Summer's Frost

Chapter 8

       We walked through the castle to one side of the enormous building. We had gone up two floors. Along the way, Eric gestured to different rooms; ball room, council room, dining room, and so on. The library stretched from floor one to floor three, the floor we are currently on. Along the way, I noticed they had light-bulbs, which struck me as odd. This place is so medieval, and yet it has modern inventions -- like electricity. I asked Eric about it, and he said they grew along with my world (I mentally kept a note to ask about my 'world'), but don't use everything we have. They have electricity, for example, but don't have internet. They have handheld transceivers (walkie-talkies), but not cell phones. It seems to me like the perfect blend between modern and old.

       Now, we stand in a hallway of few doors. The hallway isn't short, but the rooms are large enough that only so many can fit in each hallway. I'm across the hallway and a few doors down from Eric, in a room fit for a royal. It is against the West wall, where I can see the sun set when it gets that far. The room starts with a huge bedroom. A grand bed is in the middle of the wall facing me, a big window faces West, and a wardrobe covers half of the third wall. Next to the bed is a nightstand, and then a wide vanity table with more makeup than I'll ever use.

       A door next to the wardrobe leads into a bathroom. Thankfully, they use indoor plumbing. It's still strange to me. To have modern things such as plumbing and electricity, but still be in the castle times with kings and queens. I might normally think of the royals in Europe, but I could tell from looking out one of the large windows in the hallways that this place is still in past times. They have wood or stone roads and paths, no cement. I even got a glimpse of a carriage. I finally stop hurting my brain trying to puzzle it out, and focus on the too fancy room.

       "So? Is this OK?" Eric stands at my shoulder, hands behind his back. He's acted a lot more formal as soon as we entered that throne room.

       "OK? It's amazing," I breath. I never thought I'd sleep in a room like the one I'm in. Eric smiles, pleased.

       "I'm glad you like it." He still smiles, but I frown.

       "What's wrong?" I ask. "Ever since we got here, you're no longer as annoying. You're stiff, unhappy. I take that back -- you are annoying. Annoyingly formal." I put my hands on my hips. He raises an eyebrow.

       "Oh? And you know me so well?"

       "I'm not blind. You changed the moment we stepped through the doors. Attitude, posture, everything." He looks at me for a moment before replying.

       "Welcome to Golden Sun Palace."

       I stand by the window, looking out at the unfamiliar land. It's all green hills and trees and gardens. I learned that the big window opens like a door, opening to a terrace. I would be out there, leaning on the railing, but I feel more comfortable inside.

       Eric had left me after I settled a little more, saying he'd be back later. Being left alone in my new room, I have time to think -- and worry. Where are my parents? What time is it there? Do they know I'm gone? I know it's past lunch, sometime in the early afternoon. Mom will be home later, and I have no doubt she'll notice her missing daughter. I need to get home.

       Someone knocks lightly on the door. I don't move. "Come in," I say, not knowing what else to do. I'm not home, I can't shoo them away to let me think. The door creaks open, and Eric steps in. He's now in uniform, wearing a top similar to his father's; a stiff, buttoned, dark green jacket with medals. He has less medals than his father, and I have to wonder what each is for. His pants are straight, dark, and wrinkle slightly over his shoes.