I tried to calm myself further by focusing on taking deliberate slow breaths. I jumped slightly when a hand slipped under my arm to stop me from walking. The same hand that held mine only moments earlier and forced my body into the chaotic stupor it remained in. Again, strange emotions encompassed me.
“There are six steps going up, right here,” the same man as before said.
I took them one at a time, counting as I went. They were smooth and slick to my booted feet and made me think of stone. The confusing notions pictured in my mind furthered my unease as I tried to gain some perspective of my surroundings. Nothing made sense.
“Step through the door here…” I was pulled forward toward the voice.
The hand released my arm. Steps shuffled away from me. Slowly the feelings swirling within me ebbed, allowing me the ability to pay attention to my surroundings and gauge what may happen next. I held my breath, listening to anything that would indicate a clue or warning. The warmth of the room washed over me, thawing the chill wrapped around my body.
I jumped again as the hood of my cloak fell from my head, settling along the back of my shoulders, and mentally reprimanded myself for my lack of control. As the blindfold pulled away from my eyes, allowing them to adjust by blinking away the blur, I found myself standing in the foyer of a small palace. Everything was made from white stone, polished and gleaming. Beautiful.
I tried to regain my composure and put on an air of nonchalance until I could decide exactly what these people wanted with me and why they went so far as to rescue me from the Cyrs, and yet brought me to their home blindfolded. It appeared to me neither of us was entirely sure of the other.
In front of me stood a set of double doors flanked by two suits of armor, also polished to a shine so pristine the light shattered into tiny beams when it kissed the metal. The doors, a warm cherry color and arched at the top, remained sealed under a balcony a set of stairs to the left of me curved up to. The wooden balusters were intricately carved into tiny trees that grew from the stone itself. The same railing joined two stone pillars on the balcony in front of me and along the edge on my right. Below it, another set of doors, in the same cherry tone, opened into a room with the scent of burning wood emitting from it. Shocked by the silence the small palace emitted, I focused on the heat for the slightest pop of a fire. It whispered, making me believe it was close to being out.
Sconces of black wrought iron illuminated the wall and surrounding area in an orb of soft orange glow. I stepped gingerly into the corridor, taking in a set of arched doors to the left that sealed its secrets beyond. They seemed both harmless and yet foreboding. I peered further into the opened room on the right noting the large fireplace—the source of the heat—taking up the center of the opposite wall. Contrary to my previous belief of it being nearly out, the fire popped and cracked, far from going out.
I realized it wasn’t the palace that quieted all sounds, but me. My heartbeat pulsed through my ears, numbing them to the point all sound seemed softer or nonexistent.
“Follow me. I’ll take you to your room,” the same man said, climbing up the stairs. He wore black hooded robes with the cowl pulled low over his head. Not a trace of him left uncovered could be recognized. I knew nothing of this man and couldn’t figure out how he could’ve known of me.
We made our way to the top of the stairs. A door sat to the left, in the corner. It was slightly opened, letting the aroma of flowers and soap fill the air. At the balcony, I glanced over and sucked in a deep breath, surprised I didn’t see the large wolf head painted on the floor of the entryway when I first came in. The details were so lifelike. The wave of the fur. The blends of the browns, greys, and whites made him seem real. His ears perked high on his head as though he listened intently for the slightest sound. Even his eyes seemed to follow me along as I moved.
To my side, windows overlooked a forest behind the palace. Tall trees of varying shades of green filled the horizon in waves against snow-dusted mountains that rose up in the distance. They were familiar, like a lost memory, but I couldn’t recall their name. Along the way, a few sealed doors sparked my curiosities. At the end of the balcony, another long hallway stretched out, ending with set of arched double doors. They appeared to grow larger as I moved closer to them.