Ordinary

Chapter 7

The castle was magnificent. Even more beautiful than I could ever imagine. The castle was tall and grey, but the abundance of colorful flowers left it looking warm and welcoming. Birds chirped around us, inviting us in with their songs. Gorgeous vines wrapped and coiled around the skyscraping towers. Two guards nodded to us as we passed them and kept on into the garden, which was arguably more beautiful than the castle. Flowers of every kind surrounded us and reached out as far as I could see, wrapping around the castle. Two white statues of beautiful women stood amidst a fountain, the way the water reflected off them made their gown look as if they were swaying in the wind.

I could have wandered around the garden for hours, but Marcus's chuckle brought me out of my spell. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

I nodded, in a daze. "It's the most incredible thing I've ever seen." Soon after, we made in to the front door, which was about seven times taller than me. I wondered how anyone could open a door so heavy, but Marcus held out his hand, and the door opened effortlessly. Magic, of course. I never would get tired of watching it.

When the door finally opened, we were greeted by the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. She was wearing a gown that looks like something I'd seen at a Renaissance festival, but of course it looked much more elegant on her. Her hair was done up nicely with what looked to be diamonds in her braids.

I suddenly felt very insecure about my ponytail and sweaty, earthly workout clothes.

"Marcus!" she beamed as she embraced him. I tried to ignore the twinge of envy I felt. This lady was every I could ever dream of being.

Marcus stepped back and pointed to me. "Princess Valeria, this is Sam," he introduced me.

When she turned to look at me, her smile widened. "Our savior, yes?" I smiled nervously.

"I hope so," I muttered, and she laughed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She bent in a curtsy. When I tried to mimic her movement, she laughed again. "No need for that! I know you don't learn to curtsy in the human realm."

I chuckled awkwardly. "Unfortunately not, your highness."

She tsked. "Call me Valeria, please." With a simple wave, Valeria lead me away from him and through one of the many, grand halls of the castle. Taller than any walls I'd ever seen, they were lined with beautiful paintings of previous royal family members, I assumed, and bouquets of flowers that were taller than me.

"This place is amazing," I cooed as we walked.

She nodded. "It is. I could never get bored of walking through these halls," she agreed, dreamily. We walked for a while, making small talk about the weather, which is always perfect here, apparently. We must have walked at least a mile. I couldn't help but to think Elizabeth would have made a joke about how we should make the walk again, just for more exercise. I fiddled with the opal ring she had given me for my birthday last year, and wondered how quickly it would take her to forget me.

I would have loved for her to be here with me. I would have loved to show her that magic was real, so she would never tease me again for dreaming about it and loving it all these years. But mostly, I just missed my best friend.

Finally, we made it to my room. As Valeria was opening the door, she said, "Sorry it's so small, it's the closest room we had to the throne room on such short notice." When she opened the door, my jaw dropped. Its was bigger than my entire house back home, and she called it small? I'd love to see her bedroom. The room was glorious. Everything white and gold, lined with bright teal flowers covering every table and shelf. White curtains lightly billowed in the wind, which brought in the mouthwatering smell of the flowers and fruits from the gardens outside.