The Veil of Darkness
Chapter 219: In Search of the Guardian

Chapter 219: In Search of the Guardian

Annalise stood outside the big wooden doors of the room inside which the supposed guardian of the Cursed Castle was supposed to be living. Only stars knew how long it took her to drag herself to the top floor of the castle and in front of this very particular door, especially when the only other door located on the same floor just a couple of meters away filled her with an uncontrollable dread.

The latter that she received early in the morning contained a message from the King and her parents who had agreed to meet with her after three days at the Royal Palace. Since she had a lot of time left in her hands while so many questions were running rampant through her brain, she decided to distract herself while doing something useful and that’s how she came up with the idea of taking a chance to meet the Guardian.

Of course, she had to convince her husbands to just live her alone and trust her with whatever she had planned, and while none of the three dark lords looked too impressed despite the fact that they promised to give her the space she needed, they still eventually agreed and gave her three hours.

She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm down her harshly thumping heart that was about to pop out of her chest. She couldn’t tell if she was feeling scared, excited, or anxious, or if it was a mixture of all these feelings.

Her ocean-blue eyes scanned the door which was covered in ancient runes, ones that were hidden from prying eyes but still visible to her due to some unknown reason. There was a ward working on the door just like the one that was present on the second door and in the basement, clearly placed by the same person.

So far, she had been able to pass through all the wards present in the cursed castle, now it was time to see if she could pass through another one without getting hurt. Slowly, she raised one of her hands and reached out toward the door, her fingers slightly trembled as her breath got caught in her throat for the next couple of seconds.

Annalise wasn’t sure if she was actually surprised, or just relieved when her fingers safely came in contact with the door and she felt the energy of the ward shimmering beneath her skin, giving way to her immediately through it without any difficulty.

Taking another deep breath, she placed her second hand against the door and gave it a push. The locking spells working on the door didn’t stop her and the door flew open, allowing her entrance into another secret of the castle.

Despite the door being wide open, Annalise was once again unable to see anything on the other side as a weird brightness was keeping her from looking inside.

Not wanting to waste more time, she straightened her spine as if to get some courage before she hurriedly stepped inside as if she was worried about losing her cool and running away at the last moment. The familiar energy of the ancient ward rushed through her body before she was pushed to the other side.

After seeing so many secret areas of the castle, Annalise was expecting to once again see greenery, large fields, or at least something similar to that, however, she was once again taken by complete surprise as she found herself standing in a comfy but quite messy parlor. Two sets of stairs were leading upstairs but all that was visible to her were halls, dark red curtains, and dozens of lanterns that were filling the place with brightness.

"How long it has been since we last have a guest here!"

A voice rang through the empty place as a figure suddenly appeared on the top of one of the stairs and once again surprised Annalise as her gaze met with his.

She stared at the man who looked too old with his long silver hair and white beard. His eyes were hidden behind round glasses and his face was filled with wrinkles. Dressed in a long blue robe and white cloak, the old man appeared more on the cute side and less on the dangerous side which made Annalise question if he indeed was the person she came searching for.

"You must be Lady Annalise, the new hostess of this castle." The old man continued, surprising Annalise with his words, as he started descending the stairs.

"You... You know me, Sir?" Quite a stupid question considering he just addressed her correctly without any hesitation or doubt about his guess of her identity.

"How can I not when this entire castle seems to be singing your name from tge very moment you stepped inside? It’s been months since I have been hearing about you but didn’t have the luck to see you in person. Little did I know that destiny will eventually allow us to meet like this." The old man answered as he reached the end of the stairs and made his way toward her.

Annalise wasn’t sure if she should be running away or not but if the correct answer was the former one then she had little choice considering behind her was a wall and no door that could lead her back to her world.

"Who... who are you?" She asked while keeping her eyes fixed on the man who had changed his destination and was now standing next to the huge fireplace before he crouched down to add some more wooden locks into it from the nearby pile.

The man stopped adding logs and stood up while facing her. "How rude of me! My apologies, My Lady. I’m the one responsible for keeping this small sphere running as long as I can. You can address me as Sir Niles."

Annalise stared at the hand that the man had offered her. She was supposed to accept it if for nothing else but to stay polite but she couldn’t help but contemplate whether to accept it or not.

And then she was saved from making a decision when a new voice interrupted her.

"Whom are you talking to?"

Annalise’s gaze immediately moved to look at the man who was now standing in the same spot, at the top of the stairs, where the old man was standing just a couple of moments ago.

He had long braided black hair that matched his raven eyes that were looking directly back at her. His sharp facial features and muscular body put him on the completely opposite side of the old man.

He was dressed like a warrior minus the armor and with a black cloak wrapped over his body. In addition to his well-built muscles, he also appeared quite tall, even taller than her husbands.

"Why don’t you come here and look for yourself?" The old man offered from next to her as he too looked back at the younger man.

Annalise’s attention shifted between the two men who appeared ages apart but still somehow gave off the same energy - ancient, powerful, and similar to that of the castle and Pristine.

A gasp left her lips when the man suddenly appeared right in front of her which was definitely a result of his space shifting. His deep raven eyes bored into hers as a surprised look was decorating his face.

"You..." The man tried to speak but his lips started quivering as if words got stuck in his throat, his eyes turning misty as if tears were welling up in them. He seemed to be in complete shock but there was also a hint of immense happiness laying beneath all the shock and disbelief.

Annalise hurriedly spared a quick look at the old man only to find him smiling as he watched the younger man. It seemed like she won’t be getting any help from him about what was wrong with his partner.

"You are finally here." The man finally mustered out the words as a single tear rolled down his cheek and landed on his clothes all the while leaving Annalise in even more shock and anxiety as the situation was completely out of her control and understanding.

"Excuse me but I think you both are..." She tried to speak but stopped when the man started shaking his head as if he was opposed to whatever she was about to say without even listening to it completely.

"Didn’t I tell you to trust the castle? That it won’t give us the wrong hope by failing in recognizing the right person?" The old man seemed really proud but Annalise notice that beneath the glasses, even his eyes were shimmering with unshed tears.

The younger man hurriedly nodded his head as his eyes looked straight into Annalise’s as he spoke, "All those rumors were true, all those signals were true, and most importantly, the promise turned out to be true too. How long we all have waited for you? How long this castle has been waiting for you, My Queen?"

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