Forgotten Vale

Chapter 6

Several hours after they were all fully rested, they set off again for the castle. In fact, they reached the castle much quicker than expected. Lucas greeted the gatekeeper, making sure to state his full title. The gatekeeper let them in without any hesitation. The four companions walked into the castle after Lucas greeted the guards. Pippa looked around at the splendor of the castle. Rich purple tapestries and portraits of former kings covered the walls. Despite the obvious beauty of the castle, there was a certain darkness about it. A feeling of depression seemed to have settled over all the servants. There were no smiling faces or cheerful banter.

Pippa glanced over at Lucas and noted that he also seemed surprise by the lack of cheerfulness.

"I know that everyone is still mourning the death of Father, but this seems a bit excessive!" Lucas whispered to Ashton.

"Something's wrong," Ashton replied. "This is not how you left things."

Peter drew closer to Pippa, placing a hand over his dagger instinctively. That's when he appeared. Tall, dark, and with an air of importance.

"Ah, Cousin Tiberius," Lucas greeted the man warmly. "I trust you didn't have any problems while I was gone?"

"No problems at all, your highness," Tiberius replied with a slightly amused smile. Pippa felt an immediate dislike for him. He seemed fake, and guarded. He turned towards Pippa and smiled charmingly.

"You must be the princess," he said, extending his hand towards her. "I apologize, your name has slipped my mind."

"It's Pippa," she replied. "Just Pippa."

Smiling, he took her hand and placed a light kiss on the top of it. She supposed he meant to impress her but it only fueled her disgust. She buried her feelings, however, and did her best to smile back.

"Well seeing as everything is in order, I think I will show Pippa around the castle," Luke told Tiberius. "I will relieve you of your duties once we are finished."

"As you wish, your highness," Tiberius said with a deep bow. Then he turned and walked away.

As soon as his footsteps were barely audible, Pippa turned to Lucas and asked, "Whatever possessed you to put him in charge of the castle?"

"He's a good ruler," Lucas explained defensively. "He's the Count of a village several miles south of Bellendelle, and there hasn't been a single uprising since he took over.

"Yeah, he probably frightens his subjects into submissions," Pippa commented. Lucas glared at her.

"Be careful around him, Lucas," Ashton said warningly. "He doesn't seem like the forgiving type."

"What a load of rubbish," Lucas said, huffing in annoyance. "You lot are a bunch of paranoid sissies."

"Can we move on please?" Peter asked. "This place is getting creepier by the second."

Lucas led the group to the back of the castle, where more of the personal chambers seemed to be. Pippa lost track of how many staircases they passed. The longer they walked, the more she despaired of ever finding her way back to the main hall. Finally, Lucas stopped in front of a door. He pulled a key out of his pocket and unlocked the door.

"Please don't tell me you've been carrying that thing around for the past four days!" Ashton exclaimed. Lucas just grinned.

"This is your new room," Lucas said, smiling at Pippa. "I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of hiring you a maid."