The King's Artist

Ch 56: Reims Cathedral

Adelaide's shift the previous night was uneventful and she was grateful when she was permitted to return to sleep. By the time dawn broke, their small crew was semi-wellrested and ready to return to the road. The weather had lifted to a degree and the horses were fresh enough to resume the journey.

Adelaide ensured that Roland and she were both tightly bundled before they made their way to the stables. She checked the shortened stirrups on Roland's mount and helped him up, double-checking that he was comfortable and secure. With a reassuring smile, she turned back to the tavern to watch Henry and the rest of their party stumble out of the doors. She hated how her chest tightened while butterflies simultaneously fluttered in her stomach at the sight of him. Was she ever going to stop reacting like this when she saw him? Did she want to?

"Good morning," Jasper greeted. Adelaide nodded in his direction as she hoisted the last of her pack onto the back of her saddle.

"Why's the sun so bright?" Marcus groaned. Adelaide smiled, somewhat pleased that he wasn't a morning person. 

The group exchanged small talk before they departed the town. The roads were easier to tread, but the wind was still stinging to the skin, and Adelaide hiked up her cloak even more around her face.

It took them another five days to reach the city of Reims and when they did all Adelaide could do was stare at the glorious cathedral that rose above them. They had approached from the west and for a moment they were all speechless as they took in the towers of equal height and the three portals that could be seen once entering the nave. They handed off their horses to a group of boys that had approached them in greeting before moving as a unit into the cathedral.

As the sun crested off the golden structure, Adelaide spotted a large rose window that was positioned slightly behind the central portal. It was accompanied by tall arching windows and archivolts with protruding sculptures on the main wall. Even further, higher than the rose window was the gallery of the kings; consisting of fifty-six statues all the height of a child. With the addition of the towers and their carvings and spires, along with the attention to detail on every inch of the structure, Adelaide felt like falling to her knees and crying.

The inside of the cathedral only intensified the feeling. Clustered columns lined the walls and passages, while four-part rib vaults supported the nave. The ceiling towered above them, carrying the sound of the choir that appeared to be practicing for Sunday Mass. The interior walls were as intrinsically carved as the exterior, and as Adelaide walked the perimeter she spotted the sculptures of John the Baptist as well as the Communion of the Knight. Finally, she stopped to admire the glass stained windows as Jasper left to search for the Archbishop. Henry departed with him, leaving Adelaide to stand next to Roland while the others wandered in amazement.

"The things that people can build," Adelaide whispered to herself as she ran a hand over the smooth wall carvings.

Children laughing drew her attention. The voices had carried in through the outside and as the entrance doors opened, Adelaide caught sight of a small group of children playing some sort of game in the snow. She didn't need to glance at Roland to know that he was itching to participate. With a lighthearted sigh and a smothered smile, Adelaide touched Roland's head drawing his attention to her.

"You're welcome to go play with them," she said gently. The boy didn't need telling twice before he was sprinting out of the cathedral with a skin-splitting smile across his face.

"Is that your boy?" A voice asked from behind her. Adelaide turned to see an older man dressed in robes staring at her. There was a calm demeanor about him, his hair whitened with age and a face marked with lines that told a history of laughter and stress. But there was something about him that was unsettling. And it wasn't because of his unseeing stare and white irises.