They walked in silence for a little while longer, and as they rounded a corner the castle suddenly came into view through the hedges and trees that had surrounded them until now. Up close, it was somehow even more ethereal: the black stone reflected the vivid moonlight, giving the castle a soft glow similar to the marble statues in the garden, but with a more iridescent hue. Florian could see that the stone path led to one of the spires attached to the corner of the castle, where a stone door stood slightly ajar.
Tatiana led them in that direction, and both Jerah and Kade stepped through the open door. Florian hesitated, and Tatiana gave him an encouraging smile.
“I've never been in a castle before,” he blurted out, looking up with apprehension at the towering spires. Her smile became amused, but she continued to hold the door open for him.
“It's your home,” she said. He was sure it was meant to sound reassuring, but somehow it made him feel more unsettled. “No need to worry. We'll make sure you know where everything is and that you have everything you need.”
“Thanks,” he replied, unconvinced, but he stepped inside anyway.
Inside, the castle was warmly illuminated, and he blinked a few times in surprise as his eyes adjusted to the light. When Florian could see clearly once more, he and Tatiana were in some kind of foyer—or maybe something like a mud room—that led directly to a hallway on the opposite end of the small space. A few plants were set up here as well; the warm light came from some flickering lamps, but also from what looked like baseball-sized globules of light that floated up near the ceiling. Florian stared at them for a long moment as they made a slow, lazy rotation around the room.
“Much of the castle is lit this way,” Tatiana said, placing a soft hand on his shoulder and startling him from his thoughts. “I'm glad you find them interesting. It's all just part of the castle to us, so it's... refreshing, to see an outside perspective.”
“I've never seen anything like it,” Florian said, feeling silly the moment the words left his mouth. Of course he'd never seen anything like it—up until yesterday he hadn't known any of this existed at all. But the fond smile on her face didn't waver as she led him out of the room and down the hallway. Just as she had said, floating lights were on the ceiling of the hallway too, as well as a few candles set up on a side table further down the hall. As they walked, Florian thought the hallway felt strangely empty with only a few decorations on the wall and a long rug on the floor. For a castle, it didn’t look very lived in—though, he supposed, he had never been in a castle before, so maybe it was meant to be that way.
“Here, I can have your things taken up to your room for you,” Tatiana said as they reached a junction in the hallway. “I'll show you to the dining hall, and once you've eaten, someone will show you to your room.”
“Oh, sure,” he said, nodding in agreement. She snapped her fingers, and Florian nearly leapt out of his skin when a faint spectral form appeared next to her.
“Oh, I'm sorry,” she exclaimed, stifling a laugh behind her hand. “The servants. I didn't even think about it. They're, ah, spectral shapes. Not like a ghost or anything, more just magical force given shape.”
“I—I see,” he stammered, still looking at the strange humanoid shape that had appeared at her side. It looked like a shadow given substance and dimension, and he jumped again as it moved closer to him.
“Take his belongings up to the prepared guest room, please,” Tatiana said, and the arms of the specter reached toward him expectantly. She gestured at Florian. “Go ahead, give it your things.”
Warily, he took off his backpack and placed it over the specter's waiting arms. He still half-expected the bag to fall to the ground, but it settled onto the shadowy shape and moved with it as it drifted away down the hallway and around a corner.
“That's…” Florian started, unable to find the words. If magic was real, it only made sense that things like ghost servants might exist; but as long as he stayed in this world, he was sure he would be taken by surprise more often than not. “That's, um. Useful?”
“Oh, very,” Tatiana agreed, laughing as she continued to lead him down the hallway. “Jerah will have to show you how to summon them. Though I'm sure he has plenty of plans for you, while you're here.”
Florian frowned at that. Clearly she expected him to be staying long-term, but he still wasn't convinced that he would stay longer than a few days. Jerah could be the one to tell her that, though, so he only nodded silently in agreement.
She led him through a few more corridors and down a flight of stairs, until they finally emerged into what must have been the dining room. A long table took up the bulk of the narrow room, and though every chair had its own place settings, Jerah and Kade sat alone at the far end. Food was set all down the center of the table, an assortment of dishes that Florian didn't recognize.
“There you are!” Jerah said, waving for them to join. “Come, sit, eat! It's been a long journey.”
“What is all this?” Florian asked, slowly walking over to sit across from Jerah. Kade was a few seats down, and Tatiana went and politely sat across from him.
“Most of this is quite similar to human food,” Jerah said, gesturing. “This is very much like beef, and these are carrots, onions, potatoes, more or less... Some of the vegetables and fruits are a bit different, but for the most part things are fairly analogous, if not exactly the same. See? Regular old bread.”
Florian chuckled at that. “That’s good to hear. Though, I'm not really a picky eater,” he said, starting to put a bit of everything on his plate, only to stop suddenly as a thought occurred to him. “Are, um... Are the stories about fae making people eat their food to trap them true?”
Jerah and Tatiana both stared at him for a long moment, eyes wide, until finally Jerah laughed aloud, shaking his head.
“No, that one isn't true!” he exclaimed. “I promise.”
“Okay…” Florian replied, eyeing his food suspiciously. But the other three had already started to eat, so he took a cautious bite and didn't feel any different afterward.
He stayed mostly silent during their meal, Jerah chattering animatedly enough for the rest of them, and Tatiana offering the occasional comment. Kade was just as quiet as usual, and the few glances in his direction that Florian risked went unnoticed. His eyes still gleamed a brilliant yellow-orange, even though they were no longer in the moonlight.
Just as Jerah had said, most of the food tasted recognizable, if not exactly what he expected. Some of the vegetables had a more earthy profile, the meat a little more gamey—but for the most part, nothing was so different as to be off-putting; the few things that he didn't recognize were perfectly palatable. Despite the sometimes awkward silence, it was overall a pleasant meal.
“Well, I'm certainly feeling better,” Jerah said, stretching in his chair. “Florian, how about I show you around the castle? Get you your bearings?”
“Oh,” Florian said, surprised. “Um, sure.”
“Call if you need me,” Tatiana said, standing up from her seat and exiting through the opposite door with a polite nod. Kade hesitated, then silently nodded at Jerah as well and followed Tatiana out the door. And then they were alone—the first time he had been alone with his father. But Jerah remained seated, looking at him with an expression that was entirely unreadable—helped in no small part by the way his eyes shone in the light as if they were glowing. That was going to take some getting used to.
