Children of the Citadel

chapter 6

Guinevere and I had scarcely unpacked our things before there was a knock at the door. It was a middle aged, male servant, there to call Guin away to some sort of business, likely related to the upcoming wedding.

I had originally resigned to wait in our bedroom for her. I stared out that window, at the courtyard, as if it was a reasonable substitute for being out there.

Surely I'm allowed to roam, I thought to myself.

I opened the door slowly, unintentionally releasing a painful creak that could definitely be heard down the entire whole hallway. The space was furnished with a long, maroon rug on dark wood floorboards.

I cringed at the unintentional noise but stepped out into the hallway nevertheless, though not until I had the chance to peek past the threshold to make sure nobody was around.

To the right, maybe fifty paces, I could see the top of the stairs in the foyer. I was more likely to run into someone important there, surely.

I started to the left, shutting the bedroom door tightly behind me and doing my best to remember exactly where it was. The only sound in the hall was the faint sound of my footsteps on the carpet and the nearly silent swooshing of the fabric of my skirt.

Until I heard the squeak of stiff shoes on hardwood.

I whipped around to an empty hallway. No - there had been something there. I saw a flash of sand-colored hair disappear down the staircase.

"Hello?" I called out meekly.

I couldn't tell if I was hearing footsteps or imagining them.

I continued on, shaking the feeling that someone had been watching me. I walked past ornate door after ornate door; the hallway seemed to go on forever.

But there was an end. There was some sort of utility staircase there, from which you could access both the floor above and the floor below.

Upper floors were for important people. That might be where Guin was, and I didn't fancy a repeat of the events of yesterday. I started downward.

It was a spiral staircase, the thick wooden railing smooth and shiny. As I descended, I began to hear noises. Voices. I reached what I believed was the first floor, but the staircase didn't stop.

I decided to continue downward. There must be a basement, given how the walls transitioned from marble and ebony wood to granite cobblestone. At the same time, the temperature in the air began to drop. I could hear distinct voices now, and metallic clanking. And the smell of food.

My stomach grumbled. I suddenly remembered that I had skipped lunch to speak with Sapphira. Were the kitchens down there?

My nose pulled me along, fingertips skimming along the stone walls at waist-height. I heard the voice of a boy. And a woman.

I turned one more curve and saw where the stairs ended, directly ahead. I hesitated, naturally, but felt more at ease down there than I would have upstairs - this level was likely for servants.

But the voice was familiar. I couldn't help but poke my head out of the stairwell.

"Valenia?" I hadn't realized I had spoken out loud until her head turned.

Her hand flew to her chest, laid flat against it. "In His Name," she hissed in surprise, but her gaze softened as she realized who it was.

My hands flew up into a defensive pose, and I stepped fully out of the stairwell. "Sorry. I'm sorry. I was just... I smelled food."

It was indeed a kitchen. The ceiling was low, made up of the identical dark cobblestone as the stairwell and the flooring. To my left, Valenia was standing near a massive countertop that spanned much of that wall. To my right, there was a series of ovens and stoves - the origin of the smell that had pulled me down here.