by Jen Weddle
Chapter 10
“We have arrived.” The driver shouts curtly from his seat.
I feel the carriage shake and buckle from the loss of his weight as he jumps down. He opens the door with a soft click and Theo helps me get up as I take Raleigh’s hand. I stand on the ground taking in the enchanting view. A white wrought-iron gate spreads out for miles separating the road from a garden of varying colors. The garden is speckled with red, white, yellow, purple, pink, orange and blue flowers and just beyond the never-ending garden stands a white wooden bridge that goes over a rocky, bubbling creek. I put my hand up to my mouth in astonishment.
The garden is so breathtaking. Every color imaginable lies within it. The stream that leads up to the bubbling creek weaves in and out of the flower beds. The roses even come in every color—their smell is intoxicating, making me even more light-headed.
We step inside. The lilies grow in multiples of yellows, whites and purples that hurt my eyes from their luster. A small bench sits near a towering azalea bush and a stone pathway with glints of shimmering silver gems leads to the palace once you cross the bridge.
Theo tugs a necklace out of his shirt—a small silver necklace with a red encrusted heart gem. The kind of key I imagine could unlock a place like the Queen of Heart’s castle in Alice in Wonderland. The key glints in the sunlight and Theo puts it in the second gate at the end of the pathway. This one matches the first gate with one exception: It’s much taller. It stands 10 feet tall. The white scrolls and circles that embellished the first gate made it look enchanting and welcoming but on the second gate it looks menacing and unnatural. The lock clicks open loudly and the door starts to lower, but only part of it is lowering to the ground. I watch as a large stone drawbridge replaces the gated door. The chains click noisily as it falls to the ground.
As we pass the drawbridge we finally enter the gated walls of the palace. Everything is a mesmerizing white. The walls stretch out for miles but the main building reminds me of many of the government buildings I’ve seen in the human world. It’s made entirely of thick granite and the doors are tall and metal. The whole place feels elegant, but eerily ominous and dream-like in appearance. Large rectangular windows with their attractive gold engravings and patterns speckle the palace and on the very top are balconies made of a gold that glimmers enchantingly in the sunlight.
“This is your new home.” Theo whispers.
I know I should feel happy, but I feel something that feels more like a deep pit growing in my stomach. This place doesn’t feel like home. It feels like a prison. The gated walls, the menacing guards surrounding us and the weapons—why are there strange looking weapons everywhere.
“Please take me back. I don’t belong here.” I beg. “I just want to go home.”
“Ali, you have to just pretend for a little bit. At least give it a chance.” He pleads.
I look into his eyes, and I realize that he’s right. I can’t give up now. I just got here and I don’t want everyone to think I’m a coward. I have to be strong and daring for once.
“Okay.” I inhale deeply. “I can do this.”
“I knew you could.” He says winking. We walk by the guards and Theo nods at each one calling them by their name, they eye me suspiciously. I guess they don’t know that they’ll be guarding me soon, at least until my father announces it to the Kingdom.
“Why is the palace so large?” I ask. “It feels more daunting… then welcoming.”
“It was created by your parents. They wanted a simplified look but something with structural security so that if we’re ever attacked by the Mystics the building can withstand it.”
“It’s meant to allow everyone safety, if we needed to we could fit the entire city in here and still have room for all of the shops and homes so they could live comfortably.” He retorts.
We continue to walk past the guards and the mysterious doors leading to perhaps other worlds… or perhaps nothing. It all feels like a maze by the time we finally reach the entrance of the castle’s large metal doors—I’m exhausted. I crane my neck to see the top of the castle chapel, but my attempt fails, and I just end up with a painful crick in it.
We stop in front of two large steel doors with strange animals that appear to be almost as tall as baby giraffes with lion heads, a row of sharp teeth are bared at us, and I want to turn around. The golden color of the animals reflects vividly in the sun, and they look almost life-like. I’m thankful they’re just artwork engraved into the doors.
Theo knocks three times on the door. The lion-giraffe animals let out a loud roar and I squeal, hiding behind Theo. The creatures on the door begin to move back and forth gracefully… stunningly graceful for their large, peculiar size: their bodies that are much too thin and their heads that are much too frightening weave curiously back and forth.
“They’re alive?” I whimper from behind Theo’s back, peering over his shoulder at the magnificent creatures.
“Yeah... I guess I forgot to tell you about the Hethums.” He sighs.
The creatures let out another ravenous roar and then they start galloping towards us from inside of their frame at incredulous speeds. Oh no…
“They’re going to escape.” I scream and I sprint for the nearest exit, while the other guards are holding their sides in an uproarious laughter that echoes in the empty castle courtyard. It stops me in my tracks. I stare at them angrily and silence fills the air. I lift my chin up and march back to Theo’s side. I won’t let them think I’m a coward… even if I am.
From this moment forward, I will be brave.
The Hethums stop right before they’re inches from the door frame. They’ve grown grandly in size. I watch them hesitantly and wings grow from four different directions: Left, right, middle and behind. I shudder.
The wings keep growing enveloping these powerful creatures into something menacing. They bare their teeth in a grin and they start to change and mold into a new form. I watch curiously…still cautious. Their bodies slowly encircle one another and a moment later they’re connected: Two heads and one gigantic body. The body works slowly together, slithering forward with only its’ neck and heads. Theo steps back so I follow his lead.
First the two heads peek out of the door frame looking to the left and right in an almost humorous sync. If this were any other situation I would laugh at the manner in which they work so perfectly together…but this doesn’t quite feel like the kind of everyday humor that would make me laugh out loud.
One head stretches out toward Theo, using his nose he sticks it in the air and sniffs the air. Then he wraps around Theo, and I think he’s going to murder him, suffocate him in a snake-like manner. But I watch and the animal stops short and licks Theo with his large wrinkly tongue, leaving him in a pile of purple drool. Theo laughs and pets the top of the creature’s head as he nuzzles into Theo’s neck. I can’t help but laugh now.
The sound frightens the two heads and they slither in my direction. Four pairs of large golden eyes like daggers stare at me from all directions. Then one of the heads sneezes and purple mist swells from his nostrils and it becomes a cloud around me. I scream, but the purple gas is all that I can see. I can hear yelling from somewhere too far away from me to answer.