Disenchanted Read Online Free Page A

we're
coming back. This would make a great setting for a short story."
    "You said that about the
jail cell. The only thing you wrote was your signature on the release
form."
    Alex sped off, so Casey fired the
engine into life and stalked him. Alex eventually saw a pub sign swinging – The
Sleeping Castle and pulled into the car park.
    "It's the castle,"
Casey pointed, grabbing his camera and photographing the faded, battered sign.
The hinges squeaked, like a groaning gallows burdened by the weight of hanging
men.
    "It's not undiscovered – you
can't claim it."
    " Casalex will happen."
    "If you wanna live with me so much, why don't you marry me?" He pushed Casey towards the
door.
    "You'd break my heart."
    Thick oak beams criss-crossed the
red walls and ceiling. Mahogany furniture occupied almost every space. Black
floorboards creaked beneath their biker boots. In the corner, a fire danced to
music only it could hear. Casey found a table while Alex approached the bar.
Casey pressed his face against the window and swore he could see the castle if
he closed one eye and squinted.
    "You'd better not be licking
that window, Case." Alex put his pint down and slapped him up the back of
the head. "You know the rules – the crazy stays in its straitjacket when
we're exploring new places."
    "Did you ask about the
castle?"
    "No fit barmaid's gonna care about some crumbling ruin. I've ordered
food." After half an hour, Alex drained his pint and slammed it down.
"I'm going out for a fag."
    "You won't meet nice boys in
a pub car park. At least prowl the lonely hearts ads."
    "Sweetheart, you're the only
guy for me. Casalex forever." Alex drew a heart
in the air, slapped Casey's cheeks and walked out.
    Casey pulled his Notebook out of
his bag and carried it to the bar.
    "Do you have WiFi ?"
    The barmaid gave him the code, so
he tapped it in then returned to the table.
    A pint was thumped in front of
him. He jumped.
    "There's not much info. The
castle's been abandoned for a hundred years. Nobody knows who owns it. Nobody's
been inside. We could be its first occupants for a century!" He gasped.
"Imagine if the castle was sealed against the plague and everything's
untouched, like the Marie Celeste . I
could make a short film. I hope there's a dungeon. With skeletons chained to
the walls."
    "You want to add
'resurrecting ancient fatal disease' to your breaking and entering charge?
Please tell me you flirted with the barmaid in my absence?"
    "I asked her for the WiFi code."
    Alex sighed and shook his head.
"She's giving you googly eyes and you're salivating over a pile of old
stones and bones."
    "Googly eyes? Like a
fish?" He bulged his eyes whilst opening and closing his mouth.
    "You don't mind if I make my
move?"
    "Ask if there're rooms
available."
    "If I play my cards right,
I'll have a bed."
    "I'm not sleeping in the
tent alone again. That panther nearly killed me."
    "It was a big house cat and
it was chasing a moth, not launching a terrorist attack."
    Casey made a naked sock puppet
from his hand that back chatted Alex as he approached the bar. The only photos
Casey found of the castle were from the outside. They were obstructed by the
thorny hedge armour.
    "You interested in the castle?"
An old man asked, making Casey jump.
    "Do you know anything about
it?"
    "Only stories passed down
from my grandfather. Buy me a pint and I'll tell you." His voice was
raspy, wafts of stale cigarette smoke permeating the air.
    Casey hurried to the bar and draped
himself over Alex's back. "An old man's gonna tell me about the castle."
    "Did he offer to show you
his puppies?"
    Casey widened his eyes. "I
love puppies!"
    Alex laughed. "Jackass.
Promise me you won't go 'til morning."
    Casey brought a pint back to the
old man. He sat backwards on his chair and rested his chin on his arms. The old
man's chair creaked as he leaned forwards.
    "Nobody knows who lived
there. Some say it was a terrible ogre. Others say a nest of vampires were
captured by a hunter and