Chapter 26

Lost

"So are you sure they already went over to…" Derek, driving, briefly glanced to the back seat at Ian as he questioned Vanessa, "well, you know?"

Vanessa stared at her phone in frustration as she answered, "I tried calling both Walter and Aria several times and both of their phones are out of reach. What else could that mean?"

"Where did they go?" Ian demanded.

"I told you, man. You are just going to have to wait and see," Derek told him. "If we told you, then you would just think we both lost our minds."

"I'm already starting to wonder about that," Ian grumbled but did not push the matter any further.

The three of them sat in silence for a few moments as Derek continued to drive in determination. He then broke the reticence asking Vanessa, glumly, "So what are the chances of us actually winning once we are there?"

"According to what Aria told us, not very good," Vanessa replied, softly, staring down at the ground in deep thought before an idea came to her. "Wait. What about Myrtle?"

"What about Myrtle?" Derek repeated puzzled.

"Who's Myrtle?" Ian asked.

"Ms. Malone," Vanessa quickly answered before turning back to Derek. "Maybe if she helps then we can win. Since in the other world she's considered evil, maybe that would count as evil winning if she helps us."

Derek considered this. "That's not a bad idea, but how do we know we can trust her? She did try to kill Aria, remember?"

"Ms. Malone tried to kill Aria?" Ian implored in utter shock.

"Yeah, that's kind of a long story," Vanessa said to him, and then told Derek, "I would hardly count that. After all, Myrtle did know it wasn't going to work, not to mention, she has a much better reason to hate this Lord What's His Face than Aria right now. Maybe she will want revenge."

Derek sighed. "Aria told me she already tried the whole revenge pitch with Myrtle and it got her no where. Besides, we have no way of getting in touch with her. We don't have her number or even know where she lives. There's no time to go gallivanting across town trying to find her."

"Would she still be at the school?" Ian suggested, weakly.

Derek glanced at the time. "I doubt it. It's after 6:00. Despite what we thought in first grade, teachers don't actually live at the school."

"Some of them do stay this late," Vanessa pointed out. "We should try calling the school just in case. Do you know the number?"

Derek shook his head. "No but it might be in the handbook which I think is somewhere in the back."

"Here it is," Ian picked the Sheerwood handbook off the ground and handed it to Vanessa.

Vanessa took it and dialed the number rapidly.

"This is Principal Whiteman. What can I do for you?"

Vanessa breathed nervously, trying to think of what to say. "Hi, um, this is Vanessa Cooper. I wanted to talk to Ms. Malone about an extra credit project I am doing for her class."

"I'm afraid she's in a conference right now," Principal Whiteman informed her. "It should be at least another thirty minutes. Is there anything you would like me to tell her tonight or can this wait until tomorrow."

Vanessa sighed. "Can you just tell her I have a question about my project called Evalius, please?"

"Evalius," he repeated with a hint of confusion in his tone. "Alright, will do, Miss Cooper. Have a good evening."

As he hung up abruptly, Vanessa muttered, "Well, I guess it was worth a try. Maybe she'll understand what I meant and actually come."

Derek pulled up in front of the mysterious building at the end of the road. He immediately prepared to jump out, Ian still appeared confused and hesitant, and Vanessa remained seated, starring at the ground in a daze.

"Come on, Vanessa," Derek urged her. "We have to move!"

Vanessa did not seem to hear him as she mumbled softly, "This is all my fault. If she dies then it's because of me."

"How is this your fault?" Ian asked. "You're not the one that caused Kendal to fall in the hands of this creep."

"Aren't I?" Vanessa stammered more loudly now shifting her stare to Ian. "Just think about it. If I hadn't decided to go after you at the Homecoming Dance then Kendal would have never gone out with Edmund, you two would still be together and she would be safe."

Ian just sighed. "You two say that Mr. Evans is the mastermind behind all this, right?" As Derek nodded in affirmation, Ian continued, "Well, I remember the first day he came to our school, his eyes almost immediately fell on Kendal. If he is really as evil as you two claim then he probably would have found some other way to get lure her. After all, Kendal and I were hanging by a thread at that point. All Edmund would have had to do is show up and act all charming and perfect, and…." Ian clenched his fists. "Man, I really hate that guy."

"Me too, man." Derek put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "Me too. Now, lets go before it's too late."

"I just hope it's not already too late for her," Vanessa commented, as they rushed to the building. "I just wished I felt this way before. I still can't believe all the time I wasted trying to take her down."

Even though Derek knew this was no time for a joke, he could not resist pointing out, "Well, maybe you two's intense desire for revenge on each other is enough to count as evil. In that case, we may actually have a chance in winning."

As the three of them crawled in through the window, Ian commented, "I still don't get how this whole evil must win thing works, but it sounds like you may be the one who can save her life, Vanessa."

Vanessa tried to smile, as she gazed into the fountain. "Well, in that case, while we're saving her, I'll be thinking of a way to be her back for dumping Edmund's soda on me."

Derek nudged her playfully. "That's the spirit. Now, we better go."

"Um, where exactly are we going from here?" Ian asked now more confused than even.

Vanessa sighed, taking his hand, gently pulling him towards the fountain. "Ian, listen to me. It's going to be okay. Why don't you take Derek's hand and we are all going to step into the fountain together. I know you are probably going to freak out, but don't worry. We will explain everything when we get there. Okay?"

Ian's befuddled gaze remained pointing directly at the fountain, his mind still filled of questions, but seeing this was not the time for asking him, he simply nodded. At the exact same moment, the three of them stepped in prepared to be thrust into the other world.

xXx

"So let me get this straight," Walter summarized as he and Aria plowed through the fields, still enchantingly deep green. "You were born in this fairy tale dimension and you are the Sleeping Beauty here…"

"One of the many Sleeping Beauties, yes," Aria confirmed. "Apparently there were hundreds of others before since, well…"

"Since these fairy tale stories repeat themselves here, as you said before," Walter finished for her, with his hand on his head, still trying to grasp all this.

Aria just smiled. "Exactly. See, you seem be getting this. Maybe since you obviously know a lot about our world, once you learn everything about this one, you can officially say you know, well, everything. You can be the smartest man in both dimensions."

Walter sighed readjusting his glasses. "I feel way too confused right now to make that sort of claim. I still don't get how Kendal got involved in all this. She wasn't born here, too, was she?"

Aria shook her head. "She was chosen by, well, you remember him as Mr. Evans. Whatever story he's from did not make it to our world because it never has a happy ending."

"So how are we expecting to win this?"

"Well, I think when our world is involved it affects the outcome," Aria theorized. "I mean my story turned out differently because of that. I was the one who killed the dragon, and since I didn't really kill Myrtle, technically evil didn't completely lose. Not to mention, Derek and I are having some trouble with the happily ever after part of the story. The point is last time no one died. So I was thinking all we have to do is get Kendal out and stay alive."

"You said Myrtle was Ms. Malone, right?" Walter asked her sounding worried. "Is she still evil? You don't seem to think she's going to try to kill you again."

"No, like I said that part of my story is over. I think she's lost interest in her grudge against me." Aria sighed. "I know it seems strange, but I am really not worried about her coming after me again. She, however, does have a good reason to want revenge on Lord Argarion, but she still won't help."

"So is she good or evil?"

As they approached the cottage, Aria answered in a heavy breath, "Honestly, I don't know. Right now, Myrtle's loyalties seem to be with, well Myrtle."

"Where are we, now?" Walter asked, eyeing the cottage curiously.

"This is Greg's place," Aria explained. "He's a wizard. Last time, he gave Derek a sword to help us fight the dragon. I was hoping he might be able to give us something to help us against Lord Argarion."

Aria knocked on Greg's door, hearing no reply. "Greg, are you in there? It's Princess Aria from Galatia. I need your help with something!"

"Um, Aria," Walter touched her arm to get her attention. "There's a note on the ground."

Aria picked up the letter and read it.

Went on a journey. May return within a week. If I promised you a magical device, feel free to look in the back room where I keep my books.

Sincerely,

Greg

"Well, I guess let's go see if we can find anything in that back room," Aria suggested opening the unlocked door, walking into the wizard's disorganized cottage.

"He's very trusting," Walter commented. "Not only does he leave the door unlocked but he has a note giving people permission to come into his home while he's out of town?"

"It must be because he lives in the good part of this word. He thinks he has no reason to worry."

They made their way through the mess to the back room Greg described in his letter. The room was filled with, several books lying open on the floor, a few weapons pushed against the wall, and bottled potions, one still on his desk apparently incomplete.

"So you said last time you used a sword, is that correct," Walter asked eying the wall, where one sword laid along with crossbows and daggers.

"Yeah," Aria grabbed the sword, slightly startled when it did not glow. "I guess this will have to do. We need to hurry."

"Aria, look at this."

Walter pulled a book off the top shelf titled, Evalius. Tied to the rim of this book was a small dagger, its blade the shape of a bronzed serpent with red eyes.

"Do you think this will help?" he asked.

Aria's eyes lit up. "This is brilliant, Walter! I would have never noticed it. Let's take it with us and maybe we can learn everything we need to know about this place on the way."

"Are we going to walk?"

"I was thinking of checking the barn to see if Greg has any horses or something that can get us there faster," Aria suggested, as they paced rapidly to the barn.

It turns out the only thing there was a chariot with just one donkey. To Aria's dismay, the little brown furred animal had no desire to move at a rapid pace.

Aria let out a frustrated breath as she steered the donkey, trying to urge him to move at least a little quicker. "Well, I guess this still beats walking. Now, we just need to follow the Evalius signs until we reach the castle. Have you found out anything from that book yet?"

Walter, sitting next to her with the book open on his lap, replied, "I did find out how the ritual is performed. First, he has the girl inhale this powder resulting in her falling into a deep slumber. Then, Lord Argarion has his priest use the ingredients from this rare plant, which can grow only once every ten years, to make this special elixir that he pours down his sleeping bride's throat during the ceremony. This magic potion allows him to steal all the remaining years of her life, giving them to him."

"That's horrible," Aria muttered, fearing for Kendal. "Does it say anything about a specific time this ceremony takes place?"

"It says it begins three hours prior to midnight," Walter answered his eyes still on the pages, only taking a moment to glance at his watch. "That gives us less than two hours to get there."

"I'm surprised its not actually midnight," Aria commented, thinking of how in most fairy tales, or any supernatural story for that matter, the magic time is for some reason midnight.

"I think it just has to be complete by then."

"Is there anything else we need to know," Aria asked, as she observed her surroundings transform from colorful and gleeful to dark and dreary, telling her they were getting closer to the desired destination.

Walter continued to scrutinize. "I'm just trying to find something about this dagger that came with the book. Do you think it's supposed to be a way to kill him?"

Aria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I don't know, maybe. I think for now we should just focus on getting Kendal out of there."

"We might not have a choice," Walter uttered softly, turning his eyes to her. "This guy sounds like pure evil. The book even theorizes that he does not have a soul."

"I just don't feel comfortable with the idea of taking a life. Remember how I told you when Myrtle kidnapped Vanessa I was the one who went to save her. After out fight, I had the sword pointed right at Myrtle's chest and then I just froze. I couldn't do it."

Walter looked down and nodded, not pushing the matter, as he could see the struggle his kindhearted friend faced with this situation.

As the two entered the rusty gates of Evalius, they observed most of the town appeared deserted and unkempt. The few people that briefly came into sight scattered into hiding like frightened mice. The streets were dark, with only some light coming from around the castle, which seemed to be unguarded.

Bringing the chariot to a halt, Aria and Walter cautiously stepped out. Aria grabbed a torch from the wall, and the two of them walked in. The inside of the castle exposed itself as one giant maze, some paths looking like the inside of a luxurious palace with it's golden walls and sparkling chandeliers while others were filled with dust and cobwebs like an old run down motel.

"Which way do we go?" Walter asked.

Aria put her hand on her head in dismay. "I have no idea. This is really weird. Does the book happen to have a map that show us how to get through this maze?"

Walter shook his head in frustration. "No, it just says the ceremony takes place in his sanctuary which is located in the center of this castle."

Aria sighed. "Well, maybe the nicer looking halls lead to the better parts of the palace and the others go to the dungeons."

"That's not a bad theory," Walter agreed, pointing to the grandest path. "How about we try this one?"

Aria nodded as the two of them set forth to the path. The moment they stepped into that particular hallway, it transformed into a dark beaten alley path.

"I think we made the wrong choice," Aria moaned. "How are we suppose to find the sanctuary if each path keeps changing?"

"I don't know. Maybe there's some trick or special way to solve this maze," Walter suggested, though his tone contained little hope.

The next thing they knew, a deep fog brushed past them like a gust of wind.

"Where did that come from?" Aria coughed waving her hands in front of her face.

When she got no reply, Aria turned her head to see if Walter was all right. Horrified, she found that he was nowhere to be seen.

"Walter!" Aria called out, feeling a sudden chill when no one answered. "Walter, are you there?"

What happened to him? Aria wondered in panic, staring down the dark alley.

Aria had no idea where she was now. Could she still be in the castle and this outdoor appearance was merely an illusion? Aria supposed that might be possible.

Staring down the alley path in distress, Aria wondered if she would ever find a way out of this mess or remain forever lost. How was she supposed to be able to save Kendal if she could not even save herself?