Chapter 18
[I’ve come to realise that I lost chapter 18 of the original series and since I wrote these books in 2015/2016, I have no idea how to write that scene again, so I’m going to post the rewritten version of said chapter, but you’ll get a gist of what happened in chapter 18, in my 17 year old mind. This is from the new version. (Also ignore the ghost talk in this chapter, it’s from the new version and has no mention in the original version. I just don’t want to leave you guys with no chapter, which is why I’m posting this here.]
“Anna is going to Paris,” Nat says suddenly as we walk around a tree.
“Paris?” Cam asks her, confused.
“Alec is taking her. She said to him that she wants a fresh start and to start her fashion career in paris.” Nat tells us.
“Nice.” Cam shrugs his shoulders as he grins suddenly. “Welcome to your maybe home.” He looks at me as he walks through tall bushes.
I follow him and freeze at the castle I see in front of me. It was beautiful. A golden light surrounded the whole castle. The brick wall glistened in the light as the wind danced through the trees around us. “It’s beautiful.” I whisper as I stare at the castle.
A road led to the castle which was surrounded by small streets. It was a village. Lockridge Falls was beautiful but empty. No one lived here.
“Come on. Let’s see if you can get past the shield without a pass.” Nat exclaims happily.
“Pass?” I ask her as I follow them down the hill and towards the village.
“Before the King and Queen died, they formed a shield around the castle. No one without their bloodline would be able to enter it. That was centuries ago, but now with a little help of witches, we’ve been able to create passes. They allow one person in for an hour only. Once the hour is finished, they are pulled out of the castle by magic.” Nat explains to me as I see the empty markets and houses as we walk through the village.
“Would you take it?” Cam asks me and I raise an eyebrow looking at him confused. “The crown. Would you take it and rule over us all?” he asks with a smirk on his face.
“I don’t know.” I answer him truthfully.
That sense of power I would have over everyone as their queen made me smile. They could not hurt me or harm me anywhere. Cameron would not be able to come for me.
You would have an army beside you. Ava grins happily.
For the first time in forever, I felt a sense of peacefulness knowing if I was the lost princess, I would help the world. I would help them all but I would help myself. Live by myself in a castle all alone. I would bring Miles here.
“Come on,” Nat holds my hand and we run up the street, leading to the castle. The golden shield around the place flickers the nearer I get to it. “We could throw a Cinderella ball!” Nat says besides me happily as Cam reaches up. We stop outside the golden shield.
“Do you think it would disappear if she touches it?” Cam whispers as I stare at the golden light as it calls out my name.
It’s a whisper, barely a sound. Emily Rose Perry Gray. Welcome home.
“I think she’s connecting to it.” Nat whispers back to Cam.
I ignore them as I reach out my hand towards the golden light. It feels like a magnet as the golden light pulls itself closer to my hand, screaming to be set free. My fingers touch the light and a cry of happiness shatters the shield around the castle. The ground shakes a little as Cam and Nat curse behind me.
Whispers so far away yet so close fill my mind. The queen has arrived.
Long live the Royals.
The queen is here, mommy!
It’s the princess!
She’s here to take her crown!
Whispers of the ghosts swirl around me. I take a step forward as if their hands urge me to enter the castle grounds. The shield is broken.
Lost in a trance, I take the next step forward.
The queen is here! The chants fill my mind as if I was walking through a crowded room filled with people happy to see me.
“Emily!” Nat calls out my name. I turn around to look at her as she stands behind me. “Alec wants us home. He’s pissed.” She tells me.
“I want to stay.” I say, frowning at her.
Mommy! The queen is leaving!
Oh no. The queen is leaving us.
Please don’t leave, your majesty.
“We will be back. Alec is at home and he’s waiting. He’s angry and it’s an order,” Cam sighs as he runs a hand through his hair.
I sigh. “Okay.” I walk towards them.
The queen is going!
She’s leaving!
I turn my head to the side as if I could see the ghosts of the past. I will be back. I whisper in my mind hoping they can hear me as I follow Cam and Nat, silently.
“You’re the princess. We have the princess in our house. Holy fuck, Cam!” Nat laughs as she walks ahead with him. We will protect you, your majesty. You have set us free. A little girl’s voice floats around me as I smile.
Trapped. That’s what they were. The souls of the pack members of Royal Crystal Pack. They would help me rebuild the castle and I would heal here, in this castle.
***
“Let’s all take a deep breath,” Cam says as he stands in front of the door.
Nat and I follow his instructions just as he opens the door. “I’m going to fucking kill you!” I hear Alec growling as we walk inside.
“What’s wrong?” Nat asks, feigning confusion.
“What’s wrong?” Alec questions as he walks out of the living room and stares at us all. “You left with my mate!” He glares at Cam.
“I’m fine,” I say to Alec as I stand in front of Nat and Cam. Liam walks behind me to hug Nat, muttering he missed her.
“Where did you go? I couldn’t even mindlink you.” Alec takes a step towards me.
I had marked Alec, but Alec had not marked me. I didn’t know how a mindlink would open with your mate.
“We went to see the castle.“I smile at him as I hear the voices around me.
They followed me here.
This house is so small. Is this the King?
You have to be nice, Luisa.
Luisa. The first name I had heard. It felt strange to say but I could feel Luisa following me around as if she was in awe of me. She followed me all the way here telling me what had happened that night. The King and Queen had sensed the danger but they were late and all they could do was save our souls and trap us in the castle. They vowed the castle would rise again and with every drop of their magic going into the shield, they faded to the Afterworld. As did I. Until I had arrived back on the world and I had just set them all free. Centuries of being trapped, they were finally free and if it was possible to see, I knew they would be dancing around the world.
“I thought I was going to show you that,” Alec frowns as he stares at me.
“Can I tell him?” Cam whispers to Nat excitedly.
“You were taking Anna to Paris..” I reply to him.
“She’s the fucking princess!” Cam exclaims.
Alec freezes.
[Again, sorry for the confusion caused in this chapter. I could have just wrote two lines. *she goes to the castle* *is she shocked that she is a princess* since the next chapter carries on from the original version where she *is* shocked. This is probably so confusing, sorry.]