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I watch as a maid starts to dry the damp carpet with an off white towel. The motion makes it seem as if she was waiting for someone to make some kind of mess. Her fluid movements make me wonder if the staff is always awake cleaning the faded tapestries, and marvelously ancient art pieces.

Precisely made art pieces that were carefully collected and gifted from all over the Great Continent Terra. 

I look down to the hundred year old carpet that shimmers red and gold with every torch that is cautiously lit. It is then In the now bright light I realize that I am still shirtless under my cloak and covered in dozens of cuts from the glass I had propelled myself through.

Blood drips from my neck down my collarbone and for some odd reason, it all suddenly stings. I hastily button the brown worn out fabric to hide all the small fataless wounds and hurry faster to the Healer.

We make our strides even larger as the warm light becomes pleasantly brighter with each new hallway. Paintings of ancient warriors covered in bright metallic armor, kings adorned in jewels so priceless they would never be worn again, and praised gods that line the stone walls. Details of their stern faces become sharp and colorful as additional lanterns are lit beside their golden frames.

“Good morning, your Royal Highness.” A blushing servant girl says curtsying beside us. 

I smirk while throwing my hands behind me as I look at her. “Yes, there is nothing quite like almost being killed in the early hours to get the young blood pumping.” 

She smiles but I can see there is a sense of discomfort as she lets out a small chuckle. 

I swiftly turn on my heels continuing down the halls. The sarcasm was a bit much but surely she can see what state I am in and I am positive she has heard of my repeated misfortune. So to ask me whether I am having a good morning or not is almost uncalled for because no I am not having a good morning and I doubt that fact was going to change. In fact this may be the worst morning in my life. 

I take a breath trying to ease my anxiety and rage that is rising once again. It is hard to not feel stressed when someone is trying to kill me at just about every corner. Eyes are always watching me so it is becoming progressively harder to determine just who is on my side and just who wants to take my head. Even as I walk down the halls the older staff stare at me in disbelief while the younger workers blush furiously, trying to pry their sparkling eyes off of me. Who could say that some of these expressions weren’t being precisely calculated in order to deceive me.

Even the guard who stood beside me named Robulent could be trying to kill me. 

I look at him and he pays me no attention. He is too busy watching the girls who giggle to one another before stealing subtle glances of me. I watch as he smirks at a few girls before realizing they are staring at me instead of him. He looks down at me who is watching him and clears his throat in embarrassment. 

I can't help releasing a light chuckle as his face falls to a look of disappointment. This man isn’t a threat, he is just a guard who wants the attention of the young ladies in the castle staff but it appears as though he wouldn’t receive it anytime soon. It wasn’t his fault though. When anyone walked beside me I was the one who always stood out. I know it sounds like a vain comment but believe me when I say I am not a narcissistic fool. It is just the truth. I am the son of a woman who people once called the most beautiful person in all of The Seven Realms, even more beautiful than the Desert Queen herself. Surprisingly the conceited Desert Queen didn’t even deny the fact that my mother was beyond comparison to her. She had actually adored her just as much as the next person. 

Robulent lets out a low sigh pouting as he seems to want to throw a glare at me but wisely decides to stare down the long hallway. This hallway was meticulously draped in colorful fabrics and the unusual paintings of creatures so surreal it was hard to believe they still exist in the far off Mountain Realm. On the wall there is a monstrous animal who has the tongue of a snake, ginormous talons and a body of a bear except for the long serpent neck. The creature fights a group of small insignificant men. Then there is a worm with no eyes and a dozen splintering teeth in it’s dark mouth. The large brown beast viciously fights a soldier in blood red armor. The list goes on but I always find it strange that there is such a stark contrast between these paintings and the other’s that were hung up with love and adoration.

I look at my guard who is slowly gripping his fist tighter. It must have been because this hallway is full of otherworldly beasts which led the way to the mysterious Healer named Sapt Evergreen.

I know many of the guards fear the Healer but I ask him a question anyway. “What is wrong, Sir Robulent?” I tease sarcasm creeping in my voice.

This time he glares but does not meet my eyes as he speaks. “Nothing,” he clears his throat and hides his glare. “Your Royal Highness, it appears we are at the Healers door.” He says in a calm tone.

I glance around at the neglected stone corridor before seeing the silver door at the end of the long path. “So it seems.” I saay, making my strides just a bit slower. 

I take one careful last step as I stare at the door that looks just as strange as the Healer herself. It is carefully covered in shimmering black obsidian and clean mirror shards. The shards reflect a thousand images of me just as they were intended to do but a part of me fears they will do something else. They have never revealed to have any other purpose besides being gaudy decor, but then again how would I know if they hid any other abilities. I wasn’t from the Mountain Realm like the Healer or my grandfather. The place where magic and elementals still existed.

I clear my throat slowly rolling my shoulder blades to release the tension that I built up from nearly being killed. I suppose the tension also came from walking to meet the woman who always made me uncomfortable. 

I reluctantly lift my hand and grab the cold iron knocker that lays upon the only space on the door that reveals wood. I drop it once just as she always requested and the sound echos throughout the corridor. Before the sand can dissipate the door swings inward making Robulent and I jump as we come face to face with a tall, middle aged woman who looks older than forty but is only in her mid thirties.

She has yet to lift her hand off of the door knob as she glares down at my cuts and then raises her eyes to my own. For a brief moment I swear her smoky lifeless eyes try to draw life from my vibrant green irises. 

She releases a long breath and turns around, her long gray dress flowing with her like it was part of her being and could move upon her own accord. She is indeed a frightening being who is always much more mystical in appearance than in reality. She has no magical powers based on what I have seen and she has no elemental powers as well. She is just an exceptional doctor that some say can even bring a man back to life. In fact the people of the kingdom praised her last week for saving a man. A man that was at death’s door and could not be cured.

She lifts one thin pale hand and waves for us to come into her room. Robulent and I cautiously follow her into the strangely silent room. 

Robulent pauses at the doorway, probably unsure if he is allowed into the Healer’s room. I turn back around and look at his eyes that watch the both of us in anticipation.

“Close the door behind you.” The Healer mumbles in her soft clear voice that almost doesn't match her demeanor.

That makes Robulent immediately aware that he is also allowed inside. He cautiously takes two more steps forward and then gently closes the door behind us. It subtly closes with a soft click that echoes off the walls and the high ceiling. He then wisely decides the best place to guard me is beside the door. He is smart enough to know the Healer despises people in her work space, even me, or maybe it was just her frightening image that keeps him away.

I don't blame him, the Healer is a bit of a scary woman who stands seven feet tall, much taller than anyone I knew. Her face is always wrinkled in concentration like forgotten crumpled paper. Her hands and arms twist like an old oak tree and her once youthful face holds sunk in foggy eyes that seem to know so much more than anyone else in the room. You can never read what she is thinking of, making her seem much more like a mystical being then just a Healer who looks far older than her actual age.

Maybe it isn’t any of those things that scare people but perhaps it is knowing she is a woman of the Mountain Realm, the only Realm my father couldn’t rule completely because of the fact that it is unworldly and out of his control.

Nope, it is probably her height and cold demeanor that stirs fear.

I look back to the Healer who shuffles through the silo shaped room, her movements are graceful as she crosses the floor to a high shelf and pushes aside clay jars looking for something.

I tilt my head up to look at the absurdly high ceiling and the seven balconies above, each one is only accessible by one single ladder that is being worn out from years of use. Every inch of the wall is lined with bookshelves and jars of oddities, but it was the books that always left me in awe. There must have been hundreds as they filled every inch of the room, some even in piles on the floor while others are lazily placed on the shelves. It is a rare occasion  if their spines are facing outward like they should have been.

Sapt snaps her fingers to grab my attention. I take a breath and straighten my back as I turn my head to her, a blonde lock of my hair falling into my eyes. I watch as her thin hand slowly gestures to a splintering old wooden stool that stands in the middle of the cluttered room.