real
intentions were to put as much distance between Aleksander and me as he could
without offending the Chromis King outright.
The wind was
picking up and at the altitude we were at it had a distinct bite of winter to
it.
Gabriel held his
arm out to me once again to escort me inside the palace while everyone else
followed behind us.
The room attached
to the landing pad was made completely out of glass. It was like stepping into
a bubble. On the far side, there were two iron doors decorated with a large
gold embossed Vankaran seal directly in the middle of them. Gabriel let go of
my arm and walked to the double doors to open them. Behind the doors was a
small iron cage suspended in an iron shaft.
“Perhaps just the Queen,
her daughter and I should go down first,” Gabriel suggested as he held his hand
out to me to follow him into the cage. It was only then I realized we were
entering a lift. I had heard of their existence but I had never ridden in one
before.
“Would you mind if
I joined you?” Thomas asked. He had an urgent look about him causing me to
assume he had more important information to impart to me.
“Of course,”
Gabriel said graciously. “It looks like the Queen has some business to attend
to today,” Gabriel said to the three left in the ante chamber. “We’ll see you
all at the party this evening.”
Gabriel closed the
doors and pushed a ruby red button on a panel to his left. I involuntarily
grabbed Gabriel’s coat sleeve as I felt us sink into the earth, at least that’s
what it felt like to me.
It didn’t take
very long before we came to a stop and Gabriel reopened the doors.
I stepped out into
a hallway with dark green painted walls and white marble flooring. Columns of
the same marble were spaced out at equal intervals along the hallway. At the
end of the corridor, I saw a larger than life size painting of the Queen
dressed in a gown of gold silk staring directly at me. I remembered the dress
and realized the painting must have been done on the day of her coronation.
I followed Gabriel’s
lead down the corridor, the heels of our shoes clicking against the hardness of
the marble in a staccato rhythm. I kept my eyes averted from the scrutinizing
gaze of the Queen fearing her spirit might convey some displeasure in how I was
handling matters thus far.
We passed a few
doors along the hallway before Gabriel finally came to a stop at one.
“Why don’t you
take Dena up to her chambers, Emily? The Queen needs to handle some matters of
state,” Gabriel said.
I had
intentionally avoided looking directly at Dena but plucked up my nerve to face
her again. She had her thumb in her mouth and stared at me with wide,
uncertain eyes.
“She hasn’t had
her mid-morning snack yet,” Emily said. “Maybe that’s why she’s acting so
peculiar.” I was getting tired of Emily’s apologetic expression. She had done
nothing to be sorry for and the added guilt of her worry over Dena’s odd
behavior was more than I was capable of dealing with in that moment.
“That’s a good
idea,” I said. Before Dena could react, I leaned towards her and kissed her
lightly on the cheek. “Mummy will see you later.”
The child was
quickly whisked away by her nanny who probably thought it might be prudent to
leave before Dena did react.
Gabriel walked
into the room and held the door open for Thomas and me. The room was a well
appointed study with a massive, intricately carved rosewood desk directly
opposite us, sitting in front of a wall of glass. Two beige wing backed chairs
with a coral floral pattern weaved into the fabric sat facing the front of the
desk. Voluminous yards of vanilla colored silk draperies and white sheers
covered the glass wall, pooling elegantly against the cherry hardwood floor.
The walls were a faint peach color with arched white painted book shelves
standing against them at evenly spaced intervals. A fireplace of yellow
intentions were to put as much distance between Aleksander and me as he could
without offending the Chromis King outright.
The wind was
picking up and at the altitude we were at it had a distinct bite of winter to
it.
Gabriel held his
arm out to me once again to escort me inside the palace while everyone else
followed behind us.
The room attached
to the landing pad was made completely out of glass. It was like stepping into
a bubble. On the far side, there were two iron doors decorated with a large
gold embossed Vankaran seal directly in the middle of them. Gabriel let go of
my arm and walked to the double doors to open them. Behind the doors was a
small iron cage suspended in an iron shaft.
“Perhaps just the Queen,
her daughter and I should go down first,” Gabriel suggested as he held his hand
out to me to follow him into the cage. It was only then I realized we were
entering a lift. I had heard of their existence but I had never ridden in one
before.
“Would you mind if
I joined you?” Thomas asked. He had an urgent look about him causing me to
assume he had more important information to impart to me.
“Of course,”
Gabriel said graciously. “It looks like the Queen has some business to attend
to today,” Gabriel said to the three left in the ante chamber. “We’ll see you
all at the party this evening.”
Gabriel closed the
doors and pushed a ruby red button on a panel to his left. I involuntarily
grabbed Gabriel’s coat sleeve as I felt us sink into the earth, at least that’s
what it felt like to me.
It didn’t take
very long before we came to a stop and Gabriel reopened the doors.
I stepped out into
a hallway with dark green painted walls and white marble flooring. Columns of
the same marble were spaced out at equal intervals along the hallway. At the
end of the corridor, I saw a larger than life size painting of the Queen
dressed in a gown of gold silk staring directly at me. I remembered the dress
and realized the painting must have been done on the day of her coronation.
I followed Gabriel’s
lead down the corridor, the heels of our shoes clicking against the hardness of
the marble in a staccato rhythm. I kept my eyes averted from the scrutinizing
gaze of the Queen fearing her spirit might convey some displeasure in how I was
handling matters thus far.
We passed a few
doors along the hallway before Gabriel finally came to a stop at one.
“Why don’t you
take Dena up to her chambers, Emily? The Queen needs to handle some matters of
state,” Gabriel said.
I had
intentionally avoided looking directly at Dena but plucked up my nerve to face
her again. She had her thumb in her mouth and stared at me with wide,
uncertain eyes.
“She hasn’t had
her mid-morning snack yet,” Emily said. “Maybe that’s why she’s acting so
peculiar.” I was getting tired of Emily’s apologetic expression. She had done
nothing to be sorry for and the added guilt of her worry over Dena’s odd
behavior was more than I was capable of dealing with in that moment.
“That’s a good
idea,” I said. Before Dena could react, I leaned towards her and kissed her
lightly on the cheek. “Mummy will see you later.”
The child was
quickly whisked away by her nanny who probably thought it might be prudent to
leave before Dena did react.
Gabriel walked
into the room and held the door open for Thomas and me. The room was a well
appointed study with a massive, intricately carved rosewood desk directly
opposite us, sitting in front of a wall of glass. Two beige wing backed chairs
with a coral floral pattern weaved into the fabric sat facing the front of the
desk. Voluminous yards of vanilla colored silk draperies and white sheers
covered the glass wall, pooling elegantly against the cherry hardwood floor.
The walls were a faint peach color with arched white painted book shelves
standing against them at evenly spaced intervals. A fireplace of yellow
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