Bound

Chapter 3

The palace hallways were just as mindblowing as the exterior. The walls were painted gold, and the floor was a polished oak. Vases of exotic flowers decorated the halls, and large portraits hung majestically, watching over everyone and everything.

"If you would follow me please, Miss Cole," George asked in a quiet monotone and without waiting for a response, he left his post by the door and took a left.

I had no choice but to follow him. After following him for what felt like hours, George finally stopped in front of two large oak doors. He opened both doors with an air of importance and stepped aside, allowing me to enter the room.

The inside looked nothing like an everyday classroom like I had expected. This room was much more airy and spacious unlike the classrooms in my village which where always terribly lit and very dusty and smelly. It also didn't have copious small wooden desks shoved in it but two plush sofas placed in the middle of the room. A middle aged man with a short, grey goatee and glasses sat on the sofa furthest from the door. But apart from that, the room was left unfurnished.

"Miss Cole, this is Sir Jenson, your royal tutor," George stated nervously. Once he had finished giving the instructions he quickly left the room.

"Miss Cole, please take a seat," He began, "I would like you to know that we are not enemies and I will treat you like a normal bound and not a animal," Sir Jenson announced. I stared at him, waiting to see if he would say anything else.

"Miss Cole, do you understand? Miss Cole, Miss Cole?" He asked snapping me out of my temporary trance.

I quickly took a seat on one of the sofas, crossing my legs. Sir Jenson sat across from me, slowly, he reached into a large leather bag he had sitting next to him and drew out a old leather book. As he placed a large book on my lap I noticed the intricate carvings on its cover.

"Miss Cole, I will make you a deal. If you read this book, I will help you escape. Just by looking at you it is obvious that you dont want to be here. So, if you finish the book by next week, I will tell you my plan. But only if you finish that book."

At that, Sir Jenson then stood up and exited the room. I looked down at the book, still confused about the proposition he had just given me. This was my chance to escape. Looking at the strange book I noticed that there wasn't a title on it, or even words, front or back, which was unusual. I opened it, wondering what was inside. What I saw amazed me. It was a picture of a wormhole.

Wormholes were rumoured to be doorways to a parallel universe, except the people who lived there couldn't use the elements. Instead, the used things called tools to build buildings, and their technology was way more advanced than ours. People said that wormholes could only be made by the royal family, who, coincedently, were all spirit bounds.

I turned the page, getting excited as I began reading. The information that I was absorbing was unbelieveable. The things that the people in the other universe had achieved. They had many different ways of speaking that were called languages. These languages determined what country you were from, whatever a country was. Here in , we spoke the same language all throughout the world. They also had governments, which set the rules for each country.

I continued to read completely enthralled by the book. I just got up to the part where it explained that people from different countries had different nationalities, when the door flew open, to reveal a very flustered looking George.

"Miss Cole, it's time for lunch."

"Coming, George." I said reluctantly, placing the book down and following him through the many corridors.

After walking forever we finally made it to what seemed like the Dining Hall. George pushed open the large doors and I stepped in. I noticed a long wooden table set for two and a large flickering fire. Sitting in a chair at the head of the table was Head Councillor Octavian. George ushered me into the spot next to him, before dashing off to see how long the chef was going to be with our lunch.

"Bria, what a pleasure to see you again. I hope you enjoyed your lesson with Sir Jenson," Head Councillor Ocatvian asked, obviously trying to make small talk.

"I quite enjoyed the lesson actually. In fact, I can't wait for my next lesson." I said, remembering the deal that Sir Jenson and I had made earlier today.

"That's always good to hear. I hope you have settled in the palace well."

"I believe I have."

"If you have any problems I'm sure I can help, I'm at your disposal."

Luckily for me before I could answer his request, our lunch arrived, and we ate in silence. Once I had finished eating, I told Head Councillor Octavian that I had some studying to attend to, and left the dining hall. I eventually found the classroom and picked up my book. I decided to read in my room, since nobody would be able to disturb me in there.

The week came and went like the blink of eye and I continued eating lunch and dinner in the Dining Hall with Head Councillor Octavian, and had been eating my breakfast in the kitchen with the chef. The chef was a kind lady, and she knew the best recipe for pancakes. I continued reading the book, only stopping when I was summoned by George.

Then finally, it was time for my lesson with Sir Jenson. I made my way down to the room that I had recently discovered was called the Recreational Room. I opened the doors, seeing that Sir Jenson was already seated and waiting for me. I immediately sat down, not wanting to waste any time at all. Sir Jenson looked at me with a twinkle in his eye, waiting for me to say something.

"I finished the book, Sir Jenson. It was really interesting. I didn't want to stop reading it,"

"That's very interesting, Miss Cole. Have you managed to guess what my plan is to help you escape the palace then?"

"No. I haven't. And why did you ask me to read the book? I know that it was interesting, but what relevance does it have to helping me escape the palace?"

"Well, to answer your question, Miss Cole, that book has everything to do with my plan to help you escape. You do know that only spirit bound can open wormholes, and I just so happen to be spirit bound."

"Wait. Your telling me that you'r a spirit bound? But how does Head Councillor Octavian not know about this!"

"He doesn't now about it because I tampered with his memories. He now thinks that I'm an water bound. But back to the plan. Since I'm a spirit bound, I will make you a portal tonight. I have already organised for me to stay the night and... ,"

I cut him off.

"But wormholes aren't real. They are stories that you tell around a fire, not realistic things that can actually take people to different dimensions, let alone universes!"

"That's the thing, Miss Cole. You have been fooled into thinking that. The Council doesn't want its citizens knowing that there is more than one universe out there, in fact millions."

"And how do I know that you are tellng the truth?"

"The book that you just read, I wrote that book. I wrote it based on my travels between the different universes and dimensions. Although, the Council wouldn't let me publish it, even if they knew. In fact, I acquired all that information by becoming one of them for, how many years was it? Yes, for about twelve years. The things that are in that book I have seen with my very own eyes. And Miss Cole, a wormhole is your best chance of escaping this place."