by Sophia Gray
“What are ye doing down here?”
Foster thought quickly and gave her a sly smile. “We’re lost.” he said with a shrug. He gave her his most dazzling smile and used glamour to appear clean and well kept. It worked. She smiled bashfully. “Can you point us in the right direction, Madam?” he said, and bowed with a flourish.
She giggled and pointed down the hall. “Left at the end, and up the stairs with ye.”
He took one of her hands and kissed it as she shifted the bowl and hugged it close. “You have saved us!”
She giggled again and disappeared through another door. They went in the direction she had indicated in case she came back through and found them trying other doors instead. They walked as quickly as they could in case someone else came on them unexpected. There were two other doors on the hallway besides the two the cook had just exited and entered. One was locked and the other opened directly onto a narrow staircase.
“This place is nothing more than hallways and staircases!” Stefan grumbled. They took the stairs cautiously, and once at the top they could hear voices talking somewhere below them. The space opened into a small stone expanse of about ten feet by six feet. The stone was cut across with an opening that was just wide enough to look through. Stefan made the motion of nocking an arrow and letting it go. Foster nodded that he understood. It was a place for soldiers to guard the Queen. Foster looked down into the cavernous room below them and saw that it was in fact the throne room.
“Why aren’t there soldiers here now?” Foster whispered.
Stefan shrugged and knelt before the opening scanning the room below. He dropped back and said, “I think they’re all down there. Maybe she uses this for assassination purposes.” He looked across to the other side. “I don’t think there’s another one over there.” He said indicating the other side. Foster looked and saw that the multi colored glass ceiling only covered part way and the rest was stone. He realized the side they were on was either part of the mountain or built into it, but the opposite side was hewn stone; built like any other castle; yet it looked almost identical to the side they were on. He could see the Queen’s throne was empty, and her guests gave it a quick glance as they began to take their seats. There was at least two hundred there, and he was unable to see his family.
Warren had crept forward and was crouching beside him. “What should we do?”
Foster was about to answer when movement directly opposite from them caught his eye. “Stefan,” he whispered, “I think there is another one of these rooms over there.”
Stefan squinted and concentrated. “Yes! I do see it!” He looked below to see if any of the guests or guards were looking upwards, but they all seemed intent on staring at the empty throne or whispering behind their hands to each other. “Did you see something over there?”
“I thought I saw movement.”
They waited several moments and listened to the hum below them. A horn sounded and a loud voice yelled, “Queen Lily Armstrong, leader of the Eastern Realm of America!” The three watched as the Queen entered from behind the throne. She was dressed in an elaborate gown of rose colored silk, inlaid with brightly colored stones in the bodice that caught the light and made her glitter. She was exquisitely beautiful, and Foster knew instinctually she was as equally malevolent.
“What a pompous ass that woman is.” Stefan muttered.
Another chandelier was lit and raised by ropes, securing it above the queen’s head. The extra light caused a perpetual platform for her to look glittery and beautiful. It also caused a feeling of magic. One thing the extra light did was better illuminate the rooms on either side of the ceiling.
All three of them lowered their heads so that just their eyes and foreheads were in sight. Foster stared at the hidden room opposite and tried to see more movement. He was about to resign himself to it all being a trick of the eye, when he saw it again.
His mouth went dry and his stomach felt like he was falling. Another flicker of movement and Nadia’s face flashed back into view. She saw him the same time that the Queen called her court into order. Foster froze as his mind raced at the sight.
“Things just got a whole lot more interesting…” Foster said to himself.
To be continued…
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