Evmor: The Calling

Chapter 21

I was feeling up to it and decided to write even more. Why the hell not? So here's another chapter today!

Chapter 21

I tugged at the high neckline as I was marched down countless corridors, trying to stretch it enough so that it wouldn't feel like the dress was choking me. Of course the Atramentos would choose the most uncomfortable dress to put me in.

It was made of a rich material the color if wine, and it was tight, only flaring out a little from the knees to allow me to actually walk. The rest fitted closely to my body and I pulled self-consciously at it once in a while. The worst part was the high neckline, covering my entire throat and I felt I was being suffocated little by little.

I had scrubbed myself as best I could with the basin of water that had arrived with a sponge, but I still felt disgusting. I had yanked my hair into a high ponytail after wrestling with it for several minutes with a borrowed strip of cloth.

The slippers that had been lent to me were a size too big, and I kept tripping on them. Every time I did, I tried to make it seem as if nothing had happened. But from the amused glances the guards around sent me, I could tell they had seen my numerous failures.

Despite my determination to stay unperturbed by the prospect of dining with King Maurus, my stomach knotted up the entire time I was walking towards the dining hall.

And of course there was the unforgettable Erebus.

I inwardly rolled my eyes at myself at how I was acting with just the thought of him. I had to get it through my thick head that there was nothing going on and that nothing was going to happen. That thought made the pit of my stomach go cold.

Pushing it aside I focused on what was going to happen in a few minutes. I didn't know what to expect. Would King Maurus torture me in dinner? What was his purpose in inviting me? Was it just an act of kindness? Somehow I highly doubted the last thought.

The guards around me halted, bringing me to a sudden stop as well. I cast my gaze around and found that we were now standing in a circular hall with a high ceiling and dark walls. On the other side, a door was set into the wall, this one much smaller than the previous ones I had seen in the castle.

A single guard marched up to the door and knocked firmly twice. The sound echoed across the empty hall, ricocheting off the bare wall. Everyone waited in tense silence, watching the door with cautious eyes.

The door swung open as a young girl stepped out. She was truly stunning, her hair a bright green, her arms lined with beautiful vines that had tiny buds of flowers that had yet to bloom. But her beauty was overshadowed by her timorous attitude, her eyes darting to and fro, her every movement skittish. She wrung her hands in front of her and my chest constricted to see how young she was. She was probably Emilie's age.

"This way miss," she addressed me, and I stepped forward with hesitant steps. I couldn't guess what waited on the other side of the door but the girl's nervouse energy affected me too.

Despite the fear twisting my stomach, I pushed my shoulders back and lifted my chin, a show of defiance and refusal to submit. Like that I continued my way forward, taking care to not stumble on my slippers.

My steps seemed to echo throughout the hall and I inwardly winced every time it was thrown back at me. Everyone else around me was as still as a statue, not daring to so much as breathe. Not even they knew what was going to happen.

Heart pounding a mile a minute, I gingerly stepped across the threshold.

I had expected to find myself in a grand and imposing room, something like the throne room had looked like, but this place was different. It was still large but comfortably furnished with couches tucked into the corner with tea tables. There were stacks of books on the floor around the room, evidence of someone's appreciation of literature. Pictures of nondescript hills and houses were hung on gilded frames across the wall, accompanied by a few swords used for decorating.