Chapter 35

The Sentry held out his lamp and called out to the castle guards. "Riders approaching."

The hooves of Teddy's horse beat on the cobblestone path until he reached the wooden doors. The afternoon sun cast long, eerie shadows on the ground and made the whole medieval aura of the new world for her seem that much more unreal. It all glowed in a new light for her. Every face they passed was like she viewed them through a generous camera filter, and all she saw was beauty.

When she stepped down onto the ancient road, she saw women in long skirts who carried buckets of water and men in armor, and she spun around to take it all in. "Definitely not in Kansas anymore, am I?"

"Un-un." He tugged her to his chest, and the hand that rested on her shoulder spread out to show her the castle. "They ain't got any folks like the Darke's back home, I promise. Now, these people can be," — he trilled his lips, and the shoulder she was against shrugged behind her — "well, they can be a bit much. See, they're psychics and such, and whatever is going on in that pretty little head of yours, they're going to be able to see it. They don't mean any harm, mind you, but it can be annoying as shit."

"Are you serious?" She was already closing her eyes to clear her mind of everything when she passed over the threshold. "Like everything I think?"

"Everything." He nodded to the hall guard and held out Mory's bags. "Can you put these in Haldir's room, please?"

His hands rested on her shoulders. "Once they get used to you, it'll stop. Truthfully, I don't think they want to do it any more than we want them to. It's just how they're made. We all got certain gifts, and that happens to be theirs."

In the Dining Hall across the foyer, he saw the kitchen staff setting the tables, and when he realized what time it was, he sighed. "I was just too excited, and I couldn't help myself, so I let Tessa know you were here. She said she'd be here before supper for you."

Both his hands flung upwards as he shrugged his sympathy. "I can't really give you any advice on how to deal with all that. Just enjoy the ride on the crazy train and try not to let it run you over."

His lips twisted as he stepped back and his eyes took in every inch of her, and he nodded. "You are her type though, so you'll probably do fine. If she gets a bit too handsy, just slap her away."

"Okay." A finger pointed at Teddy as she looked at the mural on the ceiling. "I'm going to try really hard to forget you said all that right now."

There was a flurry of footsteps that raced toward them, and Teddy's hand rested on her back as he urged her forward. "Well first things first, this is her Majesty, Queen Rosemary."

In the split second of warning she had, Mory wondered how she should present herself to a Queen, but Rosemary nearly took her out when she hugged her. "Oh, I'm so happy to meet you finally. It's such an honor."

"Thank you." Mory swatted at Rosemary's gown to get the dirt from her clothes off it. "Sorry about that. It was kind of a rough trip."

A blonde woman still dressed in her Earthly clothes snuggled into Teddy's arm. "Now this lovely lady is my beautiful and charming wife, Stella." His fingers swept up and down his wife's arm. "Honey, believe it or not, this is Haldir's wife, Morana."

Crystal blue eyes smiled at Mory, and her hand slapped to Mory's to shake it. "I can't tell you how incredibly happy I am to meet you." When she looked to Teddy, Stella's shoulder jerked upward. "I'm not sure any of us ever thought someone could tame that old man."

Mory shoved her hands in her pockets, and even though she knew he wasn't there, her eyes never stopped scanning the foyer for Haldir. "Yeah, I'm not sure I did. He just wouldn't take go to hell for an answer."

A throaty chuckle like a creaky door came from Teddy as he pointed his finger at her. "Now, that I can believe."

Stella nodded to the hallway behind them, and her fingers bent over and over. "You're probably dying for a hot bath and some clean clothes. Let's go get you settled in."

While she peeked down over herself and her bloody clothes, Mory scratched the dirty hair on the back of her head and nodded. "Yeah. That sounds really nice, actually. Thank you"

As Stella pulled her to the hall of bedrooms, she put her arm around Mory's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. You aren't the first person who's made the journey down that path."

Stella opened the rounded wooden door of Haldir's bedroom. "This is, well, I suppose it's your room now."

Mory turned slowly as she took in the room. A plush fur carpet lined the floor, and another big fur covered the bed. And as she ran her hand through the hairs, she shivered. "I can smell him."

Two hands wrapped around Mory's arms, and Stella's chin rested on her shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll be along soon. He always keeps his word."

Her arms crossed over her as she followed Stella down the hall to the baths, and Mory looked at the banners and statues that lined the walls and shook her head. "This is crazy. Haldir never mentioned he lived in a castle. How does someone leave something like that out?"

Stella shook her head and motioned to another hallway. "He doesn't really. Haldir and Teddy don't always get along so well. He mostly stays with Tessa when he's here."

***

Haldir ran from his mist as soon as his feet settled, and he took as many steps as he could with each leg while he did. And when the doors parted, he looked in each doorway. "Your Majesty? It's Haldir, where are you?"

A cloud of smoke came from a door, and Haldir tossed his bag to the ground when he got to it. "Morana Osulf? Is she here? She may be going by Morana Faye. Have you seen her?"

The spent pipe dumped into a saucer, and he summoned Haldir forward with his fingers. "Yes, she arrived here just yesterday."

He smiled but it quickly faded when he realized she was powerless to the creatures along the paths that led in all directions to the different regions of the world. "Oh, no. Please tell me she didn't start out on her own."

"Of course not." The black leather pouch that held his tobacco sat on his round belly, and he untied the strap. "I believe it was a wolf pack she traveled with. She said she was a death fairy, so I sent her North to Daniel."

"Dammit." Haldir's fingers rubbed at his forehead. "She's still nearly a week from there." His hand slapped at the old king's shoulder. "I suppose I better be leaving then if I'm to catch up. Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You're welcome." The spent match he used fell to the saucer as he nuzzled back into his chair. "Nice to have you back young man."

As soon as he crossed into the woods, drops of water beat on his head, and Haldir pulled up the hood of his jacket. "I'll be there soon."