When Angels Fall

Chapter 10 - A New Home

Alina

Klara was no lady. She was the house stewardess. Alina realized that just a few moments after she had entered her new home. It was a large stone house with high gated walls and a vast courtyard that could accommodate a small army. It could have even passed as a small castle, Alina mused as she followed Klara, looking around her at the endless gardens that surrounded the grand building, bathed in red hues of a setting sun.

Tall arched windows and vine-covered pillars greeted them on the outside, while an impressive great hall greeted them on the inside. It was not as large or as high as Nordenvania's great hall, but it was generously furnished with long red tapestries hanging from the walls. A few balconies overlooked them from above, but there were no hanging swings or benches like there had been back in the North.

The hall was still quite spectacular for a house, but the one thing that shocked Alina most was the wide set of stairs that stood at the opposite end in full display. Thick red carpeting covered the whole flight of the perfectly aligned steps and fine floral engravings adorned the impressive railings. To give much attention to stairs, furthermore building them right in the middle of a great hall, was something she had never seen before. Back in the north, stairs were crudely built for the use of slaves, always hidden at the back of the keep within the sky tower.

Alina followed Klara silently, still wondering why the stairs were so grand. Perhaps the Lord had a broken wing, or perhaps he was too old to fly...

They went down another flight of stairs that led them to the basement. Alina's heart started to pound as she followed Klara through a dark passage where the faint flames of distant torches barely showed them the way. They stopped before a large wooden door, and as it opened, Alina was greeted by a sudden wave of warmth. The next moment, Klara had grabbed her inside and shut the door behind them.

Thick steam enveloped them and the trickling sound of water surrounded them from every direction. Alina squinted, and through the heavy clouds of vapor, she could finally see the large pool that lay before her, filled to the edge with steamy hot water that promised to wash away the most terrible of pains.

"Wash yourself." Klara ordered abruptly. "And be quick."

Even back in the North, Alina had never experienced such a pleasant bath. They didn't even have such a facility. Her only option had always been a small bathtub in her room filled with heated water, and she had to hurry before the water grew cold. How did they keep all the water in this pool here running hot, Alina wondered in awe as she lay with her head leaning back against the pool edge, indulging in the warmth that soothed her terribly abused body. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath as she started to relax. Whoever the Lord of this house was, he must be very rich, and definitely of nobility.

"Don't slack!" Klara's cold voice brought Alina back to reality. "And wear this once you're done."

The bath had helped Alina overcome some of her earlier dread, but still her mind was not completely functioning, and sometimes she thought she was walking inside a very big dream, that nothing happening to her was real.

Alina frowned at the ridiculous dull olive green dress she was forced to wear, apparently a servant's dress, buttoned up all the way to her neck. The only sense of beauty it held were the small ruffles that adorned the ivory apron wound around her waist.

Alina followed Klara up the stairs and through more passages. Loud giggles and chatter reached her from the end of a corridor as they approached another large door. It was wide open already, and just as Klara stood at its entrance, all the sounds inside had died in an instance, as if a sudden silencing spell had fallen over the place.