Family Crypt

A few hours passed and the four of them slowly approached the Warborne forest where the old tomb of the De la Pole family was supposed to be located.

The majestic forest that bordered the city was a popular meeting place for young lovers and children. A place where the rustling of leaves quietly wakes its inhabitants as they wander around looking for food.

The deeper the four went into the forest, the more fragrant it became. It's easy to find yourself wandering around for hours watching little rodents jump from tree to tree, but today is not the time for that. Twigs crunched under their feet and they soon arrived at a smaller area that wasn't covered with trees.

There were a few broken stone pillars and walls around.

"Is this the right place?" Kalen asks, looking around.

Lucille walks past them and points to an overgrown hole in the ground. "As I said, only ruins remained of their home. Selene made sure there wasn't a single trace of her family left in the world, but I guess she couldn't get rid of her family tomb."

"You're not going to tell me we're going down there, right?" Aiden frowns and swallows. "Don't tell me you're scared Aiden." Nova laughs and follows Lucille who is trying to get through the overgrown grass next to the hole.

Kalen just looks at Aiden and puts a hand on his shoulder before walking past him.

"You can stay outside dude. You can keep watch if that sounds more fun to you."

"Ha ha, you're so funny Kalen. The way I see it, your sense of humor hasn't improved after all these years."

"And the way I see it, your fear of the dark hasn't improved either. A vampire like you shouldn't be afraid of the dark Aiden"

"Go for it, mock me all you want Kalen if that makes you feel better."

"Hey! We have no problem keeping you both here. Stop fighting for once, get over here and help!" raises her voice Nova, who had been helping Lucille up until now.

The two of them look at each other and roll their eyes. Even though they both looked angry, a small smile appears on their face, and obediently followed the girl.

As they approached the overgrown hole in the ground, they saw a stone staircase in the middle that led underground.

The stairs were slowly crumbling and several of the holes were overgrown with moss and grass. None of them knew where the dark passage led to.

"You really don't want to stay outside?" Kalen breaks the silence and nudges Aiden.

Nova just gives the two a warning look and turns back to Lucille. "So, Selene's family is supposed to be down there right?"

"As I said, her family kept all of their relatives here. So Aaera should be here too."

"All right then. We'll go down there, find the ashes, and then head straight for Rosemary so she can give our friends back." Nova repeats the plan, nodding her head.

"Great plan but how can we even see in a dark like that?" Aiden asks.

Lucille pulls a small flashlight from her bag and shines it on his face. "Do you think it didn't occur to me that there probably won't be any light bulbs?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You're smart." Aiden says, waving his hands in front of his face to block the bright light from the flashlight.

"Any volunteers?" Lucille asks and chuckles.

Nova turns her head to the two boys and points to the dark hallway. "Come on you two, go."

Lucille hands her flashlight to Kalen and he just turns to Aiden and the two of them slowly make their way down, disappearing into the darkness in no time.

Nova and Lucille follow them and they all head down a narrow passageway deeper into the tomb, accompanied by a sharp light from the flashlight.

The surroundings are dark and cold. Kalen shines his flashlight in all directions and after a short while they all arrive at a large square-shaped area.

On all sides, there are massive stone pillars holding up the almost crumbling place on its feet, and in every corner, there is a lot of cobwebs and dust. The stone walls are partly overgrown with weeds, and the water that got into the tomb over time could still be seen on the walls.

Nova looks towards where Kalen is shining his flashlight and everyone notices the carefully placed stone coffins lying next to each other. There are three coffins on one side of the tomb and only two on the other. Above them on the wall are attached black metal plates with names, dates of birth, and death.

"So there's a total of five family members if I'm counting correctly," Nova says and approaches one of the coffins.

"It seems they buried only those members who had their pure blood. Their family relied on their blood and they didn't want to ruin their bloodline." Lucille replies looking at the stone ceiling.

"Delilah Rose De la Pole and Frances Henry De la Pole." Nova read from the two metal plates that were right next to each other."

"Selene's mother and her stepfather," Lucille answers, leaning over the caskets.

"And these three? One of them should be Aaera right?" Aiden asks eagerly, pointing towards the other side of the tomb.

They all approach the three remaining coffins and focus on the plates.

"Honor De la Pole, Lavina De la Pole, and Benjamin De la Pole." reads Nova.

"It must be their siblings or other relatives," Lucille replies.

"If Selene's parents are over there and their relatives are over here. Where is Aaera?" Kalen asks, shining his flashlight on the other coffins behind them.

His flashlight strays to the wall that was opposite the exit. Kalen turns and notices a large wooden door that is slowly falling apart.

The door has two very small glass shutters that are partially cracked and dirty. There are cobwebs on every corner and the door handle is missing as well.

"Um...guys?" Kalen calls out.

The others turn towards the bright light and notice a door that no one has yet opened.

"Where do you think it leads?"

"Judging by what's behind that door isn't here with the rest of the family. I bet that's what we came here for." Lucille says.

"So that's where we'll find the ashes?" Nova asks.

Lucille nods and turns to the two boys standing behind her. "We can't open the door without the handle, so one of you will have to kick the door down."

"Wait. Destroying the property of a family that isn't responsible for our problems at all? I don't know if I like the idea of that." Nova stops them.

Lucille just lets out a breath and motions for Kalen and Aiden to get to work. "We have no choice."

"Perhaps the door can be opened in another way." agrees Kalen.

But before he could say anything else, he hears a big bang behind him, and a big cloud of dust covers the whole room. Kalen turns to see Aiden, who jumps back a bit, wiping his hands on his dark pants. He throws his hair back and coughs thanks to the dust.

Lucille looks pleased and Kalen and Nova just look at him annoyed.

"What are you two staring at? I really didn't see any other way to get there and besides, they're dead anyway. It's not like they'll mind."

"You'll never change huh," Kalen adds, shining a light into the room that was hidden behind the rotted door that now lies on the ground.

Nova steps over it and enters a smaller room that is colder than the last one. All around her are dust and dirt and cobwebs and in the very center, she notices a large stone pedestal with an old dark red cloth on it and a silver urn carefully placed on top.

Nova leans over it and her eyes focus on a small metal tag.

"Aaera Lily De la Pole. Best friend, sister, daughter. Year of death 1420." she reads, turning to the others who are waiting outside the entrance.

"So, that's her?" Kalen assures.

Lucille nods. "This is exactly what Rosemary wants so badly."

"Wait, if it's not protected here, why didn't Rosemary ever come here? There's no way someone like her wouldn't know where their family tomb is." Kalen remarks, looking at Lucille in confusion.

"You don't mean to tell me this was just a trap, do you?" Aiden speaks.

"Do you really think the De la Pole family was stupid enough to let someone like Rosemary into their tomb? She was one of the reasons their family perished. You know very well that vampires can't have children and when Selene died it meant the end for their family."

"Okay then, but why can we enter?" Kalen asks.

"There are witches far more powerful than Rosemary who have worked with their family. Even though they are dead, witches still live in the soil, in the wind, all around us, and especially in Warborne as their ghosts. For a brief moment, I was afraid they wouldn't let us in, but it seems they know we have no bad intentions." Lucille explains, a small smile appearing on her face, almost as if she was grateful to the spirits.

However, no one noticed Nova, who is still standing in the room holding a smaller silver urn in her hand.

Aiden turns to her and tilts his head. "Hey, are you okay Nova?"

Nova just shakes her head and looks at him. "Huh? Yeah, yeah of course. Something just struck me."

"What are you talking about?"

"How can someone like Selene ruin the life of someone like her half-sister? According to this date and year...she was only 14 years old."