TERRITORY WARS: The Royal Ballads (On Hold)

Chapter 3: The Hidden Room

Chapter3: The Hidden Room

He lost the King at the third staircase. The old man was vigorously searching for something or someplace. Losdir could not be sure.

The King's castle was a maze for people who didn't know their way. There were too many hallways, chambers and doors. But Losdir had lived here for a decade; he knew his way well enough. Some of the doors had the royal symbol on their surface: a sword bent upside down with unknown symbols scribbled on it and half concealed by a silver veil which hid a bit of the hilt and the symbols.

Why a sword was so special, Losdir didn't know and never bothered to ask.

The third floor was almost empty. Only maids walked the place dusting and cleaning here and there. The fourth floor was empty altogether. Losdir remembered here vividly; it was through here he walked the roofs. The fourth floor looked out unto all four corners of the castle and the windows were so huge Losdir would sit on them and watch what happened below. Most times, he would go out through the windows to run along the roofs to other towers.

But, where is the king?

He walked further into the hallways, twisted here, turned there, tried doors (most were locked, others empty). Then he saw something odd - a door painted with many colors. He had never seen this door even once when he lived here in the castle. Losdir could swear the door was whispering to him.

"Come, come," it said.

Come, Losdir did. When he grabbed the handle, his hands tingled and his ears straightened. He looked left, then right, saw no one and twisted the knob.

"Whoa..." Losdir breathed.

He had never seen so many wisps in one place. They were like small tufts of cloud floating lazily about the room. They were coloured too, some blue, some red, some a mixture of both. There were so many colors, even colors Losdir had never seen. The room looked ghost-like, as though it was fading and shimmering but it glowed and when Losdir touched the walls, it felt real.

"This is not the throne room."

Yet there at the other end of the room, was the Elven throne with three steps leading to it. The wisps continued to dance lazily around the room and occasionally some settled on objects. Losdir grabbed a red one and saw a face in it.

A young man-elf with curious eyes and a long but weary face stared at him through the wisps. For a second, Losdir thought it was a staring competition so he stared back. The young elf did not blink. Losdir did.

He crunched his face up at the elf and snorted.

I'll poke your eyes elf.

"Don't!"

That made him stop. He was inches away from poking the fluffy wisp. The King was behind him now clasping him by the shoulder.

"Don't poke it," he said calmly now, "Let it go."

Losdir released it and watch it turn a deep blue.

"What are they?"

"Whispering wisps, Losdir," said the King. He looked just as weary and tired as the young elf in the wisps but a smile somehow cloaked his.

"Whispering..." Losdir said thoughtfully, "Why haven't I seen this room before?"

The King had his hands behind his back. He looked Losdir in the face.

"This room was lost a long time ago," he said.

"Is this-"

"Magic?," the old man finished, "It is that. The hall of ages, Pallam called it. I saw it once in my days. We may never see it again, Losdir."