"time for dinner" Gerald says from the doorway, Tris rushes from her closet.
"finally I'm starving!" she exclaims
Gerald leads us down several hallways all lined with doors, before turning down a long hallway that is simply just walls. Where are all the doors? I think the walls are covered with maps and pictures all of the same place, but still no doors.
We turn down another hallway and at the end of it there is two large doors that open to a large dining room.
"girls, glad you could join us!" Daniel says merrily
We sit down beside each other at a large well finished table. As food is brought out by two waiters. One an old man the other quite young maybe in his early twenties.
"tonight is fresh pheasant with french potatoes and freshly picked peas." Gerald announces
"what's a pheasant?" Tris asks me I shrug unsure
"well lets eat!" Daniel says "so how was your ladies trip?" he questions us
"long" Tris answers poking at her questionable meat
"your house is more lovely than I remember" my mother states looking around
"this is just a summer home" Daniel shrugs I almost choke on my food "as well I have taken the liberty of moving your car to the garage." he says for the first time sounding pretentious enough to match his name.
"thank you Daniel" my mother nods towards him
I look down at my plate taking a bit of the meat and slowly eating it.
"now there is the matter of why you came here" Daniel starts
"Daniel don't" my mother states
"they have to know, Helen"
"no they do not have to get caught up in my mothers and grandmothers nonsense" my mother states her voice stern
"what nonsense?" questions Tris
"Tris honey it is none of your concern" mother says gently
"clearly it is" I chime in
"they are of the right age, Helen, as well if they get much older they have no chance." Daniel says
"I don't need you filling my children's heads with stories, we already had this conversation."
"is that what you were arguing about earlier?" I question
My mother sighs, "it is!" I shout
"what's so important that you can't tell us, you promised never to keep anything from us" Tris adds
"I know what I said" my mother snaps at her, "but you don't need to get caught up in the families nonsense stories and lies!"
"please Helen they need to know" Daniel urges
"they do not!" she slams her fork and knife down "end of discussion."
I look down at my plate picking at the food. Mother lets out a long sigh "Kaya take your sister to bed, you've had a long day it's time for some rest" she says her voice calm.
I nod as Tris and I get up, we walk out the door and as soon as we close it I can hear the screaming start.
"I thought we were here because he is sick?" Tris asks
"so did I"
"I'm really not in the mood for sleep" she states
"neither, want to explore?"
"why not" she shrugs "where do we start?"
"here" I said stopping in the hallway with no doors
"what's there to do here? There's no doors" she points out
"exactly" I say "everywhere else is lined with doors except here."
"okay well what are all these drawings of?" she questions
"don't know, looks like an island" I said examining one of the pictures the island is large and round with many bodies of water within it. Right beside it was a map of the same island.
"look at this" I point to the map "mermaid Lagoon, Cannibal Cove those are weird names for lakes"
Tris walks over she snorts "Indian camp, Hangmans Tree, who names one tree?"
She continues to examine the map as I walk along the wall. I reach the end of the hallway and in the next one to the right there is a door on the corner. It's different from the rest, the rest were all plain and a deep brown, but this one was a light brown with spirals running through the old wood.
I open the door and peer into the room it's tiny and is completely empty except for a chair with a single book in it. The walls are painted with the same map and island as in the other hallway.
"Tris get in here!" I shout
"what?" she says walking into the room and looking around "okay, this guy has a problem"
I grab the book from the chair and look at the cover 'The Fantastical Adventures of Peter Pan' "I've never seen this book before"
"there's a shock" Tris laughs
I open the cover "look who it's written by" I gasp she walks up to me peering over my shoulder "this book is based upon the true and fantastic stories of Peter Pan and Daniel Octavious Darling I, written by Daniel Octavious Darling I" I say
"true? That's a laugh" Tris says
"maybe" I contemplate "but look, this room it's too small"
"what do you mean?" she questions me
"there is no doors on the other hallway and this room takes up maybe a fifth of the wall there is still a lot of room missing." I state
"so?"
"there's got to be something" I look around feeling the walls
"this isn't a movie, there isn't secret passages that doesn't happ-" she spoke as the wall clicked and opened
"you were saying" I smirk
I look down through the door there is nothing but darkness. I pull out my phone and put on the flash. "come on" I say
"you want me to go down a dark creepy passage way in a strange mans house?" she questions her eyes filled with horror
"yes." I say she grabs my hand and squeezes tightly as we walk through the door.
I aim the light at the ground as we walk through the dark passage. The ground turns into a stone stair way. "this way, watch your step" I tell her as we climb the spiraling stairs.
We reach the top, there's a door I try the handle "it's locked" I inform her.
"move over" she rolls her eyes at me, I shine the light on the lock as she pulls bobby pins out of her hair. She bends them out of place and jimmies them into the lock. It clicks open she smiles.
"there"
"where in the world id you learn that?" I question quite shocked
"I don't get money from no where" she smirks
"you steal from moms safe?!" I ask shocked
"when necessary" she shrugs and opens the door. It reveals a dusty wooded room, "must be the attic" Tris says
I nod looking around there are three old bed frames one on top of the other. Tris laughs from the other side of the room.
"who names their dog Nana?" she points to a large dog house with the name Nana painted on top.
"dunno" I answer looking around the room it is filled with stuff from the 1900's until the second world war. I find an army helmet and it is dented but still in tacked. It is on top of a chest.
"look at this" I say opening the chest inside there is a beautiful pink gown clearly from the early 1900's.
"that's gorgeous" says Tris taking it from my hand and measuring it to her body
"I think you've get a few years to go" I laugh she sticks out her tongue.
I look back in the chest there is a beaten up teddy bear and a doll of a boy wearing green with red hair it is clearly younger than the bear. I pick up the doll and see a small hat underneath it the same color as the clothes on the doll.
"what's that?" Tris questions dress still in hand.
"a doll" I respond
"I got that, but who is it" she exclaims
"I don't know, it's just a doll" I say placing it on the ground next to the chest. I look back into the chest, a tattered purple cardigan is within it. I push that to the side reaching the bottom of the chest.
"oh my god" I exclaim picking up four gold coins, three pearls, a ruby and a diamond. I put the pearls, ruby and diamond down and examine the coins.
"what the?" Tris says looking at the treasure.
The coins are like nothing I have ever seen, the imprint is of the same island that's on the walls and in the maps. 'Neverland' written on top.
"where's Neverland" I question Tris
"I've never heard of it." she says crouching down beside me "Kaya, do you think this has anything to do with what Daniel was saying at dinner?" she asks me
"I honestly couldn't tell you" I say just as my phone rings I look at the I.D 'mother'
"crap." I answer "mother?"
"where are you two I went to check on you and you're gone"
"we got a bit lost" I lie
"alright, do you know where you are?" she questions
"yeah, we've found our way well be back in a bit" I say hanging up quickly.
"put the stuff back we have to go" I say