Rell

I was expecting some sort of troll or some other enormous guardian beast. Instead an elderly man stood before me.

"You brought the pizza?" He had a straight nose, high cheekbones, deep eyes and beautiful midnight black hair, that despite his age, held no grey. I wondered if this was some sort of riddle or password question for entrance to the castle.

I remembered was Lorcan had taught me of courtly manners and swept him a grand bow. "My name is Rell and I am not a solicitor."

He frowned at this, "What was that? You're gonna have to speak up!"

"MY NAME IS RELL!!" Then I remembered what the magic mirror message had said, "I'm here for the live-in maid position."

"Well it's about time! Come in!" He threw the door open, already striding away, and I hesitated before following him. Just like that, they let a stranger into their castle? Without answering a riddle, or dueling a troll, or choosing between a selection of poisoned vials?

I grinned and stepped inside. What a fantastic place the human world was!

This castle was like no other dwelling I'd ever seen. It was flooded with light, with corridors painted in whites and creamy blues, with lamps that glowed without flickering. I gaped when we passed a room made of glass, that contained dozens of potted plants and a tiny, perfectly blue lagoon. It was cut into a perfect square, probably bewitched somehow. I wondered how many humans could bathe there at once— maybe an entire village. Yet as we walked I saw no one. Strange indeed...

I followed the older man into a giant room, with beautiful counters of slick rock.

He poured us both a cup of tea, adding a dash of something to his from a bottle in his jacket. He winked when he saw me watching, and I smiled knowingly. A poison test. So there was indeed an entrance test to the castle, yet it was offered after gaining admittance to the castle, to lure them into a false sense of security. I heartily approved.

"What'd you say your name was?"

"Rell."

"Rell... sort of got a nice ring to it. I'm Dasan."

I nodded. I'd already dumped half the cup into a one of the plants on the counter in the second he looked away.

"So where are you from Rell?'

"The Dark Realm."

He nodded. "I've heard of that place. Completely dark a couple weeks a year? Up in Antarctica?"

I had no idea what Antarctica was. I gave him a huge smile, "Yep, that's the place."

A strange bell suddenly sounded throughout the house, and Dasan jumped up, "That'll be the pizza."

Pizza, as it turned out, was the decadent meal of kings. It was made of warm cheesy bread topped with round spicy meat and came in an extraordinary box of painted paper wood THAT YOU GOT TO KEEP. As we ate, Dasan talked to me, not at all slowed by the fact he was eating. I nodded in encouragement to everything he said, hoping to catch some hint of what exactly a "live-in maid" did.

"You must have been the tallest girl in your class! What do you play: volleyball, basketball, track?"

The conversation paused for the first time and I realized he was waiting for me to respond.

"Volleyball." I said confidently, picking one of the choices at random. I hoped it was less bloody than the game the dark mer played. The loser's head became the ball.

He nodded, "Course you do! With all that height, how could you not! My grandson, he's tall too, used to play basketball. Doesn't anymore though, real shame, real shame..." He shook his head, seeming sad for a moment. Then he cleared his throat, moving on just as quickly, and smiled at me, a sudden interest in his eyes. "You need a ride to school tomorrow? The bus only pics up from the end of the lane, and Bastien drives everyday. I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a ride."

School! The fairytales often featured tales of high school. It was a sort of apprenticeship for young humans, by which they held them captive for most of the day inside a building. But Lorcan had always insisted that it wasn't uncommon for the students to burst into spontaneous song and dance.

I couldn't wait.

But before I could answer, a shrill woman's voice made us both jump.

"Dasan! Is that what I think it is?" Dasan turned to the plump woman in the doorway.

"Eh?"

"Your cholesterol levels were out the roof! Your supposed to be losing weight," she said in a menacing voice. I added cholesterol to things I hated along with solicitors.

She turned to me, her voice changing quick as a pixie's wing. "And who is this lovely young woman?"

"Rell of the Great Lands of Antarctica." I said confidently.

"Our new live-in maid and a star volleyball player," said Dasan.

"Ah, wonderful! Mr. Wolfe said there was someone new coming. Very nice to meet you Rell. Don't you worry a bit, the jobs not hard, I just need a bit more help, knees aren't what they used to be." But for someone with bad knees, she removed the box of pizza rather quickly and replaced it with disappointing mix of leafy greens. Dasan and I both watched sadly as she took it away and put it into a strange metal closet. I wondered if it required some sort of blood sacrifice to open... and how much I was willing to offer to open it. Quite a lot.

"Let me show you to your room Rell."

My room was quaint, with a bed and a wooden thing with pull out shelves I could only assume was to store your weapons or perhaps dried meat.

"The bathrooms just through there. There's fresh towels, and I think the last maid left some soaps and a phone charger, so help yourself to it." She paused, "Where is your luggage?"

I had no idea what luggage was.

"Lost it?" I took a stab.

"Oh you poor thing! Well I'll bring up the old maids uniforms sent up while we order you some new ones. Help yourself to any food in the kitchen whenever you'd like. I'll let you know your duties tomorrow. Really I just need a bit of extra help."

"Not a problem, I once held a castle besieged by trolls for three days."

She stared at me.

I gave an enormous fake laugh, and then after a moment, she laughed too.

She left and I stopped laughing immediately.

I spent the rest of the day exploring my room, equipping it into a defensive strategy, to prove that I was well equipped for this maid position, which I could only deduce must be some sort of arms master. The wooden feature, when disassembled, proved a perfect barrier against the far too large window. I left an opening large enough to shoot at arrow through if needed. When the room was properly secured, I ventured out again, my stomach grumbling, ready for more of the delicious pizza.

Night had fallen, and somehow it made the house seem less welcoming than before. The high ceilings and elegant chandelier all seemed erie at night... and just a bit lonely. From a defensive position the place was completely hopeless. Yet as I stood beside on the windows, the moon cast a shadow through it, strong enough it shown thrown the glass, and for the first time I wondered... maybe this house, and these windows had been designed not to keep something out, but to let something in.

I smiled at the thought.

I found the kitchen, delighted by the metal box when I realized the inside had been bewitched into an eternal winter (and required no blood sacrifice). It cast a flame of light over the slick river rock tables. I took the box out, then sat it on the floor and stared out the glass doors into the moon-soaked night. The pizza tasted almost as gloriously delicious cold as it did warm.

Something moved in the trees.

Instantly I flattened myself to the floor.

I watched as the trees shook, and then someone stepped out from the trees, onto the grass and into the moonlight.

A man.

He was naked to the waist, and in the moonlight I could see that he was both tall and strong, well-muscled like a warrior, with long limbs and dark hair. Despite this, he couldn't have been much older than me. His midsection was marked with what looked like a wound, but still, he walked confidently across the grass.

I smiled into the darkness.

My castle needed me.

(Ahhhh, so here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for.... ;D 

And are going to have to keep waiting for, cuz I will post the next chapter on Friday XD! But while we wait, any predictions about what's going to happen?

Shout out to benjaminRivers2115 for the awesome cover! Be sure to check out his book of Book Covers, he is very talented!

Also, What do you guys think so far? I hope you are enjoying it!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Hannah)