The Chronicles Of The Council #1: The Sun's Tears

Chapter 35: Laelia - Ghosts

"I am half inclined to think we are all ghosts...it is not only what we have inherited from our fathers and mothers that exists again in us, but all sorts of old dead ideas and all kinds of old dead beliefs and things of that kind. They are not actually alive in us, but there they are dormant all the same, and we can never be rid of them... There must be ghosts all over the world. They must be as countless as the grains of the sands, it seems to me. And we are so miserably afraid of the light, all of us." - Henrik Ibsen

After prince Pa'Drig and Lord Donado take their leave of us, Faolan and Elorhim return to the Order and another maid is left in charge of showing Aedan and me to our rooms. It seems that the castle has an unending number of maids, and even more gold-and-rose clad guards with embroidered Ardam Crests dotted along its hallways.

The hallways the maid leads us through are void of windows, with strategically placed ligtglobes to provide a cool blue light to the corridors. The dwarves, inventors of the globes, had needed a way to provide an undying light to their mines as due to some cruel cosmic joke we had received the better eyesight. Ironically, though they barely ever leave their underground cities, they had been blessed with skin so tough that they never get sunburnt. I wonder how the ligtglobes are powered, as I read that they are tuned to light up by touch. I must remember to ask our new friend.

"Is it possible that my sister and I have adjacent rooms? We have never been separated by more than one wall."

"It is not custom for ladies and lords to sleep in the same wing if they are unmarried, " the maid stutters.

"We are brother and sister, and I would be very grateful if you could ask the prince or whoever you must, to organise it. I refuse to sleep more than fifteen metres from Laelia."

The girl curtsies nervously. "Yes, your highness."

Sometimes I forget how intimidating Aedan can be if he wants to. He hides his strong personality behind either a weak exterior or Faolan. Aedan, also the blood of kings, chooses to downplay himself in order for Faolan to appear stronger. My brother's humility is, in fact, one of his most redeeming qualities.

The maid leaves us in the ominous hallway - so different from what we are used to. Our marble cities with their open spaces are not a place to display our wealth. We rather choose to hoard it up and display the items we can, by wearing it. 

Thick tapestries and invaluable paintings fill every inch of the corridor. Aedan and I study them in silence. Some are landscapes from Ardam, with a few that I recognise as some of its key cities, and others are, what I assume to be, family portraits. This wing seems to be devoted to the current king's lineage, as row upon row of inky-haired monarchs stares at us from their aureate frames.

The maid returns after a long enough while that allowed Aedan and I to debate the Ardam curse and curses in general. "Your Majesties, would you please follow me?" She leads us down similar corridors.

After noticing the only empty space on the walls and a solitary portrait of First King Ardam Vaubadon, I realise that the canvases on the walls now include more family members than the only-father-and-son depictions from the previous corridor. Stern looking men and sombre ladies with russet, vermillion and carrot-top hair have joined the ranks. Occasional caramel, strawberry and beach blonde family members brighten the paintings.

"This corridor is empty, but these are the only rooms suiting your desire. No-one has occupied them in a very long time."

"Why?" The maid shifting uncomfortably stirs my interest, which is amplified by the nervous twitch of her jaw.

Aedan also notices her skittishness. "Please tell us, if you would."

She shuffles around, like a doe about to bolt off: "There is a superstition among the staff of the palace that this corridor is haunted by a ghost."