Rey led Autumn through the twisted streets of Windshire city, weaving through villagers and tourists and taking shortcuts through courtyards and gardens. Despite carrying her heavy case, he moved quickly enough for Autumn to have trouble catching up.

  “How often are you over here?” Autumn asked as they cut down a narrow alleyway that led to a smaller entrance to the castle.

  Rey shrugged. “I’ve lived here my whole life. I just know my way around.”

  Autumn stopped to look around as they finally entered the castle. They were in a stone hall with high ceilings, lanterns hanging every other step and tall arches guiding the path. The ceiling was a dark shade of indigo, and in between every arch was a door with a number labeling it. There were servants and maids scurrying about the hall, carrying baskets of laundry and bowls of little wooden slates of all different colors. Some of them had weird horns or ears or no wings, unlike any Alondran she’d ever seen.

  Rey smiled at her amazed gaze. “This is the laundry and boiler hall,” He explained as he led her further in. “You won’t ever need to come down here, but it’s a nice shortcut.”

  As they walked he gestured to different branching hallways, each having some sort of weird purpose. The whole hall was steamy and smelled of soap, and Autumn could hear the sound of maids scrubbing washboards coming down some of the halls.

  “Down there is the boiler room.” Rey pointed down the hall. “The servants and workboys are given wooden tabs with the kind of water you would like for your bath, and then they heat and fill your tub for you.” He grabbed her hand and pulled her down a branching hallway. “Now I’ll take you to the throne room.”

  Autumn squinted to see Rey’s figure in the dim, narrow, hallway. “Why’d you take me this way?”

  Rey stopped so abruptly, Autumn almost ran into him. She couldn’t see the expression on his face when he turned to her, but she could see the angry sparkle in his bright eyes.

  “Just thought you should see this castle for what it is,” He said softly. “Don’t get all caught up in its gold and glory.”

  Autumn wished she could see his face. She didn’t know what he was trying to say. Ever since she’d found him in Windshire, he’d been so secretive. He would explain random things that she couldn’t quite understand the meaning of and he’d disregard certain things she asked or said. He was hiding something, but part of Autumn told her that he wanted her to figure it out. There was so much she didn’t understand about her being here; why the queen wanted her of all people, why Rey was in charge of everything, why she was needed right now, all of that. She didn’t know why she was there, and she felt like she was being tricked. She had no idea what was happening, and it made her feel like she was falling right into a trap.

  As they began to walk again, she grabbed Rey’s wrist and pulled him back to her. She studied his eyes. They looked like blank slates, but Autumn could see past them. She could see the worry clouding his thoughts and she could feel the anger in him as he took a breath.

  “Why am I here?” She whispered.

  He tried to pull free of her grip, but she held strong. “Autumn, let go-”

  “Why am I here?” She asked, her voice growing louder.

  Rey shook his head violently and twisted his wrist to free her grip. “Because my mother-”

  “If your mother wanted it, then why do you do everything for her?” Autumn interrupted. “If it was your mother who wanted this, then why are you leading me through secret halls and talking about this castle like it's some disgrace to this kingdom?”

  “I- It’s…” Rey stammered.

  “Stop playing mama’s boy and just tell me what you want like a normal person,” Autumn snapped.

  Autumn could feel the irritation radiating off of Rey, and she could faintly see his blue eyes flashing with fury. He let out kind of a groan-sigh and then grabbed Autumn’s shoulders.

  “In this castle everyone will treat you based on what class you are. So stand up straight and don’t talk back, because here you will not find any others as kind as me,” He whispered between clenched teeth.

  Autumn pushed him away and balled her fists. She had only just gotten here and she already wanted to punch him. But she knew he was right. He’d acted like a friend since the moment they met, and though Autumn still didn’t like him very much, he’d done nothing but show her the way so far.

  He turned around and grabbed her trunk. “Fix your attitude,” He grumbled. “The queen is a handful, you won’t want to offend her.”

  Autumn sighed and followed him down the hallway. Soon they reached a small doorway that opened into a large room.

  Autumn recognized the room from the front of the castle, with a large stained glass window above a grand entrance and a tall pointed ceiling that’s shade of blue matched the blue of the spires. The floor was polished stone, and in the middle of the hall was a sparkling chandelier with more gold and jewels than Autumn had ever seen.

  Across from the window and entrance were several marble pillars, separating the grand entrance room from another hallway.

  Rey chuckled at her amazed expression. “A little different from mussel-crusted docks?” He asked.

  Autumn scoffed. She knew he meant it as a friendly joke but she couldn’t help but feel like he was teasing her small poor town. The castle was a lot richer and fancier. But nothing could ever beat the Summercross shores.

  Rey turned around and whistled to get one of the guard’s attention. “Yo! Can you talk to the lassie in charge of the rooms in the West Wing? Auts here needs a room,” Rey nodded to Autumn.

  “Auts?” Autumn asked, her voice filled with disgust.

  The guard sighed and trudged towards them. Rey gave him the handle of the trunk. Once the guard started to walk away, Rey turned back to Autumn, his face filled with an emotion Autumn couldn’t recognize.

  His brows were furrowed as if he was deep in thought, but arched upwards with a look that Autumn could only describe as worry. His eyes seemed to find everything but hers, as if he were ashamed to make contact. He plucked a black feather from his wings, which were curled around him like a shell. After a moment of silence, he finally met her gaze.

  “Make sure you hold your chin up and have good posture,” He reminded her, his voice wavering slightly. “But not too high.”

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  Autumn raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed.

  “Let’s go.”

  The queen waited for the two of them in one of the many grand lounges spread throughout the castle. Rey called this one the East lounge, which was the fanciest of all of them and was located closest to the entrance of the castle.

  The lounge was roomier than any of the other rooms they’d passed by, with dark brown walls and mahogany furniture. Leather couches were scattered around the room, each with a table and a gorgeous golden lamp. Small bookshelves hung in corners of the room, each filled with books so thick and fancy Autumn wondered if they were only for decoration. Four rounded windows lined one of the walls, each with a pair of dark green curtains with golden tassels.

  The queen herself sat at a desk in the middle of the room, sorting stacks of papers. She wore no crown, but her jewelry and her dress made up for it. Her dress was long and elegant, colored a dark green that matched the curtains. She wore white gloves adorned with golden rings on each finger, and pearls decorated her earlobes and her neck. She wore the same golden band as Rey, only hers was studded with diamonds and other colored jewels Autumn could not name. Her wings were bright white, whiter than any wings anyone in Summercross had. Sprinkled among her white feathers were golden ones, shimmering in the candlelight. She had the same face as Rey, only her eyes were gold. She sat up straight, her chin held so highly Autumn doubted she could read the papers below her.

  Autumn could feel her heart beating fast in her chest. She’d always had so much anger towards the queen because of what she’d done to her family, but now all she felt was fear. No wonder the only ones brave

  enough to fight back were unidentified. Autumn would never have the courage to stand up against her.

  Rey cleared his throat to get the queen’s attention, though she did not look up.

  “Mom…” Rey paused to take a deep breath, and as Autumn studied him, she wondered if he was even more scared of the queen than Autumn was.

  “Reynard, spit it out. I don’t have all day.” She dipped her quill in ink and began to scribble on a sheet of paper.

  “Uh… A-Autumn is here,” He stammered.

  The queen looked up from her paper and greeted Autumn with a smile, though it looked more like a victorious smile rather than a welcoming one.

  “I’m glad you’ve made it,” She told her. Her voice was thick and full, and her accent was strong and sharp. She spoke as if everything she said was a lesson, like she was instructing Autumn to do something.

  There was an awkward pause before someone else spoke.

  “When will Autumn be joining us for dinner?”

  Autumn had heard of the princess, but she had never seen any pictures and she did not know her name. The princess sat criss-crossed on one of the couches in the corner of the room, reading a book. Her hair was long and bouncy with tight curls, and she had white strands of hair framing her face. Unlike Rey and her mother, her neckpiece was silver. She wore simple jewelry and a pair of satin pants, and a shirt that hung around her as if it weighed nothing. She was gorgeous.

  Rey whipped around to look at the princess.

  “She’s joining us for dinner?” He asked.

  Autumn could feel the anxiety in his voice, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around why he’d be so nervous. He was all confident and fearless and now- standing in the same room as the woman who’d raised him for eighteen years- he looked like he was terrified for his life.

  The queen inhaled sharply and set her quill in her bottle of ink.

  “Yes, Reynard. That’s what we did with Keyne.”

  “But we don’t do this for other guards. What makes Autumn different?” Rey locked eyes with the princess as if to plead for help.

  Autumn did not look forward to dining with royalty, but why would Rey dread it? She studied him, the way his shoulders were tense and his hands were fidgeting and his bottom lip curled.

  The queen rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply. “Just give her the schedule and take her to her room. I’ve argued about this with you enough.”

  “But-”

  “Reynard!” She yelled, making everyone in the room flinch. Her voice seemed to carry through the whole castle, making the walls shake.

  Rey ducked his head and shot a glare at his sister, before grabbing Autumn’s wrist and dragging her out of the lounge.

  After the door had shut behind them, Autumn stopped walking and pulled free of him.

  “The hell was that?” She hissed.

  Rey looked up at the ceiling and dragged his hands down his face with a groan. “My mother.”

  “Why are you so scared of her?” She asked, softening her tone.

  Rey shook his head. “You don’t know what she’s done.”

  Autumn opened her mouth to ask for more details, but she shut it before the words came out. It was clear that there was more to the picture. There was so much Autumn was missing. But the only thing making it weird was Rey.

  He was friendly and then he was sad. He was angry and then he was welcoming. He was annoyed and then he was afraid. He switched up for every person he met, and it made Autumn wonder what part of him was real. It made her not want to trust him at all.

  Rey sighed. “Let’s go.”

  Autumn followed Rey down the neverending castle halls, listening to his tips about navigating and scheduling. The castle seemed to change every few steps; every window being a different shade of glass and every archway being painted a different color. Bright lanterns hung in between every arch in the ceiling, and balconies lined the halls. Flowers grew in little boxes, and candles sat on detailed tables on every other balcony.

  On the right side of the main hall to the rooms the balconies overlooked the stables, and on the left was the arena that Autumn would be training in.

  Rey explained that practices would be early in the morning so the sun would be blocked by parts of the castle. While Autumn didn’t like the idea of waking up at five in the morning, she appreciated that they would be out of the heat.

  Once they reached the end of the hallway, Rey led her up a grand staircase to the West Wing.

  “Most soldiers don’t get a room here until they’ve become a knight or some kind of guard,” Rey explained when they reached the entrance arch. There were no doors to the hallway, only a large sign that read “WEST WING.” The hallway stretched on for what looked like forever, with a large stained glass window in the distance.

  “Why do I get one then?” Autumn asked.

  Rey furrowed his brows. “Keyne.”

  Autumn sighed, wishing for more of an answer. But she felt like she’d already asked too many questions.

  Rey shoved his hands in his pockets and walked slowly down the hallway, bouncing on the ball of his foot with each step. They’d been walking down the hallway for about three minutes when Rey finally found her room.

  The door was grand, with a golden handle and the Alondran crest carved into the dark wood. Autumn felt like royalty just reading her name above the frame, printed in gold lettering.

  Rey chuckled. “Fancy, isn’t it?”

  Autumn pushed it open, gasping as her room was revealed. It was massive, with a king-sized bed and a large window with velvet curtains. Her trunk sat closed at the foot of her bed and a basket of fruit rested on her desk.

  She turned around to look at Rey, who stood awkwardly in the doorway, his lips pursed.

  “I’m uh… I’m the last door on the left in the East Wing if you ever need me,” He said. “Dinner will most likely be tomorrow night. Training starts a day after.”

  Autumn nodded. “Thanks.”

  Rey opened his mouth to say something, but he licked his lips instead and blew out a breath.

  “See you tomorrow.” Then he closed the door and left Autumn to herself.