Amid the Clouds (Brave New World Book 1)

Chapter 11

Some two minutes later, I was reduced once again to a staring and gaping thing while being flown through the palace in the arms of the gargoyle king.

Having been surrounded by gargoyles in the courtyard, I hadn't had time to take a proper look at the building from the outside. My eyes had registered a blue-pink cloud in the shape of a mid-sized castle, and that had been about it.

Now, with Xaniban taking me to this so-called war room, I had the chance to see the palace from the inside. I was even told the function of each room we were flying through.

The pride in Xaniban's voice was easy to detect. This was his home, and what a home it was!

I had expected everything inside the palace to be made of clouds shaped like furniture, but everything looked quite solid. If I hadn't seen this building from the outside, I would never have guessed I currently found myself inside a cloud.

The interior looked the way you would expect a castle from 18th century Europe to look like inside. It wasn't as over-the-top as Rococo was: there were no massive crystal chandeliers, ceiling art, baby Cupid statues in the corners, and golden cutlery on display. Still, the interior was by no means plain. The furniture was made of solid dark-red wood with intricate carvings, wall-size paintings and tapestries hung everywhere I looked, lush blue carpets covered the floors.

I noticed that everything was adapted to accommodate the physical specifics of gargoyles. From the chairs being bigger through the ceilings being higher to the rooms having two wide-framed doors: one on top of the other. More than one gargoyle, dressed in a white loincloth and carrying a food tray, flew through those upper doors while we were using the normal ones.

The paintings and tapestries I caught a glimpse of were also relevant to the residents of this place. Depicted were gargoyles in flight hunting deer, gargoyles engaged in a sky battle, gargoyles having a feast. Even a gargoyle posing with a bunch of scantily clad human women.

In short, I was in the post-Renaissance period, gargoyle style.

Some six or seven rooms later – this palace was way bigger than it looked from the outside - we reached our destination.

It looked quite cozier that what one would expect from a place called 'the war room'. Yeah, the wall-sized paintings covering all but one wall depicted battle scenes. But other than that, nothing screamed, 'Let's plan a battle'. The large rectangular table had wine glasses and candles on it. The individual blue tablecloths matched the color of the cushions on the chairs of dark-red wood. Oh, and the ceiling looked like a cloud the color of cotton candy.

I was a very curious person, and not only when science and animals were concerned. Coming into contact with a culture that probably a handful of humans knew existed, left me itching to touch and explore everything in this palace.

However, the moment my eyes took in the food on the table, hunger overrode all other needs.

I more or less run to the table for a closer look, unable to believe my eyes. "You've got real meat!... Holy crap, strawberries!!... Oh my God, is that a cake?!"

Before I could get my hands on anything, a tail curled around my midsection and stopped me in my tracks. Then I was pulled back against Xaniban's chest.

I wanted to scream bloody murder. Here I was, a breath away from food that was but a mirage these days. And I might as well be miles away from it.

Xaniban's lips brushed the tip of my ear. "Not yet," he whispered, as if there was someone in the room that might overhear him. "My warriors start the dinner then you and me."