I stood on the train platform in the dress Loid procured for me earlier this afternoon. We agreed to meet at the rail station and he would take me to the castle. I knew government employees had money, but for them to be able to rent a whole castle for one afternoon tea…. That sinking, awful, misplaced feeling remained in my stomach.
After glancing around again, I checked my watch. It's almost half past two and the tea starts at three. Loid said it's imperative that we don't be late, but he never told me to go alone if he didn't show up on time to escort me. How would it look if I arrived without my husband? Would anyone notice or care? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course they'd care. But what can I do? Loid was adamant that I go to this tea with all the other wives today; he probably didn't expect that he'd be running late like this when he told me to meet him here. What should I do? I don't want to disappoint Loid, but I really don't want to go by myself either….. What should I do?!
The train whistle sounded, making me jump a little. Pretty soon the train rolled into the station, passengers got off, and everyone started boarding. I looked around once more for my husband, with no such husband in sight. My hands clung onto my purse strap anxiously. The train's going to depart soon, and there won't be another one for another hour. Should I get on and go alone? Maybe something kept Loid up at the office. I hope he's ok. Everything's probably fine, but I get the feeling he'd want me to get on the train. Peering over to it, I bit my bottom lip as I weighed my options. The train whistle blew again, and the lights were flashing. The conductor, who was waving to the engineer at the front of the train, noticed me standing on the platform.
"Miss! Miss, you'd better get aboard the train! We're going to depart in a minute!" "O-Oh! Thank you!" I hollered back. Sucking in a deep breath, I hesitantly boarded the train, which took off only mere seconds later. The conductor came over through the carts to help me steady myself. He looked at me and smiled. "You traveling alone, miss?" "Uh y-yes," I coloured in embarrassment, unable to meet his gaze. He nodded, though with a hint of disapproval, and guided me to an empty seat by the window. He then stamped one of the two tickets I had and left me with some kind parting words. "Let me know if you need anything." Timidly, I simply stared out of the window to watch the scenery go by. The countryside was beautiful in this country; no dictatorship could take that away.
The journey took a little under half an hour. The train station was surprisingly small and very well maintained. A new conductor waiting on the platform took my hand to help me exit the train. He next told me exactly where I needed to go to reach the castle. Everyone at the station and in the street treated me with a detectable level of deference; something I was NOT used to. It was sure better than getting yelled at by bosses and patrons at my old job.
The castle was the by far the biggest surprise in of itself. It was HUGE! It was one of those medieval castles that just kept expanding and expanding. Everything was either sandstone or white brick. It even had its own high walls and you could see where there was once a moat surrounding the exterior. I glanced down at it while crossing the bridge to the main entrance; one of several archways. An attendant was standing at the side of the door and watching me, though there was this one really fancy couple ahead of me. I was still admiring the outside when he spoke to them first.
"Good afternoon, sir, madame. May I….?" "Stop standing there and blocking my way, boy! Don't you know who we are?!" The lady snapped back, making me flinch a little. She didn't need to talk to him so rudely, but the sentry acted like this happened all of the time. "Of course, madame," he immediately stepped aside, letting the pair pass. I waited until they were gone, thoroughly disgusted by the scene. He peered in my direction and our eyes met. Then I smiled warmly, eager to reassure him that I didn't want this to be a painful experience with me- something he's probably not used to.
The young man- roughly my age- cleared his throat and straightened his posture. "Good afternoon, miss. May I inquire into the nature of your visit today?" "Hi, I'm uh, here for tea. I-I mean there's an afternoon tea here…. for the party's wives?" This sounded more like a question which I didn't intend it to be. Cringing so hard internally, the young man blinked, scanned me over once, and then smiled. His arm lifted to inside the entryway. "Through there and to the right. Coat check is first door on your left." "Thank you. Have a nice day," a surge of sincere gratitude swelled through me as I grinned at him again. We mirrored each other's pleasant expressions as I went in, following his directions to the letter.
It didn't matter; I still got lost. This place was an absolute maze and there was nobody around once you were inside. You wouldn't have guessed there was a social event going on by how eerily quiet it was. Lots of the doors were locked, and the ones that were open led to empty rooms. Still, the castle was breath-taking; I'd never seen anything like it before. It had this incredible, enchanting feeling to it. I took a moment to pretend that I was a fairy tale princess and all of this was mine. A part of me was glad I came here alone; this was turning out to be so much fun!
Kinda forgetting that I had a tea to get to promptly, I began taking my time walking through the hallways and looking through the windows. Everything was so beautiful and looked so delicate. I passed through this massive grand hall, which had this long dark wood table in the middle of it. On each side of the room were enormous fireplaces- not lit- and above each side of the wall was a balcony where I guess musicians would play while people ate. Standing at the table, my hand traced across the ancient wood. This palace is so old….. I can't imagine how many people have eaten in this room or lived here. This was from a different time, almost feeling like a different world now; so much has changed since then. It's just a stark reminder that everything always changes….. The bad that's in charge now hasn't always been there and likely won't always be there. My lips parted a little as I remembered why I got married in the first place; the fact that I was short-listed as a potential spy. I just need to be patient….. Things will get better; they have to.
Exiting the grand hall, I wandered around a bit more until I stumbled across another giant room. This one was a massive cathedral; or I think it was a cathedral at one point. The new government party frowned upon organized religion. All the windows were tall stained-glass panels and elaborate tapestries hung everywhere on the walls. Rows of wooden benches lined each side of the room with a massive pulpit at the front of everything. It was gorgeous, but the most exquisite thing was the ceiling. It was hand-carved and arched upward so perfectly. This was my favourite room in the castle far none. Every single thing was just so well-designed and crafted with such pain-staking detail. Too bad this place looked untouched, at least for the last decade I'd say.
Stepping down to get a better view, and to walk through the pews pretending it was my wedding day, an unexpected bump made me freeze in my tracks. My brain reverted back to my pre-married way of thinking and my first reaction was "oh no! I'm caught! They're going to arrest me!". That didn't happen though, and I had to remind myself to breathe as I remembered that I was allowed to be here. Well, maybe not in this room but in this castle.
I spun around to see this tall, skinny, older man watching me. He came out from around the bend, eying me intensely. His stare wasn't a glare, nor was it too judgemental; it was more so curious than anything. He wore a very long moustache which came down on both sides of his face, and his long white hair was tied back into a ponytail. He was pale and had on a sharp suit, but he didn't have an intimidating presence about him. Something about him rang out as firm but kind. His gaze locked onto mine as he touched the top of the closest pew.
"Forgive me. I hope you won't take me as rude, miss, but might I ask what you are doing in here?" I blinked, coming back to reality real fast. I'm not supposed to be in here, am I? Oh no….. My foot slid back a tad, which he saw. "I-I'm sorry, sir! I-I got lost! I was supposed to go to the afternoon tea here this afternoon but couldn't find the room. I'm so sorry!" He stopped me by raising up his hand. Coming closer, I huddled into myself, unsure what he would do or say next. The strange man stared down at me once more before lifting up his hand. I guess I was expected to take it, which I did. He then began leading me back down the way towards the pulpit, keeping my hand in his the whole way. The stranger looked up at the pageant and I did the same; I think he wanted me to.
"Such a display…. It has been neglected these past few years, as you can probably tell." "O-Oh! Oh yes, sir. B-But it's still very pretty," I sounded like a total moron who didn't have a clue as to what she was doing or saying. He nodded in agreement. "Great care and love went into the design and construction of this chapel. Carelessness may reveal some minor imperfections, but there are some things time cannot erode." "I quite agree with you, sir. There's such an elegance, such a perfection which will always exist…. so long as this room stands."
That's when I felt him look at me again. I was too shy to meet his gaze this time, but I could tell it was soft and earnest. It's like he was becoming more and more curious about me of all things, strange as that sounds. "You speak with such sincerity. Tell me, do you genuinely appreciate this forgotten place?" "How could I not, sir?! It's utterly spectacular. And just thinking about all the hard work, all the unrelenting labour that went into building this cathedral…. It would be immoral if we weren't to appreciate it, after everything they went through…" I slowly peered up at the man. He was beholding me with a look of awe for the briefest of seconds. His hand gave mine a squeeze as his body language visibly changed. If I didn't know any better, I'd say what I just told him made him happy somehow….. "Yes," was all he said in agreement, lowering his head a tad.
The stranger released my hand once he led me down the pathway again and out of the room. After carefully shutting the door, he took me down one of the endless halls where there was nobody else. His hands clasped behind his back in a pleasant fashion and he leaned forward slightly as we walked. "I've never met anyone who appreciates the chapel as I do. Everyone here goes out of their way to avoid it like the plague." "That's such a shame; it's so beautiful," I sighed. "True, but you admire it for a different reason…. The right reason, in my opinion." "Well thank you, sir. That's very kind of you to say." "You are kind, I'd say," he instantly responded, looking my way. I blushed a bit, turning my head back forward embarrassed and happy.
He continued to watch me keenly. "You said you've come to have tea with the other ladies, yes?" "Yes, sir." He tisked, giving his head a shake and peering forward in front of us. "Pity. I shouldn't like imagining someone like you subjected to the likes of them." "Oh, but sir! My husband is a psychiatrist for the party and he was resolute on me going. He wouldn't have insisted I attend if it wouldn't be a…. a productive experience," I had to be careful how I worded that sentence. He eyed me once more, his expression hardening somewhat. "Your husband suggested you go? Well he certainly doesn't appreciate what he has then." "W-What do you mean, sir?" My hand lifted up to my chest a tad anxious now. He shook his head. "Never mind. I only meant that gems of marriage and not birth are a rarity in this world, and I'd hate to see that change." I'm not sure what he meant by that; was I supposed to be the "gem"? Does he mean that I'm a gem that Loid married and was brought into this elite society instead of being born into it? I don't know for sure….
As if catching himself, the man gazed back down at me; his eyes softer this time. "Ah, don't listen to me. I'm just a dottering old man who doesn't know what he's saying." "But I have great respect for what you say, sir! Anyone who admires and enjoys such a stunning cathedral like you obviously has wisdom- wisdom which I want to hear, sir," I said and he smiled. This smile was real and profound. His feet came to a short halt here and I followed suit, stopping close to him. Our eyes met once again, holding each other's tenderly.
"You know, I've never met anyone like you in this castle before. You'll have to become a regular." "Oh, nothing would make me happier, sir….. Uh but, um…. M-My husband and I aren't members of The Garden of Eden club yet," I was compelled to be honest and up-front; he's been so kind to me. The man thought about this for a moment, then relaxed his posture. "That makes no difference. Several of these rooms have gone unused for the better part of twenty years now. I should like to bring some life back into this place- provided it's with those who truly deserve it." "Sir, I don't know if I deserve it…." I hesitated, though I'm not sure why. His grin returned with full force as he lowered his head slightly. "Then you can trust in me. Oh but forgive me; where are my manners? I have neglected to know your name, my dear." "Yor; Yor Bria-… er, Yor Forger, sir." He nodded. "Yor Forger; it's a real pleasure to make your acquaintance.
My name is Henry Henderson."