A Tale That Dawned [Book 4 of Selvina's Tale series]

Chapter 31: Liberator

Selvina nodded and followed the attendant, struggling to find the right words to ask a question waiting behind her pursed lips. Impatiently, she blurted, "You're an elf, right?"

The attendant nodded. "Indeed I am."

"Do you like it here? Like, as a servant?"

"I am grateful for every day I live here under the greatness of the empress."

Selvina frowned. "You can tell me the truth, you know."

"It is, my lady."

"Well, like, speak freely with me I mean. You don't have to be all prim and proper and whatever."

The elf furrowed his brows, as if confused, and gave Selvina a brief glance before nodding. "I mean every word I say. My life before coming here was difficult, painful, and hopeless. Here I have a future. I am thrilled at being a castle attendant here in Caer Gobiyth as it gives me a chance to be close to the empress. She is a heroine to all of elf-kind, my lady, and I thank the gods every morning for giving me this new chance at life."

Selvina nodded, satisfied with the answer and once again wondering how anyone could see Rhiannon as evil. She seemed to be the most wonderful person in all of Faeryum and yet everyone that wasn't Noyran despised her. There was something she wasn't seeing. There was some dark secret hidden beneath all the praise and love she found here. Before the end, Selvina vowed to find it.

After several turns they came to a wall where, flanked by two armoured guards, stood Empress Rhiannon wearing a long fur coat and a matching hat. Behind her was a wide door and above it hung a rectangular plate of metal, vertically oriented, with a needle pointing at the image of a huge castle. Several lines poked out of the side of the castle and the needle pointed at the line just below the highest one.

The servant bowed low to his sovereign and swept an arm toward her, directing Selvina. "Here you are, Lady Selvina, may I present to you The Dragon Empress Rhiannon the Liberator, First of her Name, Founder of—"

"That is quite all right, Ytali," said the empress with a small smile. "Selvina knows who I am. Thank you for bringing her to me."

Ytali bowed even lower, his face going red at being named by the empress herself. "You are most welcome, your highness." With that he stood and left the area, back straight, eyes forward, cheeks blushing, and smile barely contained.

Rhiannon turned her gaze to Selvina and raised an eyebrow. "Did you not open a window to feel the temperature, Selvina? It is rather cool outside. I doubt your dress, pretty as it is, will warm you much."

Selvina gulped in embarrassment. "Should I go change?"

"There is no time for that, I am afraid. Legatus Accolon is supervising the troops at their morning drills and I do not want to miss it. Perhaps the day will warm up." She then turned around to the door, where a guard advanced and lowered a lever protruding from the wall. The doors swung open to reveal a tiny room with no windows and a red, carpeted floor. The other guard entered first, soon followed by the empress and the second guard. Selvina stepped into the room and watched as the same guard as before lifted a lever from inside the room. The doors swung closed with a bang and a click.

Selvina glanced about, noticing a plate identical to the one over the doors positioned over the opening of the small room. The guard manning the lever slid a small wooden gate across the opening and then lowered another lever. The entire room then shuddered and lurched and Selvina felt a familiar sensation, as if the entire room was lowering into the ground.

"It's an elevator!" she exclaimed in delight. "You have elevators?"

"I call it a lift but yes, it does elevate, as well as lowers," replied the empress. "We are currently going to the lowest level, where a carriage awaits us to take us to the camp." She gestured to the metal plate above the gated opening. "See how the needle descends along with us?"

Selvina watched in amazement as the needle in its groove lowered at a slow but constant rate. It passed another line alongside the image of the castle where for a brief moment the wall of rock beyond the opening was replaced by another set of wide doors. The lift continued to the lower, the needle following its progress, and several more sets of closed doors came and went. It was much slower than the elevators Selvina was used to but she was grateful that she didn't have to walk all that way after realizing just how massive Caer Gobiyth truly was.

"How does it work?" she asked the empress. "Is it electrical?"

"The dwarves constructed it," she answered. "Their mastery of engineering and clockwork is what created this most useful of inventions. They say it is powered by water and steam, though I did not ask them on the finer details. I only thanked them for their marvelous work."

Finally, after what felt like an hour, the lift came to the last stop. The same guard as before slid the folding gate back, and then lowered the lever for the doors. Obediently, the set of closed doors ahead of them opened wide. Beyond was a massive hall with many others branching out from it. Black marble columns lined the sides of the hall while statues, busts, suits of armour, weapon displays, and detailed tapestries stood, hung, or sat between them. At the hall's end was a pair of massive doors bearing majestic reliefs and carvings. Two black-armoured guards bearing halberds stood beside them, their faces hidden behind full-face helms.

"This is the entrance to Caer Gobiyth," Rhiannon described. "If you ascended the stairs from here it would take you two days to reach the top floor."

"Holy shit," Selvina blurted, slapping her hand before her mouth immediately after. Her face went red with embarrassment as she whispered, "Sorry..."

Rhiannon chuckled. "That was my exact reaction upon hearing that for the first time. If I wished, I could house all of Corbeau within this castle. It would be crowded, but it could be done. Now come, Accolon awaits."

Selvina followed the empress and her guards, gazing at the displays on either side of her. One statue was of an armoured dwarf bearing a double-headed axe. Below him, on a gold plaque, was the inscription, "Mighty King Firebeard, Last Dwarf King of Caer Gobiyth."

Last king? Selvina thought curiously. I wonder what happened to him.

Next she passed a huge tapestry depicting a fierce battle. On the right side of the tapestry was Caer Gobiyth in flames as small bearded men fired crossbows, manned catapults, and waved axes, swords, and hammers at something on the left side of the tapestry. Selvina felt a chill run down as she gazed that way, settling her eyes on a black dragon spewing fire from its open maw.

Hurrying to catch up to Rhiannon and her guards, she glanced at a suit of armour, one that looked as if it had fit a dwarf once upon a time. Across the breastplate was a huge gouge, as if some great claw had scraped across of it. Another tapestry depicted a woman in a black dress impaling the body of a red-bearded dwarf with a long sword as the silhouette of a dragon coiled behind her.

"Uh, empress?" Selvina asked as her stomach began to ache. "Was this castle abandoned when you claimed it?"

Rhiannon laughed as the guards flanking the huge doors moved to open it. "Of course not, Selvina. I burned it to the ground and had the survivors rebuild it."

As the doors spread open, a chill wind blew in and Selvina shivered.

But it wasn't from the cold.