Chapter 1

David Simmons had always been fascinated with the Middle Ages time period. He loved everything about that time in history – the clothing, the culture, the castles. He could never learn enough about medieval Europe and their way of life. He became something of an expert as he learned more and more about that time period, devouring anything and everything he could find on the subject relating to it.

So when an opportunity came for him to travel to Europe and actually see first-hand some of the places he’d read and studied about, he jumped at the chance eagerly. He could hardly pack fast enough to prepare for his trip. He got as much reference material, maps, charts, and books as he could carry on the plane. When the day finally arrived for him to leave for Europe, he boarded the plane almost beside himself with excitement.

He settled in for what would be a very long flight. Because this trip was tied to a university tour, David had to fly coach – which meant a bare-bones flight in cramped, tight seating. But it didn’t matter to him. His mind wasn’t on the comforts of the trip, he was interested in the destination.

Leaving JFK International Airport, the first leg of his flight would take him to Paris, some eleven hours of flying time away. Then from Paris, he took another flight to reach Strasbourg on the eastern edge of France. From there he boarded a bus, which after an hour’s drive through the countryside, took him to a small, quaint village called Haiterbogen on the edge of the famous Black Forest.

Haiterbogen would be just another small European village – one of the hundreds that dotted that region was it not for the famous “Verfluchte Burg” or Cursed Castle. This was what David had come to see. The Cursed Castle was the first stop on his trip and the one he was most excited to see for himself. He had read about the castle in several of the books and magazines and was eager for an “up close and personal” look at the famed ruins.

Because of the hour and the very long trip, he decided to overnight in the village and get a fresh start the next day when he was more rested and had more daylight to look around. He managed to secure a room in a small bed and breakfast establishment and exhausted, he turned in for the night.

The next morning as he enjoyed breakfast with the b&b’s owner and manager Alfred, he asked about the castle and the legend behind the curse.

“Several hundred years ago the castle was a strong and bustling place. At the throne was King Augustus Breckenridge, a good and fair king, and the village that surrounded the castle was filled with happy, contented people. It was a good time for everyone and the castle and village prospered,” Alfred explained in his heavily-accented broken English.

“Then one day a king, King Aktuelt, from a far northern country came through the area. He had just fought a battle with another castle over trade routes and he had been unsuccessful. Now defeated and demoralized, he and what was left of his army was returning home. He stopped here and asked if he and his men could stay a few days at the castle to rest and recover.

“However King Breckenridge knew of this King Aktuelt and knew why he had set out on this conquest. King Aktuelt was well-known as a bully and he and his men had run rampant – taking whatever they wanted and using force and coercion to get their way.

“King Breckenridge refused to house and feed his men and instead told them to move on. King Aktuelt was enraged and gathered his troops. He made a show like he was leaving, but instead circled around and set up siege on the castle.”

David listened fascinated as Alfred continued with his unusual tale.

“But the castle was strong and King Breckenridge was defiant and didn’t give up easily. Unfortunately, the siege was set up too quickly for him to secure a lot of supplies. King Aktuelt was well-versed in battle and although his army was smaller, they were well trained in military siege tactics.

“At first things were okay and it looked for a while like King Breckenridge might outlast the siege. But as time wore on, their food supplies began to dwindle to dangerous levels. King Breckenridge sent out a few riders to see if he could gather support and reinforcements from some of the neighboring castles but every one of his riders was caught and killed before reaching help.

“After a couple months of this siege, he knew he couldn’t last much longer. He sent an emissary out to meet with King Aktuelt to discuss terms, but King Aktuelt, still angry that he’d been refused and had to resort to this siege, would not discuss terms. Instead, he sent the emissary back with a message for King Breckenridge.

‘Sire, I was told to inform you that King Aktuelt will accept nothing less than your complete surrender. He wants you to give up your throne to him and for this castle and all the occupants and villagers to become his subjects. He wants you and all of us to vacate the castle so he can claim ownership of the castle and all the lands of our kingdom. Those are his terms milord,’ the emissary said.

“King Aktuelt further said that if you do not agree to his demands, he will not stop until every one of our people has been killed. He said he will make you watch as he slaughters, first the villagers, then the castle inhabitants and finally your own beloved daughter, Princess Arabella before your eyes. Then and only then will he kill you and claim the castle as his.’

“Outrageous!” King Breckenridge bellowed. “This kingdom has been in my family for generations. I will not allow some arrogant ruffian to intimidate me and take from me what is rightfully mine! And I will not subject the fine people of this kingdom to this man’s abuse and persecution!”

“But poor King Breckenridge for all his goodness and wisdom was overcome by the siege and eventually the castle fell. And true to his words. King Akteult killed every man, woman, and child in the kingdom just as he had said – first King Breckenridge watched helplessly as his subjects were slaughtered in the most gruesome and horrific manner. Then all the castle caretakers and staff were similarly killed. Finally, his daughter poor Princess Arabella was killed in front of him. And once the king had lost all, he was put to death as well and the castle was sacked and burned.

“But what King Aktuelt didn’t know was that King Breckenridge was very good friends with Merlin the Wizard and Merlin often came to stay in the castle on his journeys. So when Merlin passed by and saw the castle in smoldering ruins, he was so angry, he put a curse on King Aktuelt and on the castle itself.

“Now whenever anyone comes to see the castle and goes inside the castle walls, they are never heard from again. No one knows what happens to them but they are never seen again. Such is the curse of Castle Breckenridge.”

David sat there for several moments. It was quite a story and he took some time to digest it all. He knew that legends and fantasy tales like this ran through this land like the rivers and streams that cut through the forest itself. And he had seen pictures of the castle in magazines so he knew the condition it was most likely in.

He set the legend aside and decided to go have a look himself. He wasn’t sure about going inside, but he didn’t come all this way to be swayed by the fanciful tales of the admittedly superstitious locals.

So after Alfred’s wife, Freda, made him a very substantial sack lunch, David headed down the road to the castle.

Castle Breckenridge was about a mile and a half down a well worn and winding trail through the forest. When he had walked along the trail and gotten close to the castle, he noticed the treeline fell away and he was on the edge of a great clearing. The ground was overgrown with shrubbery but through it, he could see the tops of the castle towers and the wall battlements.

He followed the trail further and came to a place where it was obvious many tourists and sightseers had stood taking pictures of the ruins. The castle drawbridge was down, although its condition was less than ideal. And he could see the huge main castle doors were ajar. The lure to have a closer look was too great.

He picked his way carefully along the rickety drawbridge until he crossed the other side of the old moat. The water in the moat seemed low, judging by how much of the edges were visible above the water, but at the bottom the water – if you could call it that – was a disgusting nasty yellowish brown color. He didn’t want to even hazard a guess as to why it was that sickening color!

Once safely across the dilapidated drawbridge, he walked around the outside of the castle. He looked through a couple of the arrow slits – the small narrow windows that the occupants could use to shoot arrows at the opposing force – but the disrepair of the castle interior made a good look through them difficult. So he went to the castle’s main entrance.

With Alfred’s story and the legend of the curse still in his mind, he gingerly peeked into the castle’s interior through the partially open great doors. But he still couldn’t get a satisfactory look inside. He just had to get a better look!

He stepped just inside the doors, figuring that he would take just a quick peek around and if he didn’t go all the way in...

But that was his mistake. As if by magic, the inside of the castle came to life. Where once there was only desolate destruction, rubble, and wreckage, now appeared a vibrant, busy, and prosperous castle bustling with activity. David looked around dumbfounded. He knew that only a second ago, he was alone in an abandoned ruin of a burned out castle, overgrown with weeds and shrubs.

It was as if he stepped back in time some 1,100 years to the days of feudal Europe. The people wore period dress, the buildings and furnishings were true to that time period, even the oxcarts and other things around the castle appeared authentic. It would have been novel had he gone to some tourist trap historic replication of a medieval castle. But he had not.

Bewildered by all he saw, he reached up to his shirt pocket to pull out his small camera to take some pictures. But he noticed the camera was not in his pocket. Then he realized that his clothes had changed too! He was no longer wearing the jeans, plaid cotton shirt and sneakers he had put on this morning. He was wearing the same period costume that the other castle “inhabitants” wore! His wristwatch, wallet, and baseball cap were gone as well. Everything he had that said 21st century had disappeared and he looked just like any of the others around him!