Silverton's Journey

Chapter 9

The two of them were thrown out of the dark portal after a while. Olivia, or 'Ophelia', fell to the dusty ground before she could get up and look around. They were in the middle of a road with old, dusty buildings. Purple vines grew along the walls and windows of the buildings, and no one seemed to clean them in a decade.

Ophelia whispered, "Where are we?"

Leon said, "These are the ruins of the city of Silverton."

Ophelia was astonished. "Does this mean-"

"This city was named after one of your ancestors."

The place was cold and foggy, and the sky was covered with dull orange and pink clouds. It was so quiet that Ophelia could hear her own breath.

Leon broke the silence and said, "Come with me."

Ophelia followed him anxiously. "Why are we here?"

Without saying another word, Leon walked on. The girl behind him followed quietly, unsure of where they were headed.

Leon stopped when they arrived in front of a tall building with a curved, dusty roof. It was beautiful and majestic, even though the walls had blackened and been covered with vines over time. Just beside it, there stood a colossal tower with a clock at its peak. The clock, of course, had been damaged.

Leon pushed the huge doorway of the building for it to open. After a while of trying, the door slowly opened, making a low creaking sound. Ophelia followed Leon into the building where it was pitch black.

The girl held onto Leon's cloak, as she was not able to see anything while Leon walked forward with ease. When Leon stopped walking, Ophelia stumbled upon his back. Leon held her hand and put it down, freeing himself from her hold. He began to walk farther away from her while Ophelia stood still, frozen with terror and excitement.

Not long after he had left, Ophelia heard the sound of striking a matchstick. She found Leon standing at one end of a long reading table, lighting the candles on a candelabrum.

Ophelia could finally see the room where they were in. Colossal shelved walls with innumerable books, decorative pillars, and staircases that lead to the upper stories: were just a few of the things that she could see.

It was a long hallway with a huge glass window on one end and the exit on the other. The glass window was covered halfway with a dusty silk curtain. Ophelia looked up at the curved ceiling and saw small, unlit chandeliers hanging from above. The ceiling was decorated with wonderful frescoes as well, some of which depicted grand historical events in Nordlys.

The girl looked at Leon, who was collecting books from the shelves. Leon came back to her with a pile of books and kept them on the long reading table. Ophelia asked, "What are these for?"

"I have to teach you how to read and write..." shrugged Leon.

"I suppose you don't have to."

Leon leaned closer to her with an astonished smile on his face. "Really? Looks like we are one step ahead."

His face faintly glowed in the warm light of the candle. His skin was flawless; the sparkle in his eyes was exposed. Leon looked harmless as the soft light of the candle veiled him in innocence. Seeing his smile, Ophelia chuckled. "But how can you believe it so genuinely? I could be lying."

The vampire man stood straight and cleared his throat. "Oh... alright. Let me test you."

He took out a book from the pile and made her read some of the lines. He did the same with more books, and every time Ophelia was able to read with almost no difficulty.