"Mirabel!" I heard someone call out. Mirabel and I turned and found that it was only the butler calling for her.
"Miss Frieda, I think the butler wants to talk to us." She told me. I followed her to the arched corridor where the butler stood with another younger man.
"Good evening Miss Frieda. How are you enjoying your tour around the castle?"
I beamed widely. "Oh, it's wonderful Mr Gilbert. The castle is so grand and magnificent. This is the first time I am seeing such as there aren't any splendid structures in my village."
"That is delightful to hear." Gilbert beamed. "And I noticed you were quite fascinated by the water fountain."
"It's absolutely beautiful." I said with my hands clasped to my chest.
"Then you must see the one at the royal gardens. Mirabel, why don't you show it to Miss Frieda?" The butler asked Mirabel. "Kellan, let us go to the fifth floor at once." Gilbert and his companion bowed slightly and left us.
Mirabel bowed and asked me to follow her
While we walked to the garden, I couldn't stop myself from wondering what the butler and his company would be doing at the fifth floor. They were obviously going to attend to the Dark Lord.
It felt strange everytime I remebered that I was under the same roof as the infamous Dark Lord.
The royal garden was breathtaking. There were trimmed hedges and sheared trees pruned to perfection. The scent of flowers and the song of birds filled the air so that the atmosphere was enchanting. I was really having a hard time believing that I was not dreaming or imagining things.
There were benches for sitting under each tree and a pond covered with water-lilies beside the fountain, though a bit smaller than the one at the courtyard. Ducks swam in the pond, quacking as they waddled along. It was a truly relaxing sight.
But I wasn't here to relax! There was no relaxing for me until I left this place. I began to take in all I could see as I thought of a possible escape route. The garden had less people walking through it and it had two ornamental gates, one at the front and the other at the back. We had come in through the front gate. What was at the back?
"The garden is one of my favorite places in the castle. It is always so serene and beautiful." Mirabel told me.
"It sure is." I replied while trying to get a good glimpse of the back.
Mirabel must have noticed that I was staring at the back gate of the garden.
"The back gate of the garden leads to the back of the castle and that is where the servants' quarters is located."
"Really?" I asked.
"Yes. It's usually empty by this time of the day as the servants are working. There isn't much to see there anyway." She replied trying to bring back my attention to the garden.
It couldn't be that there was just one gate to let people in and out of the castle. There were usually two or more gates in the houses of the local nobility. One was the main gate and one was for escape in times of emergencies, which was usually smaller and concealed.
It had to be the same for the castle. So if the main gate was over at the front, there must be another- maybe smaller- gate leading outside the castle. It was most probably close to the servants quarters. I just had to get back there.
"Can't we just take a quick look at it? I am really curious to see it." I tried to get her to agree.
"Oh no, not today milady. The sun has gone down now. I have to get you back inside in time for dinner else the butler would give me an earful." She told me with an apologetic look. Well, I'd rather not get her into trouble then. There would be another opportunity for me to check it out.
If I was well behaved during the first tour, it probably would determine if I was allowed to take another one.
Walking back into the castle, I noticed that the guards were switching for the night shift. Security was tighter in the castle at night than in the day time. As the palace was guarded heavily by nighttime, someone like me couldn't get past by accident. I had to come up with a perfectly meticulous plan.
* * *
Two days after the first tour of the castle, Gilbert allowed us to take another one. This time, Mirabel planned to show me the royal stables, the kitchen where the meals were made and the royal infirmary, where Papa used to work. I wasn't sure if I was really ready to see his old work place, but Mirabel was already so excited there was no stopping her.
First, we went to the royal stables. The place was so huge I was pretty sure there were dozens of horses being kept there. There was the obvious smell of animal dung, but it was tolerable.
"Well this is nice, we don't usually get visitors to this place." A man said and welcomed us to the stables. I wondered how he knew I was a visitor. I took a good look at the man's face and noticed he looked somewhat familiar. Did I know him from somewhere?
"You must be the old physician's daughter. My daughter is always chirping about you." The man beamed.
"Stop it Papa." I heard Mirabel say. Her face had reddened.
I took a good look at Mirabel and then the man. The facial features were similar asides the eye color, hair color and freckles. He was her father.
"Nice to meet you sir. My name is Frieda."
I gave a slight bow.
"Hello Frieda. I'm James, Mirabel's father. You seem like a nice person. My daughter admires you a lot." He bowed back.
"I like her a lot too." I told him. "She makes wonderful company." I told her father. I realized immediately that I liked the man. He was so cheerful and pleasant.
"What brings you to the stables today?" He asked us.
"I am giving Miss Frieda a comprehensive tour of the palace and it wouldn't be complete if we don't visit the royal stables." Mirabel said and I agreed with a nod.
"Well, you've met the best person to show you around. I am the head stableman. It will be my pleasure to show you our beauties."
"He means the horses." Mirabel whispered into my ear and I smiled.
He beckoned for us to follow him and we did. He introduced each horse to us by their names. He knew each and every name! His voice became more passionate when he talked about the horses and I realized he must really like them.
"This is Ofelia, she is the offspring of the mare that belonged to the late queen of this kingdom. That horse, Millie is late, like its owner. Ofelia is obedient and she loves being stroked by certain people. Me included of course." James joked as he rubbed Ofelia's mane.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" He asked me out of the blue.
I shook my head. "There was not really much horses for the peasant village people to ride sir. And even if there were, I didn't have the luxury of time." I told him.
He shook his head sadly. "Well you must someday, Milady. It is really a thrill when it is your first time."
I nodded silently. Like I said before, I didn't have to luxury of time. I could stay to ride horses. I had a life to get back to. There were sick people that needed care. But I couldn't tell him that.
We walked down all the aisles of the stables until we got to the very last one. The last aisle was quite empty as not much horses were being kept there.
"I regret to inform you that we have come to the end of this tour." James announced.
"Thank you so much sir. I never knew this much about horses until I met you." I told him genuinely.
"Then you must come again. There is so much more to learn." I nodded in agreement. Maybe I could stop at the stables one last time.
"Thank you for showing us around, Papa." Mirabel bowed to her father, and I bowed too.
"Anything for you ladies." He replied.
It probably was almost noontime and we had other places to visit. We were about to leave the stables when a shadow caught my attention at the very last stall.
"There is something over there." I pointed out. Mirabel and her father turned to see what it was too.
I walked towards the stall and was met with the most beautiful horse I had seen in the entire stable. It was huge and almost taller than I was. Its coat was so dark it was shiny.
"Oh, pardon me. I had forgotten about this one. A special one it is too." Mr James spoke behind me.
I reached out to stroke it's nose, just like I did to all the other calm horses. "Which horse is this? I like it." I told Mr James with a smile, but the didn't smile back. He just stared at me in shock. Mirabel wore a matching expression as well.
"That horse ...is Twilight. He's the Dark Lord's."