Tamporlea (Tamporlea Trilogy, Book 1)

by Tiffany Lovering

  I looked at my surroundings, trying to take it all in, and figured that the entire mountain had to be hallowed out somehow. There were about a hundred doors going up a spiral incline that went around the entire mountain. The center, where we now stood, had the white flooring and an intricate T and grape vines inlayed in a dark green stone. Jasmine looked up to find the light source and discovered that the top of the mountain had been removed somehow to reveal the sky and allowed the sun to shine through.

  “Welcome to the Palace of Tamporlea, Miss Jasmine.”

  “What is this…I mean…How is this possible?” I asked amazed.

  “This was created by Syeira’s magic for Jal. This is the palace where all of the people of Tamporlea live. Over time the residents here have modified to suit their needs but most of it is original.”

  “When you said that you were taking me to the palace I was expecting, well, I’m not sure, but not this.”

  “Yes, Miss Jasmine. This palace is different than those you may have heard of before. It does not house just Queen and some servants. All the people of Tamporlea live here within the palace walls.”

  “How many people live here?”

  “There are always seventy-five families with no more than two children. Right now there are two hundred sixty-seven people living here, however the maximum we can hold is three hundred.”

  “Wow that has to be chaos!”

  “Not at all Miss Jasmine. Would you like a tour?”

  “Please! Yes!”

  “Right this way. I will answer as many questions as I can, but please understand that some must be left for later.”

  I followed Orion to the bottom of the spiral incline and was ready to ask my first question. “Why isn’t this incline just a set of stairs?”

  “In the beginning the incline was necessary to transport things by carts that were too heavy to carry by hand. It was just the stone of the mountain but as it began to wear down, it was redone in marble.”

  “That green stone there, the T, that’s not marble.”

  “No, that’s jade.”

  “Jade?”

  “Miss Jasmine, you know if you keep asking questions about the floor, we’ll never get to the good stuff,” Orion said lightheartedly as he headed up to the first door of the incline.

  “Yes, of course. I’m sorry.”

  “Now, you’ll notice that the first thirty-four doors going up the incline are black, this is the Third Tier. These rooms are all for the Commoners that live here. They do the things that are necessary for the kingdom to function like cooking, cleaning, farming and tending to the animals. No one in the black doors possesses magical powers.” Orion said leading around the incline where they could see the black doors directly across from them. “These doors are bronze and if you look up, you can see silver, gold and platinum doors. These are the working doors for each tier respectively. So these doors you would find kitchens, filing room, daycare facility and so forth.”

  “So, there’s only one kitchen? Is this like a dorm type setup?”

  “Oh, not at all. This kitchen is for dinners to be made. The whole kingdom of Tamporlea has dinner together Monday through Saturday. Sunday is truly our day of rest and for the family only. No work is done, even in time of war.”

  “War?”

  “Nothing to worry about, there hasn’t been any strife between the three kingdoms in over two hundred years. The homes are outfitted just like any two bedroom one story house. They have 1 bathroom, a kitchen and a large living area in addition to the bedrooms. You’ll see when I bring you to the guest quarters you’ll be staying in.

  “Now we’re at the twenty-seven red doors or second tier. These all house those with magical powers that aren’t used on a daily basis,” Orion explained as we continued up the incline. “So now we’ve reached the thirteen blue doors. Everyone in these doors uses their magical abilities everyday or they are closely involved with the Queen.”

  “What do they do? Like what types of powers do they have?”

  “Well, I don’t think I can get into the details but I will give you the titles of the different powers and you‘ll pretty much guess what each can do. The first tier here consists of Guards, Healers and Enchanters. The Second tier has the Runners, Readers, and Others. I was the Personal assistant to the Queen and currently I am the Head of Tamporlea, and my home is right through this door if you ever need to find me.” Orion said referring to the door in front of where we stood. “And the Queen would live through the final door at the top of the incline.”

  “This is really amazing Orion. Unbelievable really.”

  “I think so too,” he said smiling as he looked down to the jade T where Casper was waiting for me. “You must be tired from all our walking. Let me take you to the guest quarters where you can settle in.”

  The apartment type room was decorated modestly, but beautiful all the same. I was surprised to see a television in the living room along with a very technical looking stereo. I don’t know why, but I wasn’t expecting such modern technology here. After Orion showed me around, he excused himself so he could rest. I took out Casper’s bowls and filled them with water and food which he quickly dug into.

  Orion let me know that dinner was at 6:30 which meant I had a little over an hour to clean up and relax before he came back to get me. I decided to take a hot shower which helped ease the tension in my muscles from the long hike to get here. I was so anxious to have a shower that I forgot my toiletry kit in my bag. The shampoo and conditioner supplied smelled like green apples and were in unmarked bottles that I had never seen before. I considered getting out of the shower to get my reliable Infusium shampoo and conditioner but I didn’t want to get the floors soaked. Having hair down to my waist, I was picky about what I put in it because it easily became a tangled mess. I decided to take my chances with the unmarked bottles and after using the conditioner, I was able to comb my fingers through my hair which was a true sign of success. I finished washing up and lingered under the hot water a little longer to get the knots out of my neck and shoulders.

  When I got out of the shower, I realized that I had spent more time in there than I had intended. I brushed my hair and put it in a quick braid off to the side since I wouldn’t have enough time to dry it out. As I was getting dressed in the nicest outfit I had brought camping, I became quite nervous to go to dinner with everyone. I felt like I was going to be a spectacle, I wasn’t sure how to act and was worried I would make a fool of myself. Luckily, on the last day my mom and I would be at camp, we would go out to the nicest restaurant in town. I didn’t feel I looked too horrible in my black skirt and purple flowered shirt. After I was dressed, I returned to the bathroom with my makeup bag. I had to wipe off part of the foggy mirror to see myself clearly. I never wore much make up, but powder and colored lip gloss was a necessity in my opinion. I tried to take as much time as possible and even painted my fingernails with the only bottle I had with me. The color was Shimmer Ice Blue and I had to tip the bottle to get any on the brush because I used it so often.

  I was sitting on the couch for less than ten minutes before I heard a knock on my door. I went to open it, taking a deep breath to calm myself. The clock on the wall said it was only 6:03. I opened the door expecting to see Orion, but instead it was a girl my age standing in front of me.

  “Miss Jasmine, I am Calalilly. Orion sent me to take you to dinner.”

  “Oh, isn’t it a bit early?” I asked.

  “I was wondering if I could speak with you for a few minutes before.”

  “Sure, come on in.” I said opening the door a little wider so she could come through.

  Calalilly was almost a head shorter than me with long blonde hair that was pin straight. She had her hair pinned at the side with the prettiest barrettes I had seen that were little red flowers made of stone. She was dressed in a red satin blouse and khaki skirt.

  “Actually, come with me. Orion said I should prepare you for what to expect at dinner. I wanted
to show you the set up.”

  “Oh, okay then.”

  I closed my door and followed behind her. I was astonished to see that the jade circle with the T in the middle had risen from the ground to table height and there were chairs going all around it, each with silverware but no plate on the table.

  “You will be sitting here,” she said pointing to the chair in front of her. “The Commoners will serve everyone their plates and then they will join us with their own plates. It all only takes about 5 minutes or so. Once everyone is seated, Orion will say a few words and we will eat.”

  “I’m nervous,” I blurted out without really intending to.

  “It’s okay. It’s actually a casual setting, nothing to be nervous about,” she tried to reassure me. “Orion and I will be sitting next to you actually so you’ll have someone to talk to.”

  “Calalilly, do you know why I’m here?”

  “Of course, but I can’t say anything. You’ll know tomorrow, I promise.”

  “Isn’t it going to be loud? With all of these people?”

  “Not any louder than a nice restaurant. There are enchantments set that if you want to talk to someone all the way across the table, your voice will carry just fine so don’t feel the need to yell. I think you will find it interesting the way it all works out.”

  “Everyone’s going to be staring at me.”

  “No, we won’t be. We’ve all been expecting you and we’ll be respectful. It’s not going to be as scary as you think. There will be a few stares, mostly from the younger kids but don’t think anything of it.”

  “I’ll try not to.”

  “Look, Orion is coming.”

  Orion was headed our way dressed in a blue button up shirt and black pants. When he reached us, he smiled and said, “I apologize for sending Miss Calalilly here instead of coming myself. I had an unexpected issue I had to take care of.”

  “That’s alright, she was just giving me a crash course on what to expect.”

  “Very good. We should take a seat, people are already starting to come down.”

  I sat where Calalilly told me to I watched as people descended from their rooms and down the incline. They were all talking amongst themselves and I did notice a few people looking at me, although I could have just been paranoid. Some greeted me with a smile or nod as they took their seats, but Calalilly was right, no one was staring at me as I had expected. Once more people were seated, I realized that everyone was arranged according to the color of their shirts and I assumed the shirts represented what tier they were in.

  After everyone who came from the incline was sitting in their chairs, I watched as over a hundred people dressed in all black came out of the kitchen doors holding three dishes in one arm and a glass filled with what I thought was iced tea in the other. It was flawless the way the meals were delivered to their intended destinations. In front of me was vegetable lasagna, a garden salad with two covered ramekins and a smaller plate had two pieces of bread with small pats of butter on the side. When the Commoners in black came back in, they sat in their chairs and waited as Orion stood up to speak.

  “Another wonderful day we’ve had. We’ve managed to harvest all of the vegetables in the western field, the Enchanters have discovered a new line of protections that we’ll be using within the next month or so and the Runners have returned from town with enough cloth to make everyone a new outfit. Also, most importantly, I have returned from my trip with Miss Jasmine Taylor. She has agreed to stay with us a few days and I hope you will all show her just how grateful we are to have her here. Now before this lovely meal gets cold, I’d like to thank the Commoners for once again providing us with the spread we have before us.” As Orion sat, everyone clapped and I joined in as well.

  I waited for Orion to take his first bite before I lifted my fork and pulled the salad toward me. I opened the ramekins to reveal dressing inside. Before I could ask, Calalilly whispered to me, “Balsamic vinaigrette and lime-garlic dressing.” I smiled in thanks and opted for the vinaigrette since I’d never even heard of the latter. As I poured the dressing over my salad, I could feel someone staring at me. I was suddenly nervous at every move I was making and tried to concentrate on the familiar clinks of forks hitting plates as I ate my salad. There were conversations going on all around me, but nothing was loud enough for me to actually make out the words.

  As I moved the salad dish away from me and pulled the lasagna toward me, I could still feel someone staring. I tried to discretely look around to see where it was coming from when I realized it was a man sitting directly across from me. We met eyes briefly before I looked down at my dinner again. I took my first bite of lasagna which was the best thing I had tasted in a very long time. The fresh vegetables and ricotta cheese blended beautifully in my mouth.

  “Miss Jasmine,” I heard someone say to the right of me. I looked down to an older female who was smiling in my direction. “How was your hike with Orion?”

  “It was fun actually. Took a long time to get here, but I enjoyed talking with Orion and hiking is one of my favorite things to do.”

  The man who was staring at me asked, “You were camping before you came, isn’t that right?”

  “Yes, my mother and I went to our favorite campground for my graduation present.”

  The dinner was filled with simple questions that I answered easily. After a few minutes of talking, I wasn’t nervous at all. The idea of almost three hundred people listening to me stopped being overwhelming and I felt I was just being myself instead of my nervous alter ego. The only thing that still left me with a twinge of nervousness was the fact that the man across from me continued to stare. Even if I met his eyes in a way that most people would turn away embarrassed at being caught staring, he just continued to look at me in an almost quizzical way.

  When everyone was done eating, the Commoners got up and removed all of the plates from the table before returning to the kitchen. Calalilly whispered in my ear, “Oh, I forgot to tell you they remove all the dishes before returning again with dessert. They’ll be back out in a minute.”

  “I don’t think I can eat another bite. I’m stuffed.”

  Calalilly laughed and said, “Everyone is, believe me. The dessert is usually something small and light.”

  Orion leaned toward me and asked, “How are you holding up? Is it as bad as you thought?”

  “I’m fine, surprisingly. I was apparently nervous for no reason.”

  “Well, good.” he said.

  As the Commoners returned with a small bowl for each person, I took a few deep breaths trying to figure out how I was going to take another bite. I knew I would have to attempt it, I didn’t want to seem rude. When my bowl was in front of me, I saw that it was fresh raspberries over a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. I smiled knowing that it didn’t matter just how full I was, I would find room for this dessert.

  “Your mom told me this was your favorite. I hope you don’t mind,” Orion said to me.

  “Not at all, thank you. It’s kind of comforting actually.” He smiled at my response and took a bite of the dessert.

  The ice cream was obviously homemade the raspberries were sweet and plump with red juices that ran out onto the ice cream. I enjoyed every single bite until the small bowl was empty. I was so full I could barely move and I made a mental note to always save room for dessert.

  After dinner, Orion showed me where I could take Casper for walks outside. There was a beautiful waterfall which Orion explained was where they got most of their power along with some solar power from the panels on the opposite side of the mountain. Orion went back inside the palace to finally get some rest while Casper and I played fetch with a stick he found.

  “Cute dog,” I heard from behind me. When I turned to look, I saw the man from dinner who was staring at me.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “What’s his name?”

  “Casper.”

  “The friendly ghost?” he asked amused.

  “Yes,
that’s the one.”

  “I’m Tyran.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m…”

  “Miss Jasmine, yeah, I know. We’ve been expecting you for awhile now,” he said smiling. His teeth were perfectly straight and Hollywood white. He was easily a foot taller than my five feet three inches. He had shiny black hair that landed just below his ears. His blue eyes edged on a shade of turquoise that I could see even though it was dark outside and only lit by the full moon overhead. I hadn’t realized how gorgeous he was at dinner, I was too preoccupied with the fact that he was staring at me.

  “I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” he asked, stopping my ogling.

  “No, not at all. I mean Casper takes his fetch pretty seriously, but I can multi-task,” I said throwing the stick again.

  “You’re funny,” he said surprised. “It’s about time this place was infused with some humor. So what do you think of Tamporlea so far?”

  “It’s amazing…and beautiful.”

  “What do you think of Orion?”

  “He’s nice,” I said wondering if that was the right word.

  Tyran laughed and said, “That’s one I haven’t heard before.”

  “What?”

  “I guess he’s polite and treats everyone with respect. He’s just very serious.”

  “I suppose so.”

  “I take it by now you’ve guessed why you’re here?”

  “Not at all,” I said.

  “Hmmm, Orion said you were extraordinarily insightful. I’m surprised you haven’t put two and two together,” he said smugly.

  “Well, I’m trying not to think about it.”

  “Miss Jasmine, what were you planning to study in college?” Tyran asked changing the subject.

  “Psychology.”

  He laughed loudly and said, “It’s too bad we don’t wait for college graduation. We could really use a psychologist here.”