Caste to Class

Stairs

*Iris P.O.V*

I ditched Nova as soon as we entered the castle and wandered around the castle for a few hours. I finally found Opal at the top of one of the castle towers, having crawled up the last majority of the steps. "Oh thank god, you're going to have to carry me back down," I said through pants as I lay on the floor, looking up at her.

"Are you alright?" she questioned, kneeling down next to me. Her sleeve brushed against my face slightly, making me sigh contently as I leaned into her touch as she pushed a few loose strands of my hair back.

"I am not used to climbing up a gazillion stairs," I informed her with a frown, sitting up slowly. "Do you have something to drink?" I questioned quietly, frowning when she shook her head and gave me an apologetic look.

"There are only 35 stairs, not a gazillion," Opal informed me, her hand resting on my back. I rolled my eyes as I looked up at her with a small frown.

"Yes but I have climbed up and down a gazillion stairs exploring this castle," I stated simply as I tried to ignore how dry my throat was. "I am going to die of thirst," I informed her dramatically as I fell back against her.

"You know you can ask anyone to get you a glass of water and they will do that right?" Opal stated as she helped me stand up. I shook my head with a blush as I frowned slightly.

"No one told me that, in fact no one told me much of anything," I answered her as I looked around the tower. "All I know is that I'm a pick and I doubt I'm a very good pick," I shrugged, noticing that the tower walls were covered with paintings. All different sorts of paintings, some of the Elders and some of other people as well as animals.

"You are a great pick," Opal objected as she followed me gaze. "You like my paintings?" she asked as she went closer to the paintings. I followed her closely, looking at the paintings with a small smile.

"They're very pretty," I said with a small smile on my lips. "Does your power have anything to do with painting?" I questioned, making her raise an eyebrow.

"Ahh, I see that you wish to find out what my power is," she said with a small smile. "I am afraid I can not tell you. I prefer to keep my powers a secret as the element of surprise is always useful," she stated, making me pout slightly.

"If you won't tell me then maybe I can figure it out," I stated, earning a soft smile from her. "Am I allowed to try and figure it out?" I questioned, worried that might make her upset.

"Of course you may try to figure it out, I see no issue with that," Opal stated as she smiled gently while walking up to the paintings and adjusting the framing of it. I squeaked when someone brushed past me and a man walked past me.

"Who is this girl, mother?" he questioned as he walked over to Opal. He stood next to her as she turned around to face him. "I have not seen her around before," he stated simply while looking at me curiously.

"She is our newest pick, she just came into the castle a few days ago. Be polite and remember your manners William," she scolded slightly while looking at him. "Iris this is my son William," she introduced us, making me nod to him before looking at her.

"You are old enough to have a son?" I questioned her, earning a soft laugh from Opal as she nodded.

"I imagine I am much older than you believe me or the fellow Elders to be. There is a reason we are called the Elders after all," Opal chuckled softly, making me frown slightly as I tilted my head.

"I believe that I won't be able to guess your age even if I tried my hardest," I stated simply, earning a soft smile from her.

"You won't, trust me. It took me forever to get her age out of her and I am her son. I still don't even know exactly how old she is," William chuckled, making me nod slightly.

"Oh hush, you know it's rude to ask a woman her age anyways. Go bother Nova about her age and see how long you last," Opal stated, making William roll his eyes.

"I do not know why you bother, no one finds Mom nearly as scary as you," William said as he stepped back a bit when Opal glared at him. "It's true Mother and you know it," he stated simply with a laugh.

"I receive no respect in this family," Opal said. "Nova is not as nice as me so I don't know why people are scared of me. I am the perfect image of a lady and she is a ruffian," she muttered under her breath.

"I will go tell her you said that," William said as he moved quickly past me. "Let us see how long you last when she hears you called her a ruffian," he stated as he moved down the stairs before Opal could grab him.

"That brat," Opal said with a frown. "Should throw him out of this castle," she muttered under her breath.

"I didn't know you and Nova had a child," I stated as she stood beside me, glaring down the stairs.

"Not many people do, we have only told a select few people since we adopted him all those years ago," Opal stated with a frown. "I still can't believe that he would betray me to Nova," she said while crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll leave you here to face that then and go try and figure out Ember's powers," I said as I moved down the stairs. "I'll be back later to try and figure out your powers if I feel like climbing up a gazillion stairs again," I informed her as I skipped down the stairs, planning on stopping to get some water first.