Here's a Back To School present. Enjoy, for now that school's back, you won't find much joy in your life.
They finally arrived at the palace gates, having met no one on the streets on the way there. The gates were humongous, made entirely of granite, other than the doors, which must have taken up all the wood in all the local forests to build. James had a feeling that they were as almost as thick as they were tall. In its secure position in the center of the large city, the measures of security were quite extreme. However, from what Cat had told them as they had paused for water, the royals were obviously extreme in everything they did.
Once again, a sentry on the wall called down to them, "Who goes there?"
"Ambassadors from Coutrun," replied James loudly. "We are expected."
The sentry nodded, looking very fine in his silver armor with the light blue plume and shield that was bedecked with a silver snake twisted around a sword. "Enter," he said gruffly, motioning to another guard to open the doors.
The majestic doors opened slowly, creating an obviously planned dramatic effect. It allowed the three travelers to watch the palace unfold. It was big. Very big. It made the doors look it was made of twigs.
The Malvint royal palace had a silver leaf on every inch of the open surface and gargantuan marble columns stood at the entrance. Each of the eight pillars had a silver snake twisting up the white marble. Compared to the pitifully poor condition of the village, the palace looked out of place, like a glimpse of something that was secret and meant to be kept away from the peasants.
The sentry met them at the base of the walls. "I can take the horses to the royal stables to be groomed and given a stable." James, Nathan and Cat all dismounted obediently. James watched Cat walk up to the sentry and give a little warning about the temperament of the horse. The sentry gestured to a man who was approaching. "This is Ray Jones, the head groom of the stables. He has a Gift with horses."
The man was elderly and looked as though he had recently been on a long, tough journey… and he looked strangely familiar to James. He didn't work at the Coutrun palace, obviously, but he couldn't quite place him.
Cat, the smart thing that she was, had no trouble recalling his face. "Jones, what are you doing here? I thought you stayed at the school over the break. You never told me you lived in Malvint."
James finally remembered; Jones was the stableman at the school barn. James felt slightly guilty now, for he had often left his horse for the old man to clean up, when he could have easily handled the job by himself.
The old man's dark brown eyes widened and he took a deep breath. "Catherine Smith. And Lord Stutrian and Prince James of Seghim. Now, this is quite an odd group. I remember nothing but loathing between the two of you this year," said Jones, gesturing to Cat and James.
"I'm just here as an ambassador with these two. Nothing special," said Cat. "Still, I think I would have recognized if you have a Malvintian accent when we were at school; I saw you nearly everyday. How long have you lived here?"
"Actually, this is more of a side job," said Jones uncomfortably. James, immediately suspicious, scanned the man with his Sight. The old stableman was surrounded by the bronzish aura that indicated an animal gift. For the first time, he saw Cat in her true state. She was surrounded by a huge ring of green-bronze light that seemed to touch everything and made her skin look very radiant. "I don't have any real loyalty to Malvint." There was no lie on the man's lips, but James got the feeling that he was trying to tell them something without actually saying it near the sentry.
"Well, you know how temperamental Ashpetal is, so take care when you put her up. Me and the boys must be going now, sir, so we'll see you later." Cat was utterly smooth, but James could see that her calmness was all a façade.
She motioned for Nathan and James to hurry towards the doors. They were met outside the door by a butler who said, "The king, queen and prince are waiting for you in the Throne Room. I will take you there now."
James nodded and took his place in front. As they walked through corridors, James was awed by the grandeur of the interior of the palace. Marble covered the floor and silver patterns covered the walls. He could hear meows from behind him that indicated that Cat was busy in deep conversation with her feline friends.
The butler finally paused and said smoothly, "This is the room. Good luck."
James nodded to the man as the butler opened the door and bowed them into the room.
What will happen in the throne room when they finally encounter the royals? Danger, excitement and mystery are going to come in the upcoming chapter so keep your friends behind you and a sharp eye out for the sneaky nobles and suave princes.