Forever Lost

Chapter Twenty-Seven: I Outgrew Mercy Long Ago

Our clothes are still soaked from our swim earlier on in the day. So instead of returning to the palace completely soaked, we decided to explore a little deeper into the trees.

"Okay, so since Latin is a really old language, does that mean that any newly created words don't have a translation into Latin?" I inquire curiously.

"Give me an example."

"Uh, well, I don't exactly know any new words." I admit bluntly

He laughs.

It's then we come across it. We stop to stare up at the rusted metal sign.

"Autumn Capulus." Chris reads aloud. He turns to me. "Graveyard."

He stands as if waiting for my approval before entering. I sigh. "Come on."

I grab his arm, pulling him in.

The entire place has this eerie feel to it. The trees dead, the stories grey and cracked. The dirt beneath our feet dry and naked, all of the grass either dead and withered or pulled from its roots. I release my hold and begin to examine the different headstones.

Daemonium de Diabolis           -2034

I bend over to try to read the beginning date, but the weather seems to have worn the stone away.

I continue to walk.

Draco Homicida Stoik

No date.

"Hey Melody, look over here!" Chris calls me over.

I run to where he is. "What'd you find?"

"What was your mothers name?"

"Uh, I think it was Hope Pinerod."

"What was her maiden name?"

"Hope Caster, I believe."

"Read this name."

I bend over, squinting as I try to read the name. "I can't read that."

"It says Spes Triae, which is Latin for Hope Caster."

"Must be someone else." I say, standing.

"How old was she again?"

"34 when she died."

"Yup, it's her."

"Nu uh!" I whine.

"No really, look at the date."

I bend back over.

"2000-2034," I stand back up. "Just a coincidence."

"Or not," he objects, standing.

"Oh well, I'm not admitting anything." I begin to make my way to the back. "I'm going to check out a few more before we go, K?"

He nods.

It's a while before I find one that catches my eye. In the very back behind a tall, dead willow tree lay a lopsided grave, the dirt mangled.

I bend over and read the text.

Marcam Aquae 2027-2034

I freeze up immediately, jaw dropped, eyes wide in complete shock and disbelief.

I didn't know much Latin, that is if I know any. However, those two , something about those two words come to my mind. I know what Marcam Aquae translates to.

Mark Waters.

I feel a hand on my back and I jump in shock.

"What you find? Marcam Aquae, huh, don't know. But anyways, we should probably be going. It's getting dark." and he starts to the entrance. "You coming?"