The Incredibly Consequential Life of Charlie Zappala

Chapter Eleven: A Charlie in King Orchid's Court

Charlie waited until it felt safe enough to open their eyes.

The two were in the black room again. Nothing was moving. Everything was quiet. Charlie stood up. The herald was already headed to the door. The internal debate on the merits of following through with this began to heat up again before the realization of their lack of choices or direction quelled it immediately. They followed without further protest.

The eerily hooded figures were still in the room—same in number and robe color—but they had rearranged their seating, like some weird cultish version of musical chairs. Charlie was instantly unsettled.

Just beyond the exit, however, stood a more pleasant familiar face.

"Charlie!" Althea greeted.

"Oh, hey." They waved. "Good to see you again. Glad you remembered my name."

She giggled. "It is good to see you as well."

"So, uh, what'd you call me back here for? Evil dragon terrorizing the land, quest for the Holy Grail, someone committed tax evasion?"

She led him out of the room—without any commentary from the robed figures—and down a long castle corridor. "No, no, it's nothing quite that serious. My father has returned from his journey abroad and requested to see you immediately."

They furrowed their brow. "You brought me back for a meet and greet?"

"Well, you can't really blame him," she spoke, words nearly tripping over one another in a hasty delivery. "He was the one who authorized the mission to find you and if you really will serve us in such a way that was predicted, it would only make sense for him to meet you as soon as he possibly could. My word was only able to convey so much when I told him."

Their expression remained unchanged. "I mean, I guess that makes sense. It just seemed like a lot of trouble to go through for something so minor."

"Oh, it really is no trouble," she assured. "Now that we know where you are located, locating you and bringing you here is really quite simple."

"If you say so." They shrugged. Perhaps they should have felt more off-put by the idea that a whole slew of creepy magical robed dudes knew where they lived, but also, they owned a cell phone, so was it really that different than the standard issue surveillance state?

They continued down the hall, but turned in a spot Charlie was unfamiliar with. It led to a narrowed—but in no way less austere—hall with silk blue and gold banners with an unfamiliar crest draped every so many feet. Midway through sat a large indoor fountain, reminding Charlie of why they thought this place looked like a mall.

At the end of the hall was a door nearly thirty feet tall. Its wood composition didn't quite align with the mall aesthetic, but its gold trim and intricate carvings did the work they needed to in order to convey its magnitude. The carvings portrayed figures and told stories unknown and meaningless to Charlie. They had to look away before they got lost in it.

Two guards stood on either side. Charlie could only assume that was the throne room.

"This place is insane," they breathed.

"I suppose the size and scope could be quite maddening," Althea agreed.

Once they reached the end of the hall, Althea spoke up to the guards. "If you would, please."

They complied with a bow and each reached for two levers located on each side of the door, each comically large and neatly carved like mahogany banisters ticking out at a forty-five degree angle. The resistance they were met with when they pulled the levers down gave Charlie the impression that they would probably never be able to operate them—they looked far too heavy for their noodle arms.