“You got caught up in a national emergency then ended up with a man. Don’t you think that’s a bit ridiculous?”

  Just like her sister, she filled the dim emerald tunnel with an infectious mood that didn’t suit it, but unfortunately, I was immune.

  “I just took advantage of the hanging crevice effect. I’m a little worried about what I’ll do when it wears off.

  Two women smiling eerily in the glow of the ways was a bit much for my heart, but on closer inspection, Paula’s smile didn’t have the same indecipherable quality that Karen’s did even if was close enough otherwise to prove their relation. In Paula’s case it was a simple smile. She was clearly just happy, but why only now I couldn’t say.

  Don’t say that. We didn’t do anything until we were perfectly safe. Or what, did you think I was afraid of the elfdust?”

  Well, we both weren’t being entirely honest in that regard. If we wanted to tell the story we would have to speak of how we bonded while I was numb with grief, grief I had hardly moved on from, but that telling didn’t seem appropriate for this atmosphere. I knew the last thing I should do in this moment was to say anything that would break Paula’s spell of normalcy.

  “Which one of you made the first move?”

  I considered the difference between this conversation and the one I heard before. Apart from Paula’s demeanor it was headed in the same direction as it had earlier. Idle unassuming gossip. The only difference was that Paula drove the conversation rather than fencing it off and she would probe for answers rather than ignore them. If you looked beyond the tone, were they really being any less evasive than they had been before?

  For instance, why did she not inquire after Karen’s well being after the trauma she must have surely been through in the front lines. Why did she not challenge my nature when she had clearly been concerned with how I might treat her sister. Coldly I analyzed their dynamic.

  “That would have to be Douglass. After he…well after we got back from our mission, he was persistent in laying down his charm.”

  …

  I questioned the truth of this. I had thought everything had begun because Karen had crept into my personal space and I had let it happen. When I took a moment to reexamine my memories I realized they were unorganized and foggy, but that her words were not inaccurate when only seeing my actions. She had in fact backed off as my apparent catatonic state wore off and then I had courted her in the most gentlemanly manner. It was as if I had been under a spell, responding only to the prompts of foreign commands as a typewriter might.

  “If I’m honest, I was quite taken with her the moment we met. Couldn’t help myself really.”

  If only that could be true. If the spark I had felt when I had first laid eyes on her sleeping within scrubber headquarters could have been the stirrings of what stories might call love at first sight. It couldn't be, but I'd let that false dream drive my words. If I only continued to act the part might this man’s recollection displace my own?

  “Oh, I’m sure. And is that why you were acting so nervous on the ride to the camp? Acting like I wasn’t even there and all.”

  “Hardly fair. We had good reason to be unsettled.”

  I wondered if I might need to steer the conversation in a different direction since we were skirting near uncomfortable territory, but Paula didn’t catch on to anything that upset her.

  “Lovely, You two both make a cute couple. I’m happy for you Karen.”

  Karn put her hand on top of Paula and ruffled her hair until the wispy curtain became a silken cloud. I was certain that would have caused a flinch and a retreat outside the ether ways. I wondered what the difference might be, but quickly realized it was an obvious thing.

  “Not near as lovely as my cute little sister. I was so happy to see you again in person after over two months.”

  Yes lovely. Lovely just like the streams of shining lines and splotches that normally decorated the ether ways. They weren’t present now outside of cleaning hours, but my trained eye could see their phantoms forming in the dim light. Incomplete and not yet hiding their dark secrets beneath, they were simply beautiful, just as this young woman’s shining personality would be, if you didn’t know what its facade was masking. She made a good stand in for their absence.

  “Stop stop. Enough already. Alright, I won’t keep you two any longer. I know you won’t want to spend the whole night in the ether ways when you have a chance for real sleep.”

  “See you tomorrow.”

  “Yea, tomorrow!”

  They spoke with equal enthusiasm, but they didn’t mean the same thing. I politely excused myself, and even though there should have been plenty to discuss after her departure all that awaited outside the ways was sleep and the only talk that would come in the morning was chatter over breakfast. By the time we made our way through the front door, Paula had already left for her mysterious job I still hadn’t inquired after. We spent the rest of the day much the same as the one before until the afternoon came around.

  Colonel Ray waited for us in the same plaza we had explored yesterday along with Thomas, Matt, and two others. I only recognized One of them from among the seven who had been at headquarters the night before we departed for the camps, which meant that the last face I had seen that night…must be gone now.

  Ray appeared disgruntled, but not nearly as annoyed as Thomas or Matt were.

  “Bastard thinks he can herd us like sheep. We don’t even know why we’re here and you expect us to rush like it’s an emergency. Go ahead and stick your time tables why don’t you.”

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “This is an audience with the king we’re speaking of you oaf.”

  “Well, he can have an audience with my arse. He’s the one who called us down for who knows what reason, so why should we be bending our knees to his whims.”

  “One more disrespectful word out of you…”

  I walked up to Thomas and pushed his head down as if he was giving a bow. He scoffed but followed it up with an exaggerated curtsy.

  “Alright that’s enough don’t you think. We can complain about Ray and his goofy moustache all we want once this ordeal is behind us.”

  The colonel shot me a glare but marched on without a word to lead us to the palace. We went on foot rather than carriage and I sarcastically wondered if colonel ray was no longer trusted with them, but considering how short of a walk it was from the plaza it was unlikely to be the case.

  I looked at our newcomers as I walked. One had long shaggy black hair with grey streaks mixed in. Despite the obvious sign of aging I would put him in his mid forties based on his facial features that only showed the beginnings of wrinkling where they weren’t obscured by a thick beard. He wore a grey somewhat tattered robe that looked like the outfit of a beggar despite the fact that he should be just as well off as the rest of us. Next to him was a woman with short blond hair and matching angular eyebrows above light brown eyes, she wore a tight fitting green pleated jacket that had a suit like quality and was somewhat reminiscent of what I would picture adventurers wearing in fables. Paired with the black slacks, sleek black shoes, and a gaze that was fixed straight ahead, paying us little mind, she gave off an air of professionalism that didn’t fit the rest of our group. She had been the scrubber I recognized from before except she had been dressed in an average manner when I first saw her.

  When we approached the gate Colonel Ray took out a scroll and handed it to a guard that wore the same type of uniform as him and the guard folded it up and nodded us through with nary a word. I had said the palace was near, but that only took the entrance into account. The length of the avenue inside made me question whether it was really wise to make the trek on foot if we were meant to be in a hurry. It could be that Ray had lost his carriage rights after all, or more likely we hadn’t been in nearly the rush he wanted to make it out to be.

  For the first ten minutes or so the interior lane was surprisingly as wide as the plaza outside had been, but it started to narrow off as rows of vibrantly colored hedges and other shrubbery took ownership of the courtyard’s real estate. By the time the large metallic doors were in proximity the walkway had narrowed into a sidewalk fit only for human feet as we had already passed the stable any carriage we would have brought would have been stopped at. The scenery to my left and right was lost to the walls of what I could only assume to be a hedge maze far taller than the plants we had passed by previously. The sidewalk gave way to a small garden bridge that passed over a creek filled with lilies that fell from the sides of the bridge like a miniature waterfall. Looking down at the narrow alley it traced that eventually curved out of my sight, I assumed it encircled the entire palace like a decorative moat.

  I had already seen the palace from the plaza, but standing beneath its shadow filled me with a sense of awe from its scale. It was without a doubt the grandest piece of architecture I had ever seen, at least three times the size of the dream custodian academy. From a pure design outlook, I do think the academy could just barely compete, but that would come down as an issue of taste between the sleek obsidian design versus the light pink pompous motif that gave an impression of celebration instead of oppression. The four spires on the outer walls ended in pyramids, but the five that could be seen on the interior ended in globes that made them look like ballons rising into the sky. In the center was an even taller spire that crowned the main hexagonal structure that was the place proper. It rose with curvaceous waves rather than as a single tower. Even in the light of day, a pale blue light could be seen from the top window, and yesterday on the way back to Karen’s after dusk, I had seen that glow beautifully lighting up the night sky like elfdust only on a massive scale.

  While I’m sure any wall tall enough would be difficult to breach, even my untrained eye could tell this was a structure built for stature and not defense and indeed even when it had first been constructed 1477 years ago, the conflicts with Unduroc had never reached its walls.

  Colonel Ray stood before the doors that were larger and wider than my own home and reached out towards the knocker before stopping and looking back at Thomas.

  “What, is there something on my face?”

  He continued to look with a pointed glare.

  “Alright alright I get it. I don’t want to get myself beheaded. I’ll behave.”

  He said so but made sure to give the most flippant wave of his hand he could muster. Ray rapped the metal handle against the door and a panel opened up. I assumed this was just an extra precaution since I was certain they had already seen our approach from a ways off. The panel was shut and the doors slowly groaned open. We were greeted not by another royal guard but by an elderly man in the black and white suit of service attire. He had a grey goatee that hung off his chin in a triangle and a ponytail. A monocle covered the right of a pair of blue discerning eyes, and he stroked his beard as he assessed us.

  “We’ve been awaiting your arrival. It will be straight down this hall.”

  I let out a low whistle when the full scope of the interior came into view.

  “Well, isn’t that something.”

  When my whistle and my words echoed down the otherwise silent corridor, I stymied further noise overtaken as I was by the untouchable austere air, but the butler just smirked at me.

  “It’s alright, As long as you don’t cause a ruckus we will not penalize you for conversation. Just be mindful to keep your words and actions respectful inside his majesty’s household.”

  Even with permission, I had little to say as the weight of the audience was finally starting to seep in. We made our way towards the king’s throne room and my eyes soaked in the décor. I was somewhat disappointed that the carpet we were led along was a dark blue instead of a bright red, but otherwise everything I saw fit the vision painted by legends of castles and royalty. Exotic vases and tapestries lined the hallway by the dozens as well as paintings that must have been portraits of old royals and landscapes that could only be imaginary. I even saw a painting that was a depiction of the ether ways uncleaned, an odd choice for the otherwise bright decorations. It was clear the artist had never actually seen the ways unclean or at the very least he had purposefully abstracted the painting because the lines and splotches were instead odd geometric shapes floating in the air.

  When we reached the end of the corridor and opened the doors into a room as wide and tall as the academy’s courtyard, I was stunned into silence by the look on the face of the man that sat on the throne. That look, in a word, could only be called brooding but was more distressed than authoritative even if it held countenance that would brook no argument. He did not sit back in his throne regally; he hunched forward into his hands as his elbows rested on his knees like a bard within a bar ready to spin a tall tale. The shadows under his green eyes were haggard but otherwise his face contained stern wisdom. His hair was a short wavy brown that matched the thin stubble of beard that was groomed well enough to hold character. A blue cape adorned in animal fur rested on his shoulders and a golden circlet on his head, but he looked less like a lord ready to give a speech to his subjects and more like a commander ready to send his troops off into a losing battle.

  Nothing I saw fit any description I had ever heard of him, so I could only imagine he was meeting us beyond his normal presentation. A chill ran up my spine when he spoke.

  “Lock the doors and make sure no one is present besides the scrubbers and those I have already spoken with.”