Alistair pulled up the collar of his dark-grey jacket as the chill in the air blew straight through his body. It was three-thirty in the afternoon, in May, and the cool breeze from the shoreline made the temperature feel as if it had dropped below ten degrees. Finding the missing pieces of the sword proved to be harder than he had first expected. He was sure he knew where Elizabeth had hid a piece here. Two hours had passed since he first arrived, and he was empty-handed.
He paused, leaned against the narrow-arched doorway, and looked out at the blue-green ocean crashing into the rocks below. The stone staircase ran down to the shoreline along one of the few intact walls at Tintagel.
Where did you hide it, Lizzie?
Alistair turned around in the doorway, looked across at the stone ruins, and sighed.
It had been over fourteen months since he and Elizabeth had sat on the stone stairs, looked out at the ocean, and kissed. The first time in two years. Things were different; he could feel her drifting away. And he wondered if she would ever take him back after the events that had unfolded over the last few days. But there was no use in crying over that now.
As he stepped out of the doorway, onto the stone floor of the castle, his hand brushed along the wooden door. The wood felt smoother than when he was last here. Alistair turned around one last time to take in the view of the shoreline. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a shimmer of what he hoped was metal coming from within the jagged stone wall. It was most likely a piece of rubbish stuffed into the holes by a tourist.
Some people have no respect.
Alistair stepped closer to the small hole in the wall. He smiled as he inserted his first two fingers into the stone pocket. His fingers grazed a familiar, rough piece of metal.
She was feeling sentimental, after all.
Alistair pulled out the piece of metal and cradled it in his hands. Elizabeth had taken a significant risk by hiding the parts in such public places. It was almost a miracle that someone had not found it first.
He pulled a white cloth from the left pocket of his jacket, folded it up with the piece of metal inside, then tucked it back into his pocket. Out of his right pocket, Alistair pulled out a smartphone and typed the message: Found it. Two more pieces to go!
He hesitated and stared at the screen as he waited for the message to go through. A short chime broke the silence of the castle ruins. The message had been sent. There was no going back. Alistair tapped the screen again and composed another new message: James, someone else is looking for the pieces and got to the ruins before me. Be careful!