Chapter 9

From the outside, the imposing monstrosity of a building led Hayley to expect the inside to be just as cold and imposing. She was wrong. After staying with her grandmother for 5 years and then being at Crestwood, Hayley had become accustomed to luxurious surroundings. But this castle took luxury to a whole new level. In a brief scan of the room, Hayley noticed that nearly everything around her was made of gold or, at the very least, gold-plated—the basin in the corner of the room, the mirror above it, the candlesticks placed throughout the room.

The bench cushion where Hayley sat under the window was thick and soft and covered in burgundy damask with a subtle flower pattern embroidered with gold thread. A matching chair sat at the desk in the corner near the fireplace.

The bed was massive. So huge, in fact, that she had to use the steps at the side of the bed—dark cherry wood to match the frame—to climb into it. It was covered in a beautiful ivory velvet duvet with the same gold embroidery as the bench and chair cushions. The sheets were gold silk, as were the innumerable throw pillows that covered the top quarter of the bed.

Hayley wanted nothing more then to burrow under the many layers of bedding, go to sleep, and wake up in her old room in Houston. She'd give anything to have her normal life back, to have her parents back. But she knew that wasn't an option.

She looked back out the window, down at the courtyard where the guardsmen were training. Her eyes were drawn to the man in the middle of a field. Not because she found him overly attractive. She was too far away to be impressed by the chiseled face and the piercing green eyes that had all of the women of Taldor half in love with him. It was his intensity that had grabbed her attention. Even from so far away, she could feel how focused he was on his opponent. Despite the fact that he fought someone twice his size, he was clearly the better fighter. Hayley watched him take down his opponent in less than one minute and was impressed with his skill and efficiency.

After helping his opponent stand from where he'd landed on the ground after a well placed kick to his stomach, the winner turned to the rest of the men and began talking. It was clear from their rapt attention that this was a man who they listened to and respected.

Hayley continued to watch as he paired them up and demonstrated the moves he had just used to defeat his opponent. They looked strong and disciplined. But Hayley knew it would take more than strength and discipline to win this battle. Letting the drapes fall back to cover the window, she rose from the bench with a sigh.

"Well Grandmother," Hayley whispered as she walked out of the room to find the others, "I guess it's time to see if all of your hard work was worth it."

"In truth, Rhia, I thought you were just making this up. I never expected anyone to actually come."

"Aye. I had almost come to believe that I was making it up myself." She took a sip of her wine and looked out the window to the courtyard where some of the guardsmen continued to train. "They are not quite what I was expecting though. They do not really seem like warriors, do they?"

"Definitely not. Those scrawny things could not fend off an attack from a flea, let alone an evil demigoddess and her army."

"Surely, there must be more to them than meets the eye. Why else would the Goddess have sent them?"

"Hmm. I guess only time will tell. In the meantime," he briskly drained the last of his ale and set the mug back on the table with a thud, "I have some work to do with real warriors." Wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve as he rose, he headed back out to the courtyard.

"Yes well, try not to badger them to death before it is time to fight. I have a feeling we will need all the help we can get."

"You are surely right about that, Princess," he returned, his lip pulled tight in a grim smile. "All the help we can get and then some."

"Oh, and Kellen," He looked back, his brow raised in question.

"Do try to remember to wear something nice to dinner. We have guests."

As if he needed a reminder. The thought of their "guests" did nothing to lift his spirits.