The castle was magnificent. Even more beautiful than I could ever imagine. The castle was tall and grey, but the abundance of colorful flowers left it looking warm and welcoming. Birds chirped around us, inviting us in with their songs. Gorgeous vines wrapped and coiled around the skyscraping towers. Two guards nodded to us as we passed them and kept on into the garden, which was arguably more beautiful than the castle. Flowers of every kind surrounded us and reached out as far as I could see, wrapping around the castle. Two white statues of beautiful women stood amidst a fountain, the way the water reflected off them made their gown look as if they were swaying in the wind.
I could have wandered around the garden for hours, but Marcus's chuckle brought me out of my spell. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
I nodded, in a daze. "It's the most incredible thing I've ever seen." Soon after, we made in to the front door, which was about seven times taller than me. I wondered how anyone could open a door so heavy, but Marcus held out his hand, and the door opened effortlessly. Magic, of course. I never would get tired of watching it.
When the door finally opened, we were greeted by the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. She was wearing a gown that looks like something I'd seen at a Renaissance festival, but of course it looked much more elegant on her. Her hair was done up nicely with what looked to be diamonds in her braids.
I suddenly felt very insecure about my ponytail and sweaty, earthly workout clothes.
"Marcus!" she beamed as she embraced him. I tried to ignore the twinge of envy I felt. This lady was every I could ever dream of being.
Marcus stepped back and pointed to me. "Princess Valeria, this is Sam," he introduced me.
When she turned to look at me, her smile widened. "Our savior, yes?" I smiled nervously.
"I hope so," I muttered, and she laughed.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." She bent in a curtsy. When I tried to mimic her movement, she laughed again. "No need for that! I know you don't learn to curtsy in the human realm."
I chuckled awkwardly. "Unfortunately not, your highness."
She tsked. "Call me Valeria, please." With a simple wave, Valeria lead me away from him and through one of the many, grand halls of the castle. Taller than any walls I'd ever seen, they were lined with beautiful paintings of previous royal family members, I assumed, and bouquets of flowers that were taller than me.
"This place is amazing," I cooed as we walked.
She nodded. "It is. I could never get bored of walking through these halls," she agreed, dreamily. We walked for a while, making small talk about the weather, which is always perfect here, apparently. We must have walked at least a mile. I couldn't help but to think Elizabeth would have made a joke about how we should make the walk again, just for more exercise. I fiddled with the opal ring she had given me for my birthday last year, and wondered how quickly it would take her to forget me.
I would have loved for her to be here with me. I would have loved to show her that magic was real, so she would never tease me again for dreaming about it and loving it all these years. But mostly, I just missed my best friend.
Finally, we made it to my room. As Valeria was opening the door, she said, "Sorry it's so small, it's the closest room we had to the throne room on such short notice." When she opened the door, my jaw dropped. Its was bigger than my entire house back home, and she called it small? I'd love to see her bedroom. The room was glorious. Everything white and gold, lined with bright teal flowers covering every table and shelf. White curtains lightly billowed in the wind, which brought in the mouthwatering smell of the flowers and fruits from the gardens outside.
She walked over to the wardrobe and laid an outfit on the bed for me. "I mean no offense to your clothing, but I think the king would prefer if you changed into something from our realm," she explained, too polite to use the word 'smelly' about my clothes, which she was probably thinking.
Walking over to the corner of the room, where a wooden bath and some towels laid, she said, "I'll run a bath for you." She snapped her fingers and a pitcher of water floated above the bath and poured out. An endless supply of water trickled out of the pitcher until the entire tub was full. She smiled and said, "I'll send Marcus for you in an hour. I can't wait to see you at dinner!" She left the room, her gown trailing behind her.
I dipped a toe in the water, surprised that it was actually warm. I stripped down and slid into the tub, happy to have the filth from the past day off of me. Through the window that reached from floor to ceiling, I could see the endless garden from my tub. The flowers swayed in the wind, seeming to mix and change colors when they did.
I wasn't sure how long I stayed in there, watching the sun set over the colorful land, but the water never turned cold. Eventually, I pulled myself from the tub, feeling cleaner and new, ready to fully immerse myself in this world.
I put on the outfit that Valeria laid out for me and looked in the mirror. I looked amazing. It was the exact outfit I would have loved to be able to wear, but would have been made fun of for wearing in 21st century days. It looked like a hunting suit, made of comfortable, but fashionable, brown and tan leather. The clothes were tight, but breathable. There was a belt with a sheath, but no sword. I would have to remember to ask for one later. I loved how I looked. Beautiful, but ready to complete a prophecy.
I heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I saw Marcus, with his jaw hanging.
He quickly cleared his throat and said, "You look lovely." I blushed but thanked him. "You're missing one thing though." Before I could ask what it was, he opened his hands, and a beautiful teal rose bloomed, matching the ones around the room. I tried to control my heart rate, but with no luck.
"There, now you're ready to meet the king," he said as he held out his arm. Cheeks still red, I took his arm. "You know, you look much better in these clothes than your human clothes. Kind of like you belong here."
I smiled. "I like the sound of that, belonging here," I told him. As an afterthought, I added, "Those aren't my normal human clothes," I explained. "I only wear those when I'm exercising." His eyebrows raised. Not that what I usually wore was much better.
"That does make a lot more sense," he replied as he lead me down the stairwell. "So a lot of people are here who want to meet you, mostly people of the royal family and their friends." A large door creaked open slowly. "But just be yourself and don't be nervous—"
He was cut off by bellowing applause as the doors opened to the throne room.
I was definitely nervous.
About one hundred people, all dressed as elegantly as Valeria lines the path to the huge thrones. Atop them sat who I assumed were the king and queen. Marcus had to practically pull me towards them, I could barely move. I wished that I could act cool and confident, but I felt as if I were about to faint. It seemed like an eternity had passed by the time we reached the thrones. Valeria stood beside her father's throne, her smile giving me a bit of confidence. The boy standing next to her, I assumed was her brother. He had some of her same features, but his face was a bit rounder, and he didn't share her confidence and grace.
As someone announced my name, the cheering continued. If I wasn't so nervous, I probably would have enjoyed that moment.
I attempted again to curtsy, trying to remember how Valeria had done so earlier. I felt ridiculous, but no one laughed at me.
Eventually, the cheering stopped, and everyone waited for the king to speak. He stood from his throne, power basically radiating from him.
"Sam, of the human realm," he announced. "Thank you for coming to our land to save us." I didn't trust myself to speak so I just smiled and nodded politely. "We have all waited many years to meet you."
Marcus, realizing that I wasn't responding chimed in, "Thank you, sir, for your hospitality."
The King beamed. "We hope you have—" he was cut off by the loud crash of glass breaking. Everyone turned behind me to the door through which we had entered. An old man shuffled through, his eyes glazed, and his hair disheveled. He was muttering unintelligibly, only to be paused by a loud burp. When he got within ten feet of me, I could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath.
Everyone in the room grumbled at his presence, but the king smiled and welcomed him. "Arlo, I'm so glad, you could join us!" Pointing to me, he exclaimed, "This is Sam! She's the girl from the prophecy, who has come to our world to rid us of the evil infesting our land."
The old man gave me a look and said, "That's not the girl from the prophecy."