Castle Secrets

Written by Donald E. Fleming II

Story concept by Donald E. Fleming II

Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.

"There are secrets about this castle even you don't know, Xanatos."

Demona 'City of Stone Part Three'

985 AD

Castle Wyvern, Scotland

The young gargoyle ran into the Great Hall, glancing over her shoulder for just a moment to make certain she had shaken her pursuer. Good, she thought. I lost him. He'll find me again, but hopefully not just yet. Looking around the Great Hall, she spied the tapestry hanging on the south wall and rushed towards it. She slipped into the small alcove just behind the tapestry and waited.

Her pursuer was not as far behind as she had hoped. Almost as soon as she began to relax in her hiding spot, she heard her pursuer enter the room. Her breath caught in her throat as she listened to him panting in exhaustion.

"I know you are in here," she heard him say. "You might as well come out of hiding now and end this chase."

The young female held her breath, not wanting to betray her position. She waited, hoping he would give up the chase and leave the room, but then the tapestry was pulled aside, and she cried out in surprise at the sight of her pursuer.

"I knew I would find you, my Angel," he said with a sly grin on his face.

The red-haired female that would one day be known as Demona looked up into the face of her mate, Goliath and smiled back at him. "How did you find me, my love?" she asked. "I thought this was a good hiding place."

"You always hid behind this tapestry when we were hatchlings playing the game the humans call Hide and Seek, remember?" he reminded her. "And besides, it was not as if I could not follow your scent, now more than ever." He stepped forward and placed his arms around her slender waist, pulling her into his embrace.

Goliath's Angel knew exactly what he meant. It was the time of the Breeder's Moon, the time of a gargoyle's life when their bodies became ready to bear young. Many of the clan's females were already actively breeding, spending time with their chosen mates in privacy until they began to show the signs that new life had begun within their bodies. But some, like her, delighted in the sport of the chase, making their chosen mates hunt them down for the simple thrill of the pursuit. And so far, Goliath had always managed to run her to ground, and eagerly claimed his reward.

"That is cheating, you know," she said. "I should make you chase me a second time."

Goliath held her tightly. "But you won't," he said. "I have you now, and you know there is no way I am going to release you until I have claimed what is rightfully mine."

"And what might that be?" she asked coyly.

Goliath smiled at her. "I believe you already know the answer to that question, my Angel," he said as he began to force her backwards, attempting to join her in the small space behind the tapestry. Demona giggled as she put her arms around his broad shoulders and drew him close as Goliath settled his wings around her.

"Ahem," they heard someone cough. They both turned to see Prince Malcolm holding the tapestry to one side, his eyes fixed on them.

"I am sorry, Your Highness," Goliath apologized sheepishly as he disentangled himself from his mate. "We were just…"

"I understand perfectly, Goliath," he said, smiling at the two. "Given the activities of the rest of your clan, I should have expected someone to end up here in the Main Hall."

"We did not mean to intrude," Demona said. "If I had known that there was someone else in the hall…"

"I should be the one to apologize," the Prince said to her. "I was merely coming in to retrieve a message from my cousin, Lord Finley, when I saw movement behind the tapestry. I should have realized what was going on when I heard your laughter."

Demona blushed. "Did the Princess arrive at Moray in good health?" she asked.

"Yes, Katherine arrived there safe and sound," he said. "It is good of you to ask." He stepped back slightly. "I shall leave the two of you to your fun," he said.

Goliath watched as the Prince released the tapestry, allowing it to fall back into place, before turning his attention back to his mate. Waiting until he heard the doors to the Great Hall close, he then smiled at her.

"I believe I was about to claim my reward for tracking you down," he said slyly as he pressed her back towards the wall.

"I believe you are right," she returned with a smile. She reached up and placed her arms around his broad neck. Goliath smiled back at her and slipped his arms around her again. He effortlessly lifted her off her feet and held her close as she wrapped her legs around his waist. She moaned softly as he nipped at the side of her neck, but then groaned in discomfort as she felt the corner of a protruding block press into her back.

"Goliath, wait," she gasped as she felt the stone dig into her flesh. "There's something…"

Goliath drew back, pulling Demona away from the wall, and she turned to examined the source of her discomfort. "I do not remember any of these stones ever protruding quite this far from the wall before," she said.

"Hmm," Goliath muttered. He placed his hand against the face of the block. "Could this wall have shifted without our notice?"

"It is possible," Demona said. "This alcove has always been hidden behind a tapestry at one time or another. And when was the last time we played 'Hide and Seek' with our rookery kin?"

"It has been a while," Goliath said. "We should tell the prince about this," he stated. "If this wall has shifted, it might become unstable. It would be wise for the prince to have this wall rebuilt before that happens."

"True enough," Demona said. She placed her hand over his. "It appears you will have to wait to claim your reward, mighty warrior," she taunted. "At least until after we inform…"

She never finished her sentence, because just as she began her taunt, the block shifted under their hands and retracted into the wall. They both watched in surprise as a portion of the wall opened before them, revealing a hidden passageway.

"By the Dragon," she gasped. She took a step towards the opening.

"Wait," Goliath commanded, placing his hand on her shoulder. "You do not know what might lie within. There could be danger…"

"This has been our home for a great many years, my love," she said. "I am certain that whatever is inside has long since lost its element of danger." She smiled back at her mate. "Surely, you cannot be afraid of a little dust and cobwebs, my love."

"It is what may lie under the dust and cobwebs that I worry about," he responded.

"We should still investigate," she said. "If there is danger within, then it is best that we find it now, rather than have it lie in wait and perhaps catch us off guard when we least expect it."

"You are right," Goliath said. "But we should inform the prince before…"

Demona disappeared into the passageway.

"My Angel, wait!" he called out as he rushed after her.

The passageway was dark, but their night vision enabled them to still see in the gloom. Goliath carefully followed his mate as she felt around in the dark.

"Here," she said finally. "I found a torch." She handed her discovery to Goliath, and he held it until she located both a flint and a striker, and soon the passageway was illuminated by the light given off by the blazing torch.

The two examined their surroundings, looking for anything that might explain the discovery they had made.

"Look at this, my love," Demona said as she moved close to the wall by the doorway. There was a lever that was attached to the loose block with a bar. "It looks as though this controls the door." She moved the lever forward and the stone door began to close. Goliath rushed forward to try to stop the door, but then Demona pulled on the lever and the door stopped closing. He turned to frown at her.

"You should not touch anything until we know what we are dealing with," he warned. "We could have become trapped in here."

"No harm was done," she returned, then smiled. "Can you imagine what our clever little sister would think of this?"

"Yes," he said with a bit of a frown. "Unfortunately." He started for the door. "We should…" he started, but then he saw his mate begin to head further down the passageway. "My love, wait!" he called out. "Where are you going?"

"I want to see how far this goes," she said. "I won't be long."

Goliath rumbled deep in his throat as his azure mate left the circle of light the torch threw off, then looked at the door. Growling, he pushed on the lever to close the hidden door, then followed after his mate.

Demona stopped and turned as she heard her mate stalking after her. She smiled at him. "Can you feel it?" she asked.

"What?" he asked in return.

"There is a breeze," she said. "Look at the torch."

Goliath looked at the torch he held in his hand. The flame flickered slightly in the almost imperceptible breeze. "You are right," he said.

"There may be an unguarded secret way into the castle," she said. "That threatens the security of the castle and the clan. We have to find it." She started down the passageway again, and this time Goliath followed behind her without hesitation.

They followed the passageway as it sloped downwards, and Goliath realized that they were passing under the outer walls of the castle when the carved stone blocks of the castle disappeared abruptly, only to be replaced by what was obviously a natural tunnel. Goliath had to stoop to keep from bumping his head on the low ceiling of the tunnel, and both gargoyles caped their wings around their shoulders in the close quarters of the tunnel.

Eventually, the tunnel opened up, and they found themselves in a cave. Goliath found a torch holder attached to the wall and carefully placed the torch in it.

"Look up there," Demona said, pointing towards the ceiling of the cave. Goliath looked up and saw the night sky through a small opening.

"That must be the source of the breeze you felt," he said. "It does not appear large enough for anyone to pass through, but we should tell the Prince about it nonetheless. He may want to have the passageway sealed to prevent anyone from gaining access to the castle this way."

"Is it possible the Prince had this way built as a possible escape route should the castle be breached?" Demona asked, curious.

"It is possible," Goliath admitted. "But as clan leader, I am certain the Prince would have informed me about it if that were the original purpose of this place. I fear that this place has a far more sinister purpose."

"I may have found it," he heard his mate say. He turned to see her standing by the far wall, examining the items that sat on a small bench. He approached her carefully, then stopped when she turned, a book held in her hands. A spellbook.

"This place belonged to the Archmage," he said with a heated growl. He went back to the torch and snatched it up, then started back towards the bench. Demona took a step back as she saw the anger in his eyes.

"Goliath, wait!" she protested, bringing up her hand to stop him.

"Why?" he said angrily. "These things must be destroyed before…"

"Before the Archmage can return for them?" she asked. "The Archmage is dead, my love. We both saw him fall to his death." She carefully opened the book and flipped a few of the pages. "I seriously doubt that he will be able to reclaim these things from whatever Hell he inhabits now."

"Perhaps," Goliath admitted. "But we must ensure that these evil things are never used again." He took another step towards the bench.

"These things are not evil," Demona protested.

"They are the possessions of the Archmage…" Goliath growled.

"But that does not make them evil," Demona fired back. When he frowned at her, she placed her hand against his chest to try to calm him. "Magic is merely a tool, my love," she said. "Nothing more, nothing less. Just because these things once belonged to the Archmage, it does not mean that they are inherently evil. It all depends on how they are used. Our mentor's sword once belonged to a Viking. Does that make it evil? And need I remind you that the Magus used the Grimorum to save the Prince's life, and that tome once belonged to the Archmage as well." She set the spellbook she held back on the bench. "We should not destroy these things simply because of how they were used in the past. If anything, we should let the Magus decide what to do with them, since he is the one who will no doubt put them to good use."

Goliath looked at the items on the bench, then looked into his beloved's eyes, and realized that she was right. He had little use for magic himself, in fact he preferred to stay as far away from it as possible, but he knew that his Angel was right about the Magus being able to put the items to good use. "Very well," he said finally. He then reached out and took her by the hand. "Come," he said. "We should tell the Prince about what we have found."

"Do we have to do it right this moment?" she asked as she pulled back slightly, surprising him. When he looked back at her with a hint of confusion, she quickly continued. "After all, you have yet to claim your reward for finding me."

Goliath looked at her coy smile, then smiled himself as she urged him towards a darkened corner of the cave. Goliath dropped the torch and it sputtered momentarily before going out, leaving the cave in almost total darkness.

When they returned to the Main Hall some time later, they found the clan's watchdog poking his head behind the tapestry, and the clan's former leader was in the Main Hall waiting for them, with the Prince by his side.

"I was wondering where the two of ye had gotten to," the aged gargoyle said as he saw them step out from behind the tapestry.

"My apologies, old friend," Goliath said, throwing a smile towards his mate. "We lost track of the time."

"What is that sound?" the Prince asked as his ears picked up the sound of grinding stone.

"There is a secret door behind the tapestry, your Highness," Goliath said. "My Angel and I discovered it quite by accident after you left us, and…well…"

"A secret door?" Prince Malcolm asked. "Leading where?"

"A cave," Demona said. "It seems to be close by, and we found several of the Archmage's possessions there."

"The Archmage?" the old gargoyle gasped.

"It appears that the Archmage may have used the secret door on the occasions when he seemingly appeared from out of nowhere," Goliath said. "And then vanished in much the same fashion."

Prince Malcolm looked at the old gargoyle with concern before turning his attention back to the two young mates. "I shall have the Captain of the Guard investigate this," he said. "Anything the Archmage left behind should be destroyed…"

"There is no need for that," the azure female said. When the Prince opened his mouth to rebuff her, Goliath quickly spoke in her defense.

"The Magus would no doubt benefit from what we found, your Highness," he said. "If anything, he should be allowed to examine the Archmage's equipment, to ensure that there is nothing that may prove to be hazardous if handled improperly."

The Prince stroked his chin, thinking about Goliath's words. "You are correct, Goliath," he said. "The Magus would know the best way to dispose of the Archmage's talismans. Very well. I shall inform the Magus of your discovery. Then, we will seal up the tunnel you found to…"

"Is that truly necessary?" Demona asked. When the three males looked at her, she smiled as she placed her arm around her mate's. "It would be nice if the two of us were to have someplace 'private' where we could escape the demands of the clan on occasion."

The Prince smiled at her words, then turned his attention back to Goliath. "It seems your lovely mate already has plans of her own for what the two of you found," he said. Then he looked at Demona. "So be it. The secret cave shall be yours, so long as there is no danger of anyone sneaking into the castle through that route."

"We shall ensure that there is none, my Prince," Goliath said.

"Good," the Prince said. "Then I will go inform the Magus of what you have discovered. He will no doubt want to go over the items right away." He turned and left the Main Hall.

"I imagine that the two of ye will be wanting to keep this a secret," the old gargoyle said with a smile.

"It would be nice," Demona said, tugging playfully at Goliath's arm. "Can you…"

"The rest of the clan will not hear it from me," he said.

"Thank you, old friend," Goliath said.

"Come, boy," the old gargoyle that would become known as Hudson said to the clan's watchdog. "These two look as though they still need some time to themselves." With the gar-beast close on his heels, the aged gargoyle headed for the door. They waited until the old gargoyle left the Main Hall before turning to each other. Smiling, the azure-blue female reached up and placed her arms around her mate's broad shoulders.

"I wonder how long we will be able to keep this a secret," Goliath said. "No matter how hard we try to keep it to ourselves, someone else is bound to learn about it."

"Well then," she said. "We will just have to do our best to ensure that doesn't happen, won't we, my love."

He smiled as he took her in his arms.

1995

Castle Wyvern, Manhattan

Goliath watched as his clanmates soared through the air, spreading the gas that Xanatos planned to use to break the spell his former mate had cast over the city. But there was something preying on his mind, something that he had overlooked. But try as he might, he couldn't think of what it could be.

He turned his attention to Xanatos as the armor-clad industrialist came up alongside him.

"It looks like your plan will work, Xanatos," he said.

"I had no doubt about that," Xanatos said. "I'm more worried about that beast of yours shredding my tapestry."

Tapestry? he thought. "What tapestry?" he asked quickly.

"The 12th Century piece on the South wall," Xanatos said. "Bronx was clawing at it when we left."

"We must return to the castle," Goliath said urgently before peeling away, his path taking him directly towards the castle. Wondering what would cause Goliath to change his course so suddenly, Xanatos hesitated for a moment before following after him.

Goliath flew as quickly as he could, trying to reach the castle before what he feared most could happen…

The End