We arrived at the castle and—tell you what—I was speechless. Both from the lack of security and from fascination. The castle was straight out of a painting. Something that didn’t belong in the world that I lived in. The long journey was worth it.

We sneaked into one of the bedroom through the window—why didn’t they lock it?—and we found ourselves in a room that was dusty, otherwise extravagant. My initial thought was this castle was, perhaps, abandoned. We didn’t see anyone outside and sneaking in was easy.

“Is the door locked?” I asked warily.

Hera tiptoed to the door, put her ear on the door—making sure someone wasn’t out there, maybe—and twisted the doorknob. “It is,” she confirmed. “There might be the keys somewhere. Do you need it?”

“Nah,” I shook my head. “Just making sure no one can enter this room.”

“No one checks this room,” Hera assured, thought sounding a bit bitter rather than reassuring.

I looked out the window—still seeing no other soul. “How are you so sure?” my gaze wandered warily. “Is this castle abandoned?”

“People still live here, but there aren’t that many people here. I’m not quite sure why no one guards this place,” Hera sat down on the bed.

Now that I thought of it, the room was tidy aside from the dust of abandonment. The bed was made, the carpet was clean. The room was twice the size of my ‘house’, it was crazy. The king-sized bed covered in golden satin bed sheets—that looked a little too bright for my taste—was placed against the middle of one wall. A nightstand decorated each side with a romantic nightlamp on top. On the other side of the wall was a mahogany dressing table with comically huge mirror where I could see every inch of the room through its reflection. Next to it was a matching mahogany wardrobe covering the entire portion of the wall. It was insane how much wealth someone could have. There were even a coffee table and two small couches in the room. Like an entire house in one room.

I stepped to the bed. The carpet under my bare feet was warm and soft. I sat down next to her. “This is insane,” I stated, bewildered.

Hera chuckled. “Right?” she said, then pointed at a door—which I didn’t notice until now. “That’s a bathroom. Go wash yourself if you want.”

Unbelievable. A bathroom inside a bedroom? Such a foreign concept. “Oh, sure!” I said a little too excited and checked the bathroom right away—which was just as astounding as the bedroom. Well, it wasn’t as huge as I expected, but it was still luxurious. The tiles were placed in beautiful pattern. On the sink, sat a mirror that was also unnecessarily big. There was a dresser and a bathtub. It looked comfortable. I dipped into the bathtub and took my time there.

The experience was unforgettable, and I loved every second of it. I didn’t even question how we managed to sneak in anymore. I didn’t care. All I cared was the moment that I could have a leisure bath in this luxurious bathroom, and later I could lay down on a luxurious bed.

I almost fell asleep in the tub.

After me, Hera took a bath herself. She also took her time in the bath. Definitely a luxury. Meanwhile, I explored the room for myself before the room was too dark to explore. The night had fallen. We arrived here around dusk, after all. I also wasn’t sure if we could turn the lights on—we might attract attentions from anyone living there.

Hera finished when I was looking at the wardrobe. She looked amused, seeing me looking through a collection of highly tailored clothes. “Do you want to try that?” she teased.

I shrugged. “These look like a pain,” I admitted. “They look good, though, but I don’t want to wear them.”

“Fair enough,” she agreed, walking towards our little bags. “Then, wear your clothes. You’re going to catch a cold standing there only in that bathrobe.”

“Don’t want to,” I pouted. “It’s too much of a hassle. We’re just going to stay here, anyway.”

Hera raised her eyebrow, smirking to me. “Who says we’re here only to sleep?” she asked, challenging. “Don’t you want to explore this place?”

Her invitation was absolutely insane, yet I was intrigued. I accepted and changed into an outfit that was clean enough to go out with.

We explored some parts of the castle. We didn’t go to the main room, or the dining room, or the kitchen. We went to places where Hera thought no one would check on. We walked on the dark garden which was stunning even under the darkness of the night, a gazebo on the garden which was placed on a small pond, and some other vacant rooms. I was admiring every nook and cranny of the castle the entire time. Never in my wildest dream would I ever thought of setting my chapped feet onto this land. The luxury—it was surreal. How could someone be allowed to own this much wealth to build a world inside their own place?

Maybe I was too drawn to my surrounding, but when I realized, Hera was already standing next to me. “There’s a place I wanted to show you,” she said. I nodded and followed her.

We entered a dark, huge hall. From the huge double door, the moonlight seeped in—it was a full-moon night—to illuminate the room through multiple arched windows that were placed directly across us. The patterned marble floor seemed to shine as the moonlight reflected on it. There was a chandelier hanging in the middle—to then I realized the roof was wide and dome-shaped. Even with the lack of lighting, I could see the patterns and decoration put on the wall and the pillars. It was insane. I couldn’t stop getting surprised by this castle.

“This is the banquet hall,” Hera explained as she closed the door behind us slowly. “We—People—hold parties, dances, and a lot of get-togethers here.”

I was too mesmerized that all I could do was nodding with my mouth opened in awe.

Hera sauntered in front of me, as though asking for my attention. “Vega,” she curtsied, offering her hand with impeccable manner. “Shall we dance?”

What a surprise. I chuckled. I know I’m not the best dancer—then and now—but I know when to have fun. So, I accepted her hand and said, “With pleasure.”