by Serena Nova
I was lucky that I hadn’t found any paintings of Seraphine hanging around. I had no idea if she truly looked like me or I like her. I still didn't want to test it out.
“I will do my best to be better, different,” I told her, while I started drying my body and hair. Astra had moved out of the bathroom with me, she was sitting in a chair.
She looked at me and nodded. “Okay, good. Now the reason I really came to see you.” I turned around and looked at her. “The other Witches will be here in a few days, they hope. They will be starting the test tomorrow at the schools. Depending on where the schools are, they will take between a few hours or days to get here. They gave us two days free, to make sure they kept it fair to the others. And that we didn't get more ‘Date time’ with the Kings than the others.”
“Okay, sounds fair. And what will we be doing for those two days?” I asked her, happy that we didn’t have to date the Kings right away. That we could look around in the castle a little bit before it would be full of irritating Witches. We would be having a few more days of peace, a few more days to explore.
“That is for us to decide. They said if we wanted to go out of the Castle, we needed to inform them, so they could send a protection detail with us.”
I rolled my eyes at that, then pulled on some underwear and a new sports bra, my black cargo pants, and a black tank top, I picked up my swords and placed them on my back. Next came my black leather jacket. With my boots in hand, I moved to the bed to pull those on, too. Finally, I pulled my hair into a ponytail and looked to Astra.
“Okay, what do you want to do first then?” I asked her.
“Let’s explore the castle some more?”
“Yeah, sure.” I got up and walked towards the living room. “Where do you want to start?”
“Let’s start in the main entrance and go from there, we can walk in a circle. This castle is a square, so everything is connected, and I would love to see the garden finally.”
We moved into the hallway. There was a Protector at the door of the Kings. He looked at us and mumbled, “Chief.” I gave him an arched eyebrow and moved away.
“Why did he say ‘Chief?’” Astra asked when we were far enough away from him.
“Nothing,” I answered back, not wanting to explain it to her, not wanting to tell her that being called Chief is a way that a Protector tells another that he or she is better then them. When you become the Chief, it means you are in command of all the Protectors. You are the best. It is a way of showing respect.
“So, where do we go first?” I asked when we walked into the main hall. We looked over the railing downstairs.
“Uhm, let’s go to the ballroom first, then from there to the halls next to it and see where it takes us?” Astra said while she waved her hand towards the big doors that stood open.
“Yeah. And then find a kitchen for some food. I haven’t had lunch yet,” I told her.
“We can do that first if you want,” she said when she walked towards the stairs.
“No, I’m fine, we can do the exploring first, we don’t even know where the kitchen is.”
“Oh, I think you can find that fast enough.” Astra chuckled.
I shook my head and walked after her. We moved towards the ballroom. It was a big room with high ceilings. Chandeliers hung in a row reflecting the sunlight and projecting colours on the walls. Then there were the arched windows to our right and a big glass door at our left that showed the garden. There were dark-red drapes hanging next to the windows. They hung from the ceiling to the floor, where they rested on the polished marble; it almost looked like a mirror. At the end of the long hall, was a raised platform. That was probably where the musicians played and the place where the Kings’ thrones sat, if there was a party in here. The walls were a soft white and covered in golden ornaments. The sunlight made it all seem more golden, almost if we stepped into a fairy tale.
“It is amazing,” Astra said, she walked in front of me and twirled around.
I walked up to her and bowed. “Can I have this dance from you, my Lady?” I joked, holding out my hand.
“Of course, my good sir,” Astra answered, and she placed her hand in mine. We started moving through one of the dances we had been taught at school. We laughed while we twirled around, dancing throughout that big room and just enjoyed it. When we reached the other side of the room, we were a little out of breath and still laughing.
I wiped away a tear that had escaped my eyes. “Thank you, my Lady,” I said and bowed to her, she pretended to hold her skirt and bowed to me, too. We started laughing again. The tears rolled down our cheeks as we caught our breaths.
“My Lady, let’s escape these prying eyes and go for a stroll in the garden,” I said and tried to keep my face straight, which didn’t really work.
“Yes, good sir,” she answered, and I turned around then froze. Averey was standing in the door opening. His eyes roamed over me slowly. I looked down to the floor before he could see me blush.
“Your Highness,” Astra said when she noticed him, too. “We were just looking around.”
“That is fine. I was just wondering who was laughing so much in here.” I looked up at him. His eyes were still focused on me, though he spoke to Astra. “We haven’t had that much laughter in this room in a long time.”
“Maybe you should have a party then,” I said. “Eh, Your Highness,” I added quickly.
“Maybe we should, Isadora.” He said my name slowly, almost as if it meant something more.
“Come, As,” I said and pulled her along towards the garden doors.
“If you two want, you can also check out our library,” Averey said when we reached the glass doors.
“Yes, thank you,” I said and pushed them open not knowing what else to say.
We walked into the inner garden, where we were greeted by the smell of flowers, earth, and grass. I breathed in deeply, feeling connected to the garden right away. It would quickly become one of my favourite places in the castle. We moved around, walking over the small paths that wove through the gardens. Surrounded by rose bushes and other flowers, we walked in silence. Both of us were lost in our own minds. Sometimes, when you were friends that long, talking wasn’t necessary, I enjoyed her company and silence. It gave me the time to think about Kings, no, things. Other things, nothing that had to do with Kings. Not thinking about the Kings just other things, not their things. Just other things, a tree, yes, I thought about trees. Long hard trees.
“Purple canary,” I grumbled. Luckily, Astra hadn’t heard.
“Who do you think will be the other Selection Witches?” Astra asked. Thank you, Astra, for speaking. My mind had needed to go back to normal things.
“I don’t know. I think we will find out soon enough,” I told her while we kept on walking. We were almost back to the glass doors, instead these were the glass doors that led towards the main hall.
“Come, let’s go to the main hall and move towards the other side of the castle. I think the kitchen is there,” I told her. We moved through the main garden doors, which were open. After looking around, we found a double door to our right that seemed to lead us towards the other side of the castle. We walked through it and entered a hallway, it was amazing to see how everything was opened up on the lower levels of the castle. Instead of making it a stuffy dark place, it was filled with natural light. The garden, which seemed to be the heart of the castle, was visible from almost everywhere. We walked around the corner, and the doors changed from elaborate to simple. I hadn’t noticed that this morning.
This hall was full of servants who were walking around, carrying trays and other things, they all greeted us with a smile. Some of the Protectors we saw nodded at us, and I gave them a smile. We reach a door that was standing open slightly. And the smell of fresh baked bread made us stop.
“Kitchen?” I asked Astra and pointed towards the door we had both been sniffing at. How I missed this door this morning I have no idea.
“Yes.” A
nd she walked into the room. I followed quickly. The kitchen was filled with people, some wearing white shorts, while others wore the full black suits indicating they were servants. They all walked around quickly, almost like a nest of worker ants.
“What are you ladies doing here?”
I looked towards the voice, my mouth falling open when I found Rayan sitting at the table in the corner.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him, totally forgetting the question he had asked me.
“We may be Kings, but it doesn’t mean we don’t know where to find the kitchen.” He laughed and motioned for us to take one of the empty chairs. I sat down next to him, so I could look towards the kitchen, watching them all work. Astra took a seat on the other side. I was looking at a big round bellied man. When he noticed us sitting next to Rayan, he placed his spoon on the counter and moved towards us. The man’s round belly covered was in flour and other food products. His moustache covered his upper lip and curled down to the sides. Grey hair peeked out from under his hood and his rosy-red apple cheeks smiled down at us.
“I would like some food for the beautiful ladies,” Rayan said.
“Yes, my King. What can I get for you two?” the cook asked.
“Whatever you are making,” I told him, the saliva was already filling my mouth. The smells coming from the pans that stood on the stoves on the opposite of where we were, were mouth-watering. The big wooden work table in the middle was full of herbs and spices, chopped vegetables, and other things. People were stirring pots, chopping things, or tasting foods. One person pulled bread out from an old fire oven in the left corner of the kitchen, the smell made my stomach growl.
“It smells amazing in here,” I said to the cook.
“I’ll get you girls something.” He walked away, his voice booming over the noise in the kitchen, ordering plates for us. In a few minutes, the table was loaded with food.
I started picking out things and started eating. “Mmmmh, oh, yeah,” I mumbled when I took a bite of some chicken.
“You really like that chicken, don’t you?” Rayan asked me. I nodded at him, my mouth full of chicken.
“What are you two going to do tonight?” Rayan asked us.
I shrugged. “Probably sleeping,” I answered him when my mouth was empty.
“I think some reading, or walking in the garden,” Astra answered.
“Okay, and what will you two be doing after you have finished this late lunch?” Rayan waved at the food on the table.
“Eat dinner,” I said to him.
This made him laugh, and Astra gave me a smile and said, “We were exploring the castle, so going on with that.”
“Okay, okay. And after that?” Rayan pressed on.
“We have no other plans after that,” I told him when my plate was empty, I was still nibbling on a piece of bread that tasted like heaven.
“What have you already seen?” he asked us.
“We have seen the ballroom, the garden, and this side of the ground floor of the Castle,” Astra answered. I took a sip of the water that was in front of me and studied Rayan. He was leaning a little back in his chair, relaxed. He looked at home here, his arm slung over one side of the back of the chair and an easy smile on his face. Astra told him about the garden, how she had liked it and would be going there a lot. His mouth moved, and he said something. His lips formed words I didn’t hear; my mind was already on kissing those lips. Some fingers snapped in front of me.
“Huh, what?” I asked when I refocused on the world around me. Rayan’s blue eyes twinkled with mischief, his smile sultry. His eyes turned darker when he looked at me. Heat flared in them, and my body reacted. I took a sip of my water again, remembering I still held the glass between me and the table; floating.
“I told Astra about the other parts of the Castle, that they are kind of the same and boring.”
“Oh, what is with the other end of the castle?” Astra snorted at that, and I looked at her.
“He was telling about the rest of the castle, that the other side of the building houses the guest rooms, they’re where we sleep. On the ground level, we have the council rooms and more offices. And on this side, they have the rooms for important staff members and other important permanent guests. And then on the ground floor the, kitchen and other rooms like the laundry room and the training areas.”
“Oh, we don’t have to go exploring anymore.” I arched an eyebrow at Rayan.
“Yes, now you both can come with me,” he said and got up from his chair. I looked at Astra. She shrugged, got up, and followed.
“Thank you, cook,” Rayan said when he walked past the cook.
“Yes, thank you,” Astra said, too.
“It was amazing, thank you so much,” I told him before walking after the other two.
16
I followed Rayan and Astra through the long hall. We reached their double doors, and for a moment, I thought we would have gone into their quarters again, except for Rayan to go through the left door. My mood lifted right away. It was the hall that would lead towards the training rooms. We moved to the end where he held open the door that led us outside. There were Protectors training on the fields outside. The sun stood high in the sky. Luckily for us, it was already on its way down. The heat would be replaced by cooler air soon. I looked around at the high walls with the Protectors who kept everyone safe. Trees that were scattered here and there that would provide some shade during the day on the training fields. It was hard to believe that it was only our second day there. So much had happened. The Ilunias, Astra being kidnapped, and now me being part of a Selection, meeting sexy-ass Kings. The one good thing about it all was that I could use my magic again; didn’t have to hide anymore who I was. Okay, maybe I was still hiding, sort of, and still used my Protector training more. Only, I was freer than I had been in school.
“Where are we going?” I asked Rayan when I moved to his side. Astra walked on his other side, she was looking around, too.
“You’ll see,” he answered with a wink to me.
I rolled my eyes at that. “I’m not a big fan of surprises.”
“No, she isn’t,” Astra chimed in.
“Oh, why is that?” Rayan asked, a twinkle in his eyes, which made my stomach flutter with excitement and more.
“One time, we gave her a surprise party, when she was younger–” Astra started, her face had already lit up with the memory of the story she had started telling.
“No, As.” I stared at her, trying to glare. Which made her to laugh.
“You have to hear this, King Rayan,” Astra said. I didn’t know how she remembered to say King every single time. She laughed again at my expression. I rolled my eyes and placed another glare on my face. If looks could kill, she would have been totally dead by now.
“Oh, now I need to know,” Rayan said when he saw my face.
“No, you don’t, either. Astra, shut up.” I pouted at her.
“It was the first year of school, or second. Not sure. But we were young, keep that in mind,” Astra added that, and I gave her a sour smile. At least she had told him we were young.
“And we gave her a surprise party. When she entered our room, we jumped out and yelled surprise. She . . .” Astra laughed. “She . . .” Her laughing kept interrupting her, so I finished.
“It scared me so badly I peed in my pants.” I looked at the ground and listened to the laughing of Rayan and Astra.
When Rayan got his breathing under control, he said, “You, the one who stormed into this castle, fought three Ilunias, and sort of got Astra back all by herself, were scared of a surprise party?” He chuckled, Astra was still laughing, tears streaming down her face.
I stopped walking, held out my hand with one finger out and said, “First, I did save Astra. You guys barging in wasn’t my idea. And we were perfectly fine without you. Second.” I held up a second finger. “I was nine or so, and they scared me. I wasn’t expecting them there. I hadn’t had a birthday party in a lon
g time. And third, that was before I knew I was this amazing person,” I told him, adding a third finger to the two already in the air, my face blank. I heard Astra snicker next to him.
And with that, Rayan’s face broke into a big grin. “My apologies. You are amazing.” His eyes twinkled when he said that. When his gaze darkened, my breath hitched. Shitting baseballs, I needed to get away from them. They kept doing that to me, making me want to jump them. How could I want to jump four people at the same time? How could I want them all? I think one of the Ilunias had hit my head harder than I thought.
I collected myself and bowed to him and said, “Thank you, thank you.” He laughed and started walking again. Astra and I moved next to him. “Where are we going?” I asked him again.
“You will see, we are almost there.” He pointed towards a small Greek temple-style building.
“What is in there?” I asked him.
“You will see. Are you always this impatient?” He chuckled.
We reached the building made from white marble. The stone columns carried a simple roof, and there were no windows that I could see. Except for the small wooden door. Rayan opened it and moved into the building. He needed to bend a little, whereas I just walked through it, skimming the top of the doorpost. Astra fit perfectly through it, too. We entered a moist area; the lights were off. Everything was dark, and for a second, it reminded me of the surprise party we were just talking about. Then Rayan switched on the light, and we were standing in front of a pool. The pool was surrounded by a mosaic, portraying different things from flowers to creatures that didn’t exist anymore. The walls were also decorated with mosaics. It was beautiful. We both just stood there, looking around in awe.
“You girls can change there. You will find some bathing suits in the small cabin in that room, also a few towels. Feel free to stay as long as you want.” Rayan motioned towards the pool in front of us. The steam rose from it, a few underwater benches lined one side of the pool. He walked back towards the door.