Back in Time

I LOVE YOU

"We're here," Francis announced as we crossed a bridge that leads to the palace gates.

The whole castle is surrounded by a moat, which only adds to its beauty outside, but it was nothing compared to the overwhelming view inside the palace walls, the courtyard was grand, the landscapes are perfect, and there was a huge fountain in the middle, right in front of the majestic castle that Francis was talking about.

"Wow! This is breathtaking," I exclaimed.

"I'm glad you like it," Francis said with a huge grin.

I was lost for words, I couldn't think of anything to say, so I just stayed quiet and adored the scenery. It's not every day I get to visit a castle.

The car finally came to a halt, and Francis started to get off the car, he opened the door for me and we went inside the castle together.

As we were walking along the hallways, I realized it was all empty, there were no people to be seen.

"Is this how castles are supposed to be, empty?"

"No, usually this place is full of people. The castle is open to the public so tourists come here all the time. But today I closed it down so you could have a private tour of your own," Francis said and gave me a wink.

"You can do that?"

"Yeah," he replied as if I just asked him if I could borrow a penny.

Then we came to the end of the hallway, there were two huge doors and Francis opened it, "and this used to be the throne room, now we use it to host parties, charities, or any events."

The throne room has a striking appeal, there are lots of glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, on the left side is a massive staircase, and on rear end of the room are two majestic chairs, which I'm guessing is for the king and queen.

"There's something I wanted to show you, come on," Francis said as he walk up the staircase.

We ended up on yet another two huge doors. I shouldn't be surprised at all, this is an enormous castle it's only practical to have huge doors in such massive rooms. Francis opened the door the room is full of portraits, paintings and statues.

"Wow, what is this room?" I asked as I was studying the portraits on the wall.

"The museum, all the Demmartin possessions are here, the portraits, the statues, the crowns, and..." he paused, he looks a bit embarrassed of what his going to say next, "my paintings," he continued.

"You paint?" I said almost immediately, amazed of the thought of Francis painting, "did you paint all of these?" I motioned to the paintings on the wall in front of us.

"No, I painted all of those," he gestured to the paintings on the far end of the room.

I walked over to where Francis was pointing I noticed the initials on the paintings, "So you're Francis XVI huh?"

"Yes, apparently, Francis is a very popular name in our family," he said, smiling to himself. "Come on," he led me to another part of the room.

We stopped in front of a portrait of a woman who was wearing a crown and dressed like a monarch in the 16th century. Oddly enough, she looks familiar. Francis didn't have to tell me her name to let me know who this woman was.