Aceal's Journey

Tour of the City

While walking the city sidewalks through downtown, stopping to admire the architecture. My mind still wandering back to the encounter earlier. Hardly focusing on where we were going. Thoughts flooded my mind, the more prominent one being would she actually show up to dinner.

"Are you ok?" Henry questioned, stopping in front of the old clock tower sitting in the middle of downtown.

"Honestly, I'm nervous. What if she doesn't show up for dinner? If she doesn’t, what do I say to her? How do I explain we're going back home soon? How is she going to react to learning I'm royalty, much less have growing magical abilities. Abilities I still have trouble controlling!" I state, taking a deep breath.

"You're worrying about too much at the moment. The only thing you should worry about is if she is going to show. Outside of that, everything else will fall into place." Henry remarked.

"Maybe you're right." I replied, turning to look at the sights before us. Towering over us the skyscrapers made us look small in their shadows.

Jumping as the clock behind us chimed the hour, glancing back sighing as the clock read twelve thirty in the afternoon. "We have an hour to get to the museum where our bus tour begins." Henry called out, as he started to walk away.

"Is this supposed to be a guided tour?" I questioned.

"Yeah, it is, our tour guide's name is Celeste." Henry replied, as I caught up to him.

"Celeste, huh? Don't you think the name is a little weird?" I asked.

"Do you have any room to talk?" Henry mocked.

He made a valid point, even though my name held personal meaning, it was an awkward name. I could only imagine what my name would have been as a female. The buildings blending together as we continued through town, making our way past a park. Spring had made its appearance on the cherry blossom trees. Vibrant green buds were just starting to fill the barren branches, while the flowers in the red mulch beds began to bloom. In the middle of the park, people had their dogs gathered around a small crystal blue pond with lily pads in it. Feeling a wet nose press against my leg, staining my pants, looking down to see a small brown and white dog wanting affection.

"I wouldn't touch the dog." Henry stated.

"He's small and harmless. What could go wrong?" I inquired, as I bent down, gently stroking its small head, as it placed its paw on my hand. "You're a good boy, aren't you?" Watching his tail wag.

“You really should quit.” Henry calmly reminded me.

Standing up, moving away from the dog, watching as he followed my movements. How could something so small be a worry to Henry. “Why does it bother you, that I petted it?” I asked.

“Dogs have a mind of their own, I didn’t want you to get bit. We come from a world where everything isn’t so friendly.” Henry stated, continuing down the sidewalk away from the park.

“How much further to the museum?” I inquired, my curiosity getting the best of me finally.

“Another block at most.” Henry said, the way he worded it, told me he was guessing.

“Are you sure you’re going to be ok in the heat?” I asked.

“It feels fine, but honestly I don’t know.” Henry responded, “I should be ok once we get to the bus, and I can sit down for a while.”

The old Victorian-style house in front of us, with its large bay windows, rounded towers, and wrap around porch, had to be the museum. Behind a small shrub stood an old wooden sign, half covered by the leaves, that read “Illador Art Museum”. Placing my hands in my pockets, I rocked back and forth while the crowd began to gather.

“Everyone must be here for the tour.” Henry leaned over and whispered.

“Must be, but why?” I asked, losing my train of thought as the woman from earlier stepped out of the museum. “That’s her!” I exclaimed to Henry, as he followed where my finger was pointing.

“Maybe she’s here for the tour?” Henry suggested.

“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Celeste, and I will be your tour guide for the evening.” Celeste spoke softly, her smile faltering as her eyes landed on mine.

“You’re sure that’s her?” Henry asked.

“Positive, she recognized me.” I responded, not taking my eyes off of her.

“If you will kindly board the bus, we can get the tour started early, seeing as everyone is here.” Celeste stated, walking in our direction, before pulling me off to the side. “What are you doing here?! Did you follow me?!”

“No, I didn’t follow you. My friend had this tour booked over a month ago. I will say it is nice to put a name to a face. My name is Aceal.” I answered.

“Well, Aceal, if you didn’t follow me, let’s get going, we can discuss how our chance meeting led to dinner later tonight.” Celeste stated.

“Certainly, ladies first.” I replied, moving out of her way to let her pass by me.

Passing by rows of seats, to join Henry at the back of the bus, sitting down beside him. Looking at him with an apologetic smile, I leaned against the back of the seat. Dropping my voice to a whisper, where only he could hear. “It’s her, and she thinks I’m following her, but she agreed to go to dinner with me.”

“When?” Henry whispered back.

“Tonight, when we get through with our tour, it's back to our hotel for me to prepare.” I responded, turning to look out the window, watching the barren trees filling with flower buds flash by us, as the bus rumbled down the street. Celeste’s voice filled my ears as she spoke about the town’s history, yet the only thing I could focus on was her.