Chapter 13

Her feet felt heavy as she walked along the grand corridor behind Gran. Sarah couldn't see much in the darkness. So she followed after the sound of the older woman's footsteps.

Then suddenly she almost walked straight into the woman's back, who had stopped before a large closed door.

Gran turned slightly to one side. "Well, are you going to give us some light, or are we going to continue to trek around in darkness?"

Behind her, Sarah could hear the loud groan in response before seeing a ball of light float past her towards Gran.

"Seriously? I know you can do better than that." Gran's statement hung in the air.

Sarah turned to look over her shoulder as the orb floated back towards the king. As it neared him, his illuminated face did not bode well for his thoughts.

"I gave you light. What do you want exactly?"

Sarah chuckled a little at his comment.

He gave her a wink before capturing the orb in his outstretched hand.

"Light, you idiot. Didn't those tutors of yours bother to teach you an illumination spell?" Gran groaned in the darkness.

The king shook his head as he closed his fist around the orb dining its light. "You need to say the right words to get what you want. I am not a mind reader."

Gran groaned again. "Stop acting like a child."

Sarah slowly began to turn forward once more when she stopped. Around her, the long corridor became filled with light as if it were lit by electricity and not the candles lit around her.

"Happy now?"

"Greatly. Thank you."

Sarah turned fully forward to see Gran looking around.

"It seems to be in better shape than I thought it would be."

Sarah frowned as she looked at the webs and dust that covered the walls. "It's filthy."

"Of course it is, dear. Now, let's check the throne room. Then we'll head upstairs to check the apartments." Gran limped to the massive door at the end of the corridor. "Could one of you get it, please? I'm afraid it's too much for me."

Sarah turned as the King groaned again.

"Seriously, Old Woman? You could just magic the thing open."

Gran slowly turned around. "Yes, I could, but seeing as this is not my castle. Why should I open the door to the throne room, Your Majesty?"

He then took a deep breath and turned away from the two women.

Sighing, Sarah turned to the old woman. "Gran, it might be a good idea to give him a moment. It's been a tiring day for us." She knew that wasn't exactly true, but Sarah needed to stop the fight that was no doubt on the verge of happening.

Gran looked at her for a moment, but then she began to limp towards him relying heavily on her cane. "It seems your education is severely lacking, Your Majesty."

Sarah frantically looked between them as he stood in place as she all but marched up to him. "Please don't." Speaking barely above a whispering, Sarah raised her trembling hand to her mouth.

Gran stopped and glanced back at Sarah. Sighing the old woman shook her head. "It seems it has been a long day. I'll speak with Amelia. We'll take care of it." She limped with her cane to Sarah. "What's wrong, dear?" She placed her hand onto Sarah's forehead. "You're running a slight fever." She frowned. "We need to get you back. I'll need to give you some tea to help it."

Sarah frowned. "I feel fine."

Gran furrowed her brow. "Hmm, you still need to get back to the Owl. We can't have you getting sick again, Dear."

The King walked up to them frowning. "Do I need to go get the Innkeeper?"

Gran shook her head not looking at him. "No, I think she'll be able to get back on her own."

Sarah shook her head as she took a step back. "Seriously, I feel fine. I normally don't feel fine when I have a fever. So whatever it is it can't be that bad?"

Gran sighed. "If you think you can continue then we'll hold off taking you back."

Sarah nodded. "Thank you."

"Well then, I guess we should continue to the throne room." Gran began to walk around her towards the doors once more.

The king walked the few steps up to Sarah. Concern was written on his face. "Are you sure you feel up to this, My Lady?"

Sarah gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I feel fine. I promise."

He nodded slightly. "Just try to warn me if you begin to feel weak."

Sarah nodded. "Will do."

He gave her a full nod. "All right." He sighed. "We better keep up with her." Gran stood at the closed doors. Shaking his head, he sighed again. "I still don't see anything that will require a lot of time."

"Things aren't always what they seem." Where had she heard those words before? They seemed so familiar.

He frowned at her words. "Well, we'll have to wait and see won't we."

Thanks for all the reviews and faves.

I know it's later than I was planning to release this. The last few months have been so crazy I hadn't realized that I hadn't been able to edit this chapter yet. So that's why it's coming out today.

So instead of Merry Christmas, Happy New Year to you all.

Review if you please.

More than likely next month I won't be releasing anything. I need to edit what I was working on during NaNoWriMo. After I have that story's chapter figured out, I will be back to this story.

CL