162. A Place Forgotten Through Time
Safina
I crouch down low with Shane by my side. Something was different than when he had left to confront his dad. And while I keep trying to get him to open up about what had happened, he just keeps vaguely pushing the conversation away only to be replace on our focus now.
He had just looked to me with such sad eyes, telling me, “Later. Right now, we need to concentrate on getting Prince Zidane and Benjamin back.”
But there was something that was definitely off with him. Did the conversation go sour with the two of them? Was his dad still a threat to us since he obviously didn’t follow Shane back nor did he seem to be anywhere near where we were hiding.
Just when we were heading out to look for the two, we all realized we didn’t know where we were still going. The royal catacombs were known, however the location was never revealed to anyone other than the Royalty and the officials.
We had looked to Arion for guidance, but he seems to be just as lost as we were.
“You don’t remember anything when they had taken you all those years ago?” Nami asks in desperation.
Arion was uncomfortable, I could tell that much and none of us blamed him for not remembering. He had been drugged after all. I rack my brain of the conversation I had with Prince Zander and I remember him saying something to me before he had faded away. But his voice was too low, and the words just wasn’t coming to me at all.
What the hell had he said right before I had woken up? Was it the location? All these thoughts seemed pointless right now. We were running out of time.
“I say we just search the entire outskirts of the palace lands.” Jason pitches in.
“That will take too long. We don’t have the time.” Osmoses sighs heavily, looking frustrated.
I watch as Derek fidgets and paces erratically across the room. Trevor was standing with his arms crossed, watching his every move in case he springs into action letting his worry get the best of him again.
“Safina, what do you remember in the vision? What was the area like, the room?” Shane asks me gently.
“Oh, well…” I sit up straighter thinking of what I had seen. “It was dark, musky. We were in a tunnel of some sort. Cobblestones that were really old and it was damp. There were also stairs that seemed to go on forever upwards like we were underground.” I sag when I realize that wasn’t very much to go on.
“We didn’t go anywhere else honestly. We had been arguing and we stayed in that one area.”
The entire group deflated after hearing me say that as if the little hope they did just have completely blew in the wind.
I perk up a little. “There was a door though.”
“What kind of door?” They all nearly demanded.
“A large one. It was thick, wooden with chains across it. There was a large old lock. Honestly, the door itself looked old but it was sturdy like it could withstand time forever.”
“Was there a symbol on the door by chance?” Jonah suddenly pushes his way through the crowd to look at me.
“Um…” I close my eyes trying to envision the door again. “Yeah, actually there was. But I’ve never seen it before.”
‘Describe it.” Osmoses comes forward, looking a bit excited.
I look over to Shane to see his eyes lightened a bit. “Okay, um, well…” I again close my eyes so I can give the best details to my ability.
“It was an odd shape. It wasn’t something you would normally see for a royal chamber.”
“Try to explain it anyways.” Osmoses presses as he crouches down to my level.
“It was flowy. It swirled into a shape that reminded me of, well, a wolf’s head.”
“Was there, by chance, a flower shape emblem beneath it?” Jonah asks me next with a frown on his face.
“Oh…” My eyes widen when I do remember that there had been one. It was simple, but it was a flower. “Yeah, there was.”
Jonah stands up straighter as he nods. “Okay, I think I know what it is and where the Royal Catacombs are located.” He says getting everyone’s attention with that.
Just as everyone was about to bombard him, he raises his hands and quickly states, “It’s under the church!”
We all stare at him dumbfounded. “Church? Which church?” Aries asks, confused.
“It’s not well known. It hasn’t been used by the public for…centuries. It was the first church ever built by King Lucian. The first king of our kind. He built the place because he wanted to have a holy sacred place for him and his descendants, but no one actually knew where he had built the church. Over time, the people just forgot about it. Especially when the third King created the Royal graveyard.”
“But the Royal bloodline still knows about it.” Peter puts in.
“Because it isn’t just a church or the Royal Catacombs. It was built as a cover up.” I say quickly, understanding everything now.
I look back to Jonah. “Do you know where the church was built-” I stop myself as the words hits my brain like a sledgehammer.
Meadow Lake.
That was what Prince Zander had said as he faded away. Meadow Lake.
“Love, what’s wrong?” Shane grabs my hand and shakes it with a worried look on his face. “You zoned out there for a moment.”
“I just remembered what it was that Prince Zander had said to me just now.” I whisper. “Meadow Lake.”
Jonah’s head perks up with that name. “Of course! Meadow Lake was King Lucian’s wife, Queen Flora, favorite spot. It was where they had met for the first time. Everyone knows their love story of how they met at Meadow Lake.”
“King Lucian was the one who helped contain Azure, wasn’t he?” Derek asks next, trying to piece everything together.
“Yes, he was. Which means he must have thought that placing Azure’s body beneath their tombs was going to be the safest place, because no one knew about it.” I put in, feeling the adrenaline rise within me now that we knew where we are heading.
“Alright then, what are we waiting for?” Osmoses says firmly and before anyone else could say a word we all head out of the cave to find our friends.