The rain continued its systematic rhymic tap on the windows, a constant reminder of the gloom that seemed to settle over Wolvesbane Hollow like a heavy blanket. This sound was mesmerizing, and Aria felt herself slowly being soothed while sitting in the dark living room, and the pendant that she found was still in front of her on the table. The intricacy of the wolf design and its odd familiarity had stayed on her mind. It was as if the pendant kept some secret, something like memories of what happened in those days.
Aria got up and yawned slightly; the feeling of discomfort increased, mixed now with curiosity. The house had changed, and somehow it seemed to be beckoning her to go further afield. Her grandmother's voice echoed in her mind, a faint whisper from the past: "Remember that some things are better left untouched, Aria." However, Aria had never been one to listen to advice, especially when something as exciting as this.
She found herself drawn back to the attic as the air up there was cooler and the shadows appeared to be darker. The wooden stairs were worn out; she could hear them creek when she stepped on them, and the smell in the room welcomed her when she opened the wooden door. The attic was as she had left it, full of dust and stuffed with forgotten relics. But now, it seemed to be full of life, as if the objects within were expecting her to unveil their secrets.
Aria approaches the room more thoroughly, observing to see anything she might have missed earlier. The chest in which she had discovered the pendant was still ajar, and the things inside of it appeared confused. She got on one knee and started to turn the yellowed letters carefully. The writing was pretty but rather dim, and ink stained the yellowing of the paper. Many of the letters were boring and simply discussed the day-to-day activities and the latest news from home, but one was different.
It was a letter written to her grandmother and signed with the letter D. The sentences were rather ambiguous, speaking about a "great responsibility" and the need to "guard the veil at any cost." Aria scowled, her minds conjuring up a lot of scenarios. This was a completely new concept to her, and she did not know anything about it. What was the veil? But how was it so important to protect?
Ruminating over the contents of the letter, she felt a hard metallic object beneath her fingers at the bottom of the chest. Aria removed a small, exquisite box carved with symbols not recognizable to Aria. The box was secured by an enormous lock and weighs quite less than it was expected to be. Shivering, she could not spend a single moment thinking about what it was possible to find in there.
Aria was bent on solving the mystery and thus decided to begin the search for the key. She recalled that her grandma always reserved several old keys in a drawer downstairs, insisting that every lock had a purpose and every key its match. Aria then moved down the stairs so fast that her heart was racing with anticipation.
As she rummaged through the drawer in the kitchen, she felt eyes were on her. She looked towards the window, half inclined to see the figure of the man from earlier. But there was nothing more, and now there was only the garden and the trees, which were wet from the rain, and the branches, which danced in the wind. The anxiety persisted, but she concentrated on what was expected of her.
Finally, she came across the key, a minuscule curve of metal that resembled the box. Taking a big breath, Aria stood up and got back to the attic to kneel in front of the chest again. She trembled as she placed the key into the door lock. But there was also a small voice in her head telling her to leave it alone, saying that this is what her grandmother wanted. But curiosity won out.
The lock opened, and Aria cautiously opened the lid of the box. Within there was just one piece of folded parchment. She unwrapped it slowly to reveal the map of Wolvesbane Hollow. This was not the town she knew now; on the map was the ancient version of the town; the landmarks were unknown, and other places were missing completely. In the center of the map was the forest, marked with a picture of a very large wolf.
Under the map, scrawled in the same elegant handwriting as the letters, were the words: "The veil must not be broken."
Aria found herself asking a thousand questions in her head. What was this veil? Why was it so important to protect? The more answers she gets, the greater the questions in her head. Her grandmother had clearly been part of something much bigger than she had ever been willing to admit, and now it was Aria's turn.
These thoughts were suddenly disturbed by the sound of the front door being opened and shut down downstairs. A feeling of hopelessness swept over her—she was positive that she had locked the door. With a racing heart, she refolded the map and placed it back into the box before closing the lid securely. She put the box back in the chest and placed the letters over it so that it would not be easily discovered by anyone.
Hearing a distant, monotonous thud of feet on the floor in the hallway, Aria began to schematize the possible ways of escaping the room as fast as she could. She could go up to the attic and stay there, but she feared being locked up in that enclosed small space with no yard to run to. She took a candlestick that was standing on the shelf and started moving down the stairs with less breath and a tight grip.
When she was at the foot of the stairs, the footsteps ceased. making the sound of rain the only sound that was audible apart from heavy breathing in the silent house. Aria tried to focus her concentration toward the sound, but for the moment it was quiet. She turned into the living room with the intention to face whatever or whoever had intruded on her space.
But there was nobody around. The room was spacious and bare, as she had left it earlier. There were no signs of breakage at the entrance; the front door was shut. The lights flickered, allowing Aria no time to properly take it all in, and as a result, she placed the candlestick down on the table. Had she imagined it? Was this just stress from the day getting to her?
While she was on the verge of concluding that it was all a dream, she saw something that chilled her to the bone. The pendant she had placed on the table was missing.