Chosen

Part Five

The carriage jerked to a halt and Vladimir’s leering face appeared. I sat up quickly trying to move away from Sebastian. I swiped my hand across my face trying to hide the tears. He just laughed.

     “Isn’t this touching? I’m sorry everything is so hard on you darling, but that’s just the way it’s going to be.” He laughed again and started to walk away. “We’re here. Get your stuff; we will not be using the carriage again.”

     Sebastian jumped out of the carriage and helped me out, holding my hand. I smiled uncertainly.

     “Don’t worry.” He whispered leaning into me and whispering in my ear. “He’s always like this. You just have to forget he’s even here.” He breathed in deeply and shuddered, moving away quickly and looking ashamed. “I will get our things. You go ahead.” He walked around to the other side not looking at me.

     I turned to see where we were going to stay. I had expected a small roadside inn, not what was looming in front of me. A huge castle inlaid to the mountains with tall towers rising up stood before me. It was a dark stone with a courtyard that lead inside. I was not expecting this. But something nudged in the back of my head. There was something about this place. Like I should know what it was but I couldn’t remember. Oh well.

     I took my time up the rocky terrain leading to the courtyard. I saw Vladimir’s confident form entering the castle as the large doors swung open for him. I warily approached them not sure what to do or where to go. The doors swung open for me too and I stepped into a torch lit corridor. I gazed around at the high arches in the ceiling and the ancient stonework.

     My shoes tapped against the floor breaking the eerie silence. I left the corridor to find myself in a great room with massive pillars holding up the incredibly high ceiling. Stairways branched off the room leading to the other towers. Whoever used to live here must have entertained many guests to have something this big. I could tell it used to be very fancy for there were chandeliers and great red velvet drapes. The floor was checked marble and the staircases had what looked like crystal banisters. But now it was dusty and covered in cobwebs. I shuddered slightly hoping there weren’t giant spiders.

     I heard a noise behind me and swung around only to find Sebastian carrying a great load of trunks. I hurried over to him, not sure what to do. He glanced at me but continued to walk over to one of the staircases.

     “Your room is up here. Just follow me.” I didn’t know what to do so I followed him up the steps.

     “Do you want me to take something?” I asked reaching for a small trunk. He looked at me and shrugged his shoulders.

     “Whatever you would like to do, Princess.” I took the trunk and lugged it upstairs. We came to a long hallway with doors lining all sides of it. He continued down the hall until he reached the last door on the left.

     “Here we are.” He smiled. I opened the door and gasped. The chamber was huge! A large canopied bed was in the center of the room. Another door showed a washroom. A vanity table and wardrobe was against the wall. Large Turkish rugs covered the rushes on the floor making a nice bouncy cushion to walk on.

     Sebastian brushed past me smirking. He set my trunks down and turned back to facing me.

     “Very grand. Don’t you think?” He started to walk away and then paused in the doorway, leaning against the door frame his arms crossed. He looked troubled.

     “What is it? Is something wrong?” I asked afraid of what he was going to say. He opened his mouth to say something and then abruptly shut it. A slow smile curved his face again.

     “Enjoy your room.” He said turning away. “Dinner is in an hour.” His voice echoed down the hallway. I sank into the mattress and sighed. I looked around the room and shivered. Something wasn’t right about this place. There was something dark here and I didn’t like it. I laid down and closed my eyes, relaxing and letting my body stretch out from the carriage ride. The next thing I knew I was in a deep sleep.