A World Apart

13. Surprises

Elena followed Sedric as he led the way, meandering through long, stone hallways and wide, expansive rooms whose use he explained in detail as they explored the main body of the castle. He showed her the armory and the knights' training grounds where Belen, Dolor, Rothbey, and Tawb were busy practicing their swordsmanship and archery. Elena was proud she remembered their names although not which one was which yet.

When the men caught sight of Sedric they waved and called out for him to join them. Two were engaged in a sword fight with dull practice blades, their loose tunics soaked in sweat. Another was shirtless and whipping a chain against a huge wooden pole erected in the training yard, while the last one had a milkmaid's yoke balanced across his shoulders with a sack of ore tied to each end as he practiced his exercises carrying what looked to be few hundred extra pounds on his back.

Sedric smiled at them and waved back but continued on, opening a door from the training grounds into a more narrow hallway. This one was dimly lit by only a few small grated windows that looked out into the courtyard where his friends were exerting themselves. The hallway ended at a wall where they could go right or left. Sedric headed right, explaining how this portion of the palace was built during his great-grandfather's reign.

The faster he walked the less Elena noticed his limp, and the more animated he seemed to become as he explained hundreds of years of his family and kingdom's history, pointing out small fissures in the wall where a king's guard had dodged an ax while being chased during an invasion or small chips in a windowsill where enemy forces had once broken through.

"This palace housed warriors and peacemakers alike," he said proudly, "My ancestors built this kingdom and this palace from nothing," his eyes darkened for a moment, "Only to hand it over to me."

Elena paused where she was, her fingers still tracing the cracks in a stained glass window, watching the colorful pattern reflected onto her skin from the sun shining through. "Why would you say that?" she asked gently, sensing there was more he wanted to voice but perhaps he didn't want to confide in her.

His face resumed that stoic look she had grown so used to after they first found her when his distrust was palpable with every interaction between them. Although she felt like their rapport had come a long way from that, she could tell from the way his shoulders were set and his back went ramrod straight that he was once again surmising her for honest concern rather than searching for weaknesses in him to exploit.

"Nevermind," he replied with a shake of his head, and made for another door, opening it for her expectantly. Elena tried not to let her frustration show at this departure from their recent friendly camaraderie as she followed his lead and stepped through. She found herself on the opposite side of the same interior courtyard from earlier when Sedric had helped escort her and Sarai to the kitchens. Diagonal from where she stood she recognized the door that led down the dank stone corridor to the entryway they had come through just this morning under the grand staircase in the outer courtyard.

Sedric followed and the heavy door shut with a thump behind them. He walked on ahead, his limp more pronounced now as he made for another large door and grabbed the handle, waiting for her to catch up.

Nervously, Elena increased her speed, reaching him just as he turned to pull on the handle to open the door, opening it a crack before he looked at her, a faint smile once more on his face. "This is the place I thought you would be most interested to see," he prefaced, as he opened the door wide and her stomach gave a funny jolt when she felt his free hand graze ever-so-lightly in between her shoulders, ushering her through into the darkness.

It was a small entrance hall. Two freestanding candelabras illuminated the space enough for Elena to see a set of double doors, each with a small, circular window, across from where they had entered as well as the smooth cerulean tile that gleamed underfoot. Her heart sped up,  wondering what was on the other side of them and why Sedric had been so excited to show her. She hesitated as he crossed the foyer, reached for one of the ornate golden doorknobs, and looking back at her expectantly.