It was a short walk to the Capital building, maybe two blocks or streets away, it was hard to tell with the different sizes and shapes of the houses. But they were nothing compared to the building we were being led to, it took up half of the street and at least three very high floors. It had towers dotted here and there, and white domed roofs on each of them.
It was made from sandy stone blocks and looked like a fort, each window had metal grids on the outside and the big front doors, which were open, had a portcullis hanging above them. I shuddered at the sight, pulling my cloak closer around me. They took security seriously here and I discreetly checked that my sword was still by my side.
I noticed some of the other guests walking in at the same time, they appeared to have Hosts leading them and all were wearing something similar to Pal's. I realised it must be some kind of uniform that Hosts wore to differentiate them from guests and people who live here. It only became more obvious how necessary they were when I saw how varied the other guests were; a young couple and two elderly men were beside us when we reached the door.
The young man had dark skin and stunning blue eyes, he smiled politely at our group. The woman had lighter skin but she didn't look too happy to be here. The elderly men exchanged pleasantries with the parents and I could tell that they knew each other. As we entered the house, my thoughts about the other guests differences were put on hold indefinitely.
If our house in Dumair was fancy, this place was divine, I never thought I would use that word for a building but it was a perfect fit. The entrance hall was huge and every inch of it was fashioned in wood or bronze, and the crystal chandelier made the lights bounce in every direction. We were led in to join a crowd of waiting guests, maybe twenty or more people were already there and more were coming in behind us.
I stayed close to Emy and the guys, as we had been told to, although I kept admiring the view. Everywhere I looked there was something new to see. The portraits on the walls were of landscapes, I recognised a few from our lessons with Alacor but most were unfamiliar, albeit very beautiful. Pal stayed with our group, pointing out different parts of the Capital building like a tour guide in a museum.
According to him, the dining room was to the left and we would be led in there once it was prepared. I couldn't hear most of his speech, he kept being interrupted by other guests, most seemed to know him personally and struck up conversations with him. I got the general gist of it though, we were to stay in the entrance hall or dining room unless told otherwise, the other areas were for official business only.
I turned on the spot to get a better look at the hallway, I couldn't see any stairs and wondered if that was for security purposes too. Maybe they didn't want just anyone walking in and wandering upstairs. I was thinking about whether our house should follow the same architecture when Emy leaned into me.
"Do you think they would notice if we snuck away now? I need to pee and I don't want Pal escorting me."
I giggled at her tone of voice and shrugged with a quick glance at the guys, they were on high alert but they looked uncomfortable too.
"They'd probably notice, how would you feel about our usual three escorts?"
I nodded my head in their direction and she scrunched her face. "I suppose that wouldn't be too bad."
I chuckled, but now that she mentioned it I could do with going as well. I reached up to pat Kaleb on the arm, he smiled and leaned down so I could whisper to him.
"Emy and I could do with going to the bathroom and we don't want Pal or some stranger taking us, can we sneak off?"
Kaleb raised a brow and held up a finger, he leaned over to Kayle first and then Blaike, both took a second then nodded.
Kaleb smiled wider and leaned down to me again, "Of course, Kayle will take Emily and Blaike will take you while I cover your disappearance, don't be long though."
I smiled and thanked him as I leaned back to Emy, "It's all good, move over to Kayle and he'll sort the rest."
She sighed in relief and moved over to where Kayle was standing, everyone else was distracted with the other guests and I moved over to where Blaike was standing. I looked up at him, ready for the signal to get out of this crowd but I stopped dead, he was staring down at me with that same expression.
"What's wrong now?" I asked, this wasn't the time but he was frustrating me.
Blaike tried to shake it off with a wide smile, "Nothing, are you ready to disappear?"
I rolled my eyes at his evasion but nodded, and suddenly Blaike was taking my hand and pulling me down to a crouch and we weaved through the other guests. I felt a strange sensation wash over me, my heart was fluttering and I felt a little lightheaded. None of the other guests seemed to notice us but I wasn't sure if that was just because I was barely focusing.
Soon enough we were out of the crowd and found Kayle and Emy waiting for us. Blaike let go of my hand and the strange sensations stopped. I swallowed hard as I regained myself but before I could say anything about it, Kayle and Blaike were leading us down a side corridor, under a set of spiral stairs. I didn't have time to wonder where they led, they were hurrying us down the corridor but quickly pulled into an alcove when someone came walking around the corner.
"Aren't we supposed to be here?" I whispered as quietly as I could manage.
"It is not off limits but we would be turned around and marched back to Pal," Kayle responded with a smirk. "Plus, it's more fun this way."
I resisted a chuckle as we waited for the stranger to pass, a young man, maybe in his late twenties with dark red hair. It took him a few minutes to disappear the way we had come and then we were off again. The bathroom was down the hall the red headed man had just come from, Emy and I rushed in and sighed as I locked the door. It was nice as bathrooms go but having to sneak here made me agitated, I was glad when we were done and we returned to the corridor.
Kayle and Blaike were keeping watch, after that it was an easy trip back to our group, Blaike took my hand again and led me through the crowd. The same sensations resurfaced as soon as his fingers touched mine; my heart beat a little faster and I knew I had heard these symptoms before. I pushed them down as far as they'd go, focusing on rejoining our group unnoticed. Kaleb had done such a good job covering for us that my parents didn't even mention anything about us sneaking off.
We hadn't been alone so technically we hadn't broken any rules. We'd arrived back just in time, the doors to the left of the entrance hall opened a moment later. A man and woman dressed in regal clothes were standing on the other side. The man looked old, I couldn't gauge how old anyone here was but he appeared to be in his sixties, there were many grey streaks in his dark hair and beard. He stood tall though and he looked strong, he was beaming into the crowd as was the woman beside him. She looked around the same age but her hair was blonde and didn't show the grey, she was thin and very beautiful for her age.
They both waved and beckoned for everyone to come forward. Pal led us in and left us at the door, the couple welcomed every guest ahead of us and it seemed like they knew every single person in attendance. When the parents reached them, the man embraced my dad out of nowhere and I widened my eyes, glancing at Emy who was giggling behind her hand. The woman shook hands with the mum's and Alacor, while the man pulled out of his hug with my dad so he could make introductions.
"Orion! Good to see you, it has been far too long, my friend." The man had a big booming voice when he got excited. "And Alacor, nice to see you again. The lovely Lorenna and Colensa of course, the cogs that run Dumair."
My mum and Emy's both bowed their heads and smiled back at the man, I found it amusing until the man turned his attention to Emy and myself. His expression shifted between happy, calculating, triumphant and back to happy all within seconds. I tried not to narrow my eyes at him.
"And this must be your daughters, finally home at last. My name is Telvil, I am the leader of this Sector and good friend to your families. Your arrival has been of great interest to us. I fear we should have sent for you much sooner."
I blinked at the tone the conversation had taken but I stepped up before Emy could say something rude to him.
"My name is Cassandra, and this is Emily. Nice to meet you too."
I bowed my head out of respect and nudged Emy's shoulder for her to do the same. She did it begrudgingly and I held back a smirk.
Telvil didn't seem to notice however, he grinned from ear to ear and gestured to the woman by his side. "This is my wife, Brianne, my reason for living and mother of my children."
Brianne bowed her head and smiled softly at us as she moved forward to shake our hands. When she touched me I felt a shock like static and pulled my hand away as quickly as possible. She hadn't seemed to notice and neither had anyone else, I hid my alarm with a smile and moved to stand by Emy, watching Brianne out of the corner of my eye.
We were soon ushered into the dining room and I noticed it was decorated just like the entrance hall, but with less bronze. The table filled the length of the room and the curtains were open so we could see the night sky out of the high windows. We were showed to our seats by servers who took our cloaks before they left, each seat had a name plaque on the table in front of it.
Surprisingly, our group weren't sat together and I frowned when I had to move several seats away from my parents. I had managed to get a seat opposite Emy and next to Kaleb, but on my other side was a complete stranger. I read the name Jaleel, on the name plaque but the owner hadn't sat down yet. Emy was sat between Kayle and a large, bald man who was talking animatedly about his crops in a place called, 'Foalswall'.
Emy was feigning interest and I was biting my lips together to keep from laughing out loud. I tried to distract myself by looking around the table at the seating placement. Telvil and his wife, Brianne, were both sat at the head of the table, to the side of either of them were a group of four strangers; two elderly men and two elderly women, all dressed in beige robes. Then came my parents and Emy's, on opposite sides to each other, then a lot of strangers I didn't know, all dressed in formal clothes similar to the parents.
After that were the people closer to our age, Blaike was one seat up from Kayle and being talked to by an older woman who had rings on every finger. I held back another laugh at his look of feigned interest and looked down the other side of the table to see a mixture of adults and teenagers. I had a feeling they were the children of some of the adults here. According to my parents before we left Dumair, there were a lot of noble families present tonight.
The meal was served and I raised a brow as I looked down at it, it looked like some kind of stew but there were bits floating in it that I didn't recognise. I glanced over at Kayle who was watching me and he smirked, his words back at the house replayed in my head. 'Best not to ask what things are'. I crinkled my nose and tried some of whatever it was, it wasn't bad but I wouldn't want to eat it again.
I swallowed down a few more mouthfuls and pushed it away, glancing to Kaleb who had finished the whole thing and was in conversation with Kayle across the table. I peered at Emy and smiled at the look on her face as she spooned a mouthful of the food, her face screwed up and she shook her head, pushing her dish away.
"The meal was not to your liking I see?"
I turned to see a young man standing at the empty seat next to mine, he had dark hair and even darker eyes. He must have been around Kayle's age but he was more muscular and he showed it off with a short sleeved, white shirt. I shrugged as he sat down next to me and offered his hand.
"My name is Jaleel, I apologise for my late arrival."
He nodded his head towards Telvil as he spoke, who must have been watching because he returned the gesture and went back to his conversation.
Jaleel turned as he took his dish and leaned against the table, his eyes flickered between Emy and I. He smiled almost shyly but somehow I just knew he was putting on an act.
"I cannot believe I have never met two beautiful ladies such as yourselves before, might I ask your names?"
I frowned a little at his compliment, it didn't flow very well out of his mouth and I cast a sideways glance at Emy.
Her head was tilted and she looked confused, "I'm Emily and this is Cassandra. You really like to make an entrance don't you? Arriving late to a big dinner like this."
I held back another laugh and heard Kayle snort from the other side of the table. Jaleel didn't seem to notice her tone however. "I do, yes... you have an unusual accent, might I ask where you are from?"
I smirked a little at Emy behind my hand, he was too pompous not to have a little fun with.
"We are from England, a far away land, very different from this one."
I heard Emy stifle a giggle and could see Blaike watching us from the corner of my eyes. He had a strange expression on his face and I wondered if he disapproved of the way we were talking to this guy.
Jaleel was oblivious however, he had begun admiring himself in one of the silver platters.
"I see, I would be very happy to show you around Eribourne sometime. When I am not too busy that is, being the son of the leader of a Sector is a very big responsibility."
My eyes widened and I looked over at Kayle, he nodded imperceptibly at my unasked question but he was still smirking. I peered up the table at Telvil and Brianne, they seemed quite modest despite their position, how had they raised someone like this guy? He kept rambling on about his accomplishments and busy love life throughout the meal, most likely trying to impress us into being interested in him.
I wanted to throw up the dessert I'd had by the end. I was glad when the meal was over and we were allowed to reconvene in the parlour. There was no seating arrangement in this room and I pulled Emy as far away from Jaleel as I possibly could, as fast as I could.
We found a quiet corner of the parlour to stand in, it was like a living room but with more furniture and no television. The guests stood in groups and chatted, by this point I would have given anything for an alcoholic drink.
"What a moron he was," Emy stated as she rubbed at her feet, heels hadn't been a good choice after the walk here.
I smirked, letting her use me to balance, "I can't believe he was that arrogant, I thought we'd left all those idiots back home."
"Apparently not, and you should not call the son of the leader an idiot, not so loudly anyway." Kayle appeared out of nowhere, closely followed by Kaleb and Blaike, who did not look happy.
"What's wrong with you two?" Emy asked, straightening herself up.
Kayle chuckled as he looked back at them, "They have been requested for an audience with Lucinda and Tammy. They've had their eye on these two since we arrived."
"How could you know that? There are loads of people here... and what does an audience with them mean?"
Kaleb sighed loudly, "It means we must stand in conversation with them and entertain their ridiculousness."
Kayle chuckled again, "It's kind of like speed dating but without the tables and clocks."
Emy snorted, "What do you know about speed dating?"
"I watched television back in the other world, thank you." Kayle retorted and they fell into one of their usual arguments and teasing sessions.
I, on the other hand, was watching Blaike, he hadn't spoken a word and he wasn't looking at anyone either.
He was staring at the door of the room with a brooding look and I moved over to talk to him. "You don't actually have to go to that audience thing, do you?"
He looked around, startled for a moment and furrowed his brow.
"It would be impolite not to attend, we will simply exchange boring conversation and then when it is time, we can leave if we wish."
"You don't seem happy about it though, don't you like these girls?"
I didn't know why I was so bothered but I didn't like people being made to do something they really didn't want to.
"I do not even know them, and I have no plans to get to know them either. But that is not the problem, I just... will you excuse me, please?" He inclined his head and rushed off through the crowd.
"Where is Blaike going?" Kaleb's voice came from behind me but he ran after Blaike before I could answer him.
"What is going on?" I asked when Kayle and Emy moved to stand beside me.
"I don't know but I should probably go and find out, stay here in the crowd," Kayle stated.
He made us agree before he ran off after Kaleb and Blaike.
I looked at Emy, "Now what?"
We were stood to the side of the crowds and I didn't fancy wading through the questions we would surely get if we approached any of them.
"I don't know but I'm ready to leave no- oh crap! Look! I think Jaleel has spotted us, and he's brought friends."
Jaleel was slowly making his way through the crowd in our direction and he had a group of people following behind him. I groaned internally and looked around, there was a doorway to our right but we had no idea where it led. Unfortunately it was the doorway or more time with Jaleel and I made a split second decision.
"Come on, this way."
I grabbed Emy's hand and pulled her around the outside of the room, we managed to dodge everyone's attention, including one of the Hosts that was standing in the doorway. We slipped through and ran down the corridor. I knew the parents wouldn't be pleased we'd disappeared but I didn't want to stick around to listen to the drivel from Jaleel and his friends.
We stopped at a second intersection of corridors and chose another random direction, sighing once we slowed to a walk.
"I think we've put enough distance between ourselves and that idiot." Emy stated with a chuckle and I grinned as we leaned against the wall.
"What are we supposed to do now? We have no way of knowing when it's time to leave and the guys ditched us?"
I had a bad feeling that I couldn't seem to shake, the memory of Blaike's expression before he had run off was fresh in my mind. I couldn't help thinking of the conversation I'd overheard between him and Kaleb back at the house. Could they be up to something? And had they pulled Kayle into it as well?
"I don't know, maybe make our way slowly back to the group and say we went looking for a bathroom?"
I frowned at her suggestion, "That would work but... I wanna know what's happening with the guys."
I told her my suspicions and the bad feeling I had, she pondered on it for a moment.
"I suppose we could go looking for them, but we might not be able to find them in a place this big, we might just get lost or get ourselves in trouble."
Suddenly, the lights went out and we were plunged into darkness. I couldn't see anything and I reached out for Emy's hand, almost hitting her in the shoulder while she reached for me.
"Ouch, ugh see, trouble, exactly what I was saying."
"Can you remember how we got here?" I asked and tried to turn in the right direction, I hadn't taken that much notice and there were more corridors we could accidentally end up in.
"No, not really... ugh, we should have just stayed and listened to Jaleel drone on." Emy stated with an irritated growl.
I nodded in the darkness, "We could just stay here and wait for someone to find us," I suggested half-heartedly.
"I'd rather not wait around for more trouble to find us, let's try to get back." Emy said with a tug on my hand, I sighed and followed her reluctantly.
"How do magic lights go out all at once, anyway?" I asked for nothing more than to keep my mind occupied with something other than darkness.
"I don't know, let's ask someone when we find them."
I could hear the fear in Emy's voice despite how much she tried to hide it, I squeezed her hand reassuringly and we kept walking down the corridor. We managed to find an intersection and I tried to pick the way we had come, hoping it would lead us back to the parlour. It was eerily silent, I couldn't hear any panicked voices but I could hear footsteps, they were coming closer and we moved against the wall as the owner drew nearer.
"There you are, you followed us, didn't you?" It was Blaike's voice but he sounded hoarse, like he'd had the wind knocked out of him.
"We were trying to avoid Jaleel actually, but yes, we wanted to know where you went," Emy replied.
We still couldn't see much, just Blaike's outline when he came closer, "It is alright, I will lead you back to your parents, stay close."
He began to walk and we just managed to see enough to follow him, "What happened? Why are all the lights out?" I asked, my curiosity vying with my panic and fear.
"Something is interfering with the magic. Do not worry, I will lead you back to your parents."
I frowned at his repetition, he seemed different somehow and I wondered if whatever he had run off for was still affecting him.
"Blaike, are you alright?" I asked and moved forward to place a hand on his arm, he recoiled and gestured into an unknown room.
"Yes. We should wait in here, it will be safer until I can lead you back to your parents."
I knew something wasn't right, I could feel it deep down and I pulled Emy back before she could go in.
"No, we need to return to our parents now. Where are Kaleb and Kayle?"
Blaike was still gesturing into the room, "You will but you must stay here first and then I will lead you to your parents."
"No, we're not going any further with you, stay away from us."
"Cass, what are you doing?" Emy whispered, she sounded confused and scared but I pulled her behind me.
She might be the better fighter but I knew that wouldn't help. I was certain something bigger was going on and Blaike's next words confirmed my suspicions.
"Oh yes you are, Riltresik has been waiting a long time to get rid of you two."