by Kevin Culp
As we approached the gate, Christina gasped at the sight of the statues. “This really is amazing how do they even build something like that?”
The prince actually started to explain, but I wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, I was looking to the looming wall ahead of me and thinking about all that was to come. The journey here was over and the real work was about to begin.
Chapter 11
Finally, we arrived at the gate just as the sun had finished setting and I looked at the prince. “Can we get out and go on foot from here? I'm not certain that I speak for Christina, but if I'm going to sightsee, it will be easier to do if I'm not confined to the carriage.”
Christina nodded in agreement.
The prince responded, “I would rather you didn't for now. There will be plenty of time for sightseeing during the day, but as of right now it's my goal to deliver you to the royal palace without too much commotion. Based on messages sent by my father, you have already become a minor celebrity around here.”
That was kind of strange to hear, and I'm guessing that these messages would have had to be delivered by magic, but I was more confused by the fact the general populous already knew about me. Regardless, I really didn't want to cause too much trouble for the prince, so until he gives me a reason to not trust him, I'll do as he asks.
“That's understandable. I suppose for now we'll heed your advice.” I responded.
He nodded in thanks.
As we rode through town, I looked at what I could see through the windows. It was obvious we were attracting a crowd just being in a carriage with a royal crest on it. The buildings I could see were pretty impressive. In Freid and the smaller towns we had stopped in, the buildings were made almost entirely for durability with little regard for appearance. They didn't look bad, but it wasn’t like this. Here it was obvious that appearance was very important.
We finally arrived at the castle and once we got through the gates and into the courtyard, the carriage stopped.
As the doors opened, I could see beautiful gardens of flowers and a fountain with a magnificent statue in it. We stepped out, and the castle itself was even more impressive. It looked like something out of a children's storybook, with a tiered stone structure culminating in a skyscraper-like pointed tower in the center. There were four shorter towers on each corner and the entrance was a huge archway with an enormous door made of some kind of dark wood that I felt I should probably know but didn't due to my lack of knowledge (nature.)
A young girl probably not more than seven or eight years old ran up and tackled the prince. “Brother, you have been gone for so long. I thought you were supposed to be back two weeks ago.”
He picked her up, “yes, I know and trust me I didn't want to be gone for so long, but father wanted someone to be there for this man's duel, and I was the only one close enough to get there in time when word reached us. I guess I should introduce you to him. This is Sir Archaeus Alexander Velnir. Archaeus, this is the third princess Jubilee Elizabeth Rose Varnelion.”
She looked down like she was too shy to look at me as she spoke but said, “It is very nice to meet you Sir Archaeus.”
“It's nice to meet you too, Princess Jubilee, and that is a lovely name,” I said.
“I hate it. Why won't people just call me Rose? I like roses.”
“I like roses too, and I'll call you that if you like.”
She smiled shyly at me and nodded her head.
The prince cut in. “I'm sorry though, Rose. I need to show Archaeus and Christina here to their rooms for the night. Can you help me do that?”
He set her down, and she looked up at us with a smile. “Certainly, follow me please,” she said.
We followed Rose into the castle and quickly found that the inside was just as impressive as the outside. It had velvet red carpeting and intricate archways everywhere, and the walls were lined with fancy paintings, some of which depicted probably previous monarchs or other nobility, while others were more for scenery such as paintings of battles or angels. Eventually, we arrived at the wing of the castle where all the guest rooms were.
“They just finished preparing this room for you. I hope you find it comfortable,” Rose said.
“Okay, is this room for me or Christina?” I asked.
She looked confused. “What do you mean? Are you not staying in the same room?”
Christina seemed a little embarrassed and concerned. She was biting her lip.
“I don't think it would be appropriate for us to share a room,” I said.
“Why not? Is she not pretty enough for you? I think she's really pretty personally. Don't men like sharing a room with pretty girls?”
“Umm... well yes but only if you are married, and Christina and I aren't married.”
“Hmm that's not something I ever heard, but you could always just get married right. My brother shares a room with pretty girls he's not married to a lot though.” She said.
About that time, the prince put his hand over her mouth then looked at her, “Why don't you go talk to Gail and see if she can prepare another room for them?”
“Okay,” she said, and she ran off.
So the prince was a ladies' man, huh. That must be nice, I thought.
He turned back to us. “I'm sorry about that. Kids right. This was my mistake. I had made the assumption, and it was out of line. It seemed as though it wasn't a problem for you two sharing a tent too, so I thought nothing of it.”
“It's an honest mistake. I mean I don't want to put anyone through a bunch of work though. If it's too much trouble, we can share a room.”
“No not at all, just give us about thirty minutes and we will have another room prepared. I will have dinner delivered to your rooms because by now I'm certain that father has already eaten. I will also have a bath prepared for you. We will have breakfast tomorrow before you meet him though so it will be in a formal setting.”
“Actually, do you think it would be a problem if we pushed it to an afternoon appointment? Not that I want to make a king wait, but I should probably get some more formal clothing for both myself and Christina before we meet him.”
“That sounds pretty reasonable. You will probably just have to go to a shop and have something fitted given that there won't be time to have anything custom made, but I can see to it that someone is here to take you to some of the best shops tomorrow.”
“Excellent. Then, we will just wait in this room until the other is ready.”
“I will see to it that you are notified,” he said, then walked off.
Christina seemed a little uneasy. I guess this had taken her a little by surprise too that they had expected us to share a room.
We opened the door and went into the room. It was enormous. I lived in a studio apartment, and this was probably twice the size of it, about forty or fifty feet on any side. It had a large dresser and there was a mirror on every wall. The bed was an enormous canopy bed that I'm sure I could get lost on.
I set my backpack on the dresser, and Christina did the same, then we started to look around the room for a bit. After looking at all the fancy decoration, we sat on the bed.
“This is all amazing isn't it,” I said.
“Yes, it is. To be honest, I'm kind of overwhelmed right now. All of this, how much my life has changed. It's just happened so fast.”
“Well, I just hope that you are happy. The last thing I would want is to show up in your life, and it fall into chaos because of me.”
She seemed to be deep in thought now, “Archaeus, do you think I'm pretty?”
That was kind of surprising thing for her to ask. I'm pretty certain I've told her before that she was beautiful. Also, why would she care what I think?
“Of course, I think you're pretty. Christina, you are a beautiful woman and amazing in so many ways.”
She didn't actually seem to like my answer, but she responded, “Well, thanks. You know Archaeus I think you are a pretty amazing guy too. Not because you are ha
ndsome, muscular, or even because of how powerful you are. I think you are an amazing guy just because you truly seem to care about people and try to help others, especially me.”
“Well, if anyone has helped anyone here, I think it's you helping me. I really don't know where I would be without you.”
“You say that but.....”
There was a long pause followed by a knock on the door and a woman's voice, “Sir Archaeus, the other room has been prepared.”
I looked at Christina, “I'll take the other room. Just try to get some rest okay.”
She nodded as I got up and went to grab my bag. When I opened the door, there was an older woman in a maid’s outfit with gray hair and a friendly smile, “Nice to meet you, sir. My name is Gail. If you will follow me, please.”
“Nice to meet you as well Gail. I’ll let you lead the way.”
She leaned back into the room and looked at Christina. “Miss he will be just across the hall from you if you need him. I will be back in a few minutes with your food, and we will have a bath prepared by the time you are done eating.”
Christina nodded.
She showed me to my room, and it really was a mirror of the previous one. I put my bag on the dresser and finally took off my armor and equipment to get settled in. About that time, a knock came at the door. It was Gail with my food. She told me that once I was done eating, there would be someone outside the door to show me to the bath. It was really an amazing meal. They served me a steak that was perfectly seasoned and cooked along with some roasted asparagus, corn, and mashed potatoes.
I opened the door when I was finished eating and there was a younger maid that showed me to the bath. She tried to come in with me, but this time I stopped her, and Archaeus actually let me. It was weird enough letting Christina give me a bath, let alone this random maid I'd never met in the nation’s palace.
I finished bathing, and as I was walking back to my room, I saw Christina. She looked like she had been crying, “Christina what's wrong?” I asked.
She was so distracted I guess she hadn't seen me, so I startled her, “Oh... umm... It's nothing Archaeus. I just really miss my papa. I've never been away from him for this long, and all this is so new to me.”
I felt bad for her. I remember when I was a kid getting homesick at camp, but for her, she had literally spent the majority of her time with her father for her entire life.
“I'm so sorry, Christina. I wouldn't have asked you to come if I knew you wouldn't like it. Is there anything I can do?”
“Umm... No Archaeus, I don't think so. Just let me take a bath and get a good night’s sleep, and I think I'll feel better.”
“Okay, well don't hesitate to come to me if there is anything I can do.”
She nodded and walked off quickly leaving the maid that was showing her the way behind.
I went back to my room and worried about Christina. Maybe it was a mistake to bring her with me. A girl like her is probably going to be completely overwhelmed by this whole experience. She's a sweet and caring girl that loves her family with her whole being. That's not the kind of person that needs to be thrown into a political world.
I settled in on the huge bed and tried to get comfortable. Surprisingly, the size of the bed made it more difficult. It didn't help of course that I was so lost in thought worrying about Christina. Honestly, I wasn't certain if I would end up getting any sleep at all that night. I laid in bed for what had to be hours. I got up from time to time and looked out the one window in the room. It was quite small, but I could tell from looking out it that it was exceptionally late.
Just as I had laid back down for the third or fourth time, a knock came at the door, and I fought my way back out of the bed to get up and open it. It was Christina standing there in her nightgown and looking like it was taking all of her willpower to not break down into tears.
“Please, Archaeus. Can I stay with you tonight?”
I wrapped her in my arms. “Of course you can. I'm so sorry, Christina. I shouldn't have left your side once we got here not knowing how you would respond to all of this. It's my fault.”
“It isn't your fault Archaeus. I just want to be with you and know that I shouldn't, and I don't know what to do.”
“It's not your fault. It's perfectly normal that being here in this strange place you just need someone familiar to feel safe.”
“That's not what I mean Archaeus.”
I actually wasn't really sure what she meant by that, but I pulled her closer to me.
I looked down at her. “Let's just get some rest. I'm sure that you will feel better in the morning.”
I picked her up in my arms and walked over to the bed. I set her down gently and then climbed in bed with her. We slowly scooted over to the center of the bed, and once I settled in, I pulled her close to me. It was actually extremely reassuring having her there with me. Just knowing that she was safe in my arms helped put my mind at ease. The first time we had shared a bed, I thought the reason we were so close was due to the size of the bed, but here we were on this enormous bed and still cuddling. I wasn't even that distracted by it. Sure I was aware of her body being there and how beautiful she was, but how tired and comfortable I was won out, and I quickly fell asleep.
Chapter 12
The next morning was pretty eventful. We woke up to a knock on the door pretty early and a maid came in and delivered us breakfast. She told us that someone would be to our room in an hour to take us to some local tailors. Once we finished eating, Christina went back to her room, and we both got dressed for the day. I didn't even get the opportunity to prepare spells that morning.
A butler came into my room as I was finishing putting on my armor and escorted me out to the courtyard. The garden and fountains around me were even more beautiful here in the daylight than I had thought it was last night. Within minutes, Christina had come out and joined me. She had worn the dress her mother got her and looked cute in it, though I knew she was still self-conscious about wearing it in public due to having outgrown it. About the time she had shown up, so did a carriage to take us where we needed to go.
Once we got inside, I looked at Christina. “I'm really glad that you are here with me to experience all this Christina, and I'm sorry about last night. I know it must be difficult for you being here so far from home.”
“I'm sorry Archaeus. I don't want to ruin your experience here, and I'm glad I'm here with you too. It's just a whole new world from what I'm used to, and I've never been away from papa for very long.”
I paused for a moment thinking this was probably something that I shouldn't ask but decided to anyway, “Christina, I don't want to put you in an awkward situation and maybe it's presumptuous of me to even ask but... Would you like me to move my things back into the room with you and stay with you? I just don't want you feeling alone here and even if it's only for a few nights until you are more comfortable, I want to do what I can to make you happy.”
She looked like she was nervous to respond and started to blush. “Well... I mean... If you don't mind Archaeus. I think that would help keep my mind at ease knowing you are there at night.”
“Then it's settled. I'll take care of it as soon as we get back.”
Being in a carriage again, I was disappointed we still weren't really getting to do any sightseeing, but it was convenient, and we needed to address our formal attire situation. We had probably only been in the carriage for ten minutes or so when it came to a stop.
When I got out of the carriage, my first thought was whether this was just a nice part of town or if the whole city was like this. It was still early, but the streets were already bustling, and it was all quite a sight. The streets were actually paved with bricks and all the buildings were very decorative. This was definitely more what I imagined in my fantasy game stores.
The store we had arrived in front of was called Mrs. Francine’s Magical Threads. I wasn't sure if that was just the name to imply quality, or if Mrs. Francine was actually a
magic-user who had some magic item crafting abilities. I'm not sure if the guy who had come with us was more of a butler or a coachman, but he had dismounted the carriage and gestured for us all to move inside.
Once we were inside the store, I was surprised to see that it looked a lot like a modern-day small clothing boutique. There were mannequins standing all over the place sporting fancy looking clothing and circular racks throughout the store. The walls were lined with clothing racks and there were several pretty girls in the store trying to push the wares on self-conscious young women. One such salesman approached us pretty quickly.
“Hello, hello, you must be the ones from the castle that we were told to expect this morning. How are you all this fine day,” The woman who had approached us was probably the oldest-looking woman in the store but probably still probably no older than her late twenties. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a salesman's smile. She was dressed in the clothes that made her look a little bit like a modern librarian or teacher, with a long skirt and button-up blouse, and she was wearing a pair of glasses. I could tell the clothes themselves were all excellent quality.
The butler spoke for us. “Yes, madam, we were pleased you could see us on such short notice. We will be looking for some noble attire that can be quickly fitted for this lady and the gentleman.”
“Of course, wow and aren't both of you just lovely. It's always great to find a canvas that needs such little work done to it to shine. Shall we start with the lady?”
“That sounds excellent madam.”
I cut in on the conversation, “I know we are here to get formal attire, but we would also like if you could have Christina's current dress refitted.”
The woman looked her up and down, “Well, why would you want to do that when I could get you something of a similar style that is a complete original by me? It would be just stunning.”