Chapter 8

My jaw dropped at the sight in front of me. A humongous semi medieval and a mix of modern type castle stood proudly almost reaching the sky of how high it is built. The sun shined at its well taken cared of cobblestone walls. Several towers rose high enough in order for the guard lookouts to view the kingdom from a far.

We just passed the huge thick metal gate and now I am quite left behind, sauntering the pathway to the main entrance of the palace. Royal guards with their full armours lined at each side of the walkway. My neck started to strain because of having my head extended way back on checking the entire height of the castle.

"Callie, are you coming?" Octavia asked. I realized that I was the only one left behind and that both of them are now standing by the opened door.

"Y-Yeah." I replied and rushed towards them.

Four guards stood at each side of the double doors which made me thought that this place is well protected. By the main 'lobby' area right after the grand entrance of the palace, stood white marble pillars decorated by hangings of blue and white linens.

The area which seemed to be the 'entertaining' area have a set of leather upholstery couches. They were a shade of mahogany garnet but studded in a gold colour. It is definitely luxurious.

We past that area and came to another massive double doors. This time only two guards stood at each side of the door. They slightly bowed their head in acknowledgement before proceeding on opening the door.

Those doors revealed a wide and long walkway. At the end of it were four chairs. These chairs were arranged that the middle two were bigger and more ornate than the ones on each sides. Nonetheless, all chairs were adorned with gold edges. It must be the throne.

A tall brazier stood at each side of the throne. This is probably lit at night since I don't see any bulbs anywhere. Behind the throne are made of extensive brick glasses that is currently lighting up the entire throne hall. Two guards had their backs towards us and seemed to be discussing something with someone I could not see.

As we made our way closer to the end, the guards bowed and took their leave, showing someone behind them. She stood confidently with her fingers clasped together. She is dressed in a tightly laced bodices, her gown was not the balloon type design as I expected it to be but, it simply flowed down to the floor. She looked dressed in a 17th century fashion. A thin but shortly spiked crown rested on top of her head. It is peppered with a mixture of small and large diamonds, arranged in a neat way. The frame itself seemed to be made of valuable metal.

She approached us with elegance, the hem of her gown dragging behind her. As we met in the middle, I got to take a closer look at her. She has a fair complexion that is overpowering the slightly wrinkled skin she also has. She actually is too young to be a mother of these two who are slightly more than half her age.

I can see where Octavia and Alexander got their looks from. She is exquisite. Her blond hair perfectly matched her tone. The complete definition of beauty and power, standing in front of me.

"My children," she beamed, nearing both of them and giving them a kiss and a hug. "Oh my! You all look terrible!" She exclaimed while taking a good look at both of them.

"Oldham got attacked." Octavia informed her mother. The queen could only sigh and nod.

"I have already dispatched a troop and they should have arrived a while ago." She answered.

"You must be Calliope. It pleases me to finally meet my son's mate. I am queen Adellia. " The queen said, turning towards me. She put her hand on my cheek and caressed it. I looked at her confusedly. What did she just say?

"C-Come again?" I asked confusedly. In return, she gazed at Octavia and Alexander. By the looks of her, she is trying to ask them something just by looking at them.

"You have not told her?" She questioned, her forehead creased. Octavia responded by shaking her head, her brother on the other hand simply brought his eyes down to the floor.

Queen Adellia exhaled and looked back to me. She smiled, brushing the topic off. "We shall discuss it later. For now, you should get yourself washed up - all of you." She stated pertaining to them also.

She put her arm around me and ushered me to follow her. "Come, dear." She said. I did not dare to protest since she is the queen and I am in her land, the least I can do is comply.

She led me through a series of hallways with lots of turning corners. As we went deeper into the palace, the guards were reducing in numbers. I guess it is safe enough now that I do not see anymore guards around here.

She opened a door and walked inside with me trailing behind her. Once again, I am stunned to what I walked in to.

"This will be your chamber from now on." She informed.

"Holy ... crap!" I exclaimed as I stared at the interior of the room. The scent of roses met my nostrils the moment we entered.

To my right is a set of furnitures. Behind it is a floor to ceiling book shelves that are already equipped with books. To my left side is where the king sized bed is located - probably bigger than that. Adjacent to the bed are two doors not far from each other. Both are left open so I could kind of see the insides. Door one seemed to be a walk in closet by the looks of clothings inside. Door two must be the bathroom.

Now, the area in front of me are double doors that leads to a balcony. In short, the entire bedroom is a lot similar to mine from back home except this one is tripled in size. In addition, the walls are decorated with art and expensive looking paintings too.

"This is Emma. She will be the one attending to your needs." She said. I looked around and saw Emma walking out from the bathroom.

"My lady." She greeted and bowed her head.

"You must be wearied from your journey and the unexpected fight earlier. I will let you rest and we shall talk in the morning." Queen Adellia placed both of her hands on my arms and smiled.

"T-Thank you." I replied and forced a smile back. I mentally cursed for stuttering and embarrassing myself. Who wouldn't? I am talking to a queen and not only that, her absolute beauty is intimidating that no woman can level with her.

The corner of her eyes crinkled with her bright smile. She nodded at Emma before gracefully walking to the door. I watched her until she stopped mid track. She turned around and faced me.

"Oh by the way, I have arranged your training tomorrow at eight. Don't be late, Miss Josephine hates it." She informed.

"Training?" I uttered, completely puzzled. What training? For what? She left without giving me an answer. I wonder what sort of training she is pertaining to.

"Shall we -" Emma spoke from behind me, but felt like she said it close to my ear which made me jump in shock.

"Oh! I am sorry for startling you, my lady. I-I did not-" she stammered, bowing all the way down, and her hands shaking. I sensed her being terrified.

"No, no, no. It's completely fine. You don't need to be afraid of me." I said, calming her down by holding her hands.

"My lady, you should not touch me, I am filthy." She reacted by pulling her hands back. My forehead creased and wondered why she is acting this way.

"O-Oh" - I stepped back and held my hands out, trying to ease the awkward situation. She finally looked up and smiled slightly.

"This way," she gestured with her hand and walked ahead to the bathroom.

A massive bathtub that is made of copper is seated in the middle of the bathroom. Three to four people could probably fit in it lengthwise without having to squeeze together. It is already filled with water which is warm to the touch.

I jumped almost instantly when Emma lifted the hem of my top clothes. "What are you doing?" I asked in completely shock. I looked at her confusedly. She may have potential beauty but it ain't enough for me to shift to being a lesbian.

"I am helping you undress, my lady." She answered also with a confused look. She acted like this is normal for her.

I guess it must be. I was just not used to someone helping me in the bathroom. Nonetheless, I shook it off and told her I could manage by myself.

I got off my clothes as soon as she closed the door. I stepped into the tub and started washing myself. A piece of washcloth and a bottle of fragrant liquid was the only thing there that I could use.

I sat in the tub with my head leaning over the edge. I just stared in front of me, my mind wandering. It's only then that I could feel the exhaustion physically. The warm bath helped by acting as a warm compress, loosening my muscles.

This will be my life now. I need to fit in and learn every single thing about this realm. All my life I knew there is something missing, I just didn't expect it to be this extreme and I won't go back empty handed.

Everything begins tomorrow.

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