The Blade and The Bird

Chapter 12

It wasn't long before Sidra could see the silhouette of the castle against the sky. She noticed how the castle towered over the town, resting against the side of a cliff that gave way to the ocean below. Sidra stood there in awe for a moment as she looked on at the grandeur of the palace in front of her. It stood out in such stark contrast with the ocean and sky behind it.

She found herself wanting to go towards the cliff, to look down and see the ocean for the first time. She wasn't close enough to hear the crash of the waves, but she knew they were there at the base of the cliff. The air felt thicker here, full of moisture from the sea with a drizzle of rain that reminded her of home.

She peered around the fencing near the castle, looking into the courtyard beyond. Several people were moving about. She could see a man tending to the shrubs that decorated the grassy area. Even the courtyard looked minuscule in the wake of the castle, the sun was setting behind the castle, and it cast shadows so long and dark they crossed over the street and onto the nearby houses. The fence separating her from the courtyard was made of thick metal, slipper in the dampness of the city, and too tall to consider climbing.

Sidra ducked her head back behind the wall when she heard the chatter of women walking towards her. She made her way back towards Baron, who was waiting a few feet away, his hood pulled up to stop the rain and cover his face. They had seen several signs that had their faces on it, even here, people were looking for them.

"It's big," Sidra said as she walked up to him. They haven't talked since the argument. It had been several hours of silence as the two made their way into Burya. She felt bad but she didn't think she needed to apologize. Baron was the one who started the fight.

"Yeah, it's pretty ugly isn't it," Baron made a face as he spoke. Sidra rolled her eyes but didn't say anything more about the castle. She was surprised he answered.

"It's going to be hard once we get inside, the place looks huge," she said.

"We don't even know how we're going to get inside yet."

Sidra thought about that for a moment. It was true, the walls were tall, several people were milling about, and there was a bounty on their heads. They couldn't simply walk into castle-grounds in their torn and dirty clothing.

"Let's get out of the rain for a moment," Sidra said after a while. She pulled her hood a little closer herself and walked down the street, she could hear Baron's footsteps as he followed behind her, and the two of them slipped into the first alleyway they saw. It doesn't do much to protect them from the rain, but it was better than standing out in the open. Sidra leaned against the wall, thinking about what they could do.

"You know, the place doesn't look as shut off as my Grandmother told me," Sidra said after a while. "She used to tell Selene and me that the castle was closed off to the world, that the King and Queen preferred to live in isolation."

"You didn't look closely enough. Did you see that every curtain was drawn closed?"

"Huh," Sidra said as she tried to remember if she noticed that earlier. "Quite a few people were walking about the yard though."

"The servants and some of the royal house have been seen outside, but never the King or Queen. You know, most people aren't even sure if they're still alive."

"Well, clearly someone is still alive if they brought my sister all the way here," Sidra said, dryly.

"I suppose you're right," Baron said. He leaned against the wall next to her, she could see how the rain was soaking his hood. The drizzle was constant.

"So what do you think we should do?" Sidra asked.

"How am I to know? You're the one that dragged us all the way here, on speculation, I might add."