Chapter Seven

The rest of the flight was long but peaceful. Some were able to get some sleep along the way, while others were too excited or too worried to sleep much. Radley stayed awake for some time, but finally dozed against Kalin, who fell asleep in turn.

By the time they were about to land, they were all awake again. Radley stared out the window at the beautiful green valleys and hills and snow-covered mountains. "We're here," he said. "This is La Rioja."

Scotch was plastered against the window. "Cool! It looks amazing! And there's old castles! Maybe one of them is yours!"

Radley sighed but smiled. "That's part of what we're here to find out."

Kalin stared out at the beautiful scenery too. "Has some of your family always lived here?" he asked.

"Long ago, when they first wanted to grow a vineyard, they considered both here and Castile-La Mancha," Radley said. "But the beauty of this place was what won them over."

"What's the other place look like?" Scotch asked.

"It's pretty too," Radley said. "But there's a lot of dry areas and windmills. You know The Man of La Mancha? It takes place there."

"Oh, the crazy guy who thinks windmills are giants?!" Scotch said.

Radley chuckled. "Yeah, that guy." He looked slightly sad as he continued, "Although in the story, by the end of it he's lost his idealism and become cynical."

"He grew up, as we all have to," Kalin grunted.

"After most of the story is so lighthearted, it's a pretty downer ending," Radley said.

Kalin stared out at the runway as they began to descend. ". . . I wonder if I thought of myself as a champion, as he did," he remarked. "I had so many dreams about the Satellite. Then they turned to nightmares."

Radley laid a hand on his shoulder. "We both had dreams that didn't work out as we planned," he said softly. "But we had others that did."

Kalin smiled a bit at that.

Valentina and Antonio were waiting as soon as the plane landed and opened. "Radley! Kalin! Everyone! It's so good to see you!" Valentina beamed, pulling Radley into a firm hug.

Radley smiled and hugged back. "It's so good to see both of you again," he said.

After introductions were exchanged all around, they headed off the runway to the beautiful green of the property.

"So, have you all eaten?" Antonio asked. "Or do you want to get right on with looking at our collection?"

"We have eaten, thanks," Radley smiled. "But I know we'd all enjoy some Spanish cuisine." He smiled at Scotch's excitement in particular.

"Yes!" Scotch exclaimed.

"We'll have something prepared," Valentina said. "While it's getting ready, do you want to see the box, at least, and see if your pendant will open it?" She looked eager.

Radley still wasn't sure quite what to make of Valentina's excitement to prove that he was the prince. "I think I'd rather eat first," he said. Depending on what happened, he wasn't sure if he would keep his appetite.

"Then we will eat!" Valentina said cheerfully. If she picked up on Radley's true reluctance, she didn't say. That was just fine with him.

They chose to tour the property while the food was being prepared. It was early in the morning, and the vineyard was already alive with activity. Or perhaps it had never stopped. Valentina especially felt that all hours of a day and night could be utilized. By the time they gathered for breakfast, the sun had fully rose over the vast, lush green of the property.

"It's so beautiful here," Radley said. "I was only here one other time, but it feels like I never left."

"You loved it so much," Valentina remembered fondly. "You said you wanted to live here, or somewhere like here, forever."

"I'm not surprised," Radley said. "That really was my dream."

"Do you like where you're living now?" Antonio asked.

"I do," Radley said. "It has a beauty all its own. And I found Kalin again there."

"That would make it extra special!" Valentina beamed.

"It does," Radley smiled in agreement.

"So, did you bring that article?" Antonio wondered.

"Yeah, I did." Radley took out the folded sheets from his jacket pocket and passed them across the table. "The guy works at a university. Is the name familiar at all?"

Antonio scanned the article, while Valentina looked at it over his shoulder. "No, it isn't," Antonio frowned.

"Maybe he's a distant relative," Valentina said. "It's strange he doesn't mention it in this article, though."

"Couldn't he just be someone who likes legends?" Radley said. "There must be some people like that who know about things."

"Oh, of course," Valentina agreed. "But they usually have to contact us to really get to the meat of the story. This man says nothing about talking to our family or Kalin's."

"What is the deal with Kalin's, anyway?" Radley wondered. "Did they continue living here or did they go back to Germany?"

"Until some of them moved to America, most of them stayed here," Antonio said. "A few went back to Germany through the years, but there are still some living here."

Kalin looked at them in surprise. "Do you still have contact with them?"

"Oh yes," Valentina said. "We try to get together every anniversary of the Princes' deaths to mourn them and honor their sacrifice and look forward to when they will have their second chance."

"Do they know about Kalin and me?" Radley asked.

"Lucia didn't want anyone to know," Antonio said. "They do know about you, but not Kalin."

"We could visit them, if you'd like!" Valentina said hopefully.

Radley looked to Kalin, who shrugged. "Would they have information you don't?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Valentina said. "We share and share alike!"

"Then I'd rather not have a fuss made over us right now," Kalin said. "We want answers and they'd probably just want a full-scale celebration."

"You're right about that," Antonio said. "It will be huge news to them!"

"When you're satisfied with your answers, will you allow us to tell them?" Valentina asked almost pleadingly. "I don't feel right to never tell them."

Radley sighed but gave her a kind look. "Let's see what we find out first," he said. "We don't wanna jump the gun."

"What jump? There will never be anyone else!" Valentina insisted. "Both families have kept records all the way down the line! No one before you two has ever looked so much like either of the Princes!"

Kalin stiffened. "Both families? Mine has too, even the ones living in America?!"

"Yes, them too," Valentina said. "Although your parents never checked in with the others. . . ." She frowned. "I wonder why?"

Kalin slumped back. "My mother walked out when I was a kid and my dad is an alcoholic. You don't think . . ." He looked to Radley. "You don't think all of their behavior is because they realized I look like the Prince?! Maybe my mother couldn't deal with it and my dad didn't want to believe it. . . ."

Radley laid a hand on Kalin's shoulder. "We just don't know enough," he said soothingly. "More than likely, it had nothing to do with that."

Kalin just sighed. "I wish I could believe that. I don't know what to think now."

"Why so much sorrow?" Valentina exclaimed. "They wouldn't have reacted in those ways! Your grandparents were excited and hoped they would witness the Princes' return!"

". . . You really know that?" Kalin said in disbelief.

"That was the last communication we had from them," Valentina said.

"They're dead," Kalin said. "On my father's side, anyway. I have no idea about my mother's side." He frowned. "The Kesslers have been losers for generations. If the family's better off here, maybe they shouldn't have left."

"Only they had to leave to set everything in motion for you to meet Radley," Valentina said.

Kalin grunted. "If we were supposed to meet, we could have met that one time Radley came over here as a kid."

"It was actually on the way to that trip that we did meet," Radley remarked.

Kalin didn't really want to talk about it anymore. ". . . It seems like the Ramon family line comes through Radley's mother's side," he said instead. "I thought this was a patriarchal culture. Radley's grandmother is so strictly traditional, it seems strange that she would accept this."

Valentina smiled. "That is the weight of the importance of the Prince's line," she said. "The family never wanted it to be lost or forgotten, so they always agreed to pass along the Ramon name no matter what."

Radley shook his head, amazed and overwhelmed. "I never knew," he said. "I didn't even think about it until I was older, and when I tried asking once, I just got told 'Because that's the way it is.' Well, of course no one questions Grandma, so I just let it go."

"That is so cool, though!" Scotch gushed. "And if you're the Prince, it makes it cooler than ever! You totally influenced the entire family line right down to now!"

"That is . . . really weird to think about," Radley said. "It's going to take some time to wrap my mind around that one."

"You will," Valentina assured him.

The rest of the meal was peaceful and pleasant, and Radley found himself wishing it wouldn't end. He still worried about and dreaded what might happen with the mysterious box. Still, he wanted to solve this once and for all and hoped the box might be the key. When breakfast wrapped up, he steeled himself to handle it.

"Are you ready now to see the collection?" Valentina asked.

Radley looked to Kalin and back to her. "Yeah," he said. "Let's do this."

Valentina led them through the hall to a large room filled with paintings. Many were what they had already seen, but some were new. The box was at the back of the room on a table underneath a window, surrounded by yellow roses. Radley drew a deep breath and took off his pendant as he approached it. Inserting it in the keyhole, he turned it until he heard a click. The lid fell open.

"Cool!" Scotch exclaimed. "What's in it?!"

Everyone jumped when a soft tune began to play.

". . . A music box?" Radley blinked in disbelief. "Really?"

"There's an inscription!" Scotch said, utterly delighted.

Radley leaned in to look. "It's in Spanish," he said. Translating it, he read, "'The song they played on the night we met. May you always remember, my brother and my dear friend.'"

". . . That doesn't help solve the mystery at all," Kalin grunted.

"But it's so epic!" Scotch gushed. "Remember the musical locket in Sailor Moon?!"

Radley pondered as the song continued to play. "Hmm. I wonder . . ." He looked to Valentina. "Do you recognize the song at all?"

"I'm afraid not," she said.

"Maybe it is just a memento of their friendship," Radley mused, "but since my pendant unlocks it, maybe it's something more. I mean, Prince Kalin and the people of either kingdom wouldn't be likely to know how to make a keyhole for Prince Ramon's pendant, right? And Prince Ramon surely wouldn't give him something that can only be unlocked with the pendant if all it is, is a gesture of friendship. What if it's a code or something else important to the Ramon family that he gave to Prince Kalin for safekeeping?"

Valentina clapped her hands. "That is a wonderful idea!"

"Let's just hope we can prove it," Radley said. "It's just a shot in the dark, but if it's possibly true, we might need that information when the evil comes back. . . . If it comes back."

Kalin finally nodded. "Maybe. But why would Prince Kalin need to keep it safe?"

Radley sighed, turning the problem over in his mind. ". . . All the people were so loco with their distrust and hatred that they created the evil thing. What if Prince Ramon didn't trust some of the people in his court and thought they might steal the box?"

"It's a beginning, at least," Antonio said. "We can work with this idea and see if anything comes of it."

"Maybe the code isn't in the music," Billy suggested as the tune started again. "Maybe there's a false bottom or something."

Radley's eyes gleamed. "You have my permission to do the honors." He knew Billy would be careful not to damage what must be a priceless antique, if nothing else.

Billy was indeed very careful. And being skilled at codes and secret compartments, he soon found that by pushing upward on the inscribed plate, a drawer popped open.

"What is it?!" Scotch eagerly asked.

Radley reached down and lifted out a small book with care. "It's a journal," he said in surprise. He lifted the front cover. "Prince Kalin's journal."

"What a treasure!" Valentina exclaimed.

"Is it in Spanish or German?" Kalin wondered, coming over to look.

"Spanish," Radley said. "He was of German descent, but maybe he didn't even know the language if he'd lived all his life in Spain." And he stared at the writing, not saying more.

Kalin swiftly voiced what was on Radley's mind. ". . . The handwriting is identical to mine," he rasped.

"Well, of course it is!" Valentina said. "How much proof do you need?! He was you!"

Kalin reached over Radley's shoulder to turn to the first regular page. "What does it say?" he asked.

Radley looked over at him. "Are you sure you want me to start reading it here?" he wondered. Kalin was already reeling. He might prefer hearing it in private.

And Kalin would at that. But he knew it would be read to everyone eventually, and Radley's great-great-grandparents might not understand going off in private to read it first, so he just sighed and gestured at the pages. "Go ahead."

Radley nodded and started to read. His heart twisted.

I finally saw you tonight at the ball.

For so long I've heard tales of the great Prince Ramon, some good, some bad, and some indifferent. I haven't known what to believe, but I've long wanted to meet you and find out who you truly are. There has never been a chance before.

Tonight I met you, and though it was only brief, you were every bit the charming, kind person the good stories have told about you. I watched you all evening to be sure you weren't simply putting on airs. Whether anyone was with you or not, you were always perfectly poised and polite. I even witnessed how you helped that little girl who tripped and fell when no one else seemed to notice. You had no need to pretend when no one was looking your way. You went out of your way to help her, not knowing whose kingdom she was from. By the time you returned her to her family, she was completely smitten. I could see it in her eyes and written across her face.

I want to see you again. In an official capacity, that might not happen for weeks, months. I can't wait for that. Although my parents will strenuously object, I'm going to watch you in secret. Maybe . . . if I get enough courage to defy them and all they stand for . . . I will come out and talk with you.

". . . Is the whole journal written to Ramon?" Kalin asked in surprise.

"It looks like it," Radley said. "Here's the next entry."

I learned you like to go out on a particular hill for solitude. I don't wish to intrude, but I still want to see you again so much. I was too in disbelief to so much as write this on the night of the ball, but . . . as soon as I saw you, I felt a connection with you. It felt like I had at last found the long-lost part of me I did not even recognize was missing and yet somehow always knew was absent. A friend, a brother . . . a soulmate.

Does it sound as insane to write it as it sounds for me to think it? It has been stirring within me ever since the ball. I cannot deny it any longer.

I must see you again. I can't let you go.

". . . He's a lot better writer than I am," Kalin remarked. The rest of what he was thinking was far too private to say with such an audience, but he looked to Radley and the silent message was received.

"Now, you would have been just as good with the proper teaching," Valentina said. "You still can be! The capacity to write is still inside you."

"It's so cool how much he cares about Prince Ramon!" Scotch exclaimed. "Does he talk about when they finally get to talk?!"

"Oh yeah," Radley said. He turned several pages. "The next few entries are about watching him and feeling this increasing determination that they're meant to be together. Here's the one from when they meet again at last."

You caught me watching you today.

It felt so good to be found out. Now I no longer have to watch you from the shadows or from behind the flora around the hill. It's all out in the open and we can speak again at last.

I will keep coming. It's too soon to ask you if you feel the same, and yet I can see in your eyes that there is something there. Maybe I can dare to hope, to dream, that you have picked up on that same sensation.

I have found you at long last, my brother. Maybe it will save our kingdoms and maybe it will tear them down, but either way, I know I cannot let you go.

Kalin let out a shaking breath. Now he knew that the prince truly had loved Ramon, but a new worry was taking shape in his mind.

"What is this?" Valentina asked, looking to him. "Surely this has eased those ridiculous fears of Prince Kalin making a pact with the evil demon!"

Kalin sighed. "Would it be too impolite to ask that Radley and I have a few minutes alone?" he said. "This is . . . a lot to process."

"Of course," Valentina soothed. "We'll be waiting outside." She gestured for everyone to follow her, including the Bunch. Although Scotch clearly wanted to stay, he sighed and went with the others.

Kalin waited to speak until the doors shut. ". . . Can you read ahead enough to make sure Prince Kalin's obsession didn't turn to insanity?" he said low. "He said he didn't care if them being together tore their kingdoms apart. That sounds . . . too much like my warped mindset as a Dark Signer. I didn't care what happened as long as I got what I wanted." His voice caught in his throat.

Radley laid a hand on Kalin's shoulder. "I already paged ahead," he said kindly. "This journal goes up to the night before the fateful battle. The last entry talks about his sorrows and his concerns for the new day. He's furious at their kingdoms for reacting the way they did, creating the monster out of their fear and hatred. He even mentions what he said at the beginning and said he never meant for an outcome like this to happen. And . . . the yellow roses Ramon gave him are in here, dried and pressed."

Kalin finally nodded. ". . . Do you think Ramon felt as strongly as Prince Kalin did?" he wondered. "Maybe it felt too clingy, too codependant, or too something else negative."

"He talks about a lot of the conversations they had during their time together," Radley said. "It sounds like they both felt pretty much the same."

"I hope so," Kalin said.

"I don't think it sounds clingy or codependant at all," Radley continued. "It just sounds beautiful."

Kalin finally allowed a smile. "That's good."

"I haven't found anything about the music box yet, though," Radley said. "I might have to read the whole thing to dig that out. But that's fine; I want to read it all anyway."

". . . So what now?" Kalin asked. "Is that the next step, reading all of that?"

"Pretty much," Radley said. "It's our best link with the past right now. There are some descriptions of the area I didn't translate that make it sound like the kingdoms could have been right here in La Rioja."

Kalin perked up. "Is this where your family started?" he queried. "You said they considered being here or in that other place."

"They were here as far as I know," Radley confirmed. "They were considering moving to Castile-La Mancha, but they didn't want to leave here. What I don't know at all is why they became wine merchants when they were royalty."

Kalin frowned. "That is strange."

"The family line obviously continued," Radley said. "Maybe when the kingdoms united, they just decided to be absorbed into Spain and not be separate?" He shook his head. "There's still so much we don't know."

Kalin sighed in agreement. "Let's call the others back in and keep going, then."

Radley looked at him in concern. "Are you sure?"

"They'll want to hear it anyway," Kalin said in resignation. "We might as well read it all together."

Radley smiled a bit, but still looked concerned. "If you're sure."

"Yeah," Kalin said.

Radley gave a wan smile. "You'll have a lot to tell Yusei the next time you talk to him."

"I know," Kalin said.

". . . How do you think he'll take it?" Radley asked.

Kalin hesitated, running an imaginary conversation through his mind, and shook his head. "I don't know."

". . . You were talking about trying harder to accept that they were our ancestors," Radley said. "Do you still feel that way?"

". . . No," Kalin said quietly. "Not really."

"Yeah." Radley gave a sad smile. "Me either."

Kalin tilted his head. ". . . Are you okay with that?"

". . . I don't know," Radley sighed.

"It looks like we'll have to start coming to terms with it," Kalin said. "As long as I can feel that the past me really didn't hurt you, I think I'll be okay . . . in time."

Radley nodded in agreement. "I'll start trying to work towards that too. In any case . . ." He gave a genuine smile. "I'm really proud and happy that we've been friends across two lifetimes, Kalin Kessler."

Kalin didn't verbally respond but suddenly hugged Radley close—a gesture Radley thoroughly returned.