𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟗 - 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞?

I raced up to sit beside him. When my eyes fell on the pages, they grew in fraction. He's right. The necklace or rather the key is written in the book. There's a whole page dedicated to items under the category, 'Alderidge Safe keep Items'.

The necklace I have around my neck is called, 'the Ovunque's key'. There's a whole other item in the book too; a looking mirror, a notebook with a quill, a sword, a dagger, a staff, an actual list of necklaces, other keys and many more items, on every flipped page.

I stared down at my necklace. It was originally just a key, but it was pretty and the thought of finding a secret room sounded enticing at that time, so I decided to make it a necklace. It was a pretty necklace. One that I didn't know would bring me this much trouble when I used it. I wonder what Ovunque means. Does it have something to do with its purpose and how to use it?

Flipping the pages, it just listed the items under a clear detailed illustration of each article, but it didn't mention what each of those items' abilities and purposes was. What kind of book gave out info halfheartedly?

"Are you an Alderidge, Addie?" Pierre asked out of nowhere. His voice was laced with a pure hint of interest.

"What does that even mean?"

"You got one of the many Alderidge items, around your neck. How could you possibly have one if you're not?"

"Pierre, how about you slow down and explain to me first, what Alderidge means," I told him.

He took one slow breath before he stare at me quite intensely, to the point that I could hear my heartbeat drumming inside my ears under his stare. Why's he suddenly getting so serious? Did my ancestor somehow steal this stuff from these Alderidge folks? Or is my ancestor really an Alderidge?

I may never know, not if Pierre just sits there staring at me like a lovesick puppy. I raised an eyebrow at him as if to question him. Clearing my throat, I asked him, "So, are you just going to keep staring at me, or are you going to start telling me what got you so hysterical?"

He turned away for a moment before looking back at me with a serious expression. "Adeline, can you please tell me again, how you got here in the first place?"

A flicker of light shines in me. Stallions rode up in my heart as it beats up almost as excitedly as the hoof of each of them. I immediately grinned at him, "Do you trust me now?"

"I might start to."

I smiled lightly as I nodded, "Close enough," I said. "I was in my room when my mum turned the wifi off, just as she did the last few days that time."

Pierre stared at me with confusion, "What is wifi?"

"Oh. Boy, you have so much to learn and I very much want to take you back to my timeline. The boys would've loved you. Heck, even mum would have asked you to stay over for dinner."

He blinks his eyes a few times as if I had just added more confusion to him with my sudden modern slang language. Laughing lightly as I shake my head, "Alright, I'm sorry. You don't need to know about what 'wifi' is unless you actually come along with me back to my place later," I told him.

"And wifi was not the reason why I was here. It was just the reason why I started looking. A keyhole appeared on my wall. It wasn't there before. The last few days that I arrived at my Nana's house, it wasn't there. But suddenly there it was. And this key," I paused as I lifted the key forward for him to see. "It started glowing and being the idiot that I am, I tried it on the wall and it was a perfect fit."

"And then?" he asked.

"And then, the wall opened up and I walked into it until I was in the middle of the wood. The next thing you know, I walked into the small town of Camelot. And that's how I got here."

"Oh." His face was serious. He seems to be deep in thought, analysing the whole intel in his head. "I believe you," he said finally before quickly adding, "You just might be an Alderidge."

Once again, that word.

Alderidge. What does it mean?

He stares at me again for a short moment before opening his mouth to speak again, "Alderidge were rumoured to be ancestors of guardians. They safe keep mystical items which were handed down to them from generation to generation. Items such as your key," he said, dropping his gaze onto the golden key on my neck.

"They are the bridge between humans and fey themselves. Keeping everyone living together peacefully. They are neither truly fey nor do they truly humans. And one day, they vanished. Each and every one of them," he said again.

"What?"

"They left. And with them gone, no one is keeping watch on both kinds. That's when human started thinking and decided that all magic were bad. That's how we began to live in the world we live in today," he continued.

"Oh..." I was once again at a loss for words. Now I just seem to have more questions. And I suspected even Pierre don't know the answer to all of it. "That was interesting."

"It was, isn't it? My mother told me the story every night before bed when I was young. Just to constantly remind me that my gift was no mistake and that I was beautiful even with it. To tell me that once a long time ago, boys my age, can use his gift freely without the terror the world would give them today."

I nodded as I stared at him and that's when I saw it. Sad eyes. Looking lost in the distance. "Your mother sounds sweet, Pierre," I told him in a soft tone.

"She was a great woman," he nodded.

"And she was right, you are beautiful with or without your magic. "

He merely scoffed lightly, not saying a word in regard to my statement. Eyes still cast away in the distance. He seems so weak and fragile at that point.

"What happened to her?"

His lips were glued and his eyes were lost in his own mind. "She died," he finally said after a few silent moments.

"Oh." I should've known not to ask. "I'm sorry," I told him. He froze at his spot, almost as if he was frozen in time. He didn't move, didn't say anything. He just stays there. Sitting and swimming in his pipes of memories. Then he nodded slowly. His shoulder slugged down in defeat as it mirror his pain from the past.

"It's alright. It was good for her to finally be able to be free. She was really, really sick before that," he said, lowering his head and staring at the floor where his eyes fell onto. "It was more painful seeing her alive in such a broken state. It was horrible."

I didn't dare say anything. I didn't make a comment and I didn't ask for more. I slowly raised my hand and hesitantly let it rest on his back before I rubbed it gently, in the hope it would chase his sorrow away. In the hopes, that the towering shadows would leave him be.

"It was great that she can finally be free from her sickness. But you must be missing her a lot after she was gone. She sounds like a nice person. A nice mother."

I would have wanted nothing more than to grow up in the same love that was showered upon him. To have a normal family. A mum and a dad. Living happily together. Luck just wasn't on my side on that matter.

He cleared his throat and began to collect himself. I could see his shoulder grow tense and his expression hardened before he began to look everywhere around the room, his eyes slowly grew guarded. "I'm alright. You don't need to worry about me, Addie."

Once again, I feel like the matter wasn't worth pushing. I know how people would start to push everyone away if they were approached with comfort and pity when they want nothing of it. I had just got him back. I couldn't risk it. So, I merely nodded.

"Pierre?"

He didn't say anything. He still just stared away. A direction, completely opposite from where I sat. Almost as if seeing me would pain him. I heaved a light sigh as I softly place my hand on his arm. "Look. I know. I get it. You don't want people to talk about it and see you being weak. But Pierre, being upset, doesn't mean you're weak. It means you're human."

He showed no response and stayed silent. It's almost as if I was talking to the wall. Unresponsive and quiet.

"How about we dig more about the Alderidge when tomorrow comes?" I offered, trying my best to change the subject.

"It's just a legend, Addie," I heard him say.

"Is it really?"

Another moment of silence.

"Pierre?"

"How are we even supposed to find out stuff about it?"

"I can think of one or two ways."

Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. We can try to find out about it," he said, finally agreeing. Though, still, his eyes were elsewhere and were not on me.

"Great. I'll see you after spending my day being around Aeron and his army is over. Hopefully, we can get together with Odell too. I had something to warn her about next Saturday. "

"Why are you getting close with the knight who was doing his best to catch you during your first arrival all of a sudden now?"

I shrugged. "I like making friends. Is that an acceptable answer?"

I can hear him sigh before he asked again, "And why are we meeting the carrot again?'

"We couldn't possibly find out about the Alderidge without an actual fey. Beside. She knows, about my door. And as I said, I had something to warn her."

"You mean the door you came from?"

"Yes. The door I came from." I nodded. "Now, This has been lovely, but I have to go back. It's late. Have a good night, Pierre," I told him, as I got up and dusted off dust off my gown. I grabbed my pouch and sling it onto my shoulder before I flashed him a small smile as I ruffled his hair lightly. "Farewell, my saviour."

I was about to walk out of the door when I heard footsteps following me. And a moment later, Pierre spoke in a soft tone saying "I'll walk you back."

I merely nodded at his offer.

We walked back together. Side by side. In silence.

It seems to be a common occurrence these days. Walking back to my shared room with Nicholas with Pierre in silence. It wasn't a bad thing. Not having anything to say to each other wasn't a bad thing. As long as the aura emitting from us aren't horrible and awkward. I can handle it well. It's actually lovely.

When I got back into the room. I was once again, just like always, greeted with dimly lighted space. Nicholas sure as fuck is lazy when it comes to providing our living area with lights. The eerie thing about this dark room is the fact that I wouldn't even know it if Nicholas was actually around, just watching my every move as I walked into the area. He always managed to clench my heart in his hands whenever he made one of his many surprise approach in the dark.

I surely hope there are no lurking eyes this time. Watching me in the dark pit area.

I walked up to my room's door, twisting it open, only to see him on my bed with his arms crossed.