DEAREST

PART 2: FAITHLESS HERO. Ch. 6

6

I can feel my growing anxiety as we head towards the castle, and I'm looking through the window, without really putting attention to anything. It's as if my mind has merged with the fast-moving trees, and all I see are brown lines, yellow lines, red lines.

From the direction we're coming, the first thing we managed to grasp of the Bachassau castle is the highest tower, which is about forty meters high. It's possible to reach the top by climbing a set of narrow interior stairs, but as far as I'm concerned, the entry has been denied to me ever since I tried to throw myself from there, some years ago. The castle, which serves no other purpose than aesthetic and residential, is built on the highest cliffs of the land and its architectural style is mainly Neo-Gothic. In autumn, when the leaves of the trees change color and begin to fall, the white stone which the castle is built with shines beautifully.

Back to Bachassau, it's as if nothing happened a couple of nights ago. Everything continues exactly the same as the day before the manifestation ritual, which unsettles me a little. It seems that the demons didn't attack at all. Everything is clean and orderly.

However, when they see Luciana and me, the maidens bow a little deeper than usual. Is it possible that they have found out what happened and now they thank Luciana and me because we were able to stop the attack?

But, at the main entrance, I see something unfortunate: all the maids waiting for us are new. They stand side by side in the right order, in a way that I understand who my handmaid is, who's Luciana's handmaid, and who the others are, so I look at my new handmaid and I fear for her. My regret has been renewed, and now it hurts more. I don't want her to die.

Luciana seems to notice something strange, and she asks me about it, but I can't say anything in the presence of the maids who walk in silence behind us.

"It's nothing," I say in a light tone, faking nonchalance.

But, even though we know very little about each other, I can't deceive her, and for a moment she studies me out of the corner of her eye as we move towards the Great Hall, where the banquet was held, and where my father awaits us.

Luciana and I are dressed for this occasion. Luciana wears her special suit, white and gold, with the matching cape, and I wear a cream dress, regency style, with shoulder pads and a metal breastplate. We're in times of war, and we must give this noble impression in order to inspire all those around us, regardless of the type of war. If our servants in the castle see us wearing these clothes, they will understand that we are doing a lot, and they will feel protected.

The Great Hall is the widest, most representative, and most decorated part of the castle. The Great Hall of the Bachassau Castle demonstrates in its decoration all the wealth, antiquity and power of the family. Its apse, where I had to sit down to receive the gifts of my parents, and be announced as the new Atavic Master, contains beams installed in a cruciform shape and decorated with gold details. The nave is supported by thick marble pillars and the floor is made of intricately designed tiles, while on the walls there are all kinds of decorations: paintings, panels, armors, chandeliers, swords, shields, trophies, and pennants. It's a majestic place, and Luciana observes everything with great attention. I think that she could get the feeling of being in a museum, or something alike.

My father is standing in the apse of the Great Hall, waiting for us. A solemn tall man in his sixties, though not as tall as Luciana. Despite his bearing, full of self-confidence, he doesn't fall into arrogance, and his face reflects his rather peaceful nature. He wears a white doublet with gold trim that falls down to his knees. Notwithstanding the serious tone of his letter, I'm relieved to see him, and, as we approach the platform I see that his face lights up with a smile, and walks down the two steps off the platform undoing the distance and opening his arms for me.