The walk was not a long one as they made their way to Sazriran's Throne. Once they reached the building, Endru had to admit that it was beautiful in a dark way.
There was one main building with another vast one behind it; they looked connected. There were barely any windows while everything was painted black. Even though the sky is red, there was a dark purplish mist over it, making it seem darker than it already was.
Surrounding the building was open ground that looked deep that no one could tell what was down there or how far down it went. A bridge was over the open-ground, at the entrance; the bridge is probably for those who cannot fly to get into the place.
The building resembled the castles in the fairy tale books that the mother used to read to them when she did not make up a story from the top of her head. Endru was mesmerized by the dark beauty of it.
And he was not the only one; the others seemed to like it, even Lyn, who usually was scared at anything dark and creepy.
"Welcome to Sazriran's Throne," Brastirk started as they walked onto the bridge, "remember to watch your step and stick with me. Don't want a hair missing from those heads, do we now?"
Everyone nodded as they moved closer together; Lyn was trembling in Endru's hold.
As they walked to the entrance of the building, Endru saw two demons at the door. There were more on top of the building, watching them. Anyone can tell they were Warriors by their armor and weapon.
The demons had a hierarchy that showed who was at the top and who was at the bottom. The pyramid went:
King/Queen
Prince/Princess
Warriors
???
Messengers
Slaves
The prince/princess also had a difference of status, depending on who the firstborn was, and so on. The firstborn is at the top, while the others fall behind them in the ranking. So, even if the second born and so have power, they cannot go against the firstborn's word. Same with a third born, they cannot go against the second born's word.
Endru knew there was a rank between the Warriors and Messengers, but he did not remember what they called it. Over the past year, he only learned about those. And when it came to the dragons, their hierarchy was the same but different.
He cut from his thoughts when they passed through the front door. The guards glared at them but did not say anything since they had Brastrik escorting them. Lyn hid its face in his shirt, not liking the glaring from the demons.
The inside of the castle was surprisingly beautiful and different from what the outside gave them. Even if the outside gave a creepy, dark beauty, the inside glowed like someone waxed everything multiple times while adding sparkles. The place was white and grey that had light in every corner.
When a person looks down at the floor or up at the ceiling, they can see their reflection. It was beyond Endru's imagination. He thought the inside would be how the Village of Kron looked.
The building was clean and breathtaking, like how Rich City used to look when it was around.
"This place makes me feel like I am dirty." The father jokily whispered to them as he looked at the ground.
"I wish I can get the house to look like this." The mother wistfully commented, looking at everything.
The kids did not say anything as they kept looking at their reflections on the ground, making funny faces, while Quin hummed in acceptance at how clean the inside of the building was.
Lyn did not pick up its head to look.
"Thank you," Brastrik added himself into the conversation as his pointy ears twitched, "I know you may see demons as savages, but I assure you, we, demons, are far from it."
He turned his head, smirking at them with eyes that spoke of trouble before turning back around. The demon's expression put everyone on guard, causing them to stop marveling at the place and pay more attention to their surroundings.
Everyone stayed quiet as they followed the demon to wherever he was taking them. There were stairs around the building, but Brastrik kept them on the first floor as they passed through a few hallways.
Endru glared at his back the whole way to the destination.
Brastrik stopped at a vast dark brown door with a beautiful carving on it; it seemed to tell a story as the picture was demons and dragons fighting each other. There was also a plaque on the door that said, 'Hœpëß.'
Brastrik turned to look at them, "This is the room you will be staying in for the time being. I will come back in a few hours to bring all of you to dinner with King Sazriran. I advise staying in this room until I return. You can venture out and explore, but that is to your own expense.
I strongly recommend staying in the room. The others have a thing for guests, if you know what I mean." The demon explained. He pulled out a key from his pocket, handing it to Endru.
Endru grabbed the key, trying to take it, but Brastrik kept a firm grip on it. "I cannot wait to learn about you, Fiłüß fätiß," The demon whispered so he could be the only one to hear him.
Endru glared at those words before snatching the keys out of the demon's hand when he felt the man's grip loosening. Brastrik laughed as he walked off, waving the others goodbye.
"What did he say?" The father asked when he saw the look on Endru's face.
"Nothing. It wasn't important." He muttered. Even though he felt terrible about lying to the family, he did not want to admit that the man called him "nephew." The word made his stomach drop, and his heart race in a terrible way.
The father knew Endru was lying but did not push the problem because Jonathon knew he would tell him sooner or later. "Okay." He responded.
Endru hummed as he put the key into the keyhole, unlocking the door. Once he heard the clicking noise, he opened the door and walked in with the rest of his group.
They all looked around, taking the room in; there was a big bed that looked to fit about ten people, taking up most of the area's space. A dresser rested across from it while two nightstands were on either side of the bed. There was even a small desk with a chair in the left corner of the room.
The room had two other doors inside it, which meant that one was a closet, and the other was a bathroom. The black walls had a white border around them while one big window rested on one of the walls. But, the window had dark grey curtains covering it.
There were also four candles hanging on the wall; a fire was coming off the top of them.
The children dropped their bags near the front door once Quin closed it, running to the bed. They jumped on top of it while letting out a relaxing sigh, "The bed is so soft." Jalan and Carlyn said at the same time.
The mother was getting ready to tell the kids not to jump on the bed again, but Jonathon did the same thing as the children. "It is soft." He sighed, rolling around in it, narrowly missing the kids with his antics.
The mother sighed, shaking her head, "I am raising a bunch of children."
Endru chuckled at them, his mood improving as he watched them. Lyn finally put its head up and spoke, 'I want to jump on the bed too.'
'If that is what you want, Lyn.' Endru replied as he brought the creature over to the bed, throwing it on it. He made sure to aim for open space that did not have the children or the father on it.
Lyn bounced a few times before landing on an open spot near the edge of the bed. It rolled around like the father did, 'It is soft!' This time Endru burst out laughing; they are all silly.
The mother looked his way, giving him a soft small, "There is the smile we were missing," she commented. Endru looked at her with a shy smile, rubbing the back of his neck as he felt a little embarrassed with the way the family would care for him sometimes.
Ever since he ventured out on his own, he had gotten used to taking care of the family rather than the other way during the times he was a raven. So whenever the family tried to take care of him, he would get embarrassed.
"Do you two want to try out the bed, see if it is soft like they said?" Endru changed the conversation as he looked at the mother than Quin.
Quin stayed by the door, remaining quiet as he watched everyone with hooded eyes. Endru knows that the creature would like to join in on their moments but kept to himself because of who he was and how he affected the family before.
He wished Quin would let go of the past, it has been years already, and the parents already forgave him.
"Might as well." The mother answered as she made her way to the bed, laying on it instead of jumping like the others. Jonathon wrapped his arms around his wife's waist, pulling her in when she got on the bed.
Quin shook his head as Endru continued to stare at him. "I am fine; I will take the chair." He walked over to the chair that was pushed into the desk. He pulled it out and sat in it, facing the others on the bed.
Endru sighed at his behavior, shaking his head; he will find a way to deal with it later. He set his bow and arrows down before walking over to the bed, joining the others. Once he landed on it, the kids and Lyn attacked, holding him down. He laughed at their behavior while trying to set himself up.
They almost hurt his wings and were close to hitting their heads on his horns with how they jumped him. "Careful." He told them. They barely listened as they held onto him. He sighed, rubbing all of their heads.
They spent the next few hours resting on the bed while talking with each other.
*********
As Jalan was getting ready to suggest playing one of the games he brought with him, there was a knock at the door. Everyone quieted down as they looked at the door.
Endru untangled himself from the family as he walked to the door. When he opened it, on the other side was Brastrik; the demon was smiling at him.
He wanted to punch the man because his smile did not sit right with him. "I am here to take you all to dinner with King Sazriran." Brastrik greeted as he glanced behind Endru.
After hearing this, Quin stood up from his chair while the others were getting off the bed. The father picked up Lyn.
"Well, let us get to it; the king is not a patient man," Brastrik said as he turned around, already walking away. The others quickly made their way out of the room as Endru stayed behind to grab his bow and arrows.
"Oh, and no weapons at the table," Brastrik yelled. Endru was a bit surprised because the demon was far from him with his back turned, so he did not know how the demon saw him picking up his weapon.
He dropped his bow and arrows, walking out the room as he closed the door. He had his hidden knives, so he did not mind not taking his weapon, even though it would be nice to have it.
He caught up with the group, making his way to the front as Quin watched the back. The father handed Lyn to him on his way up.
They followed the demon to the dining area, and Endru could not calm his racing heart as they got closer to the place.
***********
Translations:
• 'Hœpëß.'
Guest
• "Fiłüß fätiß."
Nephew