Align Ourselves
But the sight before her wasn't what she'd expected.For one thing, it was rocky. Very rocky. The cliffs up ahead looked dangerous, even in the dark. She didn't see any lights, any fires. She couldn't see anything other than the cliffs and a few mountains peeking up behind them.
The air was cold. A lot colder than it'd been before. Aria wrapped her arms around herself. So did the others. They weren’t exactly dressed for colder weather.
"I hope you're all rested enough," Grace yelled. "Because we've still got quite a ways to go."
A few people groaned. Aria did. Internally, anyways.
They followed Grace and a few of the guards that had followed them into the woods at the base of the mountain. At the edge, Aria turned to see some of the guards going the way they’d come. Where the hell were they going?
She made her way to the front of the group, Mara right beside her.
They rode for about three hours. The first part of the ride was excruciatingly slow—all uphill. A few people complained, but they were quickly hushed by the others. Once they reached the peak, Grace let them rest for a few minutes.
Again, Aria couldn't believe what she was seeing. And by the sounds of it, neither could the rest of her group.
Their position at the very top of a small mountain gave them a perfect view of the valley below.
Aria could finally see lights, tiny clusters here and there. It looked like they were heading to a decent-sized village.
But what really caught her eye was the building located on a little hill just above the small town. From what she could tell, in the darkness anyway, it looked like a palace. A palace fit for a great and terrible king.
The second part of their ride was significantly more manageable than the first part. Aria noticed that once they got close to the little village, they veered to the left as if they were going to go around it and not through.
She was right.
They went so far to the left that they couldn't even see the lights anymore, hidden by the surrounding forest.
The closer they got to the palace, the more nervous Aria and the others grew. Eventually, they were riding in complete silence. Not even the occasional whisper from her friends.
The palace looked even more massive, even scarier up close. Aria felt panic and terror rising in her chest. But she tried her best to keep it at bay. The lives of her people depended on her keeping her cool. If she let her panic show, then so would the others.
They came to a set of giant wooden doors with two guards flanking it.
"Hey boys," Grace said in greeting. "Glad to see the place hasn't burned down while I was gone," she said, smirking at them as they opened the doors.
Grace ushered them in and waited for all of them to enter before making her way to the front of the group again.
Everyone was looking around, including Aria.
They were in a brightly lit entryway, the air around them warm. The palace must have been made of stone, but the inside walls were light-colored wood paneling, giving the place a comfortable feel. The lanterns on each side of the wall, spaced about five feet apart, lit the space.
No one was speaking, so they had no trouble hearing Grace.
"Follow me. And stay quiet. Speak only if spoken to," she said, before turning and walking down the corridor.
Aria swallowed, hoping it'd push down the bile suddenly rising in her throat. No one spoke a word.
They reached another door. This one also had a guard on each side. Grace didn't even hesitate before opening the doors. She walked through them without a word.
Aria followed.
The first thing she noticed was the enormous chandelier-like object hanging from the center of the ceiling. It was burning bright with candles. How do they get those up there? She shook her head, thinking about what a stupid thing it was to concern herself with. They had much bigger worries.
She quickly glanced around as she continued on behind Grace.
The room was huge. Probably bigger than any room Aria had ever been in. A throne room, she thought. It was brightly lit, lanterns and candles everywhere, in the windowsills and on the tables. There were two long tables on each side, full of people.
People who had gone very, very quiet. People who were looking at her. At them.
She focused her attention back on Grace, who was now kneeling on one knee at the front of the room.
A few steps were leading to an elevated portion of the room. And on that elevated portion stood a long table. A young man sat in a large wooden chair behind it, all by himself.
Before she could think twice, Aria mirrored Grace. She bent down on one knee and lowered her head. She heard the group behind her follow suit.
Chapter 4
"Your Grace," they all heard Grace say, "Your wonderful sister has returned."
Aria could almost hear the smile in her voice.
"I see that," the young man at the front of the room said. His voice was deep and gravely. Aria found it a little scary, if she was honest.
"And why is it that my sister returns days later than expected," he asked. Aria could hear him getting up, his chair scraping the floor.
"Unforeseen complications, Your Grace," Grace said. Aria was sure that she was smiling now. She could hear him coming down the steps towards them.
She decided to look up.
He walked towards Grace. When he was standing in front of her, he reached down and offered her his hand. She grasped it, and he pulled her up. And to Aria's surprise, he hugged her. Grace wrapped her hands around his neck while he placed one hand on her back and the other on her head. He kissed her cheek before letting her go.
"Are you okay? Did everything go smoothly," he asked in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, it was fine," Grace said.
He nodded