Algernon Black

(Chapter 15) The Castle in the Clouds

Lucy stepped out of the carriage to gape at the castle spread out before her.

"This is Attwood?" she asked, ogling the white stone grand staircase leading up to the double doors of a five-story building where pink ivy grew around hundreds of windows and balconies.

Jared stepped out, chucking. "No. This is only the girls' dorms."

He pushed past the building and Lucy followed until she was stunned into stopping. She stared blankly, trying to process what she was beholding. A short distance away from where they now stood was the true gem of the world.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Jared asked. Even after attending the school for four years the view still took his breath away. "The castle in the clouds."

Lucy didn't know what word could describe Attwood but to say it was incredible was to demean it severely.

At the very top of the tallest mountain in all of Emora, the last good king carved out his fortress and didn't sacrifice any of its height. The shining white stone peaks reached so high into the sky it looked like it was part of a falling star and Lucy wondered if this was the connection between the world and heaven.

"King Leviathan wanted his students to live amongst the clouds, so they reached for more than just the sky," Jared explained after a few more reminiscing moments.

"What is there to reach once you've touched the sky?" Lucy asked, still staring in pure amazement.

"The stars."

From how far into the sky the castle reached, Lucy thought maybe they already had.

Jared knew the true details were only seen upon closer inspection and made the school magnificent past just its size. It had exquisite designs on every single arch, curve, and slope overrun with rich flora as could be seen in the courtyards mixed in between the endless rooms and hallways of the castle. The king had designed it to house enough students to accommodate a small city, but that had long ago diminished to close to nothing, as most of the castle collected dust over students.

"Some say when the king finished the school the gods came to rest here after finally having a palace worthy enough to live in," Jared said. "And to this day they still sleep, which is why they haven't bestowed their power onto any other in the last thousand years."

Of course, they did, Lucy thought, because something like the palace before her eyes was only suitable as a home for the gods.

After a few more minutes, Jared hurried Lucy to get her settled in. The girl's dorms opened to the first-floor loft where leather couches and oversized chairs faced each other on long rugs of reds, oranges, and browns. Some of the girls sat there now, falling quiet when Lucy walked in. They sized her up, looking amongst each other for answers about who she was. Lucy smiled back. They ignored it, believing if they didn't recognize her right away then she wasn't important enough to know.

Jared gestured Lucy up the staircase to the second floor and to the far left end of the hallway, showing her he room before leaving for the rest of her things.

Lucy noticed the chandelier and threw her magic up to light it. The room was a modest size with chalk-white walls and a deep bay window. A dark wood vanity sat on the wall across from a freshly made queen bed.

Lucy's hand graced over the blanket, processing what it felt like to have a bed she would sleep in for longer than a few nights, and a window that would show her the same view every day. Her smile grew with aevery thought that led her to believe she could make this small corner of the world her home. She got to work right away, unpacking her luggage into a wood armoire. Luckily there were leftover hangers for the few dresses she had. The rest of her shirts and tops fit into the dressers by the side of her bed. Even with the bags Jared was fetching, Lucy only had three suitcases, which was not even half of what the average girl attending would bring.