Safehaven

Chapter 11

          As Nathen led me down numerous hallways, I got a good look at the insides of the castle.  Apparently, this castle had been standing for centuries.  Old, brittle stone aches stood proudly about every 100 feet.  Tapestries on the walls depicted knights in battle and crests of old.  The artwork billowed in the drafty breeze given off by large stained glass windows that opened onto the view of the forest canopy below.  All together, the castle was awesome!  The mess hall had several long table situated in rows, and a specially garnished table sat at the head of the room with a golden hight-backed chair.  I wondered who would sit there.  Nathen and I walked passed by an open room full of kids lounging around and laughing together.  That gave me a little hope.  It wasn’t just me that had a burden to carry.  My friends and I were all in this together.  Finally, my guide stopped me outside of a plane wooden door.  He slowly opened it and stepped aside.  I didn’t even have time to brace myself before a streak of blond struck me in the chest and held tight.  I gasped, trying to breathe back in the air that had just been forced out of my lungs.  “I missed you so much!”  Jada cried, burying her face in my robes.  Her tears stained the silvery fabric black.  Jada looked up, into my face and let go of my waist.  “Where have you been?”  She scolded, wagging a finger at me.  I had to chuckle at little.  With all that we had been through in the past 24 hours, Jada still had the nerve to scold me like a mother would a child.  Behind the girl, I could make out my other 4 friends.  They were sound asleep in the warm glow of a fire.  Some lay strewn on the floor, while others huddled on what little furniture there was. Just the sight of their sleeping forms gave me new hope and peace.  I glanced back at Jada.    Even though tears had woven streams down her dirt stricken face, she smiled with childish glee, eyes brimming with joy.  Nathen shuffled his feet and cleared is throat.  "Badon wishes you all a good rest of the night and would like you to know that the ceremony will take place after breakfast tomorrow.”  With that, he strode away.  I wondered what had gotten into him.  Before, he had been all cheerful and happy.  Now, however, he was strict and stately.  Why the change?  Jada pulled my back into the real world.  “What ceremony?”  She pondered.  She narrowed her eyes at me, like I had some great secret, which I sort of did.  “Come sit with me by the fire and you can explain your part of the story to me.  I’ll do likewise.”  Side by side, we shut the door and snuggled up close to the warm flames.  With knees tucked under her chin, Jada told me her part of the story.  Her and the other 4 had woken up in a room similar to the one that I had.  Staying there for what seemed like hours, a strange man finally came for them and asked many questions.  Who were they?  How did they get there?  Where were they from?  Eventually, the inquiries ceased and the little group had been taken to this room and had stayed there since.  Compared to my story, hers was simple and boring.  I began in the chambers where I had woken and found Nathen.  Jada was surprised when I mentioned Nathen.  She had thought he had perished long ago, but was glad to hear that he was alright.  From there, I told the tale of my talk with Badon and the curious things I had learned.  Because she and I had been friends for longer then either of us remembered, I held nothing back.  I told her about where my lineage came from, who I really was.  To end, I finished with the ceremony of the stones.  For some strange reason, she seemed calm and somewhat unsurprised about the whole thing.  “I always knew that we were special.”  She yawned.  I smiled.  “Well, we were the only kids that ever blew up the old science lab.”  Jada managed a weak punch to my arm.  “You know what I mean.  But are we really all those things in the story?  I mean, I get that you are the hero and all, but who are we?”  She gestured to the other forms passed out around the room, the dancing flames shadowing their bodies.  “What roles do we have to play?”  I thought for a moment, but came up blank.  I yawned too, popping my ears.  I was too tired to think.  I could see the same thing going on with Jada.  Every so often, she would nod off then catch herself, resulting with a sharp jerk of the head.  We both silently agreed that talking could wait for later.  Right now, bedtime was calling.  Choosing a cozy spot closest to the fireplace, I curled up on a rug and lay my head on the thick fabric, admiring the smooth cloth.  “Good night, Shiloh.”  I head Jada call feebly.  The hands of sleep almost had her.  “Don’t let the bedbugs bight.”  Soon, light snoring resounded through the small room.  “Sweet dreams, Jada.”  I whispered, not caring if nobody heard.  It didn’t matter.  I had found my friends.  And from now on, none of them would leave my sight.  I would tie bells on them if I had to!  Ever so slightly, I began to drift off.  The soft crackling of the logs in the fire lulled me to sleep.  I could finally rest.  I had found what I was looking for.  At that thought, I lost the battle with sleep and drifted off, my last memory the picture of my friends faces.