Ariadne has always been a dreamer. Her mother would always say she was away with the faeries.
Until one night, an envelope shrouded with magic lands at her doorstep, inviting her to the dance of the damned in the enchanting land of Altoria.
It's m...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Ariadne opened her eyes and kicked the air, her skin itched and burned. Then she remembered that Lena was stood not so far away, the giant tome of a book clasped in both hands.
Ariadne seethed and the words died on her tongue.
"Please, calm down," Lena handed the book to Ariadne.
Ariadne took it, and Lena went to open the only windows in the room. They were more like double doors with lead criss crossed across the panes. Lena pushed them open and they swung gently onto a flat stone balcony, with thick columns leading to a roof.
Two wicker chairs sat either side of a giant stump, a table, while a tray of glassware sat in the middle of it. Lena motioned to Ariadne. The rest of the balcony or porch was open to the air and Ariadne admired the unblemished landscape before her. It was a vineyard, full of fledgling red grapes, and dusty ground. Tiny sticks supported the newish vines beginning to grow.
The sun was slowly descending towards the horizon. They had been in the library for most of the day. Ariadne wished she could have been surprised, but she wasn't. Time was different here and she would have to adjust to it accordingly.
"Come, sit, there is plenty we must discuss," Lena held back a door.
Ariadne warily looked around her, taking in the dimly lit, but spacious room. A bed took up most of the room with gauze drapes on three sides; while a set of low, velvet covered chaises sat in a corner near a huge cabinet filled with books, and various trinkets. A soft rug covered the majority of the floor, while the rest was made of pale pinewood planks.
Ariadne had never seen this room in the castle before, from the rest of the opulent decor, and the elegant chandeliers hung from the gilded ceiling she figured this must Lena's personal chambers.
"What about Kallen?" Ariadne gripped the book tight to her chest.
Lena sighed. "He is fine, he can handle himself."
Ariadne wanted to believe her, after all Lena was his sister, but too much had happened in the last couple of hours for her to trust anyone else.
"Look, the longer you wait to find your father, the more Lorelei has a chance to sieze Altoria for herself." Lena said factually.
Ariadne gasped.
"Oh stop it! If Kallen, Seshat and I know your lineage, it will not be a secret for much longer. You can bet, by now Lorelei probably knows too."
Ariadne frowned. "That's true."
Still, she was reluctant to trust her, but she would hear her out. Ariadne sighed, and walked towards the balcony and the spare chair.
"I am glad you will at least hear what I have to say." Lena popped the cork that was in a crystal decanter and poured a glass of the red liquid sat in it.
