Second Month of Summer

Third Era, Year 353

A third floor of the castle was built with the help of the sorcerers, and that was where Caolan lived with his spouses. Their specific wing had a suite of rooms on either side of the passageway, each containing four bedchambers and an office for each king. There was a large nursery at the end of the hall, and small rooms for servants. Caolan had explained that the second suite would be for his heir when he was married, but offered it to Ardan until then.

But the suite was too empty for Ardan. It felt cavernous and lonely, so he chose a room in a nearby wing. Caolan seemed to understand. He clearly noticed that Ardan had become withdrawn since they had signed the treaty. He practically showered Ardan with gifts until Ardan asked him to stop wasting money when there was a country to rebuild. Thankfully, Caolan had listened.

It wasn't as if Ardan was unhappy, he just felt lost in the castle that had once been his home all those years ago. He had lived the last twenty years with one goal in mind, and now that it was accomplished, he didn't know what to do, other than to advise Caolan in the rebuilding process, which was not without challenges. It was difficult to decide which areas of the country to focus on first, and many people were impatient about getting what they needed. But Caolan pressed on, taking on the challenges as eagerly as Ardan had hoped that he would.

One afternoon, six months after the truce, while Ardan was watching a few sorceresses constructing the castle courtyard, Caolan found him and pulled him away from the window.

"I know you said no more gifts," Caolan began, "but we found something of yours that I want you to know of."

"If it's my old workrooms, I really don't care about them anymore," Ardan said with a sigh. "I planned to seal them away."

Caolan shook his head. "Just come see."

Ardan nodded and followed Caolan. They went up a flight of stairs and were soon in a passageway that, while it had been drastically reworked by the sorcerers and masons, Ardan instantly recognized. The room Caolan led him into was also painfully familiar, even though it had been even more drastically reworked so it no longer looked like a king's bedchamber.

"One of the servants showed us a room where they had managed to hide many of the old documents and records before the castle was completely overrun," Caolan explained once they had entered the room. "I've been looking over them, and I found copies of work orders my father had made. I thought they were unimportant, until the workers mentioned that they couldn't determine what was behind the wall in this hallway. There seemed to be a large gap between this room and the next one, and there was slightly different stone in the hallway in one place, which looked like a doorway had been filled in. So I came up here and started to look at everything."

"It was a room that was intentionally kept unused, like the one on the other side," Ardan told him. "Caol's father insisted on it so no one could place spy holes in the walls. That's why they sealed the rooms off. They put a door in for Aisa to have the room on the other side after they married."

Caolan just smiled. He walked over to the wardrobe against the wall and pulled it open. Ardan half expected to see Caol's coats still hanging inside, but it was empty. Then Caolan reached into the back corner and Ardan heard something click.

"I didn't go inside," Caolan said quietly, "just glanced in before I came to find you."

Ardan watched in amazement as the back of the wardrobe slid into the wall to the side, revealing another dark space beyond. Caolan stepped back and motioned him toward what was now obviously a door. Ardan walked slowly into the room, and felt the breath catch in his throat.

It was a bedchamber, elaborately decorated underneath layers of dust and cobwebs. A large bed sat beside a window overlooking the river below the city. Several bookshelves dotted the room, mostly bare but holding a few books and crystals he would have used for magic. There was a desk with ink and parchment, and a number of chests and wardrobes. Ardan slowly walked to the nearest bookshelf and saw a copy of one of the books he'd been looking for most of his life. It must have cost Caol a fortune.

Memories of a time only two months before the fall of Ryal came from nowhere.

"Aisa and I are moving to another room for a few days. The masons are going to replace the hearth in my room. Finally. I didn't think it was wise for her to breathe in all the dust, and I certainly don't want to, either."

They had replaced the old hearth, which had contained several loose stones, but it had seemed to take longer than it should have. Ardan hadn't thought much of it at the time. Caol had spent a few nights in his room for a change, which had been perfect for him.

Shaking those memories away, he went to the desk, where he saw a folded piece of parchment. Carefully, he unfolded it and found a blotchy note that brought tears to his eyes.

I pray that one day you will find this place, this sanctuary you had always wanted when the role of court sorcerer was too much. And I hope that you will know that, though I never said the words, I have loved you more than life itself. I will wait for you in the Spirit Realm. -Caol

Ardan spent a long while in that room that day, and when he left it he never returned.