CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Calista
The castle was quiet when I left my room. I couldn’t tell what time it was for them, or when the goblins began their duties, but I waited until the sky had reverted back to grayish lavender before I set off to roam. After using the dinosaur of a bathroom, I got a shock in the mirror while splashing water on my face. My hair was back to normal, not that I was complaining. The faded colors looked awful, but I hadn’t seen this shade in years. Why did he do this? I stared at the stranger in the mirror until I saw bits of my younger self hidden within the mature features of my reflection.
You know why.
I shoved the icky thought away, but it nestled in the back of my mind. I knotted it on top of my head so I wouldn’t have it see it or think about it, and I dressed in shorts and one of my favoriteworn-out band tees. Was it an illusion, like the items in my room were, or did Astaroth actually move all of my clothing here? They felt the same as they always did, but I didn’t understand magic. For all I knew, I was wearing a thin scrap of material that only looked like my clothes.
I paused at the tapestry on the stairwell and leaned back against the wall, clutching the edge of the platter from yesterday’s breakfast to my chest. It was nearing nightfall when I awoke, and Astaroth was gone. At first, I was saddened by his absence. I had been so lonely trapped in my room and in my head with nothing but my overwhelming grief to keep me company. I felt so weak and stupid for asking him to stay. He was the cause of all this, and here I was seeking his comfort. I hoped he didn’t misconstrue my actions for something more. I also hoped his actions wouldn’t sway me in the future.
The tapestry wove him with the sharp planes and edges of a king out to conquer whatever stood in his path. I saw that version of him when he brought me here. Even more so when the pixie flew free. That was scary. The Astaroth on my balcony was an entirely different being—relaxed, soft spoken, and somewhat forthcoming. Genuine. It was hard for me to mesh the two together, but I had to in order to find my way home.
Thankfully, the dining room was empty when I reached it. I sat in my chair and looked around the room as I sifted through my mixed emotions. It was so different here with natural light filtering inside, creating a more vibrant and colorful atmosphere compared to the stone walls I traveled, draped with silks. The candelabras were crammed on a side table looking a lot like how I felt: half-burned with waxy tears dried to their lengths. Dollops of wax hardened on the surface beneath them.
The tapestry covering the kitchen opening hung next to it. A gnarled tree with widespread branches and lumpy roots was in the center, with the labyrinth walls surrounding it.Ancient. Theword whispered through my mind. I didn’t remember it from my first visit.
I walked over to it, remembering how the goblins ran through to the kitchen. I needed to do something. Eating my feelings sounded good right now. It was pretty much the only thing I’d done since I got here. Eat, sleep, shit, repeat. I was about over it, and my curiosity was winning out. How did the tapestry work? Was it an illusion like the walls in the labyrinth? Only one way to find out.
I went to walk through it, and the platter slammed into my ribs.
“Ow!” Not an illusion.
Gripping the fabric, I pulled it to the side to discover a door much like the one to my room. Go figure. After I wrestled with the tapestry, I got the door opened and entered the kitchen.
It was a mess.
Gruel-crusted pots haphazardly filled the counters, releasing a stench worthy of roadkill.
“Do they not clean?” I swallowed the gag working up my throat. With my appetite gone, I set the platter atop a pot and went to work finding the sink.
By the time Ziggy arrived, my frustrations had gone a long way to cleaning this pigsty. I had found the well outside a tiny kitchen door I had to crouch to get through, brought in buckets of water to clean, and had most of the dishes washed.
“Milady! What are you doing?”
Elbows deep in sudsy water, I looked over my shoulder. A cloth napkin tied around my head hid most of my face. “Exactly what it looks like. How do you guys not get sick from the filth?”
“No, no, no,” he chanted as he ran to the sink and pulled on my calf. “You mustn’t be here. Leave!”
I shook his weird, calloused hands from my leg. “I’m almost done. Let me finish, and I’ll grab some breakfast and leave.”
“I’ll make your breakfast.” He pushed at me. “Please go.”
I dropped the soggy cloth in the grimy water and spun around. “What’s the big deal?”
Ziggy crooked his head to the side and stared at me with those large amphibius eyes. It was unnerving.
“Why can’t I be here?”
“If sire finds you here doing the servants work, he will punish us.”
“You need to be punished for allowing this.”
His chin dropped and what little shoulders he had drooped with it. “Everyone was catching up on sleep from hunting and doing other chores.”
Goblins hid outside the door, their dark eyes peeking fearfully around the doorway. That meant Astaroth was probably up and about, too.
“Sire will be back soon. We came to prepare breakfast for him and you.”
