Chapter 65 - The annoying voice
Fernando
When I woke up before Isabela, I felt a mixture of joy and satisfaction. As I got out of bed, a smile curved my lips when I saw her lying in the same position in which she had fallen asleep. I hadn't even left the bedroom, and I was already missing the beautiful blonde who had made my day. I sighed, my eyes reluctant to say goodbye to her, even for just a few hours.
Whatever we found in the basement of the old library, I was determined to bring Isabela good news. My greatest wish was to brighten up the dark days that stubbornly followed her. I knew I would find evidence, or even the kidnappers themselves, hidden deep in the library's secret passageway.
I prepared my clothes for the investigative mission and put them on without prolonging my daydreams. Likewise, I tiptoed out of the bedroom towards the abandoned corridors, all I didn't want to do was wake my fiancée so early and leave her overwhelmed with anticipation; I hope she has a pleasant morning in Maria's company while I'm gone.
"Your Grace is late." He said debauched, leaning against the stone wall outside the library, his attention focused on the green apple he was eating.
"Where did you forget your manners? Under your bed? Don't forget that I'm still your duke, Raul Torres." I commented, visualizing him dressed as he did every day.
"I'm sorry for my rudeness, this apple is perfect, I'm just not offering it to you because it's almost gone, only the cores are left."
"I don't want to eat the rest of your apple, I know where the orchard is, so go ahead. I see the path is clear, where should we start?" I asked when I got close enough to see what he was holding in his free hand.
"Do you want to invade this land without knowing what might be in store for both of us? If your answer is yes, why didn't you bring a weapon to defend yourself? I don't intend to die today, Your Grace."
"Don't worry about our death, that day is a long way off, now give me this!" I took the torch he was holding. "This torch can be a weapon, it's more than enough."
"Don't think I'll lose my life today, at worst I'll run back the way we came."
"I'm impressed by your chivalry, I even get emotional listening to you, Raul."
"I hope you understand me. All right, but if you're going to light up the place with the torch, you have to walk in front of me, you can start walking."
"Whatever, let's start looking for those bastards right away."
"Come this way." He suggested and opened the heavy wooden door that led into the library, gesturing for me to go ahead. "Be careful not to set fire to the old books, one spark of fire in that pile of old stuff and your fiancée will be a widow before she's even married."
We went into the library and, when Raul closed the door, I lit the fire at the end of the torch, taking care not to set everything on fire.
"I'm not a boy, Raul. When it comes to dealing with fire, I'm experienced in every sense of the word."
"I can imagine, Fernando, the duke of flames." Raul replied and pointed to the dark corner, I sensed he was making fun of me. "Get in here and move forward, lighting up this corridor."
"Your sarcasm is undeniable. But don't worry about my fiancée, she won't be a widow any time soon. Firstly, it's time to draw your weapon and be ready for any confrontation, don't you think?"
"I don't need an order for that, we're in a place where I'm more experienced than you, when it comes to the use of force, you don't need to tell me what to do, I always do it with force." What did he mean by that? "Just go ahead and light the way."
"What's wrong with you, my dear? Why are you in such a bad mood? Your voice is so rough that I can hardly tell you apart from a grumpy dog!"
"Well, whether I'm a dog or not, maybe it's best if we just keep quiet. We mustn't forget that we're in an unfamiliar place and, besides, we're not exactly welcome here."
As we progressed down the dark corridor, the space in the secret passage became narrower and narrower, which made us a little uncomfortable. But luckily for us, after a few steps, we came to a rustic door on the floor, indicating that we would have to go further down, towards a mysterious place between the castle walls.
"What's that? Another door?" I asked two questions in a row, which made Raul come closer and grope the wood.
"We have to go downstairs." He suggested, crouching beside the door. "Be careful not to step on the wood and fall, we don't know how long it's been here, it could be rotten."
"I've already told you that I'm not a child, so is the door open?" I asked, curious for an answer.
When I saw Raul lifting the door, which didn't even creak, I was sure that my uncle wasn't part of that plot to kidnap Isabela in the basement of Montjuic. Therefore, Filipe and Jaime, as well as Ana, were responsible. In fact, I still have no proof that my brother and Ana were really involved, but the chances were high that they were together with Lucia.
"What are you waiting for? Go down those steps carefully, they're wet." Raul warned me.
We entered the sloping corridor, meticulously carved out of pure stone, and illuminated only by the dim light of the torch I held tightly. With every step into the unknown, I felt the heavy air fill my lungs, as if the atmosphere carried with it an impenetrable mystery.
The secret passage was damp, which hindered our progress, perhaps explaining why my brother had been found exhausted the day before. What on earth were they doing in that place? This frightening question made me apprehensive, wondering what might await us at the end of our journey.
The sound of water drops falling from the soaked ceiling echoed in the puddles, louder than the rapid beating of my heart. Suddenly, something even more unusual than the echoing drip in total darkness put us on alert. We exchanged a quick nervous glance, aware that we couldn't go back any further.
"Did you hear the same voice as me?" Raul asked from behind me.
"How did I not recognize that annoying voice?"