Chapter 6 - Vault of Shadows

Anne's POV

The rays of the sun stole behind the thick cover of the house and shone directly at my eyes, escaping the window. Yawning lazily, I looked at the house once more, my eyes weary and heart heavy with anxiety. No one knew what the future held, and I was the most scared to even try to think about it.

Unexpectedly, the house was in a stainless state, the tables clean and polished as if the royal cleaner was around to do some cleaning work an hour ago. All that didn't bother me, I thought, my eyes set on the fireplace.

The fire had died in the middle of the night and all that remained was now the ashes and the charred wood. I moved closer to check if there was still heat from the place but it was negligible.

With a deep breath, I reached into the fireplace and found the knob. There was a vault here indeed, for how long had Gunnar had kept this here? I pulled it out but there was no response.

The box didn't even do as much as bulge from it's initial position even after trying for more than five times. Looking around for a flashlight, I shone it in the direction and it reflected instantly with a different shade; silver.

Silver was known to restrict wolverine abilities and powers, meaning that whatever was behind the vault could not be sensed with wolf abilities. Whatever Gunnar was keeping here must have be of utmost importance to him.

Checking again but paying more attention, I realized that there were intricate carvings on the inner walls of the fireplace and on the door of the little safebox. Who does this for a little vault?

I pulled again and the fireplace made a little vibration. I looked closely and realized what I had been missing the whole time. The key! I crouched and folded myself into the fireplace, kicking up soot and ash.

I examined the safe opening closely and realized it was actually a door. Instantly, I fished out the key and stuck it into the hole, twisting it and waiting for something to happen.

Silence.

Suddenly, the sound of moving gears filled the room, jerking me up. Then it stopped as soon as it had started, then the door to the vault started to pull itself in, revealing a half dark room.

Without fear or trepidation, I stepped into the dark room, the light only coming in from the sunlight outside. The air inside was different and it was stuffy, as if this was an abandoned storehouse of some sorts.

There was a loud bang as the heavy door shut itself back and the room became jet dark, my eyes not able to adjust to anything. The room was lined with silver, limiting the use of wolverine abilities and therefore, my eyes to attune to the night vision spectrum.

As if someone had been watching, the brassieres on the wall became ablaze with fires, and they burned so bright that all the corners of the room were illuminated, my shadow thick and black.

I grabbed one of the torch and examined where I was standing. It was empty except for the torches and there were carvings all over the wall, just like the ones at the entrance. How did Gunnar manage to get a whole underground room under the cottage and I had never seen it before?

The room I was standing was a sort of passageway and it led to another chamber down the way. Walking cautiously, I approached the inner chamber and the brassieres automatically went on again, scaring the hell out of me. I almost jumped before regaining my composure.

This place indeed had an eerie feeling and I wanted to get out as soon as possible, but not without getting what I came for first. Whatever Gunnar had hid or placed in this vault had to be gotten to, especially if it was something he protected so jealously to erect this structure and be tight lipped about it until the moment of his death.

The musty smell of old books hit me so hard in the nose and I spun around, seeing a tall shelf of books the direction I had come from.

Before the tall shelf, there was a table sitting in the middle of the room; the only table and it's presence called for attention. I went towards it and discovered there was a single note, expertly placed in the center with a pen on it.

"For the answers to your questions lie at the end of the hall. I might be dead by the time I get this, but please forgive my sins. Gunnar." I didn't understand what Gunnar meant by the last paragraph but it prompted me to go further.

I almost broke into a run in trying to decipher what he had written and when I got there, an old computer sat there, it's lit screen staring blankly at the open space in front of it.

I was confused at how the computer still had power after all this time. I opened it and a video flashed before my eyes, Gunnar coming on screen with the younger me.

"Hello Anne, when you get this message, I must have died or on the verge of dying and I want to start off by requesting for your forgiveness. I had no choice but to do it, I swear.

"To start with, my name is Gunnar Arsengox, of the house Arsengox, in the Sabertooth region. I am not your father, neither is Nana, your grandmother. You were adopted; taken.

"I don't even know where to start all this story from, but then, like I said earlier, I am not your father. Your father is the great Viktor Coldheart, the paramount ruler of the Coldheart Pack, King of the whole Moonshade region and the conqueror of many nations.

"I call you a princess because you are indeed one. You are the second child of the king and the only survivor. My story starts in the time of your father.

"He was the best king to ever rule the kingdom, he exhibited attitudes no alpha had ever shown in the whole timeline, and his patience helped to unite the warring packs all under one name. He pushed the kingdom to peace, prosperity and everyone was satisfied, except the elders.

"They became infuriated when your father wanted to stop the suffering of women at the pack houses. He believed that wolf and mate should have equal rights and the elders were vehemently against this, especially Korvus."

I was trying to understand the streams of information finding it's way into my brain but I tried to concentrate.

"When the project was seeming like a success and there was nothing to stop it, Korvus came to the royal guard and promised our battalion commander the position of the war general if he did what he wanted.

"It was a simple task, all we had to do was to leave the king stranded on their next trip, Korvus would do the remaining. Blinded by greed, Elisha, the commander ordered us to do his bidding or face death.

"Then, the king had to go sign another agreement in a neighboring town and that was when we did it. When we got to the forest between the borders, the motorcade branched away, leaving only the king's family car. Korvus' attackers sprang out from the bush and sabotaged the car.

"Your father and mother fought valiantly, taking down more than twenty of them, but then Korvus had prepared adequately, bringing more than a hundred men. Eventually, he was gotten and cut down, same with your mother and your elder brother while we watched from afar.

"My eyes could not take it anymore and I rushed to the scene, telling the attackers that they had done enough and should be on their way. Unbeknowst to me, you were sleeping peacefully in the middle of the whole attacks.

"Korvus had ordered that we burned everything to get rid of the evidence and I was able to discreetly get you out of the scene before the fire was initiated. Using my post and authority, I ordered one of the younger soldiers to bring you to town to stay with my mother, before coming to retrieve you.

"Eventually, Korvus became king over the land and I proceeded to taking care of you from your tender age. Every morning I woke up, I see the power of your father and the softness of your mother all in one person and it reminds me of the gruesomeness of what I did.

"I hope you forgive me what I did, but I also hope you would not let your rightful place at the throne slide. In the room where you will be playing this, there's an entire room where I saved everything your father wanted to give to you. I was his confidante.

"Now and in whatever you want to do. Fare well. I really hope you will forgive me, and remember, I love you, more than anything in the world."