The soft sounds of typing filled the hotel room that Annalia was staying in with her oldest brother, Ryan, as she worked on the notes that she had been taking in the first week of their trip. Her fingers moved over her keyboard easily as her eyes followed her notes, organizing them into a readable timeline so that she would know where to go with her article when it came time for her to write it up. But her typing slowed as she came to a passage that she had written one night and her eyes became lost in memory as the words played on her lips. “Secrets wait on paths of old. Darkness falls as tales have told. A new light is needed this day of new. Come forth chosen from the forgotten few.”

She sat back while chewing on her bottom lip in an instinctually nervous habit as she stared at her screen. Her fingers clenched around the pendant that the grandmother she had just met on her mother’s side had given to her and she closed her eyes, sighing inwardly. ‘What did that old lady mean? What secrets? What tales? Who is this…chosen from the forgotten few?’ she wondered not for the first time as she rubbed her forehead. She couldn’t understand what the rhyme was about or even how that day’s events had even occurred. She had been in the middle of Bristol's airport, and then suddenly she had been detached from it. If she had focused on it more, she most likely would have been able to walk around unseen, that’s how weird it had felt.

Standing up, she went over to the window and looked out over the city that had been her parents’ home most of their younger life. It held a great base of history and lore and what had interested her even more was that both branches of her family had originated not far from there, in Glastonbury. Glastonbury…the famed location of the mystic Isle of Avalon.

Frowning slightly as she thought on that while turning to look at her notebook, Annalia considered a strange thought. ‘Secrets wait on paths of old…is it possible that I must go to Glastonbury?’ She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Annalia O’Grady…you are an idiot,” she muttered as she walked back to the desk and sat back down.

“Why would my sweet little sister be an idiot?” Annalia looked over and cocked an eyebrow as Ryan came into the room and flopped onto the bed. He grinned as he looked over at her before pushing a lock of his reddish brown hair off his face. “Or was that a rhetorical question?” he asked sweetly.

Growling, Annalia threw a pencil at him before saving her work and standing. “No, you idiot. I was just muttering aloud as I was thinking,” she huffed as she went over while stretching. She sat down and poked him, smirking as he grunted. “Unlike you, I do have a brain.”

“Yea right, but at least I don’t get hurt from thinking too deeply,” Ryan shot back before snorting with laughter.

Annalia growled again and reached back for her pillow, which she then proceeded to pummel him with. “You don’t have a brain to hurt in the first place!” she cried as she hit him, giggling as he laughed and curled up, trying to protect himself. She pounced on him, laughing as he protested and batted back at her before shrieking with her glee as he grabbed the pillow and they wrestled. They rolled a bit and they both cried out as they fell off the bed. They lay on the ground, laughing hysterically as they tried to catch their breath.

“Oi ger off me sis! You’re heavy!” Ryan finally complained as he pushed at her, laughing slightly as she whapped him once more before sitting up and tossing her hair. He leaned up as well onto his elbows and grinned as she smirked back at him. “So, up for going to that little pub on the corner?” he asked as she stood up and straightened her clothes.

“Hmm? Oh I guess so. Is that why you came in?” she replied as she went over to her bags and grabbed a brush. She looked over as he grunted and grinned as he flopped onto the bed while she ran her brush through her hair before pulling it up into a ponytail. “Well, I think I’m ready. Do I look ok?” she inquired as she spun slowly and giggled as he gave her a thumbs-up while he lay with his face in his elbows. “Oh fine! Be a typical male!” she exclaimed while putting her fists on her slender hips. She chuckled as he flicked her off before looking up at her and grinning as she winked at him.

“Are you ready now, Cinderella?” Ryan asked as he rolled onto his back and bounced up.

“Yea yea…let’s get moving,” Annalia retorted in amusement as she went over to him. She smiled as he held his elbow out to her and she linked her elbow with his while leaning her cheek against his upper arm as they headed out of the room.

They met up with Jonathon and Anthony and goofed around with them as they walked down to the pub, which turned out to be like one of those old weather rotting buildings that you would see in the movies, complete with a hanging wooden sign on a rotting wooden pole that had the image of a phoenix with a lyre. Going inside, they took a seat at one of the booths and talked quietly before placing their orders, noting the damp and musky feel of the place that was not being alleviated very well by the roaring fire in the ash and soot covered fireplace that was on the other side of the pub. As they waited, Ryan and Jonathon went over to the arcade section to check out the video games, since neither of them had gotten out of that teenage obsession fully, the floorboards creaking under their shoes as they moved across the dirty floor.

“So, how’s your report coming, sis?” Anthony asked as he took to rearranging the salt, pepper, and sugar packets on the table into some semblance of order, though they kept slipping out of his careful piles since the table was listing just a bit to the side. He glanced up as he worked and frowned as she remained quiet. “Lia?”

“Huh? Oh…sorry, what did you say?” Annalia replied as she flushed in embarrassment.

“Oh it’s nothing. It’s just…” Annalia trailed off while chewing on her lip before sighing and leaning her cheek on her fist. “Anthony…if I tell you something, promise not to think me crazy?” she asked morosely before looking up at him.

Shifting forward so he could lean on the table, Anthony tilted his head in curiosity. “Sure, Lia. You know you can talk to me about anything except your sex life,” he replied, grinning as she gave him a weak smile. He poked her gently, smiling. “Come on then…tell your big brother what’s up.”

“Well…it’s like this. When we came to the airport, I was waiting for mum while you guys were busy and I heard someone call me,” Annalia started, and then stopped as she picked at her nails. “And then it was like I went into this like…curtain thing and everyone grew hazy except for this old woman. And she looked at me and it was the creepiest thing! It was like she could read my soul and it got so cold all of a sudden! A-And then…” She shivered as she rubbed her arms before sitting back as she stared at a corner. “And she said this weird poem and then just…disappeared and then I was suddenly back in the real world.” She went silent and rubbed her arms again as her brother watched her mutely.

Tapping his fingers slowly and silently, Anthony didn’t say anything for a while as he considered what she had just revealed. “So…what was this poem?” he finally asked as he looked at her, startling her out of her memories.

“U-Um…it was um…” Annalia trailed off as her brow wrinkled in thought. “Secrets wait on paths of old… Darkness falls as tales have told… A new light is needed this day of new… Come forth chosen from the forgotten few,” she finally said bit by bit.

“Weird indeed,” Anthony murmured as he looked down at his fingers again. He frowned as silence fell over them and he wondered what he could do for her as well as try to figure out what exactly the poem might mean.

They both looked up as the sense of being watched came over them and saw four men heading for their booth. They straightened up nervously as the burly Englishmen stopped before them. “Can we help you?” Annalia asked politely as she smiled apprehensively before swallowing hard.

“Do ye know of the Pendragon?” The man on the far left looked directly at her though his face was shadowed. In fact, as she looked at all of them, she noted that all of the men’s faces were barely discernable.

“Pendragon? You mean something like King Arthur? Sure, who doesn’t? Great myth,” Anthony replied easily as he leaned back, but his eyes narrowed as none of the men looked at him.

“The chosen of the forgotten few must never find the land of mists,” the second man on the right murmured quietly and Annalia felt her insides freeze.

“Wh-What do you mean? How do you know of that poem?” she whispered in a choked voice while trembling.

“Take our word…do not follow the prophesy,” warned the man on the far right as they all but loomed over them menacingly.

“Now see here!”

“Is there trouble here?” Ryan’s voice broke the ominous air that had surrounded them and the group of men turned to glare as Ryan and Jonathon sauntered over, who were watching them with dangerous glints in their eyes.

The four didn’t respond to him, but the second man on the left turned to gaze forebodingly at Annalia. “Heed our words.” With that, the four left silently out the door of the pub.

The siblings stared after the group in a mixture of fear and confusion before Ryan and Jonathon advanced the rest of the way to their table. “So what was that all about?” Jonathon asked as they sat down. Ryan blinked as he realized that Annalia was shivering and put a soothing arm around her shoulders, holding her close.

“Some weirdoes asking about King Arthur or something and then some kind of prophesy. Though whatever had just happened sure was weird,” Anthony replied with a snort before leaning forward and taking his sister’s hand. “Hey now…come on. It was just a coincidence…” he murmured soothingly.

“They knew it, Ton…they knew it…” Annalia whispered shakily as she looked at him before burying her face in Ryan’s chest.

“Hey sis…come on now, buck up. It’s just a bunch of local kooks. Don’t take them seriously. Come on…here’s our order,” Ryan murmured against her hair before kissing her head gently. Annalia peeked up at him, sniffling. “There we go…come on. You know you can’t resist mint tea with a hint of chocolate and a chocolate sundae.” He grinned as her eyes sparkled and she sat back, running a shaky hand through her hair.

“Damn straight I won’t. I need my chocolate fix,” she retorted and grinned as her brothers laughed and dug into their own orders. But, as she sipped at her tea and listened to her brothers’ banter, Annalia’s mind went back to both of her encounters. She wondered once more just what was in store for her in jolly ole England.