THE GOLDEN KEY AND THE BOOK OF ANCIENTS
chapter 2
How they fell…
Weird things happen in life but this was by far the most weirdest and most amazing. Now there is only two problem; one: they had no idea how to go back. Two: were they really doing the right thing? Four ordinary girls suddenly find themselves stranded inside the world of Harry Potter. Harry Potter and associated characters belong to J K Rowling.
6:00 AM MONDAY
It was Sunday, no class today. This automatically meant sleeping till noon. So sleep they did.
In this flimsy hostel, in a rather ordinary (AKA boring) town four eighteen year old roommates were currently enjoying their sleep marathon.
Ahalya Kishore, Sayuktha Devagney, Avanthika Agnihotri and Sonu Dharshik slept peacefully.
Occupying one of the lower bunks was Ahalya a girl with long curly black hair reaching her mid back, lightly tanned skin with wide chocolate brown eyes and full pink lips was currently wrapped snugly in her bed sheets dreaming about mermaids, butterflies and a physics test. She was 5.6 feet in height.
On the bed above hers was Avanthika. Long jet black hair reaching her waist, narrow coal black eyes, she had a habit of wearing her specs even while sleeping. Tan skin and pale pink lips. She was the tallest of the four reaching a height of 5.11. She was sleeping while clutching her pillow for dear life.
Then there was Sayuktha in the bed near Ahalya's. She was a pale girl with flawless ivory skin. She had narrow obsidian eyes. She was just about Ahalya's height reaching about 5.5. She was Ahalya's sister in all but blood. She kept mumbling in her sleep about coffee pranks and more coffee.
Last but not least was Sonu; she was the cutest of the four. She had unblemished tan skin and long midnight black hair reaching her waist. Wide deep brown eyes and a chubby face with pink pouty lips. She was only 5 feet in height but that simply added to her charm.
They gladly engaged with their respective dreams enjoying their sleep quite well.
That is until their caretaker came to wake them up.
"Just because it's Sunday does not mean you can sleep in. wake up now!" She hollered.
As if waiting to hear her voice Ahalya jumped out of bed.
"Am awake!" she exclaimed. Her raven black hair in a messy tangle and chocolate brown eyes blinking sleepily. She gave the older women a slight smile. The warden gave an exasperated sigh.
"You are the only one in this room that listen to me anymore." The women looked at the remaining three and sighed grumbling about rebellious teenagers.
Ahalya smiled warmly at her
"You can go I'll wake them up. Don't worry."
The warden nodded "wake them up. And go study. Tell them not to slack off."
The women left the room. Ahalya watched her walk out of the room and sighed. The women will be gone for a few hours since she had driving classes to attend.
Ahalya moved towards Sayuktha and shook her by the shoulders.
"Lemme sleew… Don wanna wake up" came the sleepy retort.
"Who said anything about waking up? Move over and give me some space."
And Sayuktha moved over, Ahalya climbed on to bed with her and slept hugging her.
9:30 AM
"Why bother waking up when you are obviously going to go back to sleep?"
The question was given by Sonu to Ahalya, who simply shrugged in reply.
"Because someone has to wake up. Or the warden will keep yelling her lungs out and besides sis has a reputation to keep up." Sayuktha answered chuckling.
Ahalya and Sayuktha are sisters in all but blood both conveniently call each other 'sis.
Avanthika exited the bathroom, her long black hair damp from the recent bath.
"Yeah, after all the warden thinks she's some kind of perfect student." She giggled.
Ahalya rolled her eyes the spoke with a smirk "You should be grateful. It's because I wake up that you can sleep uninterrupted."
"True" the other three agreed.
Their conversation was interrupted by someone opening the door.
"Hey guys!" greeted the newcomer.
"Oh! Hey Samantha. " Avanthika said smiling.
"What's up? Just came for a visit or is there anything else?" Sayuktha asked not too cheerful about the visit. After all, the friction between Samantha and Sayuktha was famous.
Samantha was from the room above their room. She along with her roommates was the hostel's gossip queens and Sayuktha had a strong dislike for such people, especially with Samantha.
"Yeah… We are going out." Samantha replied.
"Out?" asked Ahalya.
"Yeah, aunty (the warden) told us that she's going to take us to the fair taking place down the street." Samantha said.
"Really?" Sonu asked excited.
Ahalya and Sayuktha exchanged a look. They would rather spend their time sleeping or working on a new story but Sonu and Avanthika seem rather excited.
"So you are coming?" Samantha asked. The question was directed at Ahalya and Sayuktha. It was no secret that the two of them hated going out with the warden and her 'pets' (Samantha and gang.)
Sayuktha narrowed her eyes at the tone. She was about to say no when Ahalya spoke.
"Yup! All four of us will be coming."
Sayuktha looked at Ahalya quizzically; Ahalya simply shrugged and send a glance at Sonu and Avanthika who was cheering. Sayuktha saw this and had a small smile.
Samantha was surprised and missed the small exchange between Ahalya and Sayuktha.
"Oh! Sure I'll tell aunty." With that Samantha left the room.
As soon as she left, Sonu jumped on to Ahalya and Sayuktha encasing them in a hug.
Ahalya pulled Avanthika also into the hug, which caused them to lose balance and fall on to the bed. All of them laughed.
6:30 PM
The four girls found themselves wandering the around the fair.
Sonu and Avanthika were walking ahead pointing at all the interesting sights and chattering excitedly.
Ahalya and Sayuktha walked behind them speaking occasionally about things.
The warden had instructed them to stay close to her and follow her. But these four had been "lost" for quite some time now. They'll probably get an earful for this but who cares this was more fun. Besides they are eighteen years old, they can very well take care of themselves.
"YOU BOTH! Stop right there!" someone cried out from behind them.
Sayuktha and Ahalya startled looked back. An old woman sitting in some kind of antique shop was the one that called out.
They both looked at each other.
"Us?"
"Yes. The both of you." The woman said calmly but in a dubious voice.
Ahalya looked towards Sonu and Avanthika who had stopped and was now looking to see why they stopped. Ahalya motioned for them to come back and they did.
Sayuktha looked at Ahalya with a raised when she saw that Ahalya was about to head towards the old woman's shop. Ahalya saw the look and shrugged with a small smile. Sayuktha shook her head smiling and followed Ahalya, might as well see what this is about.
The four of them reached the shop. It had quite a few interesting things. The old woman studied them carefully. Sayuktha was the only one who bothered to return the woman's scrutinizing look.
The woman was old, like really old. She wore a black robe with a hood covering her snow white hair. Her face was ridden with wrinkles and liver spots. Her eyes were a silver shade of grey that she thought the woman was blind. But seeing how the woman's gaze was focused on her, it was pretty sure she was not blind.
"Are you two done glaring at each other?" Ahalya's voice cut both of them out of their glaring contest. Ahalya then pulled Sayuktha close and whispered
"You really weren't checking out an old woman were you? Because that's just… wrong on so many levels." Sayuktha glared at Ahalya who had a horrified expression on her face at the thought her 'sis' hitting on a senior citizen.
Sayuktha turned her gaze towards her snickering friends. Ahalya snickered along with them causing Sayuktha to sigh.
"So, why did you call us?" Sayuktha questioned the old woman.
The woman nodded slowly,"You my children have been chosen."
"Chosen for what?" Avanthika asked curious.
The woman ignored the girl and looked at Ahalya instead. This caused Avanthika to be pissed off.
"You both have been chosen to be the holders of two priceless possessions." The woman said in a creepy tone.
"Priceless, huh? How much is it?" asked Avanthika.
"Am not doing this for money or anything…" the woman stuttered.
"So you're going to give it to us for free?" Avanthika said without missing a beat.
"Well umm I I can't do that children." The woman said.
"So you want us to buy something from you that's it?" Avanthika chimed.
"Well…" the woman sighed.
The other three simply snickered.
"Give the woman a break Avanthika. First let's see what legendary possessions these two have been chosen for." Sonu said.
"Well you heard the boss so what is it?" Ahalya said.
"Or do you just want the two of us to buy something and believe that it chose us?" Sayuktha added.
The woman looked down miserably.
Now the girls felt a little guilty. They took in the look of the shabby old shop and how not many people even paid it much attention. The poor woman probably doesn't get much business.
Ahalya sighed. It wasn't fun to tease people when they're down.
"So are you going to show us what chose us?" Ahalya asked calmly.
The woman mumbled and took out something from under the table beside her.
It was covered in a worn out royal blue cloth. The woman opened it and there was a book inside it. The book was bound with golden brown leather and in its cover there was a design of vines running along the edges bearing and occasional golden flower. There was nothing written on the cover page.
The woman opened the book and inside it there was a key. It was a golden key attached to a similar chain. The key looked more like a fancy locket with all the intricate patterns and the sparkling green gem in it.
All of them were amazed by the beautiful artifact. They exchanged a few glances and looked at the woman. The woman sighed.
"This is what I want to sell you."
"It's beautiful." Ahalya took the key in her hand and stared at it mesmerized. Sayuktha took the book and examined it. There was nothing written in its pages.
"A page is missing." Sayuktha said. Examining the remnants of the torn off page.
"How much is it?" Ahalya asked the woman.
"The book too." Sayuktha added.
The woman smiled.
"Not much. It will be 200 rupees each."
Ahalya and Sayuktha absent mindedly took their purses and was about to hand the woman the money when Sonu spoke up.
"Only that much? These look much more expensive."
"Well these would've cost much more if they weren't damaged." The woman simply said, her black eyes crinkling amusedly.
"Damaged?" Avanthika said. She knew something was strange about the whole situation. But she couldn't put her finger on it.
"The book, it's missing a page. But what about the key? How is it damaged?" Sonu asked the woman. The woman's black eyes were rather beautiful she noted distractedly. The woman shifted and her hood fell allowing some of her midnight black hair to fall forward. There was a smile on her cherry red lips, as if she knew something they didn't.
"That's for you to find out." Her voice was like flowing honey.
Sonu took a good look at the woman's aristocratic features. She was beautiful. Skin that resembled flawless marble. Full red lips. Obsidian eyes. Midnight black hair looking like it was flowing down her back. There was taunting smirk on her lips. Sonu once again tried to think about what was wrong, but the woman's eyes kept distracting her. Her thoughts scrambled. She looked away from her eyes and saw that her friends were out of it, staring at the woman's eyes.
The woman took the money wordlessly.
"Now be careful with those items. They're very important and very powerful. Use it well; or rather, trust your instincts when you use it. Your mind may fool you. But your instincts will not. They shall save your lives more than your logics." Her voice was still taunting.
"Now go away I have work to do, things to sell. This old lady needs a living." The woman said mockingly.
Old lady? Old lady…. Old lady! Sonu snapped out of the fog covering her mind.
"Wh...What's go…going on?" she stuttered.
"What's wrong?" the woman asked. And Sonu snapped her head to meet the woman and there in front of her was the old woman who they had first seen. Sonu didn't know what to say.
"Anything wrong?" the woman asked again. Sonu wordlessly shook her head.
The other three had the impression that they were waking up from a nap.
"Is that all or do you want to buy something else?" the woman asked them.
"N...no! That will be all." Avanthika said and pulled both Ahalya and Sayuktha out of the shop. Sonu followed wordlessly. They looked back at the shop from a distance the woman kept selling things not once glancing their way.
"Creepy…"
"Yeah…"
That's when their warden found them. Nine of them said anything while the lady scolded them for wandering off. Lucky for them, they weren't the only ones who got 'lost'.
8:30 PM
They were back at the hostel.
They were all sitting at their study table but unable to study. Their thoughts wandered back to the items sitting in their room. But for some reason the creepy incident with the old woman was completely forgotten.
10:30 PM
After dinner the warden had left them all alone. The others all were busy discussing their day at the fair.
There was no light in the hallways. The warden had retired to her room for the night.
The four of them sat in their room after locking the door. Ahalya had the key in her hand and was making the green gem sparkle in the light and enjoying it. Sayuktha sat in her bed turning the pages of the book to find it completely empty. Not one word written in it not even on the cover pages.
"The woman really should've sold this for a higher price." Sayuktha said.
"Would you be able to buy it at a higher price?" Ahalya asked.
"No but…"
"Look at this way, after we left the woman got a lot of business. We bought her good luck." Ahalya said.
"That's a strange reason." Sonu said.
"But it's still a reason." Avanthika commented.
"So what do you think about the mysterious powers of these things?" Sonu asked.
"Complete bull." Sayuktha said.
"Heh! Don't be like that sis." Ahalya said.
"Riiiiight…" Sayuktha drawled;"Let me guess, you already have a story about the key and the book."
Ahalya had a habit of making stories about things. No one can blame her; after all she does have a wild imagination.
"Really? Let's hear it then." Sonu said excited. Avanthika sat down on the bed and got comfortable.
It was almost a custom. Ahalya would write a story and she would tell them the story in the night. They'd add their own comments and Ahalya would improve the story up on their coments.
"There's not much of a story really." Ahalya shrugged.
"Still share us your wisdom, Oh Great One." Avanthika said to which Ahalya glared.
"Hey what's that?" Sonu asked pointing at something behind them. They all turned to look and saw a shadow at the corner of the room: you know… those creepy looking shadows that look like they jumped out of a horror movie or something.
"A shadow?" Ahalya drawled not seeing what was so strange about a shadow at the corner of their room… a shadow that wasn't there earlier… A shadow that shouldn't be there given the lighting of their room… okay now she understood what was strange.
"Umm guys..." Sayuktha's voice startled them out of their stupor. They looked to see what spooked out Sayuktha and were promptly spooked out themselves. The book was lying in their bed and on its cover page was a key hole through which the golden key was inserted.
"What the hell!" Ahalya said startled.
"This is crazy. What's going on?" Sonu said.
The key hole was had intricate gold patterns around it that matched the patterns on the key. There was no was no way they could've missed that earlier.
"That shadow it's gone." Avanthika exclaimed.
Once they confirmed this, they all had no idea what was going on.
"Let's get out of the room. Leave the book there." Avanthika said and tried to open the door found that it was locked from outside.
Now they were terrified.
"Everyone calm down and just breathe." Sayuktha yelled no longer able to take the oppressing panic. This seemed to calm them a bit.
"Take the key off. Maybe that'll work." Avanthika said.
"She's right there was no problem when the key and book were separated." Sonu agreed.
"Okay." Sayuktha skeptically took the book in her hand expecting something to happen. But to her relief nothing happened. At least that' what she thought until,
"The book… its glowing." Sonu whispered.
That's when Sayuktha noticed the faint golden glow of the book. And right before their eyes the vines decorating the edge of the cover page began moving. Then spread and covered the entire page only leaving the pattern surrounding the key hole. The vines moved in a peculiar pattern, which soon matched the pattern around the key hole. The whole cover page was filled with the same intricate patterns and golden flowers began blooming on the cover page at random places releasing golden dust.
The girls were all too mesmerized to act.
Avanthika was the first one to regain her bearing. She noticed the golden dust now floating inside their room and more flowers kept blooming. She snatched the book out of Sayuktha's hand and the flowers and wines at once stopped moving. The others soon snapped out of their stupor.
"Take the key out. Now! " Sonu urged.
Avanthika tried. "It's stuck." She said.
"Damn! Give it to me." Sonu tried this time but the key refused to move.
"Give it to me." Ahalya said.
"I don't think that's a good idea for some reason." Sayuktha said unsure.
"I know. I have the same feeling. But I have a feeling that the key won't move unless it's me." Ahalya said frowning.
"Alright."
The book was given to Ahalya. She was skeptic at first. But then steeled her resolve and touched the key. For moment she waited to see if something would happen, when nothing happened she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
Ahalya looked at her friends and they nodded. Relieved that nothing had gone wrong, she was just about to pull out the key when a hot breath hit the back of her neck. She felt terror wash over her and looked up to see the horrified expression on the face of her friends who were standing in front of her.
"Can't have you ending the game even before it starts, now can I?" a honey sweet voice chimed from behind her.
It was a familiar female voice but Ahalya couldn't quiet remember who it was.
Ahalya was frozen. She saw her friends who looked like they were not really there. Their eyes glossed over and vacant.
She flinched when a pale slender hand was placed on top of her hand which was stuck holding the key. She noted that the hand was cold like ice and smooth like marble. Manicured long nails and a golden ring on the ring finger. The hand forcefully moved her own arm causing the key to twist inside the lock. An audible click resonated within the room as if a lock had been opened.
"Enjoy…" the voice said cheerfully.
They all felt like huge weight had been lifted of them. Panicked they looked at each other. But Ahalya was staring at the book in horror.
The front page of the book swung open and inside it was a swirling black hole.
The next thing they know, they were sucked into it.
To Be Continued…