The Locket

Chapter 16- Uncle Erik

It's time! WE'RE GOING! I'm so excited. I wonder if Uncle Erik even knows about me. Had mom stayed in contact with anyone since she left this place? I don't think so, she never really spoke of anyone.

I was sitting on the rocking chair in Nathan's treehouse, while he told me what the plan was.

"I can't go in there." Nathan said.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"I'm a regular citizen, I can't really get meetings with the king so easily."

"So...I'm gonna have to go in there alone?" I asked, unsure.

"Yeah." He gave me a reassuring smile. "You can do it, don't worry.

I smiled and nodded as we both got down the ladder and go to towards the castle. I'm so nervous. But it's gonna be so exciting to meet mom's brother. I wonder what happened to her sister, Ansley.

We reach the gates

The two guards standing at the gates ask "Who are you, and state your business."

"Please tell the king that his niece is waiting at the gates for him." Nathan said. The guards went to tell the king.

"Do you think he'll believe us?" I ask Nathan.

"He probably will be interested." Nathan said "He'll be glad to see you. Make sure you show the locket."

"The king is ready to see you." The guards came back and said.

I look over at Nathan and he gives me a smile and a nod.

I slowly walk inside.

I'm so nervous I could puke. That sounds bad.

I slowly walk in. I recognize this place. It really is the same as my dream. I recognize a huge pair of gates. I walk in and see the large, familiar room. The king is sitting on the throne in the middle. Oh no.

I walk towards him and he gets up from the throne. He raises hi arm for a handshake. I look at his face. He looked almost identical to how she saw him her dream. Just older. He had a nice, handsome face and dark brown hair. He looked very kind, too.

"Hello, my dear lady." He said "I heard you knew the whereabouts of my niece?"

"Hello, uncle." I said happily "It's me! I'm your niece, your sister's daughter!"

I take out the locket and show it to him.

"Wow..." he said, staring at the locket "It really is you. The locket was taken by Daisy and was never found. It's such a pleasure to finally meet you!"

He hugged me and I hugged him back. I had tears in my eyes and he must have too, because I heard when he spoke his voice sound wavery.

"So good to meet you." He said.

We both pulled back from the hug and we kept talking. We both sat down on two very comfortable chairs and talked. A lot.

"So, how'd you get here?" he asked me after a while of talking.

"My dad gave me this locket" I said holding up the locket "He said that mom wanted to give it to me. I started getting these...dreams. More like visions."

"Ah." Erik looked down and smiled "It worked."

"What worked?" I asked.

"You see, a few years after you mom left, she came to me."

"Mom came back?" I asked

"She did. It was a few months after you were born, in fact." He smiled at her "She wanted to visit the family. And ask of a favor."

"What favor?" I asked.

He hesitated

"Well...your mom wanted you to know about this place." He said slowly. "She thought that just in case she passed early, you'd still have a way of knowing. We both researched together and found a way. That locket is spelled, which is why you get visions."

"How does it know what to show and when?" I asked.

"Well..." he said "you'll learn that with time..."

I hummed and nodded, understanding that it would be no use to ask further.

"Uncle?" I asked hesitantly.

He looked up at me and hummed in question.

"I- I saw Ansley in my visions..." I said "Where-where is she now?"

He looked suddenly sad.

"We haven't seen her in a long time."

"What? Why? What happened to her after Mom left?"

"Well, she missed your mom dearly." He smiled sadly "We all did. But she understood how your mom was feeling. And over time, everything was okay. Everything turned back to normal. Ansley got married to someone she loved and they had a son, too."

"Well, then...what happened?" I whispered.

"Her husband suddenly...died."

"W-what?" I asked, shocked.

"Yeah. It was evident that he was murdered, but nobody could find out who did it. And then" he sighed sadly "Ansley and her son disappeared."

"They-they disappeared?" I asked, my eyes widened.

"Yeah. Everyone was so confused. We all searched frantically for them, but they were never found."

"How many years old was her son when this happened...?" she asked.

"When he was 7. It's been 10 years since they disappeared."

There was a small silence, which honestly seemed really loud. I felt so bad for Ansley and her son. I wonder where they are right now. Were they even alive? And...what about The Voice?

"Uncle?" I asked and he hummed "What happened to...The Voice?"

"After Daisy left, The Voice never showed up." He said "We were all very happy since we thought every thong would be fine now. But then they disappeared..." His eyes were watery and his voice was cracking.

"What happened after Mom left?"

"Well, everyone searched for her. Our father went to the tree portal to check for the locket but it wasn't there."

I hummed and nodded. And then I suddenly realized that I had a cousin. Wow. I'd have loved to meet him.

It had been a while and I felt that it was time for me to go.

"Uncle, it was amazing seeing you today, but I think it's time for me to go." I said with a smile and got up from my seat. He stood up too. We both hugged.

"Visit me, alright?" he smiled.

"Yes, of course!" I beamed back.

And so I got up and left.