Castle Acre.

This story is a follow on story to Hidden Gem, so please give that read first. I will be making all of the short stories I post on here into one big story, they are all connected but like I say Hidden Gem is first.

The story begins.

I am sat in the middle of the back seats of our moving car, with my dad driving, and my mum is beside in the passenger seat, faintly hearing the pop song playing through the radio.

My parents are discussing what to do with the money they will get, when the mansion is sold, and everyone that’s helped with the selling has been paid.

We are following the removal van that’s just turned a corner, while on its second trip to the storage unit to drop off some more of my grandparents possessions.

Knowing that I have a bit of time before we arrive at the storage unite, i decided to pass the by doing some reading, pulling a book out from my backpack that was written by my grandfather Ian his secret room.

I open the book and begin reading from the beginning.

Allow me to tell you a tale, a tale that’s now just mere whispers between the locals in this part of the country, some believe it’s just a myth told to kids to make sure they don’t wander off without supervision, but others say they have seen things, ghostly hauntings that would make you gouge your own eyes out.

It’s believed when the blood moon rises you shouldn’t step foot into the ruins of the once grand castle or anywhere near Thetford forest, unless you don’t want to see another day, which I’m sure you do.

The year is 1528, and the village is called Castle Acre, England.

A male servant is frantically walking through a stony corridor of the grand castle, turning a corner and rushing past hand painted pictures, being displayed of the Lord and lady of the castle, with their three children, a boy and two girls, everyone is dressed in their finest clothes. The only way to get a selfie in this time period was to have them painted by an artist, not everyone could afford this type of luxury.

The servant is rushing towards a closed wooden door at the bottom of the corridor, as he approaches the pleasurable moans get louder.

“Ooo yes, that’s it, like that, you’re cock is so big handsome!” Hearing this makes the servant eyes grow wide, especially when he hears a hand spanking naked butt cheeks.

The servant hesitates for a second knowing he was instructed no to disturb, but under these circumstances he proceeds with knocking on the door loudly three times.

“Come in!” Spoken by Thomas that’s having a great time behind the door.

The servant opens the door with a twist of the metal ring. Facing the servant is a beautiful redhead woman, that’s completely naked with her boobs out, nipples erected and unshaven bush down below, her clothes and undergarments are scattered on the floor.

The redhead has stoped riding the naked muscular man in the sexual position reverse cowgirl.

The name of the man is Thomas, he’s the knight of the lord and his family, although currently he’s with messy black hair and glistening abs, a scar runs across his muscular chest but that’s a different story of how he got that, he’s perched up by his elbows while still under and most probably still inside her.

“What’s so important that you have to interrupt my pleasures?” Thomas impatiently questions.

The hips of the redhead start to lightly gyrate, a cheeky smile forms on her face while her piercing green eyes are fixated on the servant, that notices her looking at him and blushes.

The servant not knowing where to look, so he decides to avert his gaze down at his boots, swiftly answering. “Sorry to disturb you sir, we have received word from a messenger that the carriage transporting the Lord and his family back home, is currently being robbed by bandits.”

Thomas pushes the naked lady off of him, and climbs out of the bed. “Where are they?”

The servant tells him. “They are in Thetford forest sir.”

Thomas wipes the sweat from his bushy black eyebrows, while walking over to get his armour ready to wear. “Get my horse saddled up and have it out front, ready to ride please.”

The servant salutes Thomas. “Right away sir.”

The servant turns and rushes out the room, leaving Thomas to get ready, while the naked lady huffs because of the disturbance, she’s still in the bed, and covers herself up in with the white bedsheets.

A little later. Thomas is riding on his horse into Thetford forest. He’s wearing his full body black armour and helmet, chunks of mud are being kicked up from his galloping horse. Hearing metal clinking together, and the lash from the rawhide reins across the back of his horse, rushing past trees following the beaten track, snapping twigs and ruffling dead leaves in the process.

Hearing screams of terror in the near distance, causing the surrounding birds to fly away squawking.

Thomas pulling back the reins and stops his horse to look around, turning with his horse in a full circle looking for a sign of the carriage, after seconds of listening to the sounds of the forest, another blood curdling scream comes from the west, he turns himself and his horse in that direction, spotting through the slits of his helmet thick smoke in the near distant, lifting the metal visor that protects his eyes up to get a better look, confirming that past some of the trunks of trees and overgrown shrubbery the carriage has been set ablaze, seeing its spinning wheel and the flickering flames.

Thomas whips the horse into galloping towards the burning carriage, as he gets closer he takes his sword out to strike on the first bandit he sets his eyes on.

His eyes scanning everywhere quickly, seeing the carriage on its side, with fire whipping upwards and smoke billowing, the horses that would have been pulling the carriage are nowhere to be seen, the lord and his children lay on their side on, sludgy mud has ruined their once fine pristine clothes, all of them have their hands and ankles restrained.

Thomas still trying to find the culprits, noticing that the lady, the wife of the lord and the mother of the children is missing.

Thomas climbs off his horse and walks over to cut the four of them free. “Where’s Catherine my lord?” With concern laced in his tone.

The lord sighs a massive sigh of relief knowing that his noble knight is here to save them. “They have taken her, please get her back for me, I will gift you all the luxuries that one can have in the world.”

The sword of Thomas easily slices through their restraints, he helps them all back up to their feet. “I will bring her back, you have my word.”

The lord orders. “Don’t forget the money and jewellery they have stolen, make sure you kill them all.”

Thomas bows his head in understanding then turns to climb back on his horse. “Which way did they go?”

All of them point in unison towards north. “That way.”

With a whipping of the horse that begins galloping north towards the escaping bandits.

The eldest child which is the son of the lord shouts. “There’s five of them!”

Not sure if the knight heard because he’s currently dodging around trees, frantically searching for Catherine, seeing the lord hugging his children over the shoulder of the brave knight, that dodges another tree, metal clinking and mud flicking.

The knight has finally caught up with the escaping bandits, that are all on horseback quickly approaching their lair, the knight can see Catherine that has her hands and ankles restrained, she’s laying on the back of the horse that’s being ridden by the scruffy leader of the bandits.

Thomas draws his sword and swiftly stabs the bandit at the back of the gang, causing the wounded man to fall off his horse, alerting the rest to the presence of the knight in black armour.

The leader commands. “You three fight him off and I will carry on!”

The three bandits pull up on their horses and take their weapons out while their leader carries on riding towards their hideout.

Swords clinking together and the men grunt with each blow that’s being swung, one of the horses rearing up and angrily neighing, a bleeding bandit falling and thumping on the muddy ground, snapping twigs under his body weight.

Two hidden bandit archers fire an arrow each that soar through the air, each arrow simultaneously entering between the open gap of the helmet that’s being worn by the knight, penetrating through both of his eyes, the impact throwing him off from his horse and while he’s falling.

The last thing the dying knight hears is the scream of sadness coming from Catherine. “Noooooooo!”

With a sharp inhale of air, the eyes of the knight suddenly open and to his delight both are arrow free, twisting his head side to side, wondering where the hell he is, he stands still in a ball of light, still wearing his black armour from head to toe.

The figure known as the grim reaper holding its infamous scythe, emerges from the ball of bright light ready to take the soul of Thomas.

Thomas waves his hands in a panics. “Wait, I need to save her I will do anything, give me one more chance please, I beg of you.”

Hearing the eerie tone of the grim reaper that sends a shiver down the spine. “I can reverse time to before you died in return your soul will belong to me after death.”

Thomas not a believer in all of that nonsense is quick to snap up the offer. “Deal.”

And with that the fate of the knight has been sealed, the grim reaper bangs his ancient scythe three times.

The dark brown eyes of the knight open with a big inhale of breath, death has indeed delivered its side of the deal.

Thomas the knight is on horseback, clutching ahold of his sword and stabbing the first bandit again.

This tale is being told by the burly barman of a pub called the George & Dragon in Castle Acre and the year is 2018.

The barman that’s a local of Castle Acre, lived here all his life is telling the story to an outsider, that introduced himself as Adam, with a bit of a strange hobby which is to go and stay in villages to debunk their scariest myths.

Adam curiously onlooking, sitting on the edge of the wooden stool with a pint of beer in his hand. “So did the knight save Catherine?”

The barman answering his question. “The legend has it that he did save her from the bandits grasp, and brought her along with the money and jewellery back to the lord, but when the knight died years later, that’s when the sightings and deaths started to surface, you see it’s believed that his soul is trapped trying to save the woman over and over again for eternity, if you get in his way, then you’re just another bandit that took the love of his life.”

Adam gulps half of his pint in one go, after wipes the excess amber nectar from his lips. “Well it’s definitely a good story to keep the kids away, but it won’t scare me away, it’s my only chance this decade to see if the tales true because of the blood moon.”

The barman is holding a scrunched up bit of white cloth, that’s used to clean any spilled beer, admitting. “You’re a braver man than me mate.”

Adam cockily speaks. “This isn’t my first rodeo, I have been to many places where the locals have warned me to stay away from places, I haven’t and I’m still here to tell my tales.”

Another man accompanied by a woman enters into the pub, so the barman swings the white cloth over his shoulder and goes to serve the couple.

It’s starting to get dark, seeing the sun setting behind the trees. Adam is walking through Thetford forest, hearing the owls hooting above. Adam has on his back his sleeping bag and tent packed away in his dark green survival backpack, he’s currently looking for a place to set up camp for the night.

Adam has just come from the ruins of the once grand castle, that this place was named after.

Walking into the middle of a clearing within the forest, a couple of logs around the edges, unbeknownst to him, this exact spot was where the hideout that belonged to the bandits, and where they all met their demise when the knight came storming in saving Catherine from their evil clutches.

It’s the early hours of the morning, around 6:30am. Adam is fast asleep and faintly snoring, tucked inside his dark green sleeping bag that’s inside the erected tent.

A noise from outside the tent wakes Adam from his slumber, his eyes open and sits up with a yawn, stretching his limbs outwards. Sitting in silence for a second, while wiping away the sleep from his eyes.

Another noise is heard coming from outside of the tent. Adam climbs out of his sleeping bag, unzipping to investigate the culprit of the sounds, the morning cold air hits his uncovered flesh, before he gets out of the tent, he grabs his flashlight, turning it on to make sure it’s working, and it is as the light extends out of the glowing bulb..

Seeing through the leaves of the trees, the blood moon in all of it’s glory with parts of clouds slowly moving past.

Adam that’s fully clothed stumbles out of the warmth of the tent, his breathing visible, the light from the flashlight cutting through the darkness.

Adam calls out. “Hello, anyone there!?”

The sound of galloping rushing past behind him, scaring the living daylights out of him. Adam turns shining the flashlight but seeing nothing, it happens again from behind him which makes him quickly turn but again seeing nothing. He’s breathing heavily feeling the fear and goosebumps take ahold of him.

Hearing behind Adam, the ground of the forest being scraped back three times with an eerie neigh, he turns around to see a ghostly horse in skeleton form being ridden by the black armoured knight that has soul of Thomas trapped inside, seeing inside the black helmet flicking flames as eyes.

Adam shows that he is scared, turning and running as fast as he can, but doesn’t get far because he trips over a rock, he tries to make it back to his feet but the pain is excruciating from his ankle, he shines the flashlight ahead of him, seeing the ghostly horse approaching then stops, the knight climb off and walk towards the injured Adam, while the tip of his sword scrapes along the dirty ground of Thetford forest.

A blood curdling scream is the last thing that anyone ever heard by Adam.

I close the book as we pull into the parking space of the storage unit.