It starts coming back to me. "They never found out the individuals who did it, did they?"
Uncle Jo shakes his head. "No. It's still an unsolved murder. With every passing generation, new Guardians are assigned to the case. They dedicate their entire lives to that service. It's frustrating that after all these years and all the technology we’ve uncovered, we are still no closer to finding out. We have even offered a steep reward, and still, no witnesses have come forward. Money always makes people talk.”
We make it to the front doors of the palace. The entryway is nothing less than perfect, and I gawk at the chandelier hanging high above my head. It is shaped like my sun, and on the end, it has rows upon rows of yellow diamonds draping down above our heads. It’s beautiful.
My uncle rolls his eyes with a chuckle. He mumbles something that sounds a lot like, "Girls,making me smirk. After a short walk outside, we enter a building that is the same beige color as the palace, but it does not have the same extravagant presence.
"What is this place?”
"This is the old palace, and it leads to the courtyard." He answers nonchalantly.?
"Oh.” I'm a little creeped out, because this place looks like one of those old insane asylums that you see on tv.The palaces are zip codes apart. There are a few portraits of people hanging up in wooden frames and a table with a kerosene lamp on top of it, but no golden statues or fancy paintings. The staircase to the right is not made out of pure gold, it looks dilapidated, like it might cave in at any moment. My uncle guides me towards a narrow hallway. I shiver, because the temperature has dropped at least twenty degrees. I rub my hands up and down my arms in hopes of radiating a little bit of heat, it’s pointless. The further we travel down, the colder it gets.
Candelabras strategically line the hallway, and medium-sized candles are placed inside each. It’s like we’ve traveled back in time to the 1700s. I wonder if the palace looked exactly like this back in the day. The more we walk, the narrower the hallway becomes. Strangely, the ceiling also looks slightly lower.At the end of the hallway is a door about my height, made of dark mahogany wood, and it has a lion door knocker carved into it. A giant cobweb to the left side of my head makes me cringe. I'm not usually scared of spiders, but that cobweb is enormous.
My uncle turns to me. "Arabella, only a handful of people have ever stepped behind this door. You'll understand why in a minute. The King asked me to show you this room if you ever have to escape suddenly."?
My curiosity is instantly piqued. What’s behind this door? I look toward Uncle Jo and wait for him to explain. He doesn't finish, which is typical for him. Without another word, he grabs the door knocker and knocks three times.A slight wind starts to blow, and there is the faint sound of a lion's roar in my ear. The sound and wind end as abruptly as it began.
Did I imagine the whole thing? Uncle Jo wastes no time. He grabs the door knocker and knocks three more times, making it rattle and shake. After a few seconds, a glow forms around the lion's mane, and the sound of a roar starts slowly and increases in volume.?
My uncle puts his arm around me and smiles. "It's just a little magic, Arabella.”
I’ve been taught about the elements and the magic they can wield, even witnessed my family’s gifts, but seeing this in person is impressive yet startling. There is still so much for me to learn about our world. My attention turns back to the door knocker, and the lion is giving me a raised eyebrow look.?
"Hello, Arabella." The lion says in a peaceful yet harsh tone.
I give him a warm smile. Rude or not, my mouth can't form a sentence, not even if my life depended on it. Hopefully, a smile is good enough because that's all I got.
"Cat got your tongue?" He smirks and wastes no time laughing at his joke.
I chuckle. "Hello, umm, Mr. Lion?"
He laughs, but when he speaks, his tone is deadly serious. "Chosen One, you may call me Hadar. I am the keeper and giver of secrets. No one may enter this room unless they tell me one of their own."
It's no surprise that my mind is blank, and I don’t want to tell a secret in front of my uncle. "I don't have many secrets."
Hadar looks toward my uncle, then back at me. He's pretty wise for a door knocker. "Josiah Gabor St. James, you will tell your secret first, then you may enter."
Uncle Jo hesitates for only a moment, then nods in agreement. "I have a twin brother, who I haven't talked to in seven years." He looks at me, then adds, "It's complicated."
They have another brother, and I have another uncle! How many things has my family been keeping from me? I look at Uncle Jo, and the pain of his secret is all over his face. He's never been good at opening up to people, he keeps everything bottled up. For a moment, I can pull back my anger, but this won’t be our last conversation on the subject.
I keep it light, for now. "So, I have another uncle...huh?"
He sighs a deep sigh of relief. He thought I was going to have an attitude. "Yup. His name is Joseph."
I smile back, and it’s not even fake. "So, I could call both of you Uncle Jo?"
His smile fades quickly. "No, I'm Uncle Jo. He is Uncle Joseph or just Joseph. You know you don't have to call him uncle if you don't want to."
I laugh. "That would be impolite of me, but you have my word. I won't call any other uncles Uncle Jo."
He seems satisfied by this. "I'm going to go ahead and enter. Hurry and don't take too much time. He'll make me tell him another secret if I come back out here to get you.”
Uncle Jo makes a face at the lion, who stares back at him as if he’s bored to pieces. Hadar yawns. It starts soft, then ends with a growl. "If you don't go inside so that Ms. St. James can tell me her secret, I'll make you tell me another one anyway. I'm of little patience today."
My uncle smirks. "Just today?"
