'Will the castle be full then? When you’re crowned?'
'Actually, there won’t be enough rooms then.' Alek chuckled at my surprise. 'A whole new life is injected into Elion when the monarch returns, creating an abundance of jobs. Nnelg won’t have as much time to play then.'
I’d forgotten about Nnelg. 'What’s his role in the castle?' We rounded the corner to the kitchen, I could hear the noise of pots, pans, and general cooking sounds.
'Nnelg is employed as the castle’s fire dragon. It’s his job to keep the fireplaces and lamps burning.'
I wanted to ask more about that, but we’d reached the kitchen. Alek ushered me in.
It felt a bit of a shock to come from the quietness of the corridors into the sudden noise and organized chaos of the kitchen. They stood for a moment, observing. Then a kitchen worker spotted him and let loose a yell. Everyone stopped, turning to stare at them in surprise. At the realization that the Prince stood amongst them, they bowed and a man rushed over.
'Y-y-your Highness,' he stuttered. 'What a surprise, how can we help?'
Alek smiled and indicated Cat. 'Hiranes, may I introduce you to Catherine, one of the women the Archduchess is working with.'
'A pleasure to meet you. What can I do for you both?'
Alek drew him to the side while Cat wandered off around the kitchen.
It kept surprising me how modern things seemed here. The huge ovens could have been found in a restaurant on Earth. It all seemed clean and pristine the way a kitchen should be. A row of five mixers all steadily mixing away caught my attention. Fascinated, I snuck a little closer, listening. What do they run on? I couldn't hear an engine of any kind and nothing appeared to attach it to a power source. I turned to look for Alek, but he still conversed with Hiranes, so snagged a worker. 'Excuse me, but how are those mixers turning?'
The boy, a waif like blond thing stared at me like I was stupid and answered cautiously, 'Hiranes is turning them.' He gave me another fishy stare then ducked off. I stared at the mixers, more puzzled now. How could Hiranes be turning them? He stood nowhere near them. I went back to Alek who’d finished his conversation. He reached out to draw me close.
'Are you okay? You’re frowning,' he murmured in my ear.
'I just wondered how the mixers turned by themselves,' I spoke quietly so none of the staff would overhear me. 'A kitchen boy said Hiranes is doing it?'
Alek smiled at Cat, pleased she seemed distracted from her current predicament. I’ll have to have a word to Elena tonight, he thought. Before he could answer her question Hiranes presented them with a basket, Alek thanked him then led Cat out of the room. He explained while they walked down another corridor. 'Hiranes is gifted. He can make things move. It’s a gift that can open up many opportunities as it’s useful in most professions. He’s very lucky.'
What a cool gift. I wonder what ours might be like? Alek led us out of a door into the courtyard, I stopped short when the sun hit me. 'Wow. What a lovely day.'
The garden was beautiful. Neat paths paved with glistening stones meandered all over the place. The vegetation varied between big beautiful maple-like trees and a variety of shrubs and flowers. Tucked in niches stood statues of faeries, goblins, and other mythical (or so I’d thought before arriving here) creatures, many I didn’t have names for. Alek chose a spot for us under a dark red broadleaf tree. I helped him to set out the blanket and food. It looked great. While we ate I gazed around, admiring it all.
'What’s with all the statues?' I rolled onto my back, looking up at Alek who ate a piece of fruit.
He paused between bites. 'They’re to honor someone. Each statue is of a being that for some reason or another has been recognized for a service to the realm. Around two statues are created each year. The one depicted is allowed to choose a spot for it within the courtyard.'
Well that’s a bit more interesting than your average garden gnome, I thought. 'Do they have plaques telling you why they’re honored?' I sat up to see if any were close to us.
Alek shook his head. 'No. There’s a book in the library that has the details recorded.' Another reason to have a nosy at the library. I wonder what gets you in the book?
Chapter Twenty One
We packed up the leftovers and Alek took a different route back into the castle to show me the Armory. Not knowing what to expect, I stepped through the door, staring in amazement at the display of weapons in the room. To begin with the room must have been as big as the ballroom. It had huge rows of shelving stocked full of items. On Earth it would have been a red-necked, gun-toting male’s dream come true, except of course, no guns. Instead there were rows of crossbows, long bows, bows I didn’t know the names of as well as swords of every length and manner imaginable. I made my way around the room, shuddering in disgust at the sight of heavy maces hanging from the racks. Pausing in front of a shelf covered in light, delicate looking daggers I moved closer for a better look.
'Careful,' Alek warned. He reached past me to pick one up. 'These are exceptionally sharp, they can even cut through dragon scales. The blade is made of a rock that’s only found within active volcanoes.'
But of course, thought my rational voice sarcastically; where else would you locate something with dragon scale piercing potential.
'How do you get it out?' Did they use those special suits like the ones we had on Earth? I didn’t think those suits could get you that close to molten rock—at least not for any extended amount of time.
'There’s a creature, the requon, which lives within the magma. We use it to collect the blistenid rock while it’s still molten.'
'What sort of creature? How do you use it?'
'It looks kind of like a fish. You can lure it to the surface by dropping gemstones into the lava. They take a moment to melt. The creatures love to eat them while they’re hard so they race to the surface. When the requon appears, a harness is looped onto its dorsal fin. The requon then dives low and the scoops hanging from the harness pick up the blistenid. We gently tug the requon back to the surface, where the harness snaps off and we wind it up.'
Just that easy huh, my rational voice sniggered. I stared at him. 'You have got to show me that sometime.'
We continued down the rows of weapons and armor, even armor for the griffons, huge breast plates and leg greaves. Then some armor I didn’t recognize. I circled one of the sets, studying it. At first glance it looked like the armored torso of a very large man, but it extended out some distance at where the backside would be. It seemed strangely familiar, like I should know it.
'It’s for the Centaur Cavalry,' Alek wore a bemused expression. 'What did you think it was for?'
For what felt like the millionth time since arriving in this world my jaw dropped. 'Centaur Cavalry?'
'Of course. They’re essential to any fight.'
I stared at the armor again. 'For those of us that haven’t seen a centaur in real life before, we are talking about a creature which is half man half horse?'
He gave me that look again. 'Yes and no. At some point long ago in their evolution they were distantly related to both humans and horses, but they are their own species. They have different breeds like any other creature.' Alek led me further along the aisle, indicating to other sets of centaur armor. 'There are three divisions within the Cavalry. The Aswaran division, which is for the large heavy races whose skills directly relate to their physical strength. There is the Rodhite division, for which you need to be exceptionally fast, but still have the strength to use the massive longbows and crossbows designed for centaurs. And lastly, the Medanga division, the medics and messengers.'
'Are they here? At the castle?' I would love to meet one, or just see one.
'No. We never keep all our forces in one area, so they are currently on patrol. They’ll be back at the end of the month.'
'What makes them so vital to the forces?' I could see Alek fight another look of astonishment. I frowned. 'I’m just curious. Remember this is all new to me.'
'T
hey have two hearts and two sets of lungs, Cat, along with four legs designed for speed. They’re practically the perfect species.'
'What did you think?' Alek asked curiously as they left the room. Cat had been rather quiet after viewing the Armory.
'You look well prepared. How many will join you in the fight against Jenviet?'
Alek shrugged, if he had it his way it’d only be the Griffon Guard, but Elena wouldn’t allow it, concerned that Jenviet had a way to harm the griffons. She wanted Alek to take a large army and leave Loushka and the other griffons waiting, back from the fight. Loushka hadn’t been impressed with the idea.
'I’m not entirely sure. Things could change at a moment’s notice so we’ll see. Now, a treat,' he declared. 'This way.'
Alek whisked us down a corridor in the opposite direction to where we’d been this morning. I had to take a long stride to keep up with him. We whizzed past a couple of astonished looking servants. It left me rather flushed by the time we reached the door he wanted. Holding a finger to his lips, Alek hushed me. 'Shh listen.'
About to protest that I hadn’t said anything, I stopped at the sound. Weird. What is that? It sounded like a heavy hum, almost a purr. I glanced quizzically at Alek. He smiled and opened the door for me. The room was darker than the corridor, it took my eyes a moment to adjust. While I waited I heard the murmur of voices. It sounded like Loi and Sian might be here too. Sure enough there they stood in front of me with big, goofy smiles on their faces. Each had a sleepy griffon pup cradled in their arms. My heart melted at the sight.
'Oh, they are sooo gorgeous,' I cooed softly to the one in Loi’s arms, stroking its fur, so soft , nothing like Loushka’s dense fur. It reminded me of when Audi had been a pup. She'd had fur as soft as this.
The pup made the noise I’d heard before. Loi giggled. 'Doesn’t the purr sound funny?'
'Like a soft lawnmower.' I reached out to touch the pup’s wings. So tiny and neat, folded at its sides, its baby feathers soft and downy. I can’t believe how little they are, to think that Loushka was once this small. I smiled at the image that sprung to mind of Loushka as a pup.
Alek slipped past the women, leaning over the pup pen and gave a low whistle. There was a frantic scrabbling then an excited noise that sounded like a cross between a chirp and a yelp. Cat, Sian, and Laura all turned in time to see a larger griffon pup hurtle into the pen from the other room. Ageip reared and flapped his wings hard, startling the younger pups in the women's arms.
Loushka poked her head through from the other room. ‘He wants to show you how well he can fly now, why don’t you come out and see?’
The playful pup enchanted me; he spun and reared at Alek, showing off his lovely wings. Much darker than those of the older griffons we’d met, the pup’s feathers glinted violet in the glimpses of light from the other room. ‘Who is he?’ I thought to Loushka.
‘His name is Ageip,’ she replied, I could hear her affection for him. ‘He is Phroma’s son.’
Aha, of course he was, Phroma’s feathers had violet in them too.
'Would you all come outside for a moment?' Alek turned from giving Ageip’s stubby mane a good scratch. 'Ageip wants to show off his flying skills.'
Loi and Sian put the pups they’d been cuddling back in the pen, we followed him out. The other griffons, gathered by Ageip, stood with Phroma who watched her son fondly. She gave him a playful nudge when he came close and he chirpbed back at her. Loushka turned her massive head my way, mane glinting red in the sun. ‘Were you angry at Alek for not mentioning his lineage?’
I laughed, it sounded so odd put that way. ‘No just annoyed he didn’t tell me himself.’
‘How are you finding castle life so far? And being linked to its Crown Prince?’
‘I can’t believe how big it is, Elena gave the men two days to "show us" the castle. It just seems impossible.’
Loushka did her version of a chuckle, a deep rumble. ‘Not to worry, you’ll get a feel for it.’
We waited in the courtyard while Ageip rounded up everyone he wanted to show off to, even Nnelg blinked in, Audi turning up a few minutes later. The poor girl had run herself ragged to keep up with Nnelg, she lay panting by my feet. I spotted Gredel and his wife Citaan standing with Phroma and Nesha, near to where Ageip patiently waited. Phroma let out a roar and everyone fell silent. I watched Ageip line himself up to a spot he’d chosen then pause to study us for a moment, making sure we watched. Hearing Alek smother a chuckle I looked up to see he had his serious face on and had to resist a giggle.
Ageip let out a determined cry, crouching then launched himself into the air. With a frantic flapping and enthusiastic squeaking he managed to keep himself airborne. Everyone began to holler and cheer for him. The adult griffons did victory roars, while the pups that’d snuck out behind us squeaked in excitement, jumping up and down, flapping their tiny wings too. Ageip landed neatly and everyone rushed to congratulate him.
After the crowd dispersed, the men all gathered together and finally, we were introduced to Citaan. She had a lovely melodic voice and seemed genuinely pleased to meet us. The five of us chatted away about the trip to the castle, which Gredel had filled her in on. She is stunning, I thought, even without her ceylon blue hair and light gold eyes she’d be a beauty. I’d love to have hair that color. I sighed and glanced at Sian. She studied Citaan’s hair with an expression of envy. Realizing I watched her, she met my eyes with a rueful smile.
'Did the men explain about dinner?' Citaan looked concerned.
We exchanged a confused glance. 'Err, no?'
'Dinner is formal so you will want to change into something dressier.'
Alek overheard the comments and jumped into the conversation. 'I meant to mention that, you four may want to head off now.' He looked at Nnelg, sunning himself in the courtyard. 'Nnelg, can you lead the women back to their room?'
'What?' The dragon looked up, 'Oh I suppose so, but this isn’t in my job description.' Alek gave him a narrow look and Nnelg shrugged, trotting over to us. 'C’mon then, we don’t want to be late.' Audrey shot up from my feet when he moved away, sticking to his side like glue for the walk back to our room. 'What’s wrong with your dog creature?' Nnelg asked me.
'What do you mean?'
'She doesn’t respond normally when I speak to her. I’m not sure if she can hear me.' Nnelg seemed rather baffled, I couldn’t help but laugh.
'We come from a different world, Nnelg. We don’t communicate with telepathy there.'
'Then how do you communicate? Or how does the dog communicate?'
I thought for a moment. 'Audrey has excellent hearing and will listen to any verbal noises. She’s very quick to pick up on body language.' Nnelg fell quiet as we walked along. When we reached our room he sat up and looked at Audi. Audi sat too. Nnelg cocked his head at her and she froze for a moment, unsure, then whined, swatting at him with a forepaw, making the dragon jump. We smothered our laughter and watched, curious to see what would happen next. Nnelg leaned forward to sniff her then rubbed his head against hers. Audi appeared delighted and covered him in enthusiastic kisses.
'Nnelg seems to be getting along well with Audi,' Alek commented when we relaxed in the library after dinner. I chuckled and told him about Audi’s sloppy kiss which made him laugh. We’d all ducked off after dinner to have some quiet time. Alek and I had snagged the library. But I still hadn’t had a chance to have a look at the books. Instead, he had headed straight for a bookcase on the far side of that impressive window and after shifting a couple of books, released a latch that opened the door to his late father’s study. I spent a good fifteen minutes or so slowly looking at all the trinkets and gadgets scattered over the desk and shelves, fascinated with the unusual collection.
'Did your father spend a lot of time here?' I leaned back against Alek, the two of us stretched out on a chaise. His long legs reached the end. I looked down at my legs between his. His made mine look short. It was funny to feel so dainty in comparison.
'He tried to relax here in the evenings. I remember him saying it was a good way to wind down the day.' Alek spoke while playing with one of Cat’s hands. She’s so tiny, he thought; how do Daron and Rumal manage with Kassie and Sian? He felt like a giant in comparison to her. 'What did Elena want to speak to you four about?' Elena had taken the women aside straight after dinner.
'The training we’ll start the day after tomorrow,' I frowned. 'It sounds like a boot camp.'
Alek laughed. 'Boot camp?'
I leaned back, smiling at him. He ducked his head to press a kiss to my lips. Mmmm. Nicely distracted, it took me a moment to remember what we were talking about. 'Boot camp!' I exclaimed making Alek chuckle. 'It’s, it’s a full-on training camp, with no free time. Designed to exhaust you.'
'Sounds like fun,' he suggested in a teasing tone.
'Oh yes,' I remarked dryly. 'Can’t wait.' I explained the general idea of the training. We would train with Elena until lunch. She would teach us to raise our energy and use it, if we were gifted as she hoped. She’d also asked if we would train the General Guard, teaching them our fighting method. So that would be it, practically every day for a month. Fun. But, as I kept reminding myself, it’d take my mind off certain depressing thoughts.
'What’s so special about your fighting method?' Alek shifted Cat so she lay on her side against him, her head tucked under his chin.
'We use our opponent’s weight and strength against them. It means someone as little as Sian can take on someone your size.'
Alek looked down at her in surprise. 'Really? Wow, that’d be something to see. I think I’ll come to watch.'
After he saw Cat to her room, Alek headed to Elena’s chamber on the third floor. The Sorceress sat at a table, deep in a conversation with Yakov when he arrived, so he waited in the doorway.
The Arrival: An Epic Fantasy Romance Page 22