Chapter 3

 

 

          The three of them had been staying in the house for almost a week. It was weird for Nairne to get used too. The last time she had actually lived somewhere was before her parents had died, and even then they had moved around a lot. Gene seemed to have adapted very quickly.  He was enjoying being in a warm home, with food and a bed. The first couple of days Vance and Nairne had spent most of the time cleaning and straightening the rooms, now most of the cleaning was done to the rooms they were planning on using, and small chores were the only thing left to do.

 

          Nairne hung the bed sheets over the clothesline as the wind picked up and blew her hair around her. When she was done she lifted the empty laundry basket and looked around taking in the beautiful surroundings of the overgrown backyard. Something suddenly caught Nairne's eye. Putting the basket on the ground she slowly started walking towards. Getting closer she saw that it was an old fashioned door latch sticking out of the surrounding ivy. Nairne stood staring at it for a few seconds before hurriedly moving the ivy away. As she worked, Nairne saw the outlines of a door and soon the door itself became visible. She stopped breathing heavily from moving and ripping the vines away. Should I open it? What if there is something behind there that's evil…Maybe I should find Vance and tell him about it first, or I could just open the door and peak in and close the door. Making up her mind she slowly placed her hand on the handle, pushing down on the latch. She used her other hand to push the door open but it didn’t budge. Nairne pushed down on the latch harder and noticed that the door must have been locked. So, does that mean that the key is hidden somewhere? Or just gone. Nairne became suddenly disappointed that her little adventure had abruptly been cut short. She walked slowly back to the basket and picking it up walked back to the house thinking what could be behind the stonewall, hidden away from the world.

 

          Vance watched Nairne walking back to the house. He had been passing by the window when he'd noticed that she seemed strangely disappointed at something. He continued to stare out the window, slowing drifting into thought. When the three of them had first arrived she had kept her distance from him, only talking to him when necessary. After a couple of days she became friendlier and talked to him a couple times. He hadn't asked her any personal questions scared that he would lose the little conversations he had had with her. A door closed downstairs breaking Vance out of his thoughts. Walking down the stairs he watched Nairne looking at the ground with a frown.

 

          "Is something wrong Nairne?" He asked her slowly. She shook her head out of her thoughts and looked to Vance blankly for a few seconds. Finally it looked as though she realized he had been talking to her.

 

          "W-what? I didn't hear you, sorry." She said quietly just above a whisper. Vance stared at her a few seconds trying to figure out what was wrong.

 

          "I said is something wrong. You look troubled or disappointed over something." Watching her eyes she seemed to become distant for a second before coming back and smiling faintly.

 

          "No, just a little secret game I found. I was just trying to figure it out is all." Vance nodded his head slowly. Giving him a final smile she continued walking down the hall. He watched her debating on whether to believe her or not. It looked as though she was telling the truth…but not the whole truth. Sighing Vance turned and wandered back up the stairs.

 

 

 

          The past two days Nairne had been searching for a key to unlock the door, checking almost every room in the house. Vance had asked her a couple of times what she was looking for but she had never told him. I don't want to tell him because what if I find the key and all that is there is some silly shed or nothing at all. I want to make sure that it's worth telling. Giving up for the day Nairne went to Gene's room. He had just woken from an afternoon nap and wanted to play. Lifting him from the bed she set him on the ground surrounded by pillows. Sitting down next to him she looked around the room. When they first arrived and were going through the rooms Nairne knew as soon as she stepped into this room that it was perfect for Gene. It had been a young child's room before the house had been abandoned. Looking over to Gene she noticed that he wasn't there anymore. Temporarily panicking Nairne looked around climbing to her knees. As she scanned the room she saw movement and rushing over she saw Gene playing with something on the wall. Relaxing she walked over to him and kneeling watched him with a warm smile on her face. Letting him play for a few more minutes, Nairne lifted him and was about walk back to the pillows when she heard a loud ripping noise from behind her.

 

          Turning slowly Nairne looked for the spot the rip came from. Looking down at Gene quickly she noticed that a large piece of the wallpaper was in his hands. Looking to the wall where he'd ripped it from Nairne sighed. Great…his new hobby is ripping off wallpaper…I guess it is a little cheesy, but we don't have money to replace it. Taking the ripped wallpaper from his hands she put him on the floor so she could try to stick it back on. Kneeling down in front of it she noticed a crack at the bottom of the wall. Looking closer she noticed that a very thin vertical line met it at the bottom. Suddenly it dawned on Nairne. It's a hidden door! Quickly she started ripping the wallpaper off the area of the door. She could hear Gene behind her laughing at the falling wallpaper. Gene…I should have known, you always help me out. Slowing down she stared at the small door she kneeled in front of. Running her hand over the surface she tried to find the doorknob to open it. Her hand ran over a small pit which immediately caught her attention. Inspecting it closely Nairne noticed a small groove big enough for her nails to dig into. The small piece of wood popped out onto the floor, revealing a small doorknob. Twisting it Nairne glanced back and noticed Gene watching her.

 

          "Would you like to come too?" Nairne laughed as Gene looked at her with a toothless smile. Picking him up she held him in one arm using the other to open the hidden door.

 

          Nairne entered a dark room. She could see a thick curtain covering a window on the other side. She swept her hand blindly on either side of the doorway in hopes of finding a light switch. Having no luck, she walked blindly into the room towards the window. After running into a few things she managed to reach it and grabbing the thick curtain pulled it away from the window. A cloud of dust erupted in the air and after a few minutes of coughing and letting it settle Nairne checked on Gene and looked around the room. It was a decent sized room, with little furniture. In the far right was an old desk, in the middle of the room was a glass table with a beautiful bird statue on top. Gene seemed strangely interested in it and giving in to his pleas, put him in the arm chair next to the glass table. Warning him not to misbehave she walked over to the desk and looked for anything important. Scanning the desktop she noticed an unmarked red book under some papers. Picking it up she flipped through it realizing it was a journal. Turning to the last entry she read it slowly.

 

 

Seventh month, day 15

            I fear this is the last entry I will be writing. The humans have found us and will be coming for us. It is only a matter of days. This room will be sealed off and hopefully only our kind will find it again. We have been protecting the two destroyers, but I fear that we won't be able to hide them for too much longer. The key to the ivy secret is hidden with the cold phoenix. Letting it fly will show you the key.

 

            I know not what to do with the boy. He is very young and doesn't understand what is going on. I don't want to burden him with our failures. I will hide him somewhere. Maybe he will come back when he's grown and realize his destiny. I love you my son and please forgive your parents.

 

          Nairne stared at the page with tears in her eyes. Something in this room was not supposed to be discovered by the humans, that's why it was hidden behind the wallpaper. I wonder what happened to their son. I hope he survived. A loud grinding sound rushed Nairne out of her thoughts. Turning around she looked to see Gene staring at her with a guilty face. His hands rested on the statue. She raised an eyebrow at him and shook her head.

 

          'Gene, didn't I tell you not to touch the statue. Nearly gave me a heart attack.' Gene gave her an apologetic look and took his hands off the statue. He continued to stare at her. He's trying to show me something. Walking over she lifted Gene and sat down in the chair sitting him on her lap.

 

          'The birdie.' Nairne gave him a confused look before turning her head to the statue. The bird's wings were spread out low, as if he had been about to lift his wings in flight but froze.

 

          'Fly birdie! Fly!' Nairne stared at Gene, trying to understand what he was saying. She looked back at the statue and it suddenly clicked. The cold phoenix. But how do I let it fly. Does he mean throw it? Nairne thought it over and watched as Gene put his hands on the wings.

 

          'Up! Up!' Nairne didn't think now was the time to play games, but she lifted him anyways. He protested and made fussing sounds. Confused she tried to understand what he was saying.

 

          'Wings, up up!' Nairne stared down at the statue and realized what he was saying. Setting him in the chair, she grabbed the statue's wings and lifted. A loud click caused Nairne to look down at the bird. In the sides of the bird, where the wings had originally been were little compartments. Looking into the one on the right, she sighed to see it empty. Looking to the left she stood up disappointed. I thought this was it. Maybe someone already found it. Or maybe they never got a chance to put the key in it. Sighing she looked down to Gene and saw him playing with something. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was playing with. Joy flooded her body as she looked at Gene.

 

          'Way to go Gene! You did a really great job figuring out the hidden door and the riddle.' Gene gave her another toothless smile and handed the key to her. She picked him up and walking out of the room placed the key in her skirt pocket. She closed the door behind her and placed the small block of wood back over the handle.