"They came upon the ruins quite by accident.
'What is this place,' asked Sam fearfully
'The Ruins of Abalone,' replied Isabel, staring in awe, 'I thought they were just a myth.'
'Are they... haunted?' Eli scooted closer to his friends
'Sam will protect us if they are, right Sam?' Alise shot a subtle look at Sam through her eyelashes
'Uh...' Sam looked around the ruins, 'Well, I... um...'
'They're not haunted,' said Isabel finally,'Would you like to hear the tale?'
The other three nodded
'All right. Follow me then,' She strode purposefully over the bridge, careful to stay away from the crumbling sides, through the broken gap in the wall, and right up to the door of the center tower.'
Sam, Eli, and Alise followed her a bit more timidly.
'The tale of the Ruins,' Isabel smiled at her friends, 'Is one of mystery, above all else. No one knows what happened to the great Castle of Abalone, once known for it's lavish parties and gossip-ridden court life. Tales are told of the princesses and princes who ruled society from the Castle of Abalone, but no tale is told of it's decline... except one.' She took a deep breath, and smiled mysteriously at the others, "In the rule of Flavius and Neora Sevante, the castle came under attack. The great gardens, once known for their giant seahorse shrubberies, were left unkempt, the moat ran dry, and the towers crumbled. Flavius and Neora evacuated all their friends, family, and staff, but they stayed, wanting to liberate their castle or die trying. A letter written from Neora to her sister Quiani was found. In it, Neora said she'd found a way to keep the opposing army out, but she and Flavius would have to sacrifice to achieve it. She didn't say what they had to sacrifice. After taht, they were never heard of again, and the Castle of Abalone dissapeared off the map. The opposing army found themselves in their beds in their own homes, remembering nothing of the attack and seige. No-one ever spoke of the Castle of Abalone again. This has to be it!' At this she ran to the door and tried to pry it open. It wouldn't come. Sam and Eli jumped up,
'Let us try!'
She rolled her eyes, but nodded, and they set to work. She went to the windows. They were covered in sand, and permanently fogged with time. She tried to wipe them clean, but they were sporting the wear of ages. She was startled out of her cleaning attempts by a yell from Eli.
'We got it! Isabel, we got it!'
She and Alise ran to where the boys were staring apprehensively into the dark building.
'Oh, come on, there's nothing bad in there!' Isabel pushed them aside and started to go into the house
'We'll wait out here. Call if you need anything,' Alise exchanged a look with Sam, who nodded. Eli, on the other hand, shook his head.
'I'll go with you, Isabel.'
'Thanks.'
He nodded, and took her hand, 'We don't want to get separated, you know.'
'Right,' she said, a bit dis concertedly.
They tiptoed into the pitch black tower, attempting not to trip over anything. In the dim light from the open door Isabel could make out 500 year old furniture, slightly shabby, but otherwise in perfect condition. She moved a little closer to Eli, 'This is kinda creepy. Wish we had a light.'
'Yeah. Wait!' He fumbled in his pocket for a minute, and then pulled out a flash light, 'Here!'
'You had a flashlight in your pocket? Why did you -" She stopped talking as he shone the light around the room. It truly was eerie. It was as if they had stepped back into medieval times. Isabel pointed wordlessly at a spiral stone staircase. Eli nodded, and they made their way to it. They crept up the steps, Eli flashing his light before them, until they'd reached an opening into another large room. This one had a large four poster bed in the corner and - Isabel gasped - a roaring fire in the fireplace. A woman was sitting at a vanity combing her long brown hair. Eli tried to pull Isabel down the stairs, but she wouldn't budge.
'Neora?' She took a step towards the woman, much to Eli's annoyance.
The woman smiled slightly and gave a small incline of her head that sufficed as a nod.
'Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Eli! Oh my goodness, you're... you must be... oh my goodness.' Isabel was shaking, staring at Neora. The former queen came up, smile still present on her pale face, and took Isabel's hand.
'Thank you,' She breathed.
'What... for what?" Isabel managed to shrink from her touch and look excited by it at the same time.
'Only one who was not seeking the castle could find it, and only one who did not want to harm it could enter. You have achieved both, and thus have freed me and my husband, Flavius.'
At his name, a man appeared at the foot of a staircase that led up. He stared for a moment, shocked, at the newcomers, and then rushed to Neora's side.
'Have they done it?" he whispered to her. She nodded, and he opened his mouth in a silent scream of joy. she turned bemusedly to Isabel and Eli;
'I'm afraid fivehundred years does not help the voice.'
'Five... five hundred...' Eli shook his head
'Yes. Five hundred years ago we cast a spell upon this castle. Nothing in it would age, until such time as one of pure heart discovered it. Unfortunately, as the spell is impossible to cast outside of the object you are immortalizing, we had to stay for the span of time also. I'll admit, we've questioned our decision many times through the years. But perhaps... perhaps you can use these ruins as a teaching tool. Tell the world about our time, show them how we lived.'
'What about you?' Isabel frowned at the former Queen
'We are going to, finally, get some much needed rest.' Flavius smiled at Neora.
'Thank you, both of you.' Neora laid her hand upon their joined ones, 'May you have a wonderful life together.'
Eli reddened, 'Oh, we're not, I mean -'
'Hush, Eli.' Isabel was trying to listen to Flavius
A slow smile spread across Eli's face, and he moved closer to Isabel.
'Are you ready, my sweet?' Flavius had donned a crown, and given one to Neora.
'I am,' She placed her own crown upon her head, and gave the former King a kiss. THey made their way to the four poster bed and lay on it, on their backs, staring at the stone ceiling. Isabel turned into Eli and began to sob. He put his arms around her absentmindedly, stunned by the suddenness of the monarchs' death.
They came, blinking back out into the light, much closer and more fragile than when they had entered.
'What happened?' Sam noticed Isabel's tearstained face, 'Are you alright?'
'Isabel? Isabel, are you ok? Eli, what happened?' Alise looked from Isabel to Sam and back, worry lines disturbing her normally perfect face
'We're fine,' said Eli, 'Fine.
Isabel nodded. Then she turned to Eli, 'We have to get back, tell the professor. Do you realize what this means, Eli? This can be my first project. I'll finally be able to become a real archeologist. You too!'
He smiled down at her, 'I know. I'm so incredibly happy for us.'
Alise turned to Sam, 'I think more happened in there than they're telling us.'
Sam nodded, 'Definitely.'
