The last light of the Spire of Kindling died as the gate of Castle Myrkur closed. Well-armed soldiers stood guard at the gate, in the courtyard, and even inside the castle, at seemingly every hallway and every door.

The castle was lavishly decorated. Clearly no expense had been spared, as the walls were lined with tapestry and paintings framed in gold. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, decorated with glowing crystals that clearly illuminated their surroundings with a soft, golden light. Ash could barely look at them as the dense, yellow mana around them nearly blinded him.

While the courtyard of the castle was fairly small, the building itself was quite massive. They were led through a set of hallways, and up several flights of stairs before their escort finally came to a halt in front of a door. The Commander had accompanied them as well, and she still was awfully apologetic.

“These rooms are yours, your Highnesses.” She opened the door to reveal a narrow hallway with three doors. “Please make yourselves comfortable while dinner is being prepared.” She bowed at the royal siblings, then stepped away, shooting only a quick, curious glance at Ash.

Princess Aoife closed the door to the hallway behind them. “Right, pick whatever room you want. I’m taking this one,” She opened the nearest door to the entrance of the hallway. Ash waited for Daith to choose the middle door, then went to the farthest door to the entrance, and stepped inside the room.

The room wasn’t particularly large or spacious. There was a large bed, a low table and two couches, a door leading to a bathroom, and another door leading to a small and narrow balcony. The room was decorated as lavishly as the rest of the castle. Thick, fluffy carpet covered the hardwood floor, and a smaller chandelier lit the room with a soft, comfortable light. Paintings and tapestry covered the walls, and a vase filled with beautiful fresh flowers was placed atop the ornate table, along with a glass of water, a plate of fruit and some dark brown coloured cubes Ash had never seen before.

The scent of the blue and yellow flowers filled the room, relaxing Ash’s nerves even if only a little. They were small and pretty – flowers he hadn’t seen before. They probably didn’t grow in or around Serna.

The first thing to draw his gaze was the large bed. A new set of clothes had been placed atop the clean bedsheets, and a pair of boots were sitting at the foot of the bed. Ash motioned to step towards them but stopped himself before stepping on the carpet.

His boots were bloody and muddy. They were badly damaged already, they were quite old after all. He took them, and his socks off, then stepped onto the soft carpet barefoot. Were these prepared for him? Probably… Something about this bothered him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

His gaze then drifted towards the bathroom. Steam slowly came off through the half-open door. Water vapour. A warm bath.

“… that sounds nice,” He muttered with some disbelief. He put his small bag against the wall, then pushed the door open to be met with a tub filled with warm water. Several bottles of oddly coloured liquids had been placed next to the tub as well. His curiosity, and the thought of finally getting all this blood, dirt and… honestly disgusting filth off of him got the better of him.

He took his clothes off, then glanced at his reflection on the wall mirror on the opposite side of the tub. Despite Princess Aoife’s healing, The skin where his wounds were still seemed slightly weird. There was no open wound, but his skin was discoloured, and the area around it remained slightly red. Aside from the broken arm and pierced leg, she hadn’t done any more healing, so the numerous scratches and bruises were still all over his arms and legs.

His hair was also discoloured – it looked bronze with all the dirt and mud around it. He was already not very clean when he set off from Serna, all that farmwork had left him with dirt and Serenpetal pollens all over him, especially his hair. The dark coloured pollens were especially difficult to get off of hair and clothes – and they covered it wholly.

He turned around and stepped in the tub. As he soaked himself in the warm water, his eyelids grew heavy.

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The dress prepared for her was a nice thought, but she preferred to clean her own dress and wear that again. She hadn’t spent days enchanting it with protective enhancements just to throw it away because it had a few drops of blood on it.

She then sat on the couch and snacked on the chocolate cubes, waiting for Daith to inevitably knock. She didn’t need to wait long, as a knock soon sounded. “Come,” She spoke up. The door opened quietly, and her brother, dressed in a set of new clothes, stepped inside before closing the door. He walked around the low table, sat on the empty couch, then grabbed a strawberry from the fruit plate.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“You ate all the chocolate.” He pointed at the empty bowl. Aoife shrugged with a grin. “They were tasty. And I missed eating civilised human food – I never want to have to hunt for my dinner ever again!” She shuddered. Being forced to find their own food and water was terrible, then they had to boil the water and thoroughly cook the meat…

“Well, at least we made it here without any food poisoning.” Daith chuckled softly. “Though Ash seemed like he’d rather be in the woods. Did you see his expression while we passed through the grand hall?” His amused chuckle made Aoife scowl. She hadn’t paid much attention to their unintended companion after they stepped into the castle. “No,” She muttered, then shook her head. “Never mind that, what did you want?” Daith had to have come here for a reason.

Her brother’s amused smile turned into a thin line. “I’m curious about Lord Galdron. I hardly remember seeing him in the capital.”

Aoife scowled. “Lord Galdron rarely visits the capital, I only saw him twice before as well.” Once during the Crown Prince’s Ceremony of Attainment, and once during the annual ball at the turn of a new year. She didn’t remember the Lord spending much time with anyone in particular at either of these events. “What are you curious about?” To her, the Lord seemed like one of those older nobles whose only goal was to reach ascension. He didn’t seem particularly interested in worldly matters.

Daith glanced at the door, then raised his index and middle finger to his mouth. Aoife noticed the golden aura around him. It glowed faintly, then expanded into a sphere around them.

“Where does his allegiance lie?” Daith bluntly asked. His golden gaze met hers. “I don’t think you should let your guard down.”

Aoife’s lips curled up with a smile. Finally he was getting the hang of this. Finally her youngest brother had stopped blindly trusting everyone. He had become inquisitive and wary. “I won’t. But I don’t think he has many allegiances, I think he’s just seeking ascension like everybody else.” She glanced out the window, into the darkness of the night. “He’s old, despite how he looks. He probably is reaching the end of his life.” He probably didn’t have more than a couple of decades left. That was hardly enough time to reach a higher level of power.

A knock on the door startled them both. Daith made away with his spell of silence, then took a strawberry from the fruit plate. “Yes?” Aoife called out.

“Dinner has been prepared, your Highness.” A young, somewhat skittish voice spoke from the other side of the door.

Aoife started on her feet. “Let’s go,” She said to Daith as she took a shawl prepared for her and threw it over her shoulders. It would be rude not to wear at least something the Lord had so graciously prepared for her.

A young servant, waited at the hallway. She was thin, almost scrawny, and flinched as soon as Aoife stepped out of her room. She could see the young servant’s hands trembling as she curtsied. “This way, your Highness,” The girl was clearly trying her hardest to keep her voice calm, though she wasn’t particularly successful.

“Our companion.” Daith glanced at the door at the end of the hallway. “Have you not informed him?”

“He has already been taken to the dining hall, your highness.” The girl said with a skittish voice. Daith scowled, but Aoife stopped him before he could speak up. “Please take us there.”

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Ash stood in front of the mural painted on the wall. It stretched across the whole northern wall of the dining hall, from the ceiling to the floor. It depicted the Spire of Kindling, and a group of four crossing the crimson desert to reach it.

“It’s a story,” A deep voice spoke, startling Ash. “An old legend from the times when our Empire was at peace.” Ash turned around to come face to face with the owner of the voice. He was a tall man with broad shoulders. There were streaks of white in his otherwise dark brown hair. His blood red eyes reminded him those of a lion’s. “You are the Princess’ companion, are you not?” His gaze turned towards Ash, prompting the young man to take a few steps back.

This was Lord Galdron, the patriarch of the House of Galdron. A nobleman through and through – one who didn’t mind casting such a huge shadow upon the land.

The Lord’s eyes lingered on Ash before he turned back to look at the Mural. “Do you know of this legend?” He pointed at the mural with his skinny, bony hands, covered in wrinkles. Looking at his hands, Ash couldn’t help but stare at the man – he had the hands of an eighty year old, but the face of a middle aged man.

The Lord chuckled softly. “I take it you are a commoner then.” He stated, his pale lips curling up with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “… On your way to the High Tower Academy, since you’ve so clearly been marked,” He pointed at Ash’s glove, the Enforcer’s mark still glowing softly even through the dark cloth. “Am I wrong? You can speak, you know. No need to be fearful.” He chuckled, then raised his eyebrows, clearly waiting for a response.

“You’re correct, sir.” Ash finally spoke. He glanced at the door to the dining hall. Weren’t the royal siblings supposed to be here shortly? What was taking them so long? He awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, fiddling with his hair as the air grew heavier around them.

“I wouldn’t have guessed,” The Lord finally spoke again, his gaze focused on Ash’s golden hair. “You don’t look like a commoner, not with those eyes and that hair colour.”

Ash scowled. “Both my parents were farmers who never left their village, sir.” Nobles of the empire tended to have either crimson or raven black hair. Platinum hair was only common in the northernmost part of the Empire, and again, usually nobles had such hair. They took pride in its pale colour. Or so his stepmother had explained years ago. None of those colours were even similar to Ash’s hair.

“I’m inclined to disagree.” The Lord chuckled once more. “I have visited Baron Lo’Harkon a few times in the past decade, and I remember no one with your hair colour.”

Ash turned his gaze to the man. Why had he mentioned the Baron of Serna? How did he-

His thoughts got interrupted by the wooden doors swinging wide open. The royal siblings stepped inside, only to stop for a split second as soon as they saw Ash and the Lord. Princess Aoife’s eyes widened for a split second.

“My Lord,” She then said with a forced smile. “Thank you for your hospitality,”

She glanced at Ash with daggers for eyes.