Destiny of Sapphire - Book One: The Baron and His Elf

Chapter 4 - Kingdom of Leralath

Kingdom of Leralath

Blake fought with whoever was attacking and felt his fist connect with a jaw. “SIR! Wake up!” was all he heard. Struggling to open his eyes, he saw Argos rubbing his jaw that was starting to swell.

“Argos! I’m so sorry!” he jumped to his feet. Argos waved his concern away and informed him that his bath was ready. Seeing that he was immobile, he realised that he had to give Argos the permission, “Go get some ice on that jaw, Argos.” Still rubbing his jaw, he bowed and closed the door behind him.

The hot bath was doing wonders to his aching body. Feeling his muscles being soothed, he stepped out and looked at the attached bathroom for the first time. It was much more spacious than he thought and the bathtub that he used was actually fitting to his long form. He was rather tall, 1.7 metres was nothing to boast about but it helped in climbing over fences when he evaded being arrested years ago. That life as now over. He had a new life to look forward to although he didn’t know what would happen. Perhaps, he mused to himself, that I should give this new situation an objective look.

Satisfied with his bath, he wrapped a towel to his lower body and took another to dry his hair as he stepped out of the bathroom. Hearing a noise, he froze, with practice, he rolled the towel around his hand and moved silently towards the sound of the intruder.

The shattering of glass followed by a loud feminine gasp made him stopped in mid strike. “Miss, may I know what is your purpose here?” Blake asked quietly.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, sir! I broke the glass, sir! I was just cleaning, sir!” the poor girl was so flustered that she started blabbering and stopped when he raised his palm.

“Just clean it up and go. By the way, where do I find clean clothes?”

Pointing to another set of double doors, she curtsied and quickly cleaned up the mess. Blake opened the doors and whistled. The walk-in wardrobe was something he never had in his life and thought it belonged to girls. This was his and the clothes were in his favourite shades of black, grey and white. There was a small selection that had more colours than the rest, it was obvious that he was to dress in them for certain occasions. Their designs were more intricate too.

Deciding that he wanted to feel at ease, he selected a pair of black pants, light grey shirt and a black belt. Once he was dressed, he took a look at himself in front of the full length mirror. He wanted to style his hair but the containers looked so foreign that he choose to leave his hair as it was.

“Sir, would you like me to help you with your hair?” The brunette was still in his room. She looked ready to do anything to make up for her mistake just now. Feeling generous, Blake let her do it, it seemed to make her feel better.

Checking himself in the mirror one last time, he stepped out to explore the castle. Everything looked the same and he wondered briefly if it was a good idea without someone to guide him, just then, Argos was walking towards him. Relieved, he strode towards him, “Argos, could you guide me around here?” Argos complied and showed him around.

By the time they were at the fourth door, Blake was feeling lost, “Argos, tell me, how do I know which door leads to which room?”

“Sir... Blake,” Argos cleared his throat, “You can think of labels that would appear on the door. They will show you.”

“What?” Confusion spread across Blake’s face. “I don’t know any magic. How can I do that?”

Argos shifted uncomfortably, “You think of the labels...” he stopped when Blake clenched his jaw. “Lady Alfhild,” he bowed, a hint of relief was in his voice.