Keepers of the Moon

Chapter 4. The tapestry (1)

Indigo

Ben was waiting for me at the gates of the black castle I had seen when I arrived here. The blocks were rendered smooth and shiny after years of erosion and heavy rain. While some parts of the surrounding wall and the old west wing of the castle were slowly falling into ruin, it was clear that the castle was taken care of. The grounds were filled with rows of trees and wildflowers, there were benches and little ponds everywhere. Tucked away in the trees were swings and elaborate treehouses. Lights were shining behind the windows of the castle and there was a pleasant buzzing of people swarming around the castle. Everybody was wearing warm dark blue jumpers which seemed to be part of the working uniforms. Ben however was wearing a dark green coat which matched his eyes perfectly. Still nervous I walked up to him and extended my hand. Abi however was much more enthusiastic and ran up to him. Without even hesitating he lifted her up and placed her on his shoulders. He apparently didn’t mind that I took my child to work on my first day.

‘Sorry, I couldn’t find a babysitter.’ Well, I couldn’t afford one. My heart was racing and my palms were sweating profusely. I had a broken night full of nightmares and interrogations. In one of my nightmares I was the reason this country went to war with Nordlys and then we lost and everything went to ruin. While I’ve had plenty of nightmares in the past, this one stuck with me. Because I knew that the information I carried would be enough to start a war. 

‘Well I should be the one to apologise. I never even told you my name, where to meet me and that it was fine to bring your child. I didn’t even ask for you name!’ He looked at me with an innocent, sheepish smile and I suddenly realised he looked so young. Too young to be running a castle this big. But even I knew looks could be deceiving.

‘Well, I know your name is Ben and luckily Bold Doherty knew exactly where you needed me to be.’ This resulted in a loud, thunderous laugh.

‘Oh poor ol’ Doherty. Don’t mind him, he’s a lovely chap just loses his marbles when he sees a pretty girl. I do advice you to keep him close, he won’t let you starve and can produce a genuine smile on your face on even your darkest days.’

With my ears as red as Doherty’s tomatoes we entered the castle through the main entrance. The doors were shut and only a smaller door within needed to open. This was a lovely solution to keep the warmth inside and to make it easier to access the castle. The entrance hall was massive, with dark smooth walls and high, stained glass windows. The sunlight pouring in was scattered into a dozen different colours and created an almost magical dance of light on the black walls. The ceiling was curved, but simple. There were no murals or painted scenes, just the dancing light and empty candle holders. The floor was made of the same black stone, though was considerably rougher. Laid on top of it were plenty of colourful rugs, though some of them seemed rather abused, where people had walked over them constantly. In the back about three people were rolling up old carpets and replaced them with shiny new ones.

I wasn’t sure what I had expected to see when I looked at the castle from the outside. The dark stones made it look so cold and stately, but the inside was so much warmer and pleasant. I could suddenly imagine people living here, going from their day to day business. This calmed my nerves significantly and the nausea that I had since yesterday waned.

‘Yes, it doesn’t look like much on the outside, but inside it is a true treasure. You’ll find that most of the chambers are nice and warm, bear in mind that the floors do get really cold. Don’t walk around barefoot.’

Ben showed me most of the part of the castle that had been converted to a museum, though it would be closed as of tomorrow in preparation of the Royal Gala that would be held here in honour of the union of Keltia and Breton. The ballroom was humungous with floor to ceiling stained glass windows, crystal chandeliers and highly decorated walls. The floor was smooth and made out of dark planking. All over the castle people were buzzing around with tools, decorations, mops and lists of preparations. After Ben showed me the open part of the castle he led me towards the private areas. The spaces were much smaller but obviously lived in. The stone floor was topped with heavy rugs and central heating was mounted on the walls. It looked weirdly out of place, but gave some very pleasant warmth. It was clear by the sheer number of private quarters that a lot of people lived inside this castle. Unfortunately most of the doors were closed and so the only thing I could see was the warm stuffy hallway. My curiosity really wanted to sneak a peek inside one of the rooms. At the end of the long hallway there was a very old, very decorated door on the right. It stood slightly ajar and music was spilling out into the corridor. Someone was playing a violin and was clearly very good at it.

‘I’ll be giving you a skeleton key so you can open any of these doors. You’ll be working mostly along this corridor. Every room needs to be cleaned once every week and laundry picked up every two days. Clean towels are to be placed in every bathroom every day. Our last cleaner was promoted and now works in the kitchen along with Fergus, who you’ll meet during lunchtime. You’ll be working closely with Erin and she’ll teach you all that you have to do and know. Sometimes you’ll find that the resident of a particular room is inside when you want to clean it, the rule is to come back later, though some people don’t mind you coming in and let you clean while they’re still there. They will tell you if this is the case.’

Along with the castle’s labyrinth, all the names and people that I met and my job description my head was starting to toll. It was a lot to take in.

‘Don’t worry about anything, you’re new here, everybody understands this. If you are lost or if you need help, just ask. We are all human here.’

After that he took me into another hallway which ended up into a larger open space, it was not as big as the ballroom but still of considerate size. There were rows and rows of tables and benches, it was fairly crowded with chattering people. They were still enjoying a hearty breakfast and the smell of toast was making my stomach growl. Abi, who was still on Ben’s shoulders, nearly drooled all over him.

‘This is the cantina, everybody who either lives or works in this castle can get a meal here. Under normal circumstances you’ll be starting after normal breakfast times, if however you find yourself unable to provide something for yourself or for Abigail, just come in before your day starts. We’ve got plenty food to go around, so you can eat with us. Your lunch will be served here also. You will start at nine in the morning, there’s a coffee break at ten thirty and lunch at one. Around three o’clock it’s tea time and you’ll be expected here also. Don’t worry about your work for that time, the breaks and the lunch are mandatory.’

We went to a large double door at the other side of the cantina and I found myself blinking against the sudden sunlight. We were out on the grounds, where more tables and chairs had been put up. Though most of the outdoor furniture was stacked and protected by a tarp. This had most likely to do with winter coming in fast. Next to the patio was a small playground where three little boys were playing on the swing. Two of them had bright red hair, while the other had a dark set of curls. Sitting on a bench was an elderly lady with her grey hair in a tight bun. Her face was stern, yet her eyes looked endearingly to them.

To my surprise Ben was walking toward the lady and put Abi down.

‘Hi, Miss Wells, I’ve got a new student for you. This is Abigail.’ I looked over to Ben with an open mouth. ‘This is Miss Wells. She runs the day-care and will take in Abi when you are at work. She is also a teacher and so you won’t have to worry about dropping Abi off at school either. We’ve got everything covered here.’ He saw my confused look and then added: ‘unless you already have Abi in a school in town, then we have to arrange a schedule with them.’

My head was spinning and I really wanted to kiss the guy. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined that things would come this easy.

‘Does it cost anything to put Abi in school? I mean can I afford this?’

The look on his face made me feel really dumb, he laughed uncomfortably. ‘Schools are free’ the way Ben said it, almost made it sound like a question.

‘I’m sorry, I’m from Nova, no free education there.’ I shrugged apologetically and hoped that where I came from didn’t raise any suspicion. Though this might all be in my head, people could come from everywhere and as long I didn’t come from Nordlys probably no-one would care. Nova was also notorious for their high cost of living and poor social security safety nets. So leaving Nova for a small town in Caledonia should be an easy enough choice.

This was also Ben’s thought.

‘Ah, that explains a thing or two. Well, like I said, we’ve got it covered here. There’s no need to worry.’

My heart exploded with glee and for the first time in weeks I felt like I made the right decision. There was still so much that needed to be done and so much more that needed to remain hidden. But my homeland was taking care of me in a way the city in which I was raised never could. Things were going to be alright.

I was going to be alright.