Once Upon a Time: Ever After High (Book 14)

Ch.52 Lady of the Lake

After gathering some tea and cups on a tray, Paula entered the top floor of her building where she placed the tray on a shelf.

"So, tell me," the prisoner smirked, "How's it going with destroying Shannon's belief? Is she still clinging on?"

"I'll wear her down" Paula frowned while pouring the tea into a teacup, "The sad little thing thinks she can defeat me."

"Of course she does" the prisoner snickered as Paula handed her the teacup.

"If there's one thing I learned from you," Paula said, "It's how to break a heart."

She was about to head out when she spotted something on the floor that caught her eye.

"Where did this come from?" she demanded.

"What is it?"

Paula bent down and picked up a piece of dirt in her fingers.

"Dirt," she declared with a concerned look.

"You must have tracked it in" the prisoner replied, "Perhaps you should have your Cinderella maid come up here and sweep it up."

"Or perhaps you've had a visitor" Paula scowled, "Know this. If you found someone stupid enough to help free you from your prison... I will find them."

_________

Later that day, the Kenneth siblings and Detective Kayla made their way to a nearby diner where they took a seat at a table while placing some files in front of them.

"Kind of an odd place to meet up with this guy," Aidan remarked, "Why didn't he just come to the station?"

"He didn't say," Kayla shrugged.

"Well, he better get here soon" Skyler declared, "I really hope he's not one of those late guys."

"He's not," a nearby voice suddenly spoke as everyone turned to see a man sitting at the table across from them.

He looked about their age with blonde wavy hair and young and handsome features.

"Because he's right here," he announced with a smile while pulling out his ID "Brenden Lawerence, Private I."

"Oh," the officers remarked surprised.

"Um, it's nice to meet you, Mr. Lawerence" Terrence greeted, "I'm Terrence Kenneth, these are my siblings, Officers Skyler, and Aidan Kenneth."

"And I'm Kayla Wren," Kayla spoke up, "We spoke on the phone."

"I remember," Brenden smiled while pulling his chair towards them "So, you all are having some trouble finding some missing woman?"

"We are," Skyler nodded while sliding him the files "We had a suspect, but apparently, he died last night. He knows something about our missing woman that we don't, and he doesn't want us to find her."

"Hm," Brenden looked over the files at a quick pace before he set them down "That's not a lot of evidence."

"Oh um, we also have this" Terrence handed him the notebook as he examined it.

"Have you interviewed everyone in this town?" Brenden asked.

"We've interviewed everyone who may have had a link to the case. But no luck."

"Actually, you all might have some luck now. I happen to know a lot of people, and I know that one of them might just be able to help. She actually works with you guys."

"Who?"

"Come on," he got up from his seat "Let's meet up with her."

The next morning, after making his way out the castle and into the woods, Shawn followed the map that was given to him at the island of Avalon. Following the map's direction, he soon came upon a lake with crystal blue waters as he stopped walking.

"Okay," he breathed while putting the map away as he walked up to the lake "I hope this works."

He picked up a nearby rock and threw it into the lake and waited, and that's when he began to see bubbles forming in the water. He stepped back and watched with amazement as something, or in this case, someone appearing from the water. He saw that it was a beautiful woman with gorgeous young features. He could tell that she was some kind of water nymph as she stood still on the surface of the water. She didn't say anything as she just stared at him with those alluring eyes of hers.

"Um-" Shawn suddenly spoke as he held up his confidence "Are you Nimue?"

"Who's asking?" she demanded in her beautiful voice.

"Shawn Pendragon, Prince of Camelot."

"Prince, huh?" she smirked, "You're Guinevere's son?"

"... Yes" he forced the word out.

"Hm," she continued to smirk "So, Prince of Camelot, which brings you to my lake this fine morning?"

"I seek Excalibur. I went to the island of Avalon last night hoping to find it there, but apparently, it moved to a new spot. And I was told that you knew where it is."

"Of course I know where it is. But, it's not gonna be easy."

"Just tell me where it is."

"Mm," Nimue put her hands on her lips while walking towards him on the water surface "If I tell you, will you be ready to face the consequences of your actions?"

"What consequences?" he demanded.

"It seems you want to use Excalibur for a negative cause. Something about casting a Dark Curse."

"So?" he grunted, "It's none of your business."

"I know it's not. But tell me, how many warnings have you gotten to not cast this curse?"

"Why do you care?"

"So that's a lot of warnings then?" she sneered, "Well, if I were you, I'd listen to those warnings. If you cast the curse, you may get what you want, but know this, all magic comes with a price. And trust me, you do not want to pay the price for using magic."

"If my price is death," Shawn scowled, "Then so be it. I've been wishing for death for a long time, but until that happens, I want what I want, and that's Excalibur so I can cast this damn curse."

Nimue gave a small giggle, "If you say that you don't mind paying the price, then so be it. Excalibur is hidden in a place that once belonged to someone you know. A place deep in these woods and hasn't been lived in for a while. If you know what it is, then you know where to go."

Shawn stood there confused when Nimue began to walk back down the water.

"Don't forget," she spoke, still sneering "If you find it, you must face the consequences of your actions."

And with that, she slowly began to sink down in the water until she disappeared beneath the surface, leaving Shawn wondering where to go to find Excalibur.