Charlotte
I had spent most of the evening at my desk daydreaming about Calvin more than actually doing any work. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I found myself staring out the window. I was trying to figure out some math problems when I saw a faint light out in the garden. The sun had just set, and I wondered who could possibly be out there. It was the Friday night after Thanksgiving, and Uncle Monty and Kevin weren’t due back from the game for another few hours. I walked out onto the porch and realized that I hadn’t imagined the light; there was definitely a faint glimmer out there.
Immediately, my heart started to race as I wondered if it could possibly be Calvin. I had managed to pull myself out of my misery over missing him when Kevin made me realize that if I upset Monty too much, he might send me back to live with Dad. I wasn’t willing to take the chance of being away when Calvin came back to find me. The thought of seeing him excited me, but I felt doubtful that he could be back already. Still, I was unwilling to risk missing him if there was even the faintest possibility of seeing him again.
I zipped up a hoodie over my t-shirt and tied on sneakers. Calvin had said he would be gone for months, but that light looked like it was coming from beyond the gate. It had to be him. I tried to come up with scenarios for how he had returned so soon as I rushed downstairs and into the night. I deliberated for a moment at the gate, but soon pulled out the necklace which I had started wearing every day so that I would always be ready. I inserted the key into the lock and pushed the gate open.
This time, I wasn’t blinded by sunlight. The sky was even darker inside, with only the barest hint of the rising sun. I looked around anxiously, searching for a sign that Calvin was near. Suddenly, a figure appeared with a lantern.
“Hello, Charlotte,” a voice said from a few feet away. Immediately, my heart sank. That voice did not belong to Calvin; it belonged to James. My disappointment turned to shock.
“James! What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I suppose I could ask you the same, but really all that matters is that you’re here.” James walked toward me.
“Huh? How did you get in?”
“I have a key, same as you.” He held up a crystal key almost identical to my own. I was speechless.
He pocketed his key. “I was hoping you would get the nerve to come in if you saw the light, and I see that I was right.”
“How did you know I would see it?” I didn’t quite understand what was happening.
“I didn’t. But I also knew you were home alone and would be more likely to come tonight rather than another night. I realized you had found the key when I saw that chain.” James reached over and pulled out my necklace, startling me with his touch. I couldn’t believe he had noticed the necklace when Monty and Kevin hadn’t.
“There’s no reason to hide that necklace here,” he said lightly, sounding very different from the James I was used to.
“Here? What do you mean? Do you know where we are?” I asked, not sure how much about my previous trips through the gate I should admit to.
“This is where I’m from, and where you’re from.” His expression was full of pride.
“I’m from Charleston,” I said slowly, starting to back toward the gate, while wondering if he had lost his mind.
“Not your mother.” He took a step forward to match my movement.
“What do you know of my mother?” I asked, feeling the urge to believe him. On some level, I already knew that my mom had to have some connection to this place because she was the one who had owned the key.
“I know a lot.”
“Like what?” I took a step forward again.
“Come with me, Charlotte, and you’ll learn everything you need to know.” He held out his hand.
“Come where?”
“To my home, Bellgard. Trust me, you will not regret it.” He smiled, and I could tell he was trying his best to put me at ease. The usual comforting feeling of being through the gate had set in, but I was still nervous, surprised by his presence.
When I heard the name Bellgard, I knew I had to go with James. To be near Calvin again would be a dream. I tried to picture Calvin’s reaction when he saw me and realized I had followed him. Surely, he wouldn’t mind that I came to find him. Then, I thought about Kevin and Monty; I hadn’t left a note.
James seemed to read my mind. “We’ll leave the gate open, and Monty will figure it out,” he said softly.
“How? Is Monty from Bellgard, too?” Then, understanding dawned.
“Of course, your mother’s whole family is from there.”
“Her whole family?” My mom had never told me anything about anyone other than Monty; all I knew was that my grandparents on that side had died before I was born.
“Yes, Charlotte. Your family and my family have lived in Bellgard for generations,” he said, reaching for my hand again even though I hadn’t accepted his offer last time.
“But then, why was I told never to come back here? Why are you telling me this now? You could have told me the other night after the party. Why wait until now?”
“I wanted to wait until you came through the gate. I wanted the decision to be your own,” he told me quietly. “Charlotte, please trust me,” he continued. “If we’re to make it to Bellgard before midday, we need to leave now.” He was almost pleading.
“By midday? How far away is Bellgard?”
“The ride will take several hours, so we need to leave now.”
My brain told me that it was a bad idea, but my heart said otherwise. I needed to see Calvin; I needed to learn more about my mother. I followed James through the garden, where I saw a horse waiting with a black canvas bag on the ground next to it.
“We aren’t riding that, are we?” I pointed at the horse. I don’t know what I thought he meant when he said ride, but it wasn’t that.
“Wait a second. Have you never ridden a horse before?” James asked skeptically. He didn’t wait for my answer. “Wow, who would have thought?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just that riding a horse is in your blood.”
“My blood?”
“Forget it, let’s go.” I stood there frozen for a moment, then he proceeded to help me into the saddle before mounting the horse himself, slinging the bag up with him. He was obviously comfortable with horses.
“Hold on,” he instructed.
“Okay.” I was still in disbelief that I was actually about to ride a horse to a place I knew almost nothing about. I kept telling myself it was all to see Calvin, but I knew that I was doing it for other reasons, too. Something inside me told me to go, told me that this was a chance I needed to take. I couldn’t resist pointing out the obvious. “And you said I didn’t take chances.”