Amidral: No Promises Exist

The Palace

Flowers. There were flowers nearby, and they couldn't help but sniff the air a little more as the trees of the forest began to disappear. The scent was strong but not unpleasant. Even if they knew roses, carnations, or tulips, they wouldn't have been able to differentiate them; it was a mix of many fragrances, some sweet and others bitter. Both children looked outside, searching for the source of the scent. The queen smiled faintly; at least her tension had eased a bit, and she could see that childlike sparkle in their eyes. She gently stroked the forehead of the third child, who was too busy breathing to have noticed the field of flowers when they left the forest.

The meadow was vast and sunny, filled with colors and a network of streams that injected it with life. In the distance, the trees looked small. Nothing disturbed the expanse, except for the dirt road where the carriage traveled. Soon, the bumps of the vehicle lessened as the ground became smoother, and the dirt was replaced by polished stones in silver and gray hues. Finally, after moving for a few minutes, the end of the road was revealed: a castle with orange roofs and four towers came into view. The main door, tall and made of ochre wood, was reached by climbing a long stone staircase in front of a central fountain.

The carriage stopped right at the foot of the stairs, and with George in the King's arms, they entered the fortress, leaving behind the horned giant and his strange animals that pulled the carriage. The interior was spacious and very clean; it seemed capable of housing hundreds of people, but except for them and a blue-haired maid, the castle was empty. There were several statues, two thrones in the middle of the room, and more imposing stairs which they climbed once the king ordered them to be directed to the infirmary by the woman who had greeted them.

Upon reaching the third largest tower, they climbed a few floors up the spiral staircase to a spacious and comfortable room with archaic decorations and windows facing east and west. George was placed on the bed while the woman who accompanied them took a cloth and a basin to clean his bloodstained face. Soon, a man in white robes with a dark hat and a briefcase entered. He took out a sort of cone which he placed against the back of the youngest and his long, strange ear, then listened to his chest, examined his eyes, mouth, chest, and abdomen. When he finished, he sighed and turned to the monarchs. Charlie and Daniel, who were waiting in a corner of the room, were sent to the hallway of the spiral stairs. They waited a few minutes until the distorted voices ceased and the man in the white robe came out. Noticing the children, he removed his hat, revealing a pair of horns, bowed forward, and apologized with regret. Until then, they hadn't noticed that his feet were shaped like hooves and his ears resembled those of an animal.

Behind him came the queen, who tried to persuade them to take her with them, but the two siblings did not move and, despite not having caused them harm, they gathered a bit further from her when she tried to extend her hand. The king came out behind her, taking her by the shoulders and leading her up the stairs. The maid came out behind with the basin and cloth stained with red. She smiled slightly before searching her pockets and leaving two sticks with one end wrapped in paper on the ground before descending the stairs where the horned man had gone moments earlier.

By then, the daylight had faded, and only the dark hallway and the door to the lit room remained. When they entered, George was already tucked in bed, facing away from the entrance, so his siblings thought he was asleep as they settled in to rest. The reality was that his eyes couldn't stop crying from what he had heard, a neglect on the part of those present who believed he had fallen asleep or wouldn't understand.

The days following their arrival were a slow routine not worth mentioning. Each morning, afternoon, and evening, the blue-haired woman brought food for the children, who refused to leave the room without their brother, who seemed relieved to rest in a bed. In Daniel's mind, it was necessary to find weapons with which to defend themselves, but the King had already deduced his particular personality, removing any objects with that kind of potential from the room. Charlie was content as long as they weren't harmed, and George... well... he tried to eat everything the woman offered him.