The Northern Castle
Grace and her children left Lystra's central castle in a caravan of carriages consisting of eighteen carriages. There was the main carriage with Grace and the children. It had been mingled in with the other carriages and had three others that looked just like it. Randomly all four would change positions in the caravan.
Their carriage was extremely large and spacious. There was a front compartment for sitting during the trip and where they ate their meals. The central compartment was were they slept and the rear compartment held all much of their belongings and food, just for them, for the trip.
There were ten servants and twenty guards on or around their carriage at all times.
Grace told the children that the journey would be a vacation for them so they did not have to study or take classes. The children excitedly gazed out of the one-way mirrored windows of the carriage and when they saw something interesting the servants would surreptitiously retrieve and gift them the animal, flower, or whatever the item was.
When they saw Pillar City they all became extremely excited. Grace smiled as her children spoke excitedly about their new home. She became very calm and readied herself for the worse possible outcome.
They didn't have enough time to fully repair a dilapidated castle.
But she had to admit the town high up on a hill covered in brilliantly white patches of snow was pretty breathtaking. There were tall stands of evergreen trees, some laden with bright orange fruit, and fields that seemed to have been abandoned after a long ago final harvest.
Grace frowned. She had smiled at the trees laden with fruit but seeing the abandoned fields gave that scene a different meaning. And then her frown deepened when the castle high in a distant plateau came into view.
One could tell it was majestic once. A wide road carved, spiraling up the plateau. Large cones of ice hanging down around the edge like glistening stalactites in a massive cavern and the tall eight spire castle peaking above a forest of tall redwood evergreens.
She could she how it must have been a wonderful sight at one time. But now she could see the holes in six of the eight spires. The walls seemed on the verge of crumbling. And the once pristine white marble walls were now covered in green and black molds.
She pursed her lips. Her best advisor, Edmond, spoke to her as she took in the scene.
"We did not have much time your highness so we repaired living areas and the kitchen. The work on the rest of the castle will continue especially since His Lord has been so generous."
"It is okay Edmond. Tell me about the village." Just as she made the request the first of the caravan entered the crumbling wall. And she felt a ping of guilt bloom in her stomach and chest. She had dome much to help Lystra but she had never gotten to the outlying areas, not unless a representative came and personally asked for help.
She had ignored these people and now she was being sent to live with them. Shame crept through her like a hot fever and a chill ran down her body. She sighed and Edmond thought it was because he was hesitant.
"I apologize Your Highness. I need to get my notes. We researched the area awhile ago and I did not refresh my memory. Please forgive me."
"Take your time. It is not you. I am just lamenting the condition of these people." As she spoke her window passed a dilapidated building that was actually crumbled down to three floors of only two and a half walls.
She pursed her lips and then quickly schooled her expression.
"I have them Your Highness." She nodded indicating that he should begin. "There are currently only six hundred citizens here in Pillar City, but there was once over five thousand here. The people abandoned the fields and the orchards long ago. Those that are left now forage and hunt. There is no industry here My Lady and the town is actually dying now."
"But we shall solve that Edmond. We shall begin repairing the town as we repair the castle and I want you to send people to the other fringes of the kingdom and see how they are fairing. If they need help we will give it.
"We will work to repair all of the fringe castles that have fallen into disrepair and we will place new staff there."
Edmond had begun to quickly take notes. He always got excited when his queen became like this. He had never seen such a driven person. He felt a small flash of anger for the current situation, but he settled down quickly and continued making notes of his suggestions to complete the things Queen Grace wanted done.
"Stop here!" the caravan stopped suddenly yet smoothly in the main town square. Many of the six hundred inhabitants seemed to be there. They had all heard the caravan coming through the unused parts of the village and had gathered in the square to discuss what it could possibly be. Seeing the caravan enter the square and come to a sudden stop was startling at best.
Grace came down from her carriage with a disarming smile. She seemed to look at each person and they instantly felt as if she cared for them. Her children also came down from the carriage and they had looks of wonder and curiosity on their faces. They were actually allowed to walk out into the crowd and look about curiously, with vigilant guards of course.
Grace spoke with a smile and an authoritative voice. "My dear people of Pillar. I am Queen Grace and I will be living in the castle for the foreseeable future. I first want to apologize to you. It seems that the monarchy has forgotten you. I am here to rectify that now.
"We will begin rebuilding the village and the castle and we will need your help. You will be paid a fair wage and given food and drink for compensation. I also saw the fields and the orchards. We will also rectify that. We will rebuild this community and make it prosperous again.
"Everyone who would like to work please speak with one of my advisors. They will take down your information and assign you to the proper occupation.
"Is it okay if my children and I pick some fruit from the orchard?"
Grace saw many smiling faces nodding enthusiastically.
"Thank you My Lady."
"All praise the queen!"
"Our village is your village please feel free to explore as you like."
"Work! We finally have work again!"
People began speaking over each other as they rejoiced. They all thought they would have to leave their homes. They had fought so long to keep their homes that they thought they would die trying. Now the queen found them and was willing to save them.
The villagers watched the queen and her children pick the ripe fruit, that they continually neglected, while they gave their information to the advisors. They began going into the orchard to pick the ripe fruit as well. It was like they were renewed and they wanted to stand with the person that was the cause of their happiness.
They all decided to have a festival to honor the fruit and invited the queen.
The caravan finally reached the castle. It was much worse on the inside. Several villagers had followed them in. They were assigned to help with construction in the castle. They immediately began cleaning up debris without being told.
Grace could see how marvelous the castle had been. She hoped to restore it to its former glory.
The castle was a Gothic construction. With pointed archways, high vaulted ceilings, and all of the stained glass windows distributed throughout the castle was still a wonder to behold.
Their chambers had been restored to their former glory quite well. Their was stained glass in the bedrooms and the main sitting room that was vibrant and beautiful. Grace found herself wishing that Gabriel could she the beauty of the castle.
Her smile fell and she sat down with a bit of an undignified plop and a sigh. She didn't know it but this was the beginning of a bout of debilitating depression for her. She smiled weakly as her children moves back and forth picking their rooms and putting their things away.
As they rejoiced she began to sink deeper and deeper into a reality that was disappointing and a bit heart breaking for her.
How would she maintain for them? How would she ensure that they would have all that they deserved?