X

Adalia felt that her back was getting better though the pain was still there when she moved suddenly. The sunlight was already high, the birds were chirping quite noisily. She walked out of that place.

She walked towards the stables, she wanted to thank and help the woman, but Shannon wasn't there. Lia kept walking until she reached the other end.

Her body was warmed by the sun. She passed a few trees and stopped when she came to a wall. She looked up to gauge how high it was, then pressed her ear to the wall. She could hear the waves crashing.

Lia came to the back of the castle, the building she had seen from Shannon's room. The towers were tall, the walls were pale yellow and there were red flags at each end. As Lia got closer, she saw a few people passing by, dressed as warriors in a mix of red and gold. No one suspected her.

Without realizing it, she almost reached the front of the castle, but she stopped herself when she saw a man surrounded by two guards. The man's clothes were very different, looking more luxurious and his demeanor was very authoritative. Bowing was disgusting to him. Lia felt how nice it was to have bodyguards, to not have to be afraid when leaving the house.

Lia was startled when someone touched her shoulder. "Shannon. I've been looking for you." 

"I'll go get some water." Shannon put down the wooden bucket and walked forward. When Lia turned around the swarm of people was gone. "Who do you see there?" The look on Shannon's face showed that she was trying to tease Lia and find out what Lia was doing walking there.

"I, I was looking for you." Lia turned her head as Shannon continued to stare at her while holding back a smile. 

"Is that a handsome man?" Shannon continued to ask. Lia shook her head doubtfully, she didn't even see the man's face. 

"Was he tall and well-built?" Shannon looked excited. 

Lia chuckled and walked away. This place was quite amazing and it felt like being in a fairy tale, but she suddenly stopped. There was a worried look on her face. "What country is this?"

Shannon paused, confused by her question. Then Lia walked towards her quickly and took her hand. 

"Help me to go back to Germany."

"Germany?"

Lia nodded, "Yes, my mom is there with two strangers, I have to go home."

Both of them were confused, for a long time Lia was silent until she thought of something. Instantly Shannon's hand was pulled away, and once again the wooden bucket was left behind. 

They continued walking until they reached the stables. Lia turned her head to the left, she forgot which room she fell into. Shannon also followed the direction of Lia's gaze but didn't know what to do.

"I know that I'm somewhere far away from Germany, it sounds crazy, but actually... I'm sleeping and ...." Lia stopped at a room and looked at it carefully.

She hesitated, but she went in to make sure it was the right one. Coincidently, no horses inside, so Lia had more freedom of movement. She fingered the wooden wall.

"What are you looking for?" Shannon was reluctant to enter, so she just watched Lia.

Lia was silent, she didn't know why this was happening to her again. The problem was that she didn't know how to go back, whether yesterday was a dream or not. Her back hurt, maybe she did fall off the bed. Then what about her wet clothes? Lia was out of ideas, she didn't know how to explain it. Their house wasn't leaking, or someone had doused her with a sheet of water. But why?

"What's the name of this place? Where are we now?"

Shannon gave her a probing look, "You're in Arckeley." 

Lia's explanation made no sense to Shannon, the woman was sleeping, then woke up in the stables. Lia came out, she had to make a plan. She couldn't leave her mother for too long. 

"Stay here for a few days, I'll find out where Germany is." Shannon smiled kindly, trying to reassure Lia.

"Okay."

They got out, Lia following Shannon's lead. They entered through the back door of the castle. Lia felt nervous because now they looked like they were sneaking around. 

Shannon pulled Lia's hand to keep her close. A woman was walking towards them with a basket of vegetables and Shannon whispered to Lia to behave naturally. Lia almost lost her life from holding her breath while walking next to Shannon.

After the woman was some distance away, Shannon pulled Lia's hand again and now they had reached a hallway with tall columns beside it. The hallway connected them to the main room of the castle, where the king's throne was located. There was a red carpet that extended from the door to the king's bench. The king's seat was taller, and beside it were two smaller chairs. Each chair was gold. There was an eagle flapping, perched on the back of the chair. 

Shannon watched around as Lia released her hand and took two steps towards the throne. "Lia, come on, what are you doing?" She tried to keep her voice from echoing. Especially since the floor and ceiling were so high.

"Just a moment." This was amazing, instantly Lia felt like she was meeting a prince and they were falling in love. It was ridiculous.

"We can't be here, if anyone sees you approaching there, you will be executed." Shannon immediately pulled Lia's hand.

They walked quickly to the other side of the building. There was a door, and Shannon pushed Lia in first, once it was safe she followed. Shannon walked ahead of Lia, and there was a circular staircase inside the tower. They went up, they had to be careful because there was no railing on the stairs. Lia looked over, high enough to die. They met the brown door again. 

The room wasn't very big, there were many cupboards with books, displayed and dusty. Only a small window illuminated the room filled with half-century-old men. They were busy doing their jobs, struggling with paper and ink. 

"What are you guys doing here?" 

The two of them turned their heads and found that a new man had walked in, bringing the attention of all the humans there to them.

"We're looking for something."

"Get out!" He snapped, "This is not the place to look for a man." His hair was white in some places, even his mustache and beard. His face was stern, his eyes piercing.

Lia was annoyed. Why every adult woman who doesn't have a partner is always assumed to be looking for a man? No matter what they do everyone keeps associating it with this. She pulled Shannon away, but the woman held her body still not willing for them to leave empty-handed.

"Shannon." The woman finally pulled away after being called twice.

The door slammed as soon as they came out, only Lia looked surprised while Shannon was still thinking of a way for them to get in. "We can't go in now, they'll be there for a few hours."

"Are you sure we can find any information about Germany there?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

Lia wasn't disappointed by Shannon's words. She had known this would happen. Lia felt that Arckeley was quite far away.