The day that followed her mother's announcement was a blur to Alana. All she vaguely remembered was packing her life up into a bag, saying good-bye to Zora, and her mother seeming very nervous. Before she knew it, she had left the palace, was sitting on a horse, and the farmer was trying to make light conversation. She didn't respond, so he gave up after a few minutes, and trotted a little ways ahead of her.
Alana sat still on her horse, nervously twisting the ring on her finger. Her father had given it to her for her tenth birthday. It was a silver leaf with a shining pearl in the middle. She tried to think of anything but the long, winding road that seemed to stretch forever in front of her. She tried not to think of what she would find at the end of it. But she did.
Would it be a castle? A dark, twisted castle like those she heard in the stories as a child? And what was in the castle? What could this mysterious inhabitant possibly be? And what did he want with her?
The fact that her life had just changed drastically was beginning to dawn on her as the woods grew darker and darker. But her anxiety was ebbing away… she had so desperately wanted to get away from her home, it was almost as if she had willed this to happen. As her head cleared, she found she wasn't angry, or even that frightened. She actually felt almost excited.
They rode for what seemed like hours and hours and hours on end. Alana was just about to ask when it would end when she gasped.
A great, enormous castle appeared before them, rising up through the trees. It was at least twice the size of the one she had left, and it was adorned by statues of menacing gargoyles and sinister eagles. Its black marble façade glinted ominously, and the full moon silhouetted its immense towers. They soon reached a grand wire gate that rose so tall Alana couldn't even see the top.
"I am sorry, your highness, I must leave you here," the farmer said, his voice shaking terribly with fear.
"Wait, no-" Alana protested, but he galloped off. She took a moment to collect her thoughts, and then got off her horse, shaking, and stood still at the gate. She placed a hand on it, willing herself to pull it open. Her horse suddenly neighed in fear, and she turned to quiet it.
"Hello?" a voice came. Alana yelped and turned back around. She thought she was hallucinating; a small person flew from the door of the castle, fluttering huge gold wings. The person was dressed in shining gold, and Alana's mouth fell open.
"Ah, hello," the person said, hovering on the other side of the gate. "Do come in." It was a fairy. The gate opened silently and Alana numbly walked in. They walked across the long walkway to the castle.
"My name is Joy," the fairy said, fluttering next to Alana's shoulder. Alana didn't respond; she was too busy staring, with mouth agape, at Joy. Her hair was a curly, glittering gold, she was slim, only as tall as Alana's hip, and wore a glimmering golden dress. Joy laughed.
"Have you never seen a fairy before?" she asked, her voice cheerful but wise.
Alana blushed. "I am sorry," she said finding her voice. "I did not mean to stare."
"It is alright. What is your name, dear?"
"Alana."
"A fine name. Ah, here we are." They had finally arrived at the entrance; two vast wooden doors, embellished by threatening black spikes, greeted them. The stone trim around the doors was engraved with words in a language Alana had never seen before. Joy opened the doors without touching a thing, and once inside, Alana saw her blow something from her hand. One by one, all the candles began burning. Again, Alana's mouth fell open. She stood in the largest hall she had ever seen. Beams of gleaming wood crisscrossed the ceiling, allowing a glowing, pewter chandelier to hang high above their heads. Rich, elaborate tapestries hung on the walls, ornate fireplaces burned brightly to the left and right, and the grand, luxuriously carpeted staircase that rose before them was intricately carved with some sort of symbols. Yet even with the candles and fires blazing, the castle still seemed dark.
"It is something, is it not?" Joy said.
Alana nodded dumbly.
"Well, I'll give you a short tour, I'm sure you are eager to sleep."
Joy led Alana up the stairs and to the right, and again turned the lights on. They walked down the hall, which was filled with paintings and statues. The walked all the way to the end, where a vast window showed Alana that it had begun to rain.
"Here is your room, miss," Joy said, indicating the room to the left of the window. Alana opened the door and for the third time, her jaw dropped. The room was enormous, and immediately stunning. A plush blue carpet felt soft on Alana's feet, and a grand window that led to a balcony was being pounded with rain. The canopy bed was high and soft, with lush satin sheets and sparkling, translucent curtains, and the large wardrobe was made of a glistening maple wood. Alana gasped in surprise when she noticed that her things had already been brought up.
"When you wake, someone will show you to the kitchen," Joy said. "Good night, miss."
"Good night," Alana said, already lying on the bed.
"Oh, and miss?" Joy said; she sounded like she was suppressing a great deal of… well, joy.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for coming."
Alana sat back up to ask her what she meant, but she was gone.
The next morning, Alana woke late to find the sun shining. She was lying on her stomach, but she held her head up and glanced around. It wasn't a dream… She jumped up and ran to the window, opening it to let in the fresh, dewy morning air. What she saw took her breath away.
Walking out onto the balcony, Alana could see the entire land behind the castle. It stretched as far as the eye could see. And climbing up the sides of the castle and down below in the gardens were roses, beautiful white roses, still wet from last night's rain.
It isn't rose season, Alana thought as she smelled their fragrance. The view was breathtaking. Out in the distance she could see majestic mountains rising up over the horizon, and a surging, serene river. She had a strange feeling that it felt like home already, but she quickly shook it away. You haven't met the master of the house yet, remember?
She left her room, still in her nightdress, but remembered she didn't know where to go. Her stomach grumbled in hunger, and she sighed.
"Lost, miss?"
Alana whirled around to see a fairy, but it wasn't Joy. This one had a high pitched voice and was dressed completely in purple, including her wings. Her hair was black, but curly like Joy's.
"Who are you?" Alana asked.
"Faith," the fairy answered with beaming smile. "I'll lead you to the kitchen, I'm sure you are hungry."
Faith led Alana down two flights of stairs, down a hallway, and then down another flight of stairs.
"You missed breakfast, but I'm sure the cook will whip you up something," Faith said, leading an out of breath Alana into the kitchen.
"Thank you," Alana said, and Faith fluttered away.
"Good morning!" a booming voice came from behind the stove.
"Good morning," Alana said walking around to see a large, brawny man at the stove. "What's your name?"
"Me? Oh, just call me Cook. How do you like your eggs?"
As Alana ate, she talked with Cook. After a while, she timidly asked when she would meet the master.
"Ah, well, he…doesn't like to be hurried," Cook said. Alana nodded, knowing not to pry anymore. She excused herself and slowly went back up the way she thought she had gone down. After her third set of stairs however, she didn't see her room.
"Oh, no," she said. She stood alone in an even grander hallway than the one her room was in. Desperately, she called, "Joy? Faith?" but she received no answer.
The hallways and stairs that branched out from the hall looked like an endless maze of carpet. Nervously, she walked down the corridor, looking for a window that might tell her where she was. A great pair of doors met her at the end of the hall. She didn't step up to them; she had a feeling that she wasn't allowed behind those doors. She avoided them, and backed away, deciding to try the steps that met her a few feet over. They, however, led her to a dark, dusty room filled with nothing but furniture. She impatiently stamped her foot and went back down the steps to stand in front of the doors again. Ignoring the warnings in her head, she knocked, but when there was no immediate answer, she grunted in frustration and turned away.
"What is it?" a gruff voice suddenly came from within the doors.
Alana turned sharply back to the doors, and, her frustration forgotten, became a bit afraid.
"Um, I'm sorry, it's just…I'm completely lost," she stammered, speaking a bit louder than usual into the wooden doors.
She heard a deep, heavy sigh. "Come in, then," the voice said.
With a deep breath, she opened the door apprehensively, and slid into the room.
"What is your name?" the deep voice asked, coming from a chair that faced the massive fireplace.
"Alana… sir," she said, expectantly.
"I wasn't expecting you."
To her anxious ears, the voice sounded angry. "I apologize," she said, with a bit more remorse than she had intended.
The voice sighed again, and there was a long pause. "Let me explain something to you, Alana," it began.
She stood stock-still, with her back still to the door. Against her will, she nervously began to gnaw at her thumbnail.
"Your father had no right to stay in this castle, uninvited."
"I understand that, sir," she said, her nerves forgotten for the moment as she thought of her family.
There was a surprised silence.
"You do?" the voice asked.
"Well, yes," she said… what had he expected, some air-headed bimbo who was going to argue with him? She knew her father had trespassed this property. Alana nearly laughed at the thought of arguing at a time like this.
"I've had many visitors," he continued, sounding sarcastic, "over the years. Many of whom either wanted me dead or just to stare at me."
"Why would they want you dead?" Alana asked interestedly, now completely forgetting that she should probably be scared. His voice wasn't that frightening, and by now he had sparked her curiosity.
There was another silence.
"Do you know what you have gotten yourself into, exactly?" the voice asked.
"Well, not really, but I was thinking on the way here that perhaps I willed it, you know, because I was so ready to get out of that stupid palace, and it's really my father's fault, he never really had any sense of direction, and my mother didn't even think twice about sending me because of course we couldn't send precious Davina," Alana rambled angrily, nearly forgetting that the person was probably listening to every word.
The voice made a noise, but whether it was a laugh or a growl, Alana wasn't sure. Either way, she shut her mouth.
"Well, then, let me enlighten you," he said. "There is a curse on this castle. There is a curse on me," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice. Then there was the sound of movement, and a huge shadow was flickered onto the wall. The shadow moved, and a figure emerged from the chair. There, standing in front of her, was a nearly seven foot tall beast. Her hand went up to cover her mouth, but her eyes took him in. He was covered in thick, brown fur, and stood on great hind legs. His arms ended in claws, fangs protruded from his mouth, and there were short, thick horns on his head. Yet, for some reason, Alana didn't fear him, and felt calm once again.
"Well," she said, lowering her hand, her fear completely gone. "The castle is lovely."
He wore a puzzled expression.
"Excuse me?"
"For a cursed castle, it's quite nice," she said, her voice light and cheerful.
There was an odd silence. Something hit her; perhaps he really had been expecting the air-headed bimbo.
"I'm a bit of a strange girl, sir," she explained.
He nodded, still looking quite bewildered. He shook his head, and a menacing glint came back into his eye.
"You may go," he said gruffly, turning back around.
She turned as well, but then halted. "But…I don't know where to go," she said.
"Go down the hall, down the stairs, and to the right."
"Oh. Thank you."
"Just never come to this floor again. And especially," his voice became very harsh here, "never go through that door." He pointed to a door in the corner of the room.
"Yes, sir." She opened the door and walked out. She placed a hand over her chest in an attempt to slow down her furiously beating heart. That hadn't been nearly as bad as she had imagined; in fact, she was quite relieved. She understood why others feared him, but she couldn't understand why she, of all people, did not. She walked back into her room with a smile on her face.
This would prove to very interesting.
