garden. Maybe it has every plant on that list of spells. She needs to take that book with her to practice the spell. It's called Spells, Potions, and Curses. Seems like everything she needs to know is in that book already. Although they both still try to read from the other books they have chosen. Arabelle seems to learn a lot about witchcraft from them. While Ralph just browses through the books as if he's already familiar with them.
He already read those books before and he collected them to make that library. It was supposed to be his gift for Sofia but she never saw them. He never thought that the day would come and he would visit it with someone. After losing her in the past, he never set foot in that library. It made his belief about the reincarnation stronger. Maybe Arabelle is Sofia but she just lost her memory. Looking at her right now seems like she's so interested in witchcraft. Just like how Sofia looked when he gave her a book.
“I think we got every book we need. Can we look for the ingredients for that spell now?” Arabelle asked.
“Sure, let's just bring the books downstairs in case you need a reference.” he agreed and gathered the books.
There might be around twenty books that Ralph just took on both of his arms. They are all thick and heavy but it seems that the weight doesn't bother him. His strength is not normal, that's for sure. Arabelle pretends that she didn't notice. Even though she already knows that he's not human, she still gets surprised when he does something amazing. She just chooses not to react to them since they have more important things to do. What worries her is if she can do the spell to locate the witch's descendant.
Once they reached the ground floor, she felt like she was out of breath already. She looks at her boss and he seems like he didn't even feel anything. He doesn't seem like he's breathing though. Maybe he doesn't feel tired as well so he's fine. Ralph placed the books on the center table from the living room. She decided to rest on the couch a little so that she can catch her breath. It seems that he understands that she needs to rest. He took a seat on the couch in front of her and looked at her.
“Are you okay?” he asked as if worried.
“Yeah, I just need to rest for a bit.” she replied.
Ralph thought that getting tired is not one of the things he misses as a human. He feels better not to feel pain either like mortals. It's one of the weaknesses he doesn't need to endure anymore. Although he can't still avoid the feeling of sadness even when he's already a vampire. It's been centuries but he can't seem to get rid of that feeling. Being a vampire is really sad because he has to see all of his loved ones die one by one. He has to be alone for more than a hundred years whether he likes it or not.
Good thing he found Cassie before he lost his mind. She's been in good company all those years. Although he still feels sad whenever he thinks of Sofia. That's why he can't understand why she wants to be a vampire like him. She doesn't have any family anymore that she can be with. Even if the clan approves that she will be turned soon, he’s still against it. He doesn't want her to feel the sadness he feels since being an undead. But she had made up her mind to be turned into one after her tour.
“Let's check out the garden?” Arabelle asked and brought him back to the present.
“I think it's better to look for the ingredients in the secret garden.” he replied and smiled mysteriously.
“You have a secret garden?” she asked in disbelief.
“Of course, I have one! Let’s go and I'll show you.” he replied and stood up from the couch.
She didn't believe that there would be more secrets in the castle grounds. When they have reached the castle garden, Ralph leads her to one of the bushes. He lifted some of the vines and then found the door. When he opens it, a luscious greenery appears before their eyes. It seems to have exotic plants that can't be seen in a garden. There's a mix of colors from the flowers she has never seen before. It looks like a paradise!
“Be careful. Don't touch anything!” Ralph warns her.