Okay, have you figured out the first plot twist yet? If not, here's the next chapter!

Among a Regal Guard

The next morning, Kel and Neal met in Kel's room to discuss where they were going.

"What exactly did the parchment say?" asked Neal.

Kel drew a small parchment out of her pocket. Thinking smartly, she had recopied the poem onto a fresh parchment, knowing that the other one was capable of disintegrating at any minute. She read the poem out loud to Neal, although since she had read it at least twenty times the night before, she had it almost fully memorized.

"Okay." Neal nodded thoughtfully. "So where do we start?" Kel looked at him blankly. "Well, this obviously isn't the bit that tells us where they are hidden. Didn't it say something about him hiding a different parchment? It's my guess that we'd have to find that one before we even think about finding the actual Six, whatever they are."

Kel stared at him, amazed. "How'd you figure out that one, Queenscove?"

He looked sheepish. "My uncle was obsessed with cracking codes things like that, and he had a habit of giving me clues and making me figure out what they meant. If I refused, he'd rant about how the youngsters were losing respect, and eventually it was less trouble to just do the stuff he asked. I must say, I never expected it to come in handy. Well, anyway, read that part about hiding the parchment again."

Kel read, " I break away, ere menace blooms -- Mine enemies' swords flash hard. I hide thy key parchment in the gloom; Laid among a regal guard. So he hid it . . . among a regal guard?" She looked helplessly at Neal, who was looking thoughtful.

"Okay. Regal is another word for royal, right? So he hid it among a royal guard."

"So should we go ask the king's personal guards, or something?"

"No. Remember, this was written gods-only-know how long ago. It had to be something that would be pretty well known, and not very likely to change, or change places . . . like a rock or something."

"That's it!" Kel shouted. "He hid it in a rock!" Neal looked at her as if she was crazy. "Or maybe not," she muttered sullenly.

"Well, let's look at the other parts. 'Mine enemies' swords flash hard' . . . I don't think there's anything there."

"I still say it's a rock."

"'I break away, ere menace blooms' . . . Augh! This doesn't have enough clues! We're never going to figure this out!" Neal exploded.

Something was nudging at the back of Kel's brain. She frowned, concentrating.

Neal sighed. "Okay, next --" Kel held up a finger, breaking Neal's speech. The thought came to the surface of her consciousness as slowly and nonchalantly as a bubble.

"Flowers bloom," she whispered.

Neal stared at her.

"And flowers are plants. Plants are in a garden . . ."

"'A regal guard' . . .en." Neal murmured. Kel ignored him.

"So a 'regal guard' could mean . . . a royal garden?"

They stared at each other. "The King's Garden!" they cried in unison. Kel and Neal raced out the door.

The King's Garden was located in the middle of the palace. It was a small courtyard with the current king's favorite plants. It was built along with the palace, over four hundred years ago, so the king, whoever he was at the time, could go there and relax. Few others could gain access to it, but the King had given her the password as a special privelege. She rarely used it, but was thankful to him now for trusting her with it.

They entered to a blaze of greenery. The initial growth spurt of the plants at the beginning of spring was over, and now they grew at a leisurely rate. The two walked to the center of the small garden and looked around.

"Okay . . . here we are, in the King's Garden . . . see an old parchment?" Neal muttered.

"It said he hid the parchment in the gloom . . . see anything gloomy?" Kel countered. "Here, let's just look around the whole thing." Neal nodded, and they went back to the entrance, each of them following the wall hedging in the garden.

Kel trudged along the wall, among plants that were being strangled by weeds. So they don't take care of the plants out of sight of the path? she thought. I'll be sure to tell Jonathan.

Kel tripped on a root, cursing the gardeners as she fell. She landed heavily among several inches of mast and staring straight at another root. She didn't make a move to get up yet, but just laid there fuming.

When she began to rise, a reflected flash of sunlight caught her eye, making her wince, as she was temporarily blinded. Then she realized: there had to be something metal to make the flash.

She flopped back to the ground, where the reflection didn't cause her pain. Looking at where she thought it came from, she was able to distinguish something slightly shinier than anything should naturally be. She reached her hand out, scooching forward over the ground. Her fingers came in contact with something that could be a handle, but she couldn't quite feel.

Just a little farther . . . she thought, and inched forward. She grabbed the thing and pulled.

Nothing happened.

She twisted it.

Nothing happened.

In frustration, she hit the thing.

The wall in front of her split down the middle and slid apart. When it stopped moving, it left a two foot gap in the garden wall.

"Neal," she said. Her throat wasn't working. She cleared it. "Neal."

She heard him answer. "Yes?"

"I think I found something."

YES! A CLIFFHANGER! Don't you hate me? Thanks to all who have reviewed so far! I really appreciate knowing that someone actually reads what I write! *grins* Keep reviewing! Hey, do you think I'm doing the whole "we need to solve a mystery" thing okay? Or am I making it too easy for them? Tell me . . . I cater to your needs ;)